2008 Napa Valley Vintage

The rain in 2008 arrived all at once and then quit. The Napa Valley Vintners chart records 16.63 inches in January, 3.2 in February, then 0.14 in March and 0.33 in April, with nothing logged from May through September. Chris Howell of Cain Vineyard and Winery called it the driest spring in maybe 30 years. J Kevin Corley of Monticello Vineyards said the season began with below average rainfall, and Susan Boswell of Chateau Boswell put the shortfall at a 30 percent reduction in annual rainfall, which she said reduced berry size from the start. Bud break came early, with the chart's markers in March and early April, among the earliest of the years it charted across this run. Then the valley froze, repeatedly, and the frost is the defining event of the vintage. Bloom weather was erratic too. Howell described some cooling and rain at bloom. Melka and Emerson at Vineyard 29 recorded variable fruit set in May. Jon Ruel of Trefethen Family Vineyards said weather during the bloom period was erratic and that some dry windy days seemed to reduce set in some blocks, particularly Merlot. Although set in most other blocks was fine, smaller berries and slightly fewer clusters per vine meant the vines were carrying a crop around 10 percent lighter than average. Summer itself ran relatively cool by Howell's account, with delayed, irregular veraison that required careful crop thinning. Then the heat arrived at the worst possible moment. Mario Monticelli of Trinchero Family Estates said the main obstacle to overcome that year was berry shrivel, the result of a couple of extreme heat waves, the worst being late August and early September, and noted that shriveling strangely occurred on the morning side of the vines because temperatures were uncharacteristically high in the early morning. The chart shows a sharp isolated spike above 100 degrees in mid to late August. Howell called it a big hot spell in early September. Jerome Chery of Saintsbury described the season finishing warm with heat waves in September, and Jac Cole of Spring Mountain Vineyard said the September heat spikes caused them to lose additional fruit. What the season did not bring was disease. Howell reported no particular disease pressure, not much powdery mildew, no botrytis and no significant bug problems beyond the grape vine mealybug.

• Rain front-loaded into January at 16.63 inches, then 0.14 in March and 0.33 in April, the driest spring in maybe 30 years per Chris Howell of Cain
• Susan Boswell of Chateau Boswell reported a 30 percent reduction in annual rainfall that cut berry size from the start
• Bloom weather was erratic, with dry windy days reducing set in some blocks, particularly Merlot, per Jon Ruel of Trefethen
• Summer ran relatively cool with delayed, irregular veraison requiring careful crop thinning
• Extreme heat in late August and early September caused berry shrivel, unusually on the morning side of the vines
• Disease pressure was minimal: little powdery mildew, no botrytis and no significant pest problems

Napa growers in 2008 spent the spring fighting the same battle over and over. Chris Howell of Cain called it a huge frost season for Napa Valley, counting 22 to 24 days of wind machines and overhead sprinklers, the most in more than twenty and possibly thirty years. Philippe Melka and Keith Emerson at Vineyard 29 said the year started with ten consecutive days of frosty conditions in March and April. Michael Weis of Groth Vineyards and Winery went further, saying a stingy rainy season was followed by the worst frosts they had seen in over thirty years, and that many growers in areas not usually affected by spring frost were burned, literally. Aaron Pott, then consulting for Blackbird Vineyards, described the chilling frosts of April with frozen hands and tired eyes turning on wind machines and sprinklers, followed by the heat, rain and wind of flowering, a taste of everything. Susan Boswell listed high winds and freezes among the forces that further reduced crop size. The damage was not universal. J Kevin Corley of Monticello Vineyards said the year would be remembered as having a significantly greater number of frost nights than normal while reporting virtually no impact at Monticello itself. Jac Cole of Spring Mountain Vineyard, on the other hand, listed damaging spring frost alongside a second year of low rainfall and September heat spikes, expecting tonnage down by as much as 40 percent for Bordeaux varieties and 40 to 50 percent for Syrah.

• Cain ran wind machines and overhead sprinklers on 22 to 24 days, the most in more than twenty and possibly thirty years
• Vineyard 29 recorded ten consecutive days of frosty conditions in March and April
• Michael Weis of Groth called them the worst frosts in over thirty years, with growers burned in areas not usually affected
• Monticello Vineyards recorded significantly more frost nights than normal but virtually no impact on its own fruit
• Spring Mountain Vineyard expected tonnage down as much as 40 percent for Bordeaux varieties and 40 to 50 percent for Syrah

Picking in 2008 started early, stalled, and then ran deep into October. Rick Aldine of Domaine Chandon said grapes destined for sparkling wines were harvested from August 8 through September 8, a very compressed sparkling harvest of just four weeks. Tom Rinaldi, then directing winemaking at Provenance Vineyards, said they had been going strong since the second week of August. Kristin Belair of Honig Vineyard and Winery started August 12, two days later than the very early 2007 vintage, and needed three weeks to bring in the first third of her Sauvignon Blanc and then ten days during the early-September heat spell to bring in the other two thirds, with Cabernet still hanging as late as October 10. Trinchero reported harvest running 10 to 12 days earlier than average. Aaron Pott described it as two separate harvests in one year, bridging a hot September and a renewed run into early October. Jon Ruel at Trefethen had the same variety going both directions: his first Chardonnay came in September 4, about a week earlier than usual, while his last block of Chardonnay was picked in the middle of October, about two weeks later than usual. Melka and Emerson called it one of their longest harvests, with Cabernet starting September 5 in Conn Valley and ending October 24 on Howell Mountain. On the chart, Cabernet Sauvignon carries by far the longest harvest band of the four tracked varieties, stretching from September into late October.

• Sparkling fruit came in August 8 through September 8, a compressed four-week window at Domaine Chandon
• Honig started August 12, two days later than 2007, and still had Cabernet hanging on October 10
• Trinchero reported harvest 10 to 12 days earlier than average
• Trefethen picked its first Chardonnay a week early on September 4 and its last block two weeks late in mid October
• Vineyard 29's Cabernet ran from September 5 in Conn Valley to October 24 on Howell Mountain

Every force in 2008 pushed the same direction. Philippe Melka and Keith Emerson said the crop was probably the lowest yielding in 20 years. J Kevin Corley of Monticello Vineyards gave the only explicit five-year comparison in the Napa Valley Vintners quotes, putting average yields across his vineyards approximately 20 percent below his five-year average. Trinchero reported volume 20 to 35 percent lower than 2007. Fredrik Johansson of Staglin Family Vineyards was down about 15 percent from prior years, mostly from smaller berries on loose clusters. Michael Westrick of Sterling Vineyards described a substantially lower than normal yield in most vineyards, attributing it to two consecutive years of drought and a wild spring with heat in August on top. Statewide, the Wine Institute projected the California wine grape harvest at 3 to 3.2 million tons for 2008 against 3.24 million tons in 2007, and attributed the lighter crop to a dry winter and spring followed by spring frosts in some vineyards. Chris Millard of Newton made the standard read on it: because it was such a dry growing season, yields were down, and low yields typically mean high quality.

• Vineyard 29 called the crop probably the lowest yielding in 20 years
• Monticello Vineyards came in approximately 20 percent below its five-year average
• Trinchero reported volume 20 to 35 percent lower than 2007 and Staglin about 15 percent down from prior years
• The Wine Institute projected a statewide California crop of 3 to 3.2 million tons against 3.24 million in 2007
• Sterling Vineyards attributed its substantially lower yield to two consecutive years of drought plus a wild spring