The 2010 Harvest is underway in Washington State. Over the coming weeks, I will provide regular updates on what is picked, where, and when.One of this week’s updates comes from Jonathan Sauer at Red Willow and Les Vignes de Marcoux vineyards in the Yakima Valley. Red Willow, one of the state’s finest vineyards, is the furthest western vineyard within the Yakima Valley. Sauer says that while the vineyard is not a particularly warm site, it is typically an early vineyard.
Sauer is just beginning harvest this Thursday, starting with Gewurztraminer. Of the 2010 vintage, Sauer says, “The early season varietals look phenomenal this year. Typically we would pick the fruit much riper than this, however this year it seems that the flavor development is ahead of Brix which is a complete contrast to last season.” Red Mountain vineyard manager Ryan Johnson agrees saying there are, “amazing flavors at low Brix across the board.”Sauer says that some grapes at Red Willow are behind, saying, “Many of our Cab and Sangio blocks are around 20.5 Brix right now and will use as much season as the year will give us.”
Winemaker James Mantone of Syncline Wine Cellars says that the winery has not yet begun harvesting grapes. Mantone, however, is not concerned. He says this "may be the best Syrah harvest I've seen in my eleven years in Washington."
Many growers have likened the 2010 vintage to 1999. Sauer, who has been collecting data from a weather station near Red Willow since 1998 says that 1999 was the coolest year followed by 2010, which is about 50 units warmer. In comparing 2010 with 1999 Johnson says, “Wineries that enjoy the results from 1999 should not be afraid to trust their palates.”The picture at the top shows Pinot Noir grapes at Evergreen Vineyard, courtesy of Kyra Wines. Grower Mike Wade of Fielding Hills sent along pictures from his Riverbend Vineyard in the Wahluke Slope. The first picture shows seeds from Merlot grapes, one manner of assessing ripeness. Another picture shows juice from Riverbend grapes along with technical information.
The information in the table below is aggregated from personal correspondence with growers and winemakers, as well as information posted on Twitter and Facebook. If you wish to send data for your grapes or vineyards (or correct any of the information below), please email me at wawinereport@gmail.com, leave a comment below, or leave a comment on the WWR Facebook page.
| Winery | Grape | Vineyard | Date | Notes |
| Yakima Valley | ||||
| Desert Wind | Gewurztraminer | Estate | 9/18 | |
| CAVU | Sauvignon Blanc | Lonesome Spring | 9/21 | |
| Hard Row to Hoe | Sauvignon Blanc | Lonesome Spring | 9/22 | |
| --NA-- | Gewurztraminer | Red Willow | 9/23 | First grapes to be harvested |
| --NA-- | Merlot | Red Willow | 9/24 | Currently 24 Brix |
| --NA-- | Syrah | Red Willow | TBD | Mid to late next week |
| --NA-- | Cabernet | Red Willow | TBD | 20.5 Brix |
| Red Mountain | ||||
| L’Ecole No. 41 | Sauvignon Blanc | Klipsun | 9/21 | |
| Cadence | Merlot | Cara Mia | 9/21 | |
| --NA-- | Merlot | Ciel du Cheval | 9/22 | Beginning to pick. 24.0 Brix to 25.0 Brix |
| DiStefano | Merlot | RMV | 9/22 | |
| CZ Cellars | Merlot | Shaw | 9/25 | |
| Walla Walla Valley | ||||
| Woodward Canyon | Sauvignon Blanc Dolcetto Chardonnay | Estate Estate Estate | 9/15 9/20 9/21 | Hoping to pick Merlot later this week |
| Three Rivers | Merlot | Seven Hills | 9/21 | |
| L’Ecole No. 41 | Merlot | Seven Hills | 9/21 | |
| Reininger | Merlot | Seven Hills | 9/21 | |
| Gramercy | Syrah | SJR | 9/21 | ¼ picked. Tempranillo close. Les Collines Syrah close. |
| Amavi Cellars | Merlot | Seven Hills | 9/22 | |
| Wahluke Slope | ||||
| L’Ecole No. 41 | Merlot | Stone Tree | 9/21 | |
| Fielding Hills | Merlot Cabernet Syrah Cabernet Franc | Riverbend Riverbend Riverbend Riverbend | TBD TBD TBD TBD | 23.3 Brix 9/20 22.2 Brix 9/20 19.6 Brix 9/20 19.4 Brix 9/20 Estimate will start picking Merlot next week |
| Columbia Valley | ||||
| Pacific Rim | Riesling | Wallula | TBD | Between 15-22 Brix |
| Pacific Rim | Gewurztraminer | Wallula | TBD | 21 Brix |
| Snipes Mountain | ||||
| Ch Ste. Michelle | Sauvignon Blanc | Upland | 9/22 | |
| Lake Chelan | ||||
| Hard Row to Hoe | Riesling Cabernet Franc | Estate Estate | TBD | 15.2 Brix 16.3 Brix |
Sean,
ReplyDeleteThe Wallula Gap vineyard is not Columbia Gorge.
You may want to check with Todd Newhouse of Upland Vineyards to see how Snipes Mountain is doing.
ReplyDeleteAlphonse de Klerk
Thanks Alphonse. Reached out to Todd yesterday but haven't heard anything back yet. Hope to include the information in next week's update.
ReplyDeleteKim, thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteHeard an interesting comment from a winemaker today.... "This will either be the best vintage or the worst vintage in recent memory" - (depending on the timing of the first frost).
ReplyDeleteUpdate for Snipes Mountain from Todd's surrogate. Picking Tempranillo this Friday the 24th, Syrahs are a week out. Cabernets (Sauvs and Francs) are generally very early here but this year are more in line with the other warm areas in the State and hovering in the 22 brix range. Garnacha (I'm sorry Grenache) is already at 23+ brix. Riesling is surprisingly on pace with past years. Great site any year, the best site this year.
ReplyDeleteJavier Alfonso
Pomum Cellars
Javier, thanks for the Snipes update. People are pretty excited about that site.
ReplyDeleteTested the Riesling from OS Fruit (Vineheart) yesterday which is where I, and many other home winemakers, source their fruit. 20.32 Brix, acids still high, will give it hang time. Last year at this time we were 2 weeks from first freeze on 10/10 but I picked my Riesling on 10/24 because this knob north of Prosser is a well drained site. If they hang that long again this year, it should make a good wine. If I don't screw it up.
ReplyDeleteChris, thanks for the update. Much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI don't quite agree with the anonymous quote restated by Terroirist. It's not either going to be the worst or best vintage. While I always stay away from early predictions; we are close enough to this one that nothing we can comfortably state that earlier varietals at warmer sites are positioned to make great wines. Fortunately, the weather gods have provided a nice somewhat above average temperature forecast for the predictable next 7 plus days. That certainly makes me feel better about later varietals at cooler sites. Lastly, I would suggest that while the unusual growing season looks to have positioned some sites to pick lower brix fruit with excellent flavors, we have seen sugars climb at some sites in the last week or so to those more common higher Brix numbers (25 plus) with acids that are still too high to pick (by flavor, not just numbers). I see some beautiful fruit out there close to being ready, but have yet to start harvest. I make no whites and my first pick is normally Seven Hills Syrah. Zach B., SYZYGY.
ReplyDeleteZach, thanks for the comment and I wish that my magical powers could fix the comment! Such an interesting year. With everything trending cooler even into September, suddenly we are faced with a week-plus of above average temperatures! Seemingly just what the doctor ordered. I will be posting another harvest update this Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteEric, thanks for the update. I will be including some of this information in my harvest update tomorrow. What vineyard sources are you using from Horse Heaven and Red Mountain?
ReplyDelete