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that were flying around the valley," Horner said. In Southern Oregon, bloom arrived several weeks ahead of average but with a good set. "This was a season to closely watch irrigation practices, as our average high and low temperatures were above normal all season," said Randy Gold of Pacific Crest Vineyard Services. In the Umpqua Valley, Earl Jones at Abacela said the typhoon remnant was vexing there, too. "The biggest challenge was when to pick," he said. "Before the September rains, Brix (levels) were high but flavor was lagging in the hottest blocks. Between and after the rains, it was the same issue in reverse, with sugars in varieties not picked earlier slowly recovered to pre-rain levels." Despite the challenges that the September storm produced, most remained optimistic about the resulting wines. "None of my compadres were crying their eyes out, but had heads down and attacked this vintage with professionalism," Soles said. "The best winemakers in the Willamette Valley will find wines with heaps of color in pinot noir, and fullflavored in all varieties. The fruit was ripe behind all the wet." CALIFORNIA EAST BY DAVID FALCHEK The wine-producing states known broadly as the "Other 47" rarely see anything like an average year. But in the end, 2013 came close enough for most. The vintage in many places began with frost damage, shifted into heavy rains and disease pressure, then cool weather that halted grape development. Some wondered if grapes would ever ripen. A dry, warm fall caused the vintage to "turn on a dime," said Mark Chien, viticulture educator at Penn State University in Pennsylvania. According to Tim Martinson, senior extension associate at Cornell University in New York, the season was right down the middle, a vintage in which most measures were average and growers narrowly avoided serious problems. Observers in several states said growers showed an improved ability to read the vineyards and address threats from disease, weather and pests. Not all states were as fortunate. Farther west, Colorado vineyards were decimated, some vines killed to the ground by a winter deep freeze. Texas growers variably faced a series of spring frosts or battering hail. NEW YORK 50,000 square feet of Stainless Steel Letina tanks, sanitary valves In the Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley regions, total heat units were average for the year. Rain during bloom raised concerns about phomopsis. More rain in June and July fueled concerns about latent Botrytis. However, Martinson said growers seemed to dodge the bullet every time. Yields were large, and many wineries scrambled to buy tanks. Concord fruit set was so great the many producers used mechanical harvesters to drop the abundant fruit. "If there is such a thing as an average year, this is it – from weather to fruit chemistry," Martinson said. "No one had to rush harvest, everything got ripe, and everything hit its acidity targets." Long Island enjoyed a warm fall and extended drought that kept grapes fairly disease-free while pushing them to ripeness, prompting some speculation of a benchmark year. PENNSYLVANIA St. Patrick's of Texas • StPats.com 54 V I N E YA R D & WINE RY MANAGEM ENT | Jan - Feb 2014 Winter was mild and spring cool in Pennsylvania. Delayed bud break and scattered damage from a May frost upended ripening schedw w w. v wm m e d i a . c o m