NAPA, Calif. — In North Bay, Napa Valley grape growers are taking stock of this year’s harvest. Many winemakers successfully produce the 2024 vintage despite difficult growing conditions such as almost 40 days of 100 degree heat.

It’s the last day of grape pressing at the Rombauer vineyards in St. Helena. A purple shower of fruit from the 2024 vintage was collected on Thursday by Senior Winemaker Richie Allen and his team.

“Here’s the Cabernet from St. Helena, we can tell by the flavor that it’s a high-quality lot. It has the right amount of extract and tannin that we want,” Allen said.

Allen says the quality of the grapes looks good despite some challenges during the growing season.

Members of the Napa Valley Grape Growers Association say the extreme heat was a big concern.

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“This year, we’ve had 38 to 40 days over 100 degrees, which is a big difference from past years, especially 2023 when we had 8 to 10,” said Mike Stornetta of Stornetta Made Farm and Vineyard Management.

But growers say late rains and a cool spring came to the rescue early.

“We had a lot of soil moisture when we started the growing season and we had early rains in the growing season which helped the tree grow well,” said Pauline Lhote of Chandon,

“I say it’s a good crop when nothing goes wrong, while it’s been warm, nothing has gone wrong,” Allen added.

One of the biggest challenges to harvesting has nothing to do with growing grapes. Wine consumption has declined globally in recent years.

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Inflation and younger consumers switching to other drinks are some factors in the decline.

“Wine sales are not what they used to be,” added Stornetta.

No one is too worried about the trend yet.

“Wine is still the number one thing that people go to the table for, so now how do we bring people back and that’s what’s driving innovation,” Allen said.

In about a year, winemakers say they’ll know how good the 2024 vintage really is.