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HARVEST REPORT vest, and the extent of the losses became apparent. "One vineyard that typically sup- plies us with 175 to 200 tons had just six tons this year," said Greg Powers of Powers Winery in Ken- newick. "Another one went from supplying more than 100 tons to 32. In general, we're down about 20% on our vineyard crop." James Mantone of Syncline Wine Cellars in Lyle said, "I normally don't sleep with a comforter at night. But this past summer, I think there were only two nights that I slept without one." As a consequence of persis- tently low temperatures, every viticultural milestone passed later than is typical in Washington. Bud late summer. Additionally, precipi- tation shifted from being above the long-term average as late as May, to measurably below typical levels in August and September. "Those two months saved us," said Dustin Tobin of Milbrandt Vineyards in Mattawa. Boushey in the Yakima Valley concurred. "September was very nice," he said. "We saw the low 80s almost the entire time." By the end of the season, the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates estimates its crop will be down by 20% for 2011. Powers could be speaking for the industry as a whole. Kevin Corl- iss, the director of vineyard opera- tions for the state-leading Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, confirmed the overall impact during the 2011 harvest. "We had a lot of vineyards injured by that winter event. So it looks like production is going to be down around 20%," he said. Cold was a factor throughout 2011, as heat accumulation during the growing season tracked lower across all of the state's key regions. The Wahluke Slope achieved just 2,680 growing degree-days (GDD) by the end of October, versus its long-term average of 3,057. Con- ditions were similar in the Horse Heaven Hills, with 2,662 cumulative GDD versus an average of 3,034. Yakima Valley's season finished more than 360 GDD lower than its 2,675 average. Even the state's traditional hot spot, Red Mountain, fell more than 470 GDD short of its 3,189 norm. Jean-François Pellet of Pepper Bridge Winery in the Walla Walla Valley said that for the first time in his 13 years in the Washington state wine industry, he didn't see a single 100-degree day in 2011. 48 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT JAN - FEB 2012 break was 10-14 days late. Bloom arrived in late June or early July for many, which is 10 days to three weeks late. Then veraison was delayed two to three weeks across the state. Finally, harvest started on a tiny scale in mid-September, but not in earnest until the end of the month or early October. For most, that was fully three weeks late; and it then ran past Halloween to as late as Veterans Day. In addition to the cool condi- tions, the industry had a real battle to fight in the vineyards rows. "In all my life, I have never seen such mildew pressure. It was really intense," said Pellet. Dick Boushey of Boushey Vineyards in Grandview agreed. "It was unbelievable," he said. "We had more infection peri- ods than ever before. I sprayed almost three times more often than I normally do." Leif Olsen at Olsen Vineyards near Prosser confirmed, "It was one of the worst mildew years the industry has seen. So we put on extra sprays and we spent a lot of time hand-leafing to get the canopies opened up." Thankfully, the close of the sea- son was kinder than the start. Tem- peratures pushed up across the general picture seemed to be one of lower-than-typical sugar levels (1 or 2 degrees Brix below average) but excellent flavor development from the extended hang time. "It may be a gorgeous vintage for any Rhône varieties," said Tobin at Mil- brandt Vineyards. "I expect a lot of those savory, gamey or meaty char- acters in syrah." Mantone at Syn- cline Wine Cellars agreed. "Syrah should be strong across the state. Alcohols are moderate and colors are really dark. I'm excited by what I see." OREGON By Gary Werner Similar to Washington, Oregon's growing season was cooler than the long-term average. But it was not uniformly the case. "Dire con- ditions across a very cool spring and early summer pointed to a chal- lenge in ripening anything," said climate scientist Greg Jones of Southern Oregon University in Ash- land. However, that "completely flipped on the conditions we expe- rienced in September and October. September ended up the second- warmest on record for the state." In the end, GDD figures totaled 2,075 for the Willamette Valley, 2,526 in the Umpqua Valley and 2,953 in the Rogue Valley. Those numbers equate to 6% below typi- cal for the Willamette, and 9%-10% below for Southern Oregon. Key vineyard events therefore occurred later than established norms from start to finish in 2011. Bud break was in late April to early May. "Bloom wasn't until the 3rd of July," said Ted Casteel at Bethel WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM