Just two days before writing this column I saw my first glimpse of véraison for 2014. Berries on Pinot Noir vines along Henry Road in the Carneros district of Northern California were in that ephemeral moment when most berries remained green, a few had just turned gris, and one or two per bunch had progressed all the way to noir. For me, the first appearance of véraison always seems to come as a surprise.

This year it’s not my imagination, however. As Kate Lavin reports in Top Stories, the growing season in California vineyards got an early start, and the pace has continued ahead of average. Several observers, however, told her that they don’t think harvest will be as relatively early as bud break was.