“We were mostly all in,” says Louis Skinner, winemaker at Woodinville’s Betz Family Winery, which had thinned its crop considerably earlier in the summer. “It just never got warm again.”Ī well-forecast frost the second week of October punctuated the growing season a full two weeks before it typically finishes, with late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon still on the vine in some places. “The second week of September, just shut off,” says Gorski. A warm, but not overly hot, summer followed. It started with a curveball storm that dumped snow in the vineyard right when pruning would normally start. If 2018 was largely worry free, 2019 was not. “You take 2012, which is soft and nectarous, and 2010, which is structured and stoic, you put those together, you’ve got ’18.” Photo by Tom Arena Contrast in Sophisticated 2019 Many liken 2018 to the well-regarded 2012 vintage, but Devison takes it a step further. They are some of the best wines the state has produced in the last 20 years. In addition to great color, the ’18s have depth of flavor, layering, structure and, most of all, superb balance. “There were smaller berries and just saturated colors. “Even just from the press, you could tell,” says Chris Peterson, partner and winemaker at Avennia in Woodinville. They would say, ‘Why aren’t you at the winery?’ ”Īlmost immediately, winemakers knew they had something special. “I would go home, and my kids would be surprised to see me. “It was one of the easiest years,” says Marie-Eve Gilla, winemaker at Valdemar Estates in Walla Walla. The largely stress-free year, for most, was welcome. “You had these picking windows that allowed you to really hone your style through your pick decision,” says Devison.Īn Armchair Traveler's Guide to Washington State Wine Country Whereas in recent hot years, rapidly rising sugars and dropping acids sometimes forced winemakers to pick-or they frantically dropped fruit in cool years to help ripen what was left-the warm-but-not-hot harvest of 2018 provided more latitude. “Nearly nine weeks of perfect, perfect ripening weather.” “It was one of the best harvest seasons that we’ve seen in a long, long time,” he said in 2018, after the season ended. Mike Sauer, who has been growing fruit at Red Willow Vineyard in Yakima Valley for nearly 50 years, agrees. “September is the most important month in Washington, and ’18 was near perfect in my opinion,” says Devison. What followed was a pretty ideal harvest season. In 2018, summer temperatures were warm, with occasional smoke from distant wildfires. This Washington Wine Region is Becoming a ‘World Class Tourism Destination’ 2018: A Near Perfect Vintage “This is my 11th year, and I have to admit, it feels like it’s getting harder,” says Jason Gorski, the producer’s Woodinville-based director of winemaking and viticulture. In 2017, meanwhile, growers had wildfire smoke and another cool finish to contend with. When 2016 galloped out of the gates, it tracked ahead of 2015 before finishing cool. The next three vintages could be categorized as hot, hotter and hottest, with 2015 the warmest vintage on record. While 2011 was the coolest vintage on record, 2012 tracked perfectly to 20-year historical averages. The last decade indicates just how different each year has been in Washington. Photo by Tom Arena A Decade of Challenges Quality has remained high throughout, but contrasts in style can be sharp, as shown in two recent years, 20. Recent years, however, have shown more readily apparent differences across vintages, as growers and vintners grapple with a rapidly changing climate. Though the answer has always been yes, the qualitative range from year to year is surely narrower than many other viticultural regions. Combined with cool nights that retain acidity, these factors have led to quality so consistently high some have questioned whether Washington truly has vintage variation. The desert-dry conditions also mean irrigation is required, giving growers control over the timing and amount of water vines receive. Part of the state’s recipe for success is ever-warm summers in the Columbia Valley, where grapes always ripen. One of the hallmarks of Washington wine is consistency.
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