Winemaker Pauline Lhote: ‘Climate Change Keeps Us On Our Toes,’ With ‘Whiplash’ Growing Season and Early 2026 Napa Sparkling Harvest
NAPA VALLEY, CA, UNITED STATES, July 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — CHANDON California made winery history this week, with Winemaker Pauline Lhote calling the earliest first pick in the winery’s 53-year history, kicking off the 2026 sparkling harvest in Napa Valley. This season’s start broke CHANDON’s most recent record of August 3, set in 2021, with only two other Napa vintages (2014 and 2015) beginning in July. “This harvest season is historic for Napa sparkling and most certainly a first for me. It is quite literally the earliest start in my 21 harvests at CHANDON,” said Pauline, who gathered her team in the cool, early-morning hours to bring in 30 tons of Chardonnay from CHANDON’s Yountville estate.
The record-breaking start capped a whiplash growing season that began with an extremely warm March and unusually wet spring for Napa Valley. According to Pauline, “It was really bud break and March heat that set the stage for this historically early harvest, followed by a milder, cooler April and rainy spring that lingered into June.” That later rain brought added weed and disease pressure, along with some shatter in the vineyards, requiring CHANDON’s all-female winemaking team to stay especially vigilant and reactive with decisions throughout the season. “While Napa saw significant wind and rain during Cabernet Sauvignon flowering, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were largely spared, resulting in a better fruit set for CHANDON’s core sparkling varieties,” said Pauline.
The historic 2026 harvest also arrives as CHANDON is freshly recertified across every one of its regenerative farming programs – Regenified, Napa Green, California Sustainable, Fish Friendly Farming and Bee Friendly Farming. “Overall, we have exceptional soil health and healthy vines, and it’s great to see that our sustainability efforts pay off regardless of weather.” The vineyard’s flock of sheep, meanwhile, continued to do its part. “Sheep continue to be a loveable part of our growing season – for eight years now, they’ve been part of our winery head count,” Pauline said. “All joking aside, we did welcome eight baby lambs this winter from our own sheep in our Carneros ranch.”
In terms of fruit quality and crop size for 2026, “We are seeing good quality but lower yields for sparkling than initially anticipated – down approximately 15-20%,” according to Pauline. “Smaller cluster weights explain the gap in yield, with millerandage, sometimes called ‘hen and chicken,’ visible on a number of clusters.”
For Pauline, the historically early start to 2026 is one more sign of how much winemaking across California continues to shift. “Climate change keeps us on our toes,” she said. “The new reality of winemaking is that we will always need to adapt. This won’t be our last surprising harvest!”
To learn more about CHANDON, visit https://www.chandon.com or follow CHANDON on Instagram @ChandonUSA.
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