Bleak year for Washington wines

[Jenise]

I went to a local event last night featuring a number of Washington wineries pouring their stuff. Andrew Will's wines (2008's) showed head and shoulders above the rest, though there were hardly any other A listers there. Anyway, this years harvest is the saddest in recent memory. It was so cool that harvest didn't happen until about a month late, and frost arrived about six days later. They're looking at about 11% alcohol before adding sugar which most admit they'll do. It won't sell if they don't.

Chef Carey made a similar comment regarding OR in Chat the other night. He said "The good wine makers will still make some very good wine, while the others will probably stumble".

Sonoma County is looking at a light harvest, too. Chard and PN in particular were hit by the rains in September. Between that and the cool weather, they're figuring on crops about 20% below "normal", whatever "normal" may be.

John

According to Washington winemaker Gail Puryear his 2011 wines are going to be great. In his newletter today Dan Berger expects great things from Left Coast 2010's and 2011's because it was cool. He says tho that those who like overblown, raiseny, plumy, acid free, and flabby wines, won't like 'em.

Light harvest around here as well. From what we heard on a trip up to El Dorado County last weekend, we're running low on yields and six weeks later than usual. Two out of the three places we visited said they'd still be harvesting at the end of this coming week.

Down here, those I've talked to have said they expect what they get to be really good - but the yield is low enough that they fear they won't be able to get even close to the profits they'd hoped for.
John

[Jenise]

According to Washington winemaker Gail Puryear his 2011 wines are going to be great. In his newletter today Dan Berger expects great things from Left Coast 2010's and 2011's because it was cool. He says tho that those who like overblown, raiseny, plumy, acid free, and flabby wines, won't like 'em.

Yep, won't see any Tobin Jameses up here. But this is true: some will make wines that people like me will love. Others will make wines that their mailing lists won't like. But the problem's more complex than that: as others are saying, it's about yields. Yesterday I visited with friends who were crushing gamay and chardonnay. Their grapes came from Oregon's Rogue Valley: they only got half the chardonnay they'd planned on. The grower had to drop a huge amount of fruit due to mold. Another winery close by who generally make three or four each reds and whites couldn't get any fruit at all from their Washington (Yakima) suppliers. They won't make any wine this year. I don't know who Gail Puryear is, but I think he's just trying to put a brave face on it.