2025 Harvest: A fantastic year!

This past month has been another fast and amazing harvest in Sonoma County! The 2024 harvest kicked off with a rapid pace, beginning with our Estate Pinot Noir grapes on September 11th — just five days behind last year! We wrapped up the season with our last Pinot Noir on September 27th, the same day as last year! Completing the entire harvest in only sixteen days! This is the most compressed harvest we’ve had to date! Vineyards seemed to ripen at different rates going into this year, but all seemed to converge at the beginning of September.

We pic our Estate Pinot Noir at night when the temperature is cool, it’s good for the workers and good for the grapes!

Weather Insights

The 2025 growing season in the Russian River Valley will be remembered for its remarkable coolness. Spring began moderately, setting the stage for healthy, balanced vine growth. Unlike many years where early July can bring a disruptive heat spike, this season was defined by a persistently cold and fog-laden July—one of the coldest on record. These conditions slowed the pace of ripening and extended the growing window, allowing fruit to develop gradually and evenly on the vine. With no major heat events through late summer and into harvest, growers were able to pick at a steady, measured pace. This long, gentle season produced fruit with vibrant acidity, concentrated flavors, and excellent balance. The 2025 vintage promises wines of precision and freshness!

We pick the grapes into half ton bins; this is approximately 1,000 pounds of Pinot Noir!

Fermentation Process

All our Chardonnays are fermenting beautifully. I prefer to ferment Chardonnay at cooler temperatures to preserve and elevate its delicate aromatics, and this year’s fruit has been especially well-suited to that approach. The first lots are already nearing dryness, while others continue steadily through their fermentations.

On the Pinot Noir side, we still have a few tanks in the cold soak phase, gently extracting color and aroma before fermentation fully takes off. A few of the earliest lots have already completed fermentation, been pressed off the skins, and are now settling in tank—or have begun their transition into barrel.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll bring the remaining fermentations to completion and fill the last of our barrels. At that point, the wines will enter their élevage, the patient period of development between fermentation and bottling. With the 2025 vintage’s hallmark freshness, balance, and concentration, we are excited about the promise these young wines are already showing.

Perfectly ripe Estate Pinot Noir grapes waiting to go into our open top fermentation tanks

Quality Expectations

I’m truly thrilled with the quality of the 2025 wines. This year’s record-cool growing season created near-perfect conditions for balanced, expressive fruit, and the grape-growing community of Sonoma County rose to the challenge beautifully. Winemakers and growers worked hand in hand, making careful, timely decisions in the vineyard to ensure only the finest fruit reached the wineries.

The combination of an extended, steady ripening window and this spirit of collaboration has set the stage for an exceptional vintage. Each day as I taste the juice and monitor the young wines, my excitement grows—I can already envision the elegance, purity, and complexity these wines will show once they’ve completed their élevage and are ready for bottle.

Lessons Learned

The key takeaway for me this year is the importance of precision and quick decision-making. With the unusually cool and extended 2025 growing season, every choice in the vineyard and winery carried extra weight. Our ability to act decisively—whether in timing picks, managing fermentations, or guiding fruit through its transitions—helped us capture the vintage’s true potential.

I’m incredibly proud of my team’s performance throughout this harvest. Their focus, adaptability, and attention to detail ensured that each lot was handled at its peak. I’m confident that this precision, paired with the exceptional conditions of 2025, will result in wines of outstanding quality and character.

On behalf of the entire team here at River Road Family Vineyards and Winery, we wish you all continued good health!