By the end of the harvest, 2008 may well be remembered as a year with lower than normal yields — in some cases off by as much as 40-50 percent — but with excellent quality in the grapes that were harvested.

By American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) then, the reports are as follows:

Diamond Mountain District — Dawnine Dyer, Dyer Vineyards, “While there is still a lot of fruit out, with the warm weather last week and the threat of rain later this week, the consensus is that it won’t be more than a couple weeks before it’s all finished. People are starting to take stock of the harvest and with 80 percent of their fruit in, Reverie reports that their crop is down 50 percent from 2007, AGV still has more than half their fruit out, but is off 40 percent on what has come in so far — two cool springs and the dry growing season are being held accountable.”

Howell Mountain — Pat Stotesbery, Ladera Vineyards, “While there is some cabernet being picked, it is not going quickly. Other than eastern slopes, Cimmarossa is picking as well as here at Ladera. But after everyone walks through, given the warm weekend, they are expecting a more robust picking schedule to emerge later this week, assuming we see no showers. It has clearly surprised many people that we have so little of the fruit off at this point but patience is the watchword.”

Chiles Valley District — Volker Eisele, “We went from a cold week to a warmish one and as a result some grapes, petite sirah and zinfandel, were picked. However, the bulk of the zinfandel and all of the cabernet sauvignon and merlot still has not been picked. Their ripening is nearly flawless with good color development, slowly dropping acid and rising pH. It was all aided by the typical cold nights with temperatures in the 40s. Yields continue to be 20 percent to 50 percent below normal with exceptional quality reported for the harvested fruit throughout the district.”

Spring Mountain District — Stuart Smith, Smith-Madrone, “From not much activity the harvest has jumped to a great deal of action. Keenan, Schweiger, Smith-Madrone are coming to the end of their cabernet harvest, but others such as Pride, Terra Valentine, York Creek, Guilliams and Paloma are either just starting or still waiting. The short cabernet sauvignon crop can be generalized as having smaller bunches than usual and much smaller berries with very little juice — but great color and flavors. Both Pride and York Creek Vineyards had blocks that were devastated by this spring’s frost/freeze resulting in 30 percent or less of normal production.”

St. Helena — Doug Stanton, winegrape grower, owner, Stanton Vineyard Wines, “After a week of near perfect ripening weather, with temperatures in the upper 80s to low-mid 90s the vines finally moved from their holding pattern and on average have jumped a full sugar point to as much as 2 1/4 points. This coupled with the first legitimate forecast of rain by week’s end should move things back into high gear with plenty of harvest activity in St. Helena and the Valley.”

Rutherford — Jeffrey Stambor, director of winemaking, Beaulieu Vineyards, “Cabernet harvest is in full swing and at a steady but reasonable pace. There is a slight sense of urgency ahead of the predicted rain on Friday although most cabernet vineyards will do fine through a light rain. Work in our new reserve winery is progressing beyond expectations producing wines of exceptional density and extract.”

Oakville — Pat Garvey, vineyard manager, Flora Springs Winery, “We’re continuing to wait for the grapes to ripen. Paul Steinauer, winemaker at Flora Springs, mentioned that he’s waiting for more berry development in the cabernet sauvignon. He stated that the grape’s seeds are becoming less bitter and the flavor profile is improving rapidly. He also likes the ripening consistency that is occurring with the small berries and loose clusters. We expect this to be a very busy week. The Weather Service is calling for rain on Friday or Saturday, which doesn’t concern us at this point.”

Stags Leap District — Elizabeth Vianna, winemaker, Chimney Rock Winery, “The recent warm days have propelled us into full speed in the Stags Leap District cabernet sauvignon harvest. At Chimney Rock, we will finish our hillsides with our petit verdot rolling in and will start to pick some of our valley floor vineyards this week. Stacy Clark reported lower sugars and a bit of a waiting game at Pine Ridge this past week with several blocks to go — much like us. Michelle Edwards, winemaker at Cliff Lede, is heading for the finish line. Elena Franceschi at Silverado will be finished by the end of the week as well. We all agree on the lower yields, tiny berries, high quality and the uniqueness of the vintage.”

Atlas Peak — Jan Krupp, Stagecoach Vineyards, “The warm weather has accelerated ripening on Atlas Peak. Harvest is now in full swing with cabernet sauvignon joining the earlier varietals. Thus far yields are down for merlot, syrah and cabernet sauvignon, but up for malbec. Grape quality remains impressive.”

Mount Veeder — Brian Nuss, Vinoce Vineyards, “The weather has kicked things off again. We started on the cabernet franc Tuesday along with the merlot in the upper vineyard. Over at Mt. Veeder Winery they are picking cabernet sauvignon right now and probably will finish up with the merlot this week. We should be finished picking in the next couple of weeks.”

Oak Knoll District — Jon Ruel vice president of operations, Trefethen Family Vineyards, “We have had a pretty quiet week here. There are still a lot of grapes on the vine but this warm weather has me thinking we’ll be busy picking again next week. We are very happy with all the lots we have brought it in so far — and are practicing patience with the rest!”

Randy Wulff, Lobo Wines, “The moderate weather after our heat spike has really helped. We’ll be harvesting our syrah and cabernet sauvignon at the end of this week.  Clusters are loose, berries are small and the additional hang time has been good. The yield will be a bit lower but quality is very high.”

Carneros — Lee Hudson, Hudson Vineyards, “Carneros has benefited from last week’s warm weather. Pinot noir is all in with both grower and winemakers alike wishing there had been more. Carneros chardonnay is nearing the end with yields remaining low and quality very high. Merlot is ripening slowly and coming in day by day.”

Wild Horse Valley — John Newmeyer, Heron Lake Vineyard, “Harvest is done in the south part of Wild Horse Valley. However, in the north part, a considerable vintage of pinot noir — currently at 24 or 25 Brix — awaits picking. These are grapes from shoots that emerged after the disastrous frost of late April.”