Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/437957
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m J a n - F e b 2 015 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 5 5 fter two years of excel- lent harvests, California seemed due for a fall in 2014. Although the lack of rain con- tinued to be an issue for the state's growers, 2014 brought another high-quality, high-yield vintage. Washington state saw another exceptionally warm growing sea- son – the warmest year on record in many areas. The unrelenting heat, combined with a dry winter, resulted in low soil moisture, mak- ing water management one of the year's biggest challenges. Growers in Oregon had it easier, with a largely drama-free grow- ing season and harvest. 2014 was warm and dry, with record-setting temperatures in many areas. In both Oregon and Washington, har- vest was early and compressed – and will likely result in record-set- ting yields. E a s t e r n w i n e g r o w e r s h a d a much tougher time of it. For them, 2014 will be remembered as the winter of the polar vortex, when extreme cold pummeled vines in the Midwest and Northeast, claim- ing much of the vinifera crop in states such as Ohio and Michigan. CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA BY GLENN MCGOURTY The comments of many old-tim- ers about this vintage went some- thing like this: "I've never seen anything like this year!" For one thing, it was the driest winter on record in many districts, with only 2 inches of rain in December and January, instead of the normal 20. The weather was very pleas- ant in some respects – sunny and cloud-free, in the upper 60s and low 70s. By night, the skies were filled with twinkling stars and tem- peratures dropped into the 20s. However, a cold spell in December pushed temperatures down into the teens in some of the interior valleys. The dryness and cold com- bined to cause some shoot and bud damage, and many vineyards ini- tially showed poor growth in spring due to dead buds or shoots that pushed poorly and didn't set fruit. Fortunately, several well-timed storms in February and March helped growers in the northern part of the state get enough rainfall to fill the vineyards' soil profile and have sufficient surface runoff to fill ponds and reservoirs at least a little bit. R e g a r d l e s s , m a n y g r o w e r s employed strategies to deal with the drought, including renting wind machines (since many had insuf- ficient water to use sprinklers for frost protection), and discing up all vegetation in their vineyards. Some were prepared to prune hard to reduce bud numbers and shoots. The rainfall in the North Coast was sufficient to grow the canopies to normal size in most vineyards, drastic pruning wasn't needed, and apart from some vines stunted by winter injury, the overall appear- ance of the vines was pretty nor- mal. In the Central Coast, dry conditions affected vine shoot elon- gation, and some vineyards did not develop full canopies. Bud break was very early in many vineyards, and ripening was early all the way to harvest. Some vineyards experienced bud break two weeks ahead of schedule. Miraculously, frost was not much of a problem, even in some of the traditionally coldest areas, such as Mendocino and Lake counties, prone to freezing temperatures dur- ing spring. It was a warm spring and shoots expanded fairly rapidly. Bloom was also ahead of schedule by as much as three weeks in some locations. The bloom period was somewhat condensed. In some regions, what normally would be about three weeks between the bloom period of early and late vari- eties was only a week. Veraison and fruit ripening also were early. Weather was warm most of the summer, but not extremely hot. There were few "heat storms" where temperatures exceeded 100°F for more than several days. High overcast weather resulting from residual clouds from tropical storms in Mexico kept evenings warm, which also helped to acceler- ate ripening, as evenings did not cool down much below 60°F. Yet in some of the coastal districts, the fog was fairly predictable and the ripening timetable was somewhat normal. Harvest began in August in most districts, although some sparkling Despite the ongoing drought, Napa Valley vintners are expecting another high-quality vintage. Photo: Tony Albright/Napa Valley Vintners Harvest Report 2014