Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/764739
4 0 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | J a n - F e b 2 017 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m Beyond in the early warm tem- peratures, by far the biggest story for Washington in 2016 was the large crop. "This was probably the most poorly estimated crop in years," says Kent Waliser, director of vineyard operations at Sagemoor Vineyards in Columbia Valley. "Crop estimation misfired for growers and winemakers alike," agreed Bob Betz, founder of Betz Family Winery in Woodinville. "We all underestimated the quantity of fruit that was still on the vines after successive thinning passes. Many sites picked out notably heavier than average or expected." "In some cases, we saw crop estimates off by 20% to 30%," says Hillary Sjolund, winemaker at Wine Boss in Richland. "There were the same number of clusters per shoot, but the clusters were significantly heavier this year." "They were the largest clus- ters I've seen in many years," Clubb agrees. "We definitely saw increased berry size and increased number of berries," says Will Beightol, vineyard manager at Double Canyon Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills. "Historically, we're l o o k i n g a t a n a v e r a g e c l u s t e r around one-quarter of a pound. This year, we were pushing up on three- tenths of a pound." The size of the crop took many by surprise. "Not enough people saw this coming quickly enough to adjust and, when they did, it was too late to figure it out, so everyone just had to deal with it as best they could," Waliser says. He attributes the missed estima- tions to a number of factors. "Last year, there were plenty of heat units to set fruitful buds," he says. "Then there were no fall or win- ter freezes to knock that back. We had an early spring with good, solid growing weather. Everything was able to maximize." Others say that cooler sum- mer temperatures also played a role. "We just didn't get those 105 degree days later in the season, so we didn't have the plants shutting down and the stunting of berry size that we might normally have seen," says Beightol. Human factors also played a role in the large crop. "When people did the numbers, they thought, 'Well these numbers can't be right. They can't be that high,'" Waliser says. Grapes are harvested at Double Canyon Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills. Kent Waliser, director of vineyard operations at Sagemoor Vineyards in Columbia Valley, notes a very large 2016 crop in his region.