All indications are pointing to a very large crop of wine grapes this year in California, which is great news to us as retailers and of course to you (and me) as consumers. After difficult, small harvests in 2010 and 2011, things got better in 2012 and even better this past year. This will lead to larger production of wines throughout California, the leading producer of wine in the United States with over 90 percent of total wine production for the country; New York, Washington State and Oregon round out the top four. Though this was a terrific year for grape production in California, it wasn’t so good for some of the other famous wine regions around the world.

In the great region of Bordeaux, France, it was a very difficult year. There were cold temperatures in May, a number of hailstorms in the summer and too much rain that lead to some rot near the time of harvest. Some French government data judges production to be down nearly 25% for the vintage of 2013. Though not the best news for many of the châteaux, it should lead to lower prices for the consumer…depending, of course, on what the Chinese decide to buy! In the Burgundy region, hail might keep production down for the vintage, but there is good news from other European countries. The Italian areas of Piedmont and especially Tuscany will show wonderful wines from 2013. The Nebbiolo grapes in Barolo and Barbaresco benefitted from their late-ripening. In Tuscany, where the Sangiovese grape is king, conditions ended up just right for building the acidity levels in this wonderful grape.

The year 2013 will be one of those years when you have to be far more selective in what wines you buy. Good wines are to be found from all areas, you’ll just have to be a little more diligent in your choosing and listen to your wine consultant a little more carefully.

Ken Amendola, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinekena