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Dundee Hills Winegrowers 2009 Harvest Report Monday, November 16: 2009 Vintage Recap Grape picking in the Dundee Hills has long drawn to a close and focus has shifted from vineyards to wineries with most of the Pinot Noir now resting in barrels. Fortunately the icy winter and cool spring had no effect on the dormant vines and little damage other than reports of new plants snapping under the weight of the snow. Bud break occurred appropriately around Earth Day, and flowering in late June raised optimism that this would be a flawless vintage. There was concern when a record number of summer heat spikes brought some dehydration and minor sunburn. The deluge over Labor Day weekend opened the grapes to the potential for rot and mildew, but once again advances in vineyard management and farming deflected disaster. The quick rise in sugar levels took many by surprise and harvest began in earnest around September 11, a full 2 weeks before the late, slow harvest of 2008. Predicted waves of heavy rainfall didn’t materialize and several winemakers successfully ran the weather gauntlet, waiting to pick until the middle of October. Jason Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards predicts that the 2009 wines will be neither light nor heavy, but “very forward with alcohols not above 14%.” Knowing that his vines were holding up through the colder spells, Jason waited until mid-October to pick. “Our grapes showed a range of ripeness at picking time which will lead to wines with great dimension. In short, they’ll provide a lot of pleasure!” Among the last to pick was White Rose which, at 900ft elevation is among the highest and coolest vineyard sites in the Dundee Hills. GM Gavin Joll was prepared to wait a further 2 weeks, but unprecedented bird pressure pushed the envelope. Also among the last was Stoller Vineyards where winemaker Melissa Burr waited until October 24 to pick their final acre of Riesling. Describing the harvest as “Big and intense, heavy clusters with lots of intense fruit,” Melissa also spoke for many in the Dundee Hills as she predicts the 2009 vintage will be known for “crowd pleasing wines.” For a quick overview of the 2009 vintage, vineyard managers and winemakers in the Dundee Hills draw on decades of history and experience to compare growing seasons and their outcome. While it’s too soon to know for certain whether the quality of the 2009 vintage will equal the blockbuster wines of 2008, they’ve weighed in with their early predictions on the 2009 wines and to say that they’re happy with the outcome so far is an understatement. Keep an eye out for the 2009 Dundee Hills wines. Chances are that they’ll closely rival the extraordinary 2008’s in terms of quality, flavors and sheer enjoyment.
Wednesday, October 14: Four weeks from kick-off and the majority of vines in the Dundee Hills have been picked. But certainly not all! Columbus Day Weekend shows many winemakers anticipating a repeat of the exceptional 2008 Fall season, when grapes were picked after a short rain and the clouds cleared for a spectacular long, cool, dry harvest. Rains are predicted this week, but of a lesser velocity than previously forecast and temperatures will remain cool, enticing several winemakers to hold out for a further 10-21 days. Among those planning to resume picking after the rains are The Eyrie Vineyards, White Rose and Vista Hills. Vista Hills GM David Petterson explains: “Our 12-year-old vines at 800ft elevation are still holding good looking grapes and we have 40% of our crop hanging. We’ve had a mixed bag in terms of chemistry with some high brix as a result of dehydration. The rain will reign in the sugars and bring great balance to the flavors we’ll get from this extended hang time. We’re still 2 weeks ahead of last year’s harvest and prepared to wait another 3 weeks if needed.” At Erath, Senior Winemaker, Gary Horner, confirmed Dave’s comments: “When you consider that last year we had just started picking and finished up on October 24, this year is remarkable. At Erath we started young vine fruit on the 26th of September and finished with old vine fruit on October 12. A very interesting phenomenon that I’ve never seen in my 21 years is the unusual effect of extreme heat in late July. The lower elevation warmer sites shut down more so than the higher elevation sites. As a result, the high elevation sites actually started veraison before the lower site. We were concerned that would result in a compressed Pinot harvest and it did for the acreage we farm in the Dundee Hills. Though cluster weights were significantly up versus average, we were able to control yields and maintain vine balance. I am extremely pleased with quality across the board, reds and whites. Alcohol will be higher than average due to shriveling at certain sites. The challenge was waiting for the un-shriveled berries to ripen while the level of shriveling increased. 24-25 brix was not uncommon, but the flavors are nice and ripe.” From Domaine Drouhin Oregon comes a unique perspective on the burgundy grape harvest on two continents from Véronique Drouhin-Boss: “2009! My brother Philippe says he would sign up for this kind of harvest in Burgundy every year. Believe me, there are smiles all over Burgundy. We began on September 7, a little earlier than usual, but the fruit looked beautiful then and throughout harvest. We are very excited to see how the wines develop. Here in Oregon, planning the pick dates was a little harder, as the weather forecasts changed dramatically in September and early October. But, we make our decisions on a daily basis, including the choice to stop picking for a while to allow certain blocks to develop more fully. I would say that sorting has been important this year in some blocks, but overall, the fruit is excellent.” Celebrating a happy milestone, Winter’s Hill wrapped up their harvest today with the last 13 tons (late harvest Pinot Gris) brought into their new winery in the home vineyard. Speaking for the family, Emily Gladhardt says they are very pleased with the beautiful fruit and “tickled pink” with the new facility which has performed perfectly.
Tuesday, September 29: Throughout August and September and into October and sometimes November, winemakers and vineyard managers meet regularly to evaluate grape sugar levels (brix), flavor profiles and chemistry. Their goal is to determine precisely when to pick each vineyard block in order to capture the very best juice for the perfect wine. With eyes on the sky and ears tuned to the weather forecast, it’s critical decision time. Leaving grapes on the vine for as long as possible is important for “hang time” flavor development, but waiting too long raises the risk of higher sugars potentially leading to raised alcohols and unbalanced wine. Berries can split inviting unwelcome mold, and hungry birds have been known to demolish acres of juicy grapes on their migratory paths. Harvest started on September 14 in the Dundee Hills, around 2 weeks ahead of average and surprising many by its quick arrival. Among the first to pick was DePonte Cellars with a few bins of their famed estate old vine Melon. Soon after, Stoller Vineyards brought in young vine Chardonnay: “Clean, beautiful fruit,” according to winemaker Melissa Burr. Sokol Blosser, traditionally among the first wineries in the Dundee Hills to pick because of their older vines and “banana belt” micro climate, promptly completed their harvest in 10 straight days, reporting healthy fruit at under 24 brix, picking at a steady pace and meticulously hand-sorting through grapes for bird damage and other minor flaws. Archery Summit started picking on the 17th determined by block ripeness. The grapes, according to Director of Vineyard Operations Leigh Bartholomew, are looking “really nice” and there’s no hurry to finish, bringing in one block of handsome grapes at a time in collaboration with winemaker Anna Matzinger. Many wineries jumped into the fray around the same time including Lange Estate where Jesse Lange reported no problems with the weather fluctuations other than sorting though some minor sunburn. He was “super-stoked” by the first fruit from the family’s new 8.5 acre Mia Vineyard. “It’s exciting to finally get juice from vines we planted over 4 years ago,” he said. “We’ve already pressed our first Pinot into barrel and it’s a Anthony Van Nice of The Four Graces described picking at Black Family Estate vineyard at the northern entrance to Dundee as “unusually fast and furious.” Reporting perfect balance, physiological ripeness and great pH, he predicted wonderfully concentrated, full-bodied wines. September 22nd saw the completion of Argyle’s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir harvest at Knudsen Vineyard, destined for the sparkling wine program. Picked at lower brix of around 19–20.5, the fruit is “right on target” according to Vineyard Manager Allen Holstein. This year’s Knudsen crop showed less of a difference between higher (900ft) and lower elevations in flavor profiles, but larger clusters on the lower vines, an observation echoed by Herb Simms of Parrallel 45 Degrees Vineyard on 99W. Herb reported thinning twice to keep cluster sizes in check and the grapes are responding with concentrated flavors which bode well for outstanding Pinots. Holstein was one of several vineyard managers pointing to the heavy rains over Labor Day weekend. Rain plumped the grapes close to double their normal weight but just as it looked as though the crop would be heavy, easterly winds caused evaporation and berry size shrunk back to near normal. This occurred at least once more over the final growing weeks, but splitting and mold which generally follow stretching grape skins has so far been minimal. Winderlea’s harvest started on September 24 with 2 blocks of Pinot Noir including Wadensvil planted in 1974 which will create Winderlea’s first Rosé. Owner Donna Morris agrees that the grapes “look good” and, like many others in the Dundee Hills, is planning to wait out the rains this week to complete picking. “We’re waiting for more flavor to develop in our other Pinot Noirs but very happy with what we’re seeing already.” At Torii Mor, winemaker Jacques Tandy is bringing in grapes at a slow, steady pace. In no hurry to pick, he’s also waiting for rains to pass. “The sugars are way ahead of the flavors, a lot like in 2006, but flavors are slowly catching on and, in the past couple of days, the 113 Pinot noir from Bella Vida vineyard, and all of the Pinot noir from La Colina vineyard has arrived on the crush pad and looks and tastes great.” Olson Estate Pinot Gris is particularly “yummy!”
Domaine Serene with some of the highest vineyards in the Dundee Hills has yet to harvest fruit from their home vineyard, but winemaker Eleni Papadakis is very happy with the fruit from Guadalupe and Two Barns vineyards. Close by, and situated at 900ft elevation, is White Rose where grapes will start to arrive later this week from Durant Vineyard – a full 2 weeks after harvest officially began in the Dundee Hills. GM Gavin Joll is excited to get started though a picking date for the estate vineyard is still a moving target. “Starting and finishing late in the game is sometimes nerve racking,” he said, “But these old vines have history on their side and the vineyard never lets us down.” Overall, producers are now waiting out the anticipated rain to complete the harvest. Cooler weather – a winemaker’s dream at this stage -- is prevailing and flavors improving by the day. |
good feeling.”
Vineyards facing north and at higher elevations are generally the last to harvest because of cooler growing conditions. Anderson Family Vineyard on the northernmost and generally coolest slope of the Dundee Hills saw a small amount of Pinot Gris harvested this week, and will slowly pick their Pinot Noir. Birdslatein the growing reason are a significant threat and the vines are encased innettings on both sides.