2010 Washington State Vintage

Bud break arrived on schedule in early April. Almost nothing after that ran to schedule. A cool, wet spring followed and delayed flowering, reducing fruit set across many varieties and setting up naturally low yields. The summer stayed unusually cool, and the Washington State Wine Commission reports it produced dramatic differences in ripening between warmer and cooler sites, with veraison extending well into September in some cooler areas. Wine Spectator wrote that vintners had to think back to 1999 for a Washington vintage as cool as 2010, and that the absence of heat through the growing season resulted in crisper acidity and brighter fruit flavors than is typical. Doug Gore, chief winemaker at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, which harvests more than half the vineyards in the state, told Wine Spectator they had a decent summer, warm and not too hot, and that they were worried things would not get ripe enough until the last week of September and first week of October brought 10 days of 80 to 85 degree temperatures. That warm run kept going. The Commission credits over a month of consistently warm weather from late September through late October with delivering phenolic ripeness and flavor development with extraordinary natural acidity, following the naturally low yields from the cool spring and summer. Harvest was not clean, though. Wine Spectator reported several rainstorms during harvest, which almost never happens in Washington, and Gore said they did have some rot and botrytis in the Chardonnay. Cool, wet weather returned in late October, which the Commission calls an appropriate bookend to a challenging harvest. On volume, the state brought in 160,000 tons, up from 156,000 tons in 2009, but yields in individual vineyards were down compared with 2009 and the statewide total rose on the back of new plantings coming into production.

• Bud break on schedule in early April, then a cool, wet spring delayed flowering
• Reduced fruit set across many varieties gave naturally low vineyard yields
• Unusually cool summer, with veraison running well into September at cooler sites
• Late September into early October brought 10 days of 80 to 85 degrees, starting a month of warm weather that ran to late October
• Several rainstorms during harvest, rare in Washington, with some rot and botrytis in Chardonnay
• Cool, wet weather returned in late October; 160,000 tons harvested with vineyard yields down and new plantings lifting the state total

The long warm stretch did something useful for growers willing to read the fruit rather than the numbers. Marty Clubb, owner and winemaker at L'Ecole No. 41, which sources from the Columbia Valley and Walla Walla, told Wine Spectator they saw early flavor and color development in the fruit in advance of lab numbers, and called that a good sign because it allowed them to pick at sugar levels slightly lower than normal. Hugh Shiels of DuBrul Vineyard in the Yakima Valley, which sells to Owen Roe and other top wineries, framed the year as a test of vineyard work, saying he had heard that vineyards which did not drop fruit were not getting the maturation, and that this year most of all would show the quality sites and management teams.

• L'Ecole No. 41 saw flavor and color develop ahead of lab numbers, allowing picks at slightly lower sugar
• Cool-season acidity meant the usual sugar-led pick calendar was a poor guide
• DuBrul Vineyard framed 2010 as a year that would expose the quality sites and management teams
• Vineyards that did not drop fruit were reported to be falling short on maturation

The Washington State Wine Commission expects 2010 to produce balanced, elegant wines with lower alcohol and higher acidity. Wine Spectator's read is similar in substance and warmer in tone, describing a cool vintage with more individuality and personality than usual, where growers were able to leave fruit on the vine longer and produce elegant wines, and expecting lower alcohol levels in the finished wines. Both readings come from the same place: a cool season that never forced ripeness, then a warm fall long enough to finish the job without burning off the acid the year had built.

• The Commission expects balanced, elegant wines with lower alcohol and higher acidity
• Wine Spectator described a cool vintage with more individuality and personality than usual
• Extended time on the vine let growers make elegant wines rather than ripe ones
• Finished alcohols were expected to run lower than typical