2012 Washington State Vintage

The Washington State Wine Commission has no complaints on file for 2012. The growing season was warm, sunny and consistent with no rain, which let fruit ripen on schedule and spared winemakers the compressed harvest that had defined both 2010 and 2011. The early part of the season did its own useful work. Jay Dewitt of Dumas Station in the Walla Walla Valley told Northwest Wine Report that conditions from bud break onward were ideal for the development of phenols, with cool temperatures before bloom restricting early canopy development and berry size, then consistent sunshine and warm temperatures once bloom was past. At his sites, stored soil moisture was exhausted before veraison, which allowed moderate drought stress ahead of the start of irrigation. By the September 14 report, Dewitt's vineyards were 95 percent through veraison. What kept the warmth from running away with the vintage was the night. Warm days cooled off significantly after dark, and Walla Walla temperatures dipped into the 30s Fahrenheit in early September. The Commission points to that dramatic diurnal shift as the reason grapes held their natural acidity. The season was not entirely quiet. Wildfires broke out across the state during the warm, dry summer, and one near White Salmon in the Columbia Gorge came close to a leased vineyard farmed by Steven Thompson. The fire started off Highway 141 at about 2pm and spread fast enough that by 5pm the property was being evacuated, horses, tractors and trucks, with flames coming within roughly 200 yards of the house and vineyard. The wind direction held, and there was no fire or smoke damage to the fruit. Harvest ran on schedule, and Washington finished at 188,000 tons, its biggest harvest to that date and almost 20 percent above the previous record set in 2010.

• Cool temperatures before bloom restricted early canopy development and berry size, then consistent sunshine and warmth followed bloom
• Dumas Station vineyards were 95 percent through veraison by September 14
• The growing season was warm, sunny and consistent with no rain, so fruit ripened on schedule
• Walla Walla nights dipped into the 30s Fahrenheit in early September, a diurnal swing that preserved natural acidity
• A wildfire near White Salmon in the Columbia Gorge came within about 200 yards of a leased vineyard, with no fire or smoke damage thanks to wind direction
• Harvest timing returned to normal after the compressed 2010 and 2011 vintages
• Washington harvested 188,000 tons, almost 20 percent above the previous record set in 2010

The Commission's stylistic read on 2012 rests on that day-to-night contrast. The diurnal temperature swing in early September allowed grapes to retain natural acidity, which it expected would balance the plush, ripe flavors coming out of a warm, sunny season. Contemporary trade reaction was more about relief than analysis. Wine Spectator's vintage report recorded winemakers describing 2012 as one of the easiest recent seasons in the Pacific Northwest after the cold of 2011, though it noted that final quality in bottle was too early to assess at the time of writing.

• Natural acidity retained through cool nights was expected to balance the vintage's plush, ripe flavors
• Wine Spectator reported winemakers calling 2012 one of the easiest recent Pacific Northwest seasons
• Wine Spectator described final in-bottle quality as too early to assess at the time of its report
• The season followed the cold 2011 vintage, which sharpened the contrast for growers