Wine Geekery

[Tap]

Did a wine pull at a local fundraiser and got the best bottle in the bunch…’15 Justin Isosceles Reserve. Gonna cellar it for a few more years.

[KQ]

Grape growers in the Walla Walla Valley report wildly varying yields, wildly delicious wines


vineyard workers during pre-dawn harvest season at Seven Hills Vineyard in Milton-Freewater 2018

With wine grape harvest season largely in the rearview mirror, vineyard managers in the Walla Walla Valley are reporting lower yields than normal as a result of poor weather conditions, but they are predicting higher quality wines from the grapes they did harvest.

Every vineyard manager the Union-Bulletin spoke with experienced shorter, earlier harvest seasons, and all are expecting that higher skin-to-juice ratios are going to create better, more flavorful wines.

Growers across the state have broadly shared this experience, said Steve Warnar, president of the Washington State Wine Commission.

“Everyone seems to be super stoked about the quality of this harvest,” Warnar said.

But the impact to yields from earlier frost damage and this summer’s heat dome, which cooked the area with sustained temperatures around 120 degrees in June, varied significantly from vineyard to vineyard.

Wildly varying yields
At Grosgrain Vineyards, north of the state line off Old Milton Highway, frost damage from a cooling event in the spring reduced the amount of clusters on the vine, while the heat dome reduced the size of those clusters, said owner and winemaker Matt Austin in an interview.

Some varieties on their four actively producing acres fared much better than others, such as the cabernet sauvignon and grenache, while their older Italian nebbiolo vines, planted by a previous owner, saw dramatically lower yields, Austin said.

Leased blocks at other vineyards also saw wildly different impacts from the weather, he added: Fruit yields from Les Collines Vineyard, the largest contiguous grower in the Valley, were down about 50%. Conversely, the Spanish albariño grapes Grosgrain purchased from Phillips vineyard had the largest yields ever, Austin said.

Earlier, compressed season
The high heat of the summer shifted the harvest season forward by weeks or as much as a month, depending on the vineyard. At Foundry Vineyards, harvest began a month earlier and was compressed into a month, said winemaker Jay Anderson.

“We basically had all of our fruit in by the end of September, and in some years harvest can stretch to early November,” Anderson wrote in an email. “It was just a little more hectic in the winery.”

Many vineyards across the Valley and state experienced a similarly early and condensed harvest season, according to industry groups.

“High summer temperatures led to an earlier harvest at some sites, while a shift in the weather in mid-September allowed normal hang time at other sites, allowing fruit to ripen while retaining natural acidity during the cooler night temperatures,” wrote a representative from Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance in an email.

That condensed time frame created a logistical challenge for many, Warnar said.

“For the most part, that was our largest challenge this year,” Warnar said.

Adjusting to a changing climate
The impacts growers are seeing this year can’t be shrugged off as a fluke, said Los Rocosos Vineyards owner Roger Lemstrom.

“We are facing climate change,” Lemstrom said. “I don’t care what your politics are, whether you believe in climate change; these things believe in you. So how do we, as farmers, react and adjust to this?”

Growers need to consider what varieties they grow going forward, as high heat events become more likely and more intense, he said. The grapes that thrive in low water environments and harder climates are going to become more reliable in the future, he said.

“We grow 47 different varieties of grape in this valley, and the ones that are going to survive are the ones that fall into that Mediterranean heat range,” Lemstrom said. “All of these fiddly, beautiful, sauvignon blancs and rieslings, all of these cute little white wines, they’re all in Canada now.”

In the Rocks district near Milton-Freewater, Los Rocosos saw one of the lowest drops in yield of an area vineyard, only pulling around 2% less fruit than expected, Lemstrom said.

In part, he credits laziness and luck with saving his crop.

Vineyards perform mid-season canopy management, trimming leaves and tidying vines for efficient and easy harvest later in the season. Los Rocosos does that work a couple of weeks later than most other vineyards, Lemstrom said.

In June, when a heatwave smothered the region for days, sunburning fruit across the Valley, Lemstrom said the only damage he saw was on the western end of his rows, where the sun was the most intense.

“I’m not some viticultural genius, but I think for the sheer fact that, because I’m either lazy or I just don’t do things the way other people do, I lucked out on that heat dome,” he said.

In the future, growers would do well not to rely on that luck, but instead intentionally plan for heat mitigation, Lemstrom said.

What that looks like may depend on the grower — shade nets might work for a small vineyard like his, but would be prohibitively expensive for many larger growers. Like other industries vulnerable to climate change, wine growers may need to consider that similar heat waves will come more frequently, he said.

But at least for this year, Lemstrom echoed the sentiments of his fellow growers: Whatever the challenges in growing or harvesting, he believes this year’s vintage is shaping up to be a particularly good one.

[neufox47]

Picked up a few 375 bottles of Chateau Guiraud Sauternes 1er Cru 2003 on Last Bottle today. Been a long time since I had Sauternes. Sounds like this vintage has a few years left but nearing end.

Also picked up some of this 03 and 07 California port. It was a desert wine day.

https://www.denegoce.com/products/lo...jHlAw95.H4cM6C

Definitely blew my wine budget today.

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[Buster Highmen]

Same off Last Bottle^.

(except about 03 Guiraud nearing it's end...)

[neufox47]

Same off Last Bottle^.

(except about 03 Guiraud nearing it's end...)

I was just going off the drinking window on cellartracker of 2024. What do you think it is?

[Buster Highmen]

The really old wines I've had that were gone were like teawater (or gone with spoilage like cardboard or brettanomyces barnyard/beefbroth ).
The 03 sauternes I've had, including Guiraud, are nowhere near that, there's lots of punch left. I'd give that one another 20 years.
Read ct for older vinatges of Guiraud, there's a ton of old ones.

ct can be ok when one gets to read a lot of opinions, but I think that particular drinking window for 03 is wrong.
Parker used to claim stuff like that about pinots and while pinots are more fragile and prone to spoilage or tea, I disagree with that as a general truth.

There's currently some consensus on ct that the 96 Geantet-Pansiot Jeune Rois is gone. I completely disagree about that too.

[Cruiser]

I'm in the "drink that bastard" camp. 03 was warm so the complaint was that the wines lacked sufficient acidity to age for the long haul. But again it's all about how you like em. And sauternes is pretty durable stuff, as wines go, so the drinking window during which they'll provide maximum pleasure is larger than it is with a lot of the dry stuff.

[Buster Highmen]

Ok, ok so the toffee, caramel thing isn't everyones schtick. I like it well enough.
I'm guilty of swill half, stash half.

That's why I still have a few older bottles.

[neufox47]

Yea, I know it depends on your tastes too. Some people love wine that others would consider past its prime.

Personally I enjoy wine that is old but not as much as wine that is at what most would consider it’s “peak”.

My in-laws dumped a bunch of stuff that I would have loved to have had. A ton of 80s and 90s cabs and big reds. Even after I showed them prices for that stuff they insisted it was gone and I drinkable. All had been cellared in the grandparents cellar too.


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[neufox47]

Picked up half a case of shiners from Last Bottle, 2015 Pinot from the Santa Maria Valley, $16 a bottle shipped. Often shiners have been recorked to protect the identity but not these. Turns out it is Grevino’s Estate Pinot. Wish I’d bought a case or two.


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Just realized I bought a bunch of non shiner Grevino 2014 Pinot from Garagiste. Now I have a mini vertical.

[chaka]

are we all Garagiste faithful in this thread? my outback was packed to the gills from my last pickup a couple weeks ago.

[Buster Highmen]

I get a few from garagiste.
Am having a weird time with WineBid where a 2014 was substituted for a 2013 with no notice. On follow up, two explanations had different drifts.

[neufox47]

are we all Garagiste faithful in this thread? my outback was packed to the gills from my last pickup a couple weeks ago.

Garagiste, Last Bottle, De Négoce and occasionally WTSO are my main purchases then some memberships local and Sonoma. De Négoce consistently has the best QP$ to my palette.

I’ll add that I’ve been blown away by some of the Cabernet, Zin, barbera, Syrah and petite Syrah the foothills of the Sierra have been producing lately . Psyched for the Sangiovese garagiste just offered from the Sierras.

[alpinevibes]

I’ll add that I’ve been blown away by some of the Cabernet, Zin, barbera, Syrah and petite Syrah the foothills of the Sierra have been producing lately . Psyched for the Sangiovese garagiste just offered from the Sierras.

I went for a couple bottles of the Sangiovese yesterday. Sounded legit and I was intrigued.

We just play with garagiste. Works for our meager budget and is manageable for us, with three Pugetopolis relatives baited into ordering and willing to do our pickup and occasional CO delivery

[schindlerpiste]

Recommend me a nice bottle of wine to go with my ham on Thanksgiving day.

.....I'm thinking of either a nice white Bordeaux like Chateau Carbonnieux or a not SO bold red like Chateuneuf de Pape.

[Charlie Don't Surf]

If it were me it'd be a fatty high acid white. Probably riesling or chinin blanc maybe marsanne or vermentino. I guess it depends if your ham is sweet, salty, or spicy. I'm imaging a glazed roast of some sort.

If you are set in red, CdP or a different grenache could work. Could also look at any number of cool climate reds- lorie cab franc, cru Beaujolais, blaufrankish if you can find it. Most California pinot could work too as well as GSM blends and zins with enough acid (not the 15% abv) .

I think for ham acid and fruit are your friends. Tannins aren't really helping out like they are with red meat.

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[Cruiser]

Hunt down good quality white cotes du rhone for a fun ham white. Beaucastel blanc is always good. Or church it up a bit more and get some condrieu from guigal or similar.

[neufox47]

Recommend me a nice bottle of wine to go with my ham on Thanksgiving day.

.....I'm thinking of either a nice white Bordeaux like Chateau Carbonnieux or a not SO bold red like Chateuneuf de Pape.

Chateuneuf de Pape or a Grenache is the direction I’d go. Since you asked for a bottle https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/20...est-grenaches/

[oftpiste]

found a handful of these in the basement today. Think they were some of the first Burgs I procured. I started late. And maybe overpaid at the time.

[rod9301]

found a handful of these in the basement today. Think they were some of the first Burgs I procured. I started late. And maybe overpaid at the time.

Looks great.

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[Buster Highmen]

$42?
I don't think that was unusual for lieu dit when available in 2001 or so.

I'm always available for evaluation of course.

[retirwntm]

Recommend me a nice bottle of wine to go with my ham on Thanksgiving day.

.....I'm thinking of either a nice white Bordeaux like Chateau Carbonnieux or a not SO bold red like Chateuneuf de Pape.

If you prefer white, I like the chenin blanc (specifically a vouvray) recommendation.


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[schindlerpiste]

Agree in that these are the 4 on my short list. Not really any to write home about, but all tasty.

[doebedoe]

I would be holding the 2016 for a future event. Great vintage with legs to go a long time. Personally I'd pop the Vouvray and the 2011 Guigal.

[neufox47]

More Sauternes from Last Bottle today…


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