SONOMA -- Wine industry veteran Steve Dutton hasn't seen anything like it in 20 years. An early season rain has resurrected the botrytis fungus, spreading rot through the vines of unpicked chardonnay grapes in Sonoma County.

"It's rotting fast," Dutton told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. "It is going from good to bad to worse. In 20 years, I've never seen grapes do this."

Farmers always do a dance of fate with Mother Nature. This year, Dutton and his fellow grape growers had a choice since rains in the spring delayed the start of the crop.

Should you delay the harvest a few weeks to maximum the quality of the grapes and the wine they make or should you go with the normal harvest schedule?

Nick Frey, president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission, told the paper those who gambled on a later harvest may have lost their bet.

"Small growers that haven't harvested yet are the ones that are going to get hurt," Frey said.

The commission is estimating that the damage to the crop could add up to $4.6 million of the annual $117 million harvested in Sonoma County.

Frey says 3-5 percent of the total chardonnay crop in the county will be lost to botrytis.