California's record-breaking drought may be wreaking havoc on local wildlife and forcing residents to steal water.
But for state vineyard owners, the lack of water has produced the best wine grapes in years.
"This year's vintage could be one for the ages," Michael Coats, who co-owns Valerie's Vineyard in Sonoma County, told The Wall Street Journal.
Winemakers across the Golden State's Napa and Sonoma counties say the three-year drought has produced weather conditions that have made the grapes tastier and better in quality. The secret is the lack of water, which causes the vines to grow smaller grapes, leading to a higher concentration of sugar, according to Michael Honig, president of Honig Vineyard & Winery in Napa County.
"If there's a silver lining to the drought in terms of wine grapes, it's that they are really drought tolerant," Honig told the WSJ.
Honig added that because the drought's sun makes the berries ripen faster, vineyards are able to avoid the fall's harsh storms by harvesting earlier.
Wine lovers have already tasted the difference in the ones from Napa and Sonoma counties, which are known to produce the best wines in the nation. Cabernet Sauvignons tested in Northern California received a score rating of 96 in Wine Advocate Inc.'s consumer guide for 2012 and 2013, industry experts told the newspaper.
In 2011, the same wine received a score of 78. It rained a lot that year, which experts say is not good for wine grapes because it can lead to mildew and mold growth and a grassy-like taste.
"We've always had pretty good vintages during drought years," Gladys Horiuchi, spokeswoman for the trade group Wine Institute, told the WSJ.
But the lack of rain for vintners can one day turn into too much of a good thing. If the drought persists, the salt can accumulate in the soil and damage the grapevines.
"Too much rain will be as bad as too little rain," Coats said.
