2009 Washington State Vintage

The season opened cool and windy. The Washington State Wine Commission reports cool spring temperatures and high wind conditions, which led to late bud break and poor fruit set, and Sean P. Sullivan of Northwest Wine Report noted bud break arriving a bit later than normal compared with the previous years of the decade. The late start initially raised concern about whether there would be enough hang time. What followed erased it. A very hot, dry summer set in, the hottest July on record for many sites, and Sullivan reported that the long, dry, extremely hot summer let the grapes catch up to and in many cases accelerate ahead of their historical ripening dates. Night-time temperatures ran slightly higher than normal. The two source reads of September differ in emphasis. The Commission describes an even, warm, dry September that helped balance sugars and acids and allowed phenolic ripeness and flavor development to occur, while Wine Spectator reported that temperatures eased in early September and remained cooler than normal except for a brief heat spike in mid-harvest, which let flavors catch up with sugar development. Because of the hot summer, harvest needed to begin by early October for most grapes, earlier than had generally been practiced in the prior 15 years. Then the season ended abruptly. An early frost hit the vines on October 11 and damaged 15 percent of the harvest. Wine Spectator reported that temperatures in the prime growing regions dipped into the low 20s Fahrenheit that day and the vines lost all their leaves, ending flavor development for fruit still hanging. Bob Betz of Betz Family Cellars called it a tale of two vintages, maybe two harvests, saying it was historic for them and one of the earliest harvests on record, with all their grapes picked by October 7, ahead of the frost. On volume, the state harvested 156,000 tons, up from 145,000 tons in 2008.

• Cool, windy spring gave late bud break and poor fruit set
• Very hot, dry summer with the hottest July on record at many sites; night temperatures slightly above normal
• September reads differ: the Commission describes it as even, warm and dry, Wine Spectator as cooler than normal with a brief mid-harvest heat spike
• Harvest had to start by early October for most grapes, earlier than the prior 15 years of practice
• An October 11 frost damaged 15 percent of the harvest, with temperatures in the low 20s Fahrenheit stripping the leaves
• 156,000 tons harvested, up from 145,000 tons in 2008

The hot summer did more than pull picking forward. It collapsed the usual sequence. Sullivan reported that despite the late start, Merlot came in earlier than usual at many wineries, and that different varieties came in on top of each other with harvest windows compressed in some cases from six weeks down to three. That squeeze landed on both sides of the cellar door. Growers needed more pickers and worked nearly around the clock, while winemakers had to sort and ferment many lots simultaneously with limited equipment and space, a particular problem at wineries that borrow facilities. The Commission notes the result in the fruit itself: colors in black grape varieties were deep, and tannins developed quickly.

• Merlot arrived earlier than usual at many wineries despite the late bud break
• Varieties overlapped, with some harvest windows cut from six weeks to three
• Growers needed more pickers and worked nearly around the clock; winemakers ran many lots at once
• Black grape varieties showed deep color, and tannins developed quickly

The Washington State Wine Commission's read is that 2009 was a compressed harvest with little uniformity but good to very good overall quality for the big red wine grapes, meaning Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, with alcohol levels slightly higher than normal. White wines generally had higher sugars and lower acids as a result of the hot summer. Wine Spectator reported that vintners said the vintage favored Cabernet Sauvignon, which achieved the most concentration without losing balancing acidity, and that Syrah and the early-ripening white varieties also did well, with other red varieties faring less well. Betz was encouraged by what he saw in barrel, saying the grapes had thick skins, lower berry weight and great concentration, that he saw less heat effect than in other warm vintages, and that he was surprised at the brightness of the fruit already.

• Good to very good for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, with little uniformity across the state
• Alcohol levels slightly higher than normal in the reds
• Whites generally showed higher sugars and lower acids from the summer heat
• Cabernet Sauvignon was the favored variety, reaching concentration without losing balancing acidity