As November dawns just about all Napa County grapes have been harvested, and while overall tonnage may be down from record highs in recent years, local grapegrowers say the quality of this year’s vintage is very good.

“It was an incredible harvest,” said Julie Nord of Nord Vineyards, whose company picked its remaining grapes last week.

Overall, Nord and others said yield was down by about 20 percent.

While prices for Napa grapes are expected to continue to climb, particularly for the red varietals, the demand for high-end grapes is building.

Nord, whose family grows grapes for 60 wineries, said clients are already calling, wanting three to five-year contracts for grapes.

Andy Beckstoffer, chairman and chief executive officer of Beckstoffer Vineyards, said wineries already want to discuss next year’s crop.

“This is a very good sign,” he said, referring to the grape market.

An early spring, combined with a cool summer, resulted in high-quality berries, the grapegrowers also said.

October rains came after much of the early harvest — chardonnay and pinot noir, for example — were done. The weather held for most of the cabernet sauvignon season, as well.

The weather was no detriment, said Peter Nissen, a vineyard manager at several vineyards from Carneros to Calistoga.  “Everything went smoothly,” he said.

Vince Bonotto, a vice president with Diageo Chateau and Estates, whose company owns about 2,000 acres in Napa County, said the temperatures — which only rarely topped 100 degrees — allowed the grapes to develop slowly, with a lot of flavor. Overall, yield was down at the vineyards his company oversees by between 10 and 15 percent, he said.

Christopher Howell, general manager and winemaker at Cain Vineyard and Winery, said “ripening was generally good.”

Yield at Cain, at the top of the Mayacamus Range overlooking St. Helena, he noted, was up this year.

Pete Richmond of Silverado Farming Co. Inc. said the rain only shut his staff down for a few days, waiting for the vineyards to dry out.

Bruce Cakebread, president of Cakebread Cellars, said overall he is very pleased with the wines from this year’s vintage.

The sauvignon blanc and chardonnay show good fruit character and nice balance of acidity from the cool growing season, he said. The cabernet sauvignon wine “has great color and nice, ripe tannins,” he said.

“We think overall the weather was good for this season with very little rot or sunburn on the grapes,” he wrote.

He and others said they have begun to winterize the vineyards, putting in place erosion control measures, cleaning up and planting cover crops.

Tom Rinaldi, director of winemaking at Provenance, said the high demand and the lower supply for high-quality grapes is bound to affect wine prices.

“The price isn’t going to come down,” he said.

Fortunately, he said his main worry is winemaking.

“All I have to do is make this stuff,” he said.