Vintages

2004 Washington State Vintage

A January freeze cost the Walla Walla Valley most of its crop, then a hot season and a cool fall gave small berries and concentrated fruit statewide.

The 2004 vintage is defined by the freeze that preceded it. Wine Spectator reported that temperatures dipped into the minus teens Fahrenheit in Washington's vineyards the night of January 4 and the morning of January 5, the first freeze damage since the February 1996 event that wiped out about half the state's crop. Dormant buds were killed but, unlike 1996, no vines were. The Walla Walla Valley took the worst of it. The growing season that followed was hot and the fall was cool, creating a longer harvest that began unusually early in August and ended with final berries picked in early November. Winemakers across the state reported small berry size with concentrated, quality fruit, and the statewide crop of 100,500 tons was held up by an increase in bearing vineyard acres coming into production.

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Growing season

Winter set the terms for 2004. Wine Spectator reported that temperatures dipped into the minus teens Fahrenheit in Washington's vineyards the night of January 4 and the morning of January 5, causing freeze damage to grapevines for the first time since the February 1996 event that wiped out about half the state's crop. Portions of some vineyards dropped to minus 15 degrees overnight. Great Northwest Wine's retrospective of Washington winter events records January temperatures falling from 18 degrees to minus 17 in just two hours. The freeze followed a week of already cold weather and caught the vines dormant under a blanket of snow, which helps insulate them, and it lasted a single night against five days in February 1996. Dormant buds that would have grown out into grape bunches were killed, but, unlike 1996, no vines were. The Walla Walla Valley took the worst of it. The Seattle Times reported that established vineyards such as Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills were severely impacted, and that many newer Walla Walla vineyards, planted after 1996 and never through a hard winter, were especially vulnerable. Damage elsewhere in the Columbia Valley was minimal. Growers could compensate for bud loss by adjusting pruning to allow more bunches on the remaining shoots, and Kevin Corliss, chief of viticulture for Stimson Lane, said in mid-January that the vines could almost completely compensate for the damage to that point. The growing season that followed was hot, then the fall turned cool, creating a longer harvest. Picking began in some areas unusually early in August, and the final berries came in during early November. On yields, the early estimates and the hindsight do not line up. Wine Spectator reported contemporaneous predictions of a 10 to 15 percent statewide reduction and up to 30 percent in Walla Walla, while Great Northwest Wine's later retrospective puts the Walla Walla loss at about 80 percent of that vintage. Statewide, the Wine Commission recorded 100,500 tons, with the winter damage offset by an increase in bearing vineyard acres coming into production. No source consulted compares that total to a trailing five-year average, and none records bloom.

Temperatures dipped into the minus teens Fahrenheit the night of January 4 and morning of January 5, with portions of some vineyards at minus 15
Great Northwest Wine records January temperatures dropping from 18 degrees to minus 17 in just two hours
The freeze lasted one night against five days in February 1996, killed dormant buds, and left the vines themselves alive
Walla Walla was hardest hit, including established sites such as Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills; damage elsewhere in the Columbia Valley was minimal
A hot growing season and a cool fall created a longer harvest, from an unusually early August start to final berries in early November
Early predictions were a 10 to 15 percent statewide loss and up to 30 percent in Walla Walla; a later retrospective puts the Walla Walla loss at about 80 percent
The statewide crop was 100,500 tons, offset by increased bearing vineyard acres coming into production

Key Facts

Wine Spectator reported temperatures dipping into the minus teens Fahrenheit in Washington's vineyards the night of January 4 and the morning of January 5, 2004, with portions of some vineyards dropping to minus 15 degrees overnight
Great Northwest Wine's retrospective of Washington winter events records January temperatures dropping from 18 degrees to minus 17 in just two hours
It was the first freeze damage since the February 1996 event that wiped out about half the state's crop; the 2004 freeze lasted one night against five days in 1996, and killed dormant buds but no vines
The Seattle Times reported that the Walla Walla Valley was hardest hit, with established vineyards such as Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills severely impacted
Wine Spectator reported January 2004 predictions of a 10 to 15 percent statewide yield reduction, up to 30 percent in Walla Walla; Great Northwest Wine's later retrospective puts the Walla Walla loss at about 80 percent of that vintage
A hot growing season followed by a cool fall created a longer harvest, which began unusually early in August and ended with final berries picked in early November
Winemakers across the state reported small berry size with concentrated, quality fruit, on a statewide crop of 100,500 tons offset by increased bearing vineyard acres

Working around the freeze

The industry's response is part of the story of this vintage. The Seattle Times reported that Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, the state's biggest wine company, offered grapes from many of its best vineyards to boutique wineries, saving them from financial hardship. A few Walla Walla winemaker-growers, notably Christophe Baron of Cayuse and Devin Derby of Spring Valley Vineyards, had been burying shoots in the fall as a form of freeze insurance, and in 2004 that practice let them bring in crops reasonably close to normal. Spring Valley's 2004 estate wines were described in that 2007 retrospective as among the best wines they had ever made, and the Cayuse 2004s tasted for the piece as exceptional and consistent with past vintages. Wineries forced to scramble for unfamiliar fruit still made good wine: Amavi Cellars eked out small lots of Les Collines and Seven Hills Syrah, and its 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah from Columbia Valley vineyards were called solidly made, balanced and structured.

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates supplied grapes from many of its best vineyards to boutique wineries hurt by the freeze
Burying shoots in the fall, practiced at Cayuse and Spring Valley Vineyards, let those growers bring in near-normal crops
Spring Valley's 2004 estate wines were called among the best they had ever made in a 2007 Seattle Times retrospective
Wineries sourcing from unfamiliar vineyards, including Amavi Cellars, still produced solidly made, balanced wines

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The wines

Winemakers across the state reported small berry size with concentrated, quality fruit, and the Washington State Wine Commission summarizes 2004 as producing Washington wines with full, rich flavors. Decanter's vintage guide describes the 2004 Merlot as dark coloured wines with velvety texture and ripe fruit. The cool fall is why the vintage does not read as a simple heat record. It stretched hang time far enough that the last berries were not picked until early November.

Small berry size across the state gave concentrated, quality fruit
The Wine Commission describes the year as producing wines with full, rich flavors
Decanter describes the 2004 Merlot as dark coloured, with velvety texture and ripe fruit
The cool fall extended hang time to a final pick in early November

Food Pairings

Dry-aged ribeye or bone-in strip steak with roasted garlic and rosemary pan sauceBraised beef short ribs with roasted root vegetables and red wine reductionHerb-crusted rack of lamb with Provencal vegetablesSlow-roasted duck leg with cherry reduction and lentilsHard aged cheeses such as Aged Gouda or sharp Cheddar with charcuterie

Exam Study NotesWSET / CMS

A freeze on the night of January 4 and morning of January 5, 2004 dropped Washington vineyard temperatures into the minus teens Fahrenheit, the first freeze damage since February 1996; it killed dormant buds but not vines, and lasted one night against five days in 1996.
The Walla Walla Valley was hardest hit, including established vineyards such as Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills, while damage elsewhere in the Columbia Valley was minimal.
Loss estimates diverge by source and date: Wine Spectator reported January 2004 predictions of 10 to 15 percent statewide and up to 30 percent in Walla Walla, while Great Northwest Wine's later retrospective puts the Walla Walla loss at about 80 percent.
The growing season was hot and the fall cool, creating a longer harvest that began unusually early in August and finished with final berries picked in early November.
Winemakers reported small berry size with concentrated, quality fruit; the statewide crop was 100,500 tons, offset by an increase in bearing vineyard acres coming into production.

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