2006 Willamette Valley / Oregon Vintage

Favorable weather at bloom gave 2006 a good berry set. Eric Lemelson of Lemelson Vineyards told Wine Spectator: "We had good weather at bloom, which is something we haven't had the past few years." The season stayed warm and dry with little precipitation, with warm temperatures through summer and fall and only brief heat spikes in June and September. By heat unit accumulation, 2003 was the only vintage in recent times warmer than 2006. The Willamette Valley Wineries Association records modest disease pressure, while the Oregon Wine Board's harvest report, dated November 6, 2006, records none. Just before harvest, a hot, dry eastern wind caused dehydration at many sites, boosting both acid and sugar levels. Some growers panicked at the high sugar readings and picked before the grapes developed full physiological maturity. Cooler and slightly wet conditions arrived across much of the state in late September, just as sugar levels were soaring.

• Favorable weather at bloom and a good berry set
• Warm and dry season with little precipitation; only 2003 was warmer in recent times by heat unit accumulation
• Only brief heat spikes, in June and September
• A hot, dry eastern wind just before harvest dehydrated fruit at many sites and boosted acid and sugar
• Some growers picked on high sugar readings before full physiological maturity
• Cooler, slightly wet conditions across much of the state in late September as sugars soared

Overall yields were well up on the previous two harvests, when smaller fruit sets and other weather pressures had produced lower than average yields. Matt Novak of Results Partners in McMinnville put it in numbers: "historical yields in the Willamette Valley have been between 2 and 2 ½ tons per acre. This year we are looking at about 3 tons per acre on average." Statewide, the harvest came in 15 to 20 percent above normal, and Wine Spectator called 2006 a boon year for growers and winemakers in Oregon after several years of small crops. With the marketplace in noticeable shortage, Ted Farthing, Executive Director of the Oregon Wine Board, said "the rare combination of greater yields and ideal flavor development will allow our industry to restock those empty shelves."

• Yields well up on the previous two harvests, both short crops from smaller fruit sets and weather pressure
• About three tons per acre on average against a historical Willamette Valley range of two to two and a half
• Statewide harvest 15 to 20 percent above normal

Oregon's 2006 vintage brought that rare combination of a plentiful crop, a warm and dry growing season with little precipitation, and modest disease pressure. The Willamette Valley Wineries Association's own vintage review calls the wines rich and hedonistic, with higher than average alcohols common. Harry Peterson-Nedry, owner of Chehalem, found sugars and the resulting alcohols "a tad high, requiring good balancing in winemaking," but judged the natural balance and flavors better than in 2003, the only vintage warmer than 2006. He described 2006 as "a combination of 1998's ripeness and 1999's depth and three-dimensionality," adding: "Close to perfect." Dai Crisp, vineyard manager for Temperance Hill Vineyard in the Eola Hills AVA and winemaker for Lumos Wines, predicted a stellar year for Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. Wine Spectator graded the Oregon 2006 vintage B+.

• A plentiful crop with a warm, dry season, little precipitation and modest disease pressure