2013 Washington State Vintage

Heat is the whole story of 2013. The Washington State Wine Commission records above-average temperatures throughout spring and summer, and it flags the nights as well, which ran notably warmer than average. How hot it was depends on whose weather station you read. For some growers it was the warmest season on record in growing degree days. For others it ranked just behind 2003, generally considered Washington's warmest vintage. What the Commission does say flatly is that for most of the growing season, 2013 ran ahead of 2003 in heat accumulation. Then it let go. Cooler temperatures prevailed at the finish of the season, and the September cool-down slowed ripening enough to stretch picking well past its usual end point. Most Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance survey respondents started picking in early to mid September, and harvest continued into early November. The season closed on a frost. Great Northwest Wine reported that a frost hit much of the Columbia Valley on the Wednesday morning before its October 31 report, likely ending the growing season, with temperatures below 30 degrees F around Red Mountain and as low as 24 degrees F in lower areas of the Yakima Valley. Volume was the headline. Washington harvested 210,000 tons, up from 188,000 in 2012, and the industry was on track for a record, with Ste. Michelle Wine Estates' Corliss telling Great Northwest Wine the state might crush as much as 220,000 tons. The growth came from new vineyards coming into production in the Horse Heaven Hills and on the Wahluke Slope, and from vineyards knocked back by the sudden freeze just before Thanksgiving 2010 finally reaching full production. Roughly half of the Walla Walla growers surveyed also reported above-average tonnage per acre.

• Above-average temperatures throughout spring and summer, with notably warmer than average nights
• Warmest season on record in GDD for some growers, just behind 2003 for others, and ahead of 2003 for most of the season
• Cooler temperatures at the finish; a September cool-down slowed ripening
• Most Walla Walla Valley growers surveyed started picking in early to mid September, with harvest running into early November
• A late October frost hit much of the Columbia Valley, below 30 degrees F around Red Mountain and as low as 24 degrees F in the lower Yakima Valley
• Washington harvested 210,000 tons, up from 188,000 tons in 2012
• Growth came from new Horse Heaven Hills and Wahluke Slope plantings and from vines recovering from the November 2010 freeze

Great Northwest Wine checked in with the state's largest producer as the season closed. By October 31, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates had 91 percent of its grapes in, within 1 percent of the estimates the company had made back in August, and spokesperson Corliss expected to wrap up within a few days. The variety mix shifted slightly against projection: Merlot and Syrah came in a little ahead, while Cabernet Sauvignon ran a little light. At the other end of the scale, Rob Griffin of Barnard Griffin in Richland brought in about 900 tons, up roughly 15 percent over 2012, and finished the year with 3.5 tons of Tannat as his last fruit through the door.

• Ste. Michelle Wine Estates had 91 percent of its grapes in by October 31, within 1 percent of its August estimates
• Merlot and Syrah came in slightly ahead of Ste. Michelle projections; Cabernet Sauvignon was a little light
• Barnard Griffin brought in about 900 tons, roughly 15 percent more than in 2012
• Barnard Griffin's last fruit of the year was 3.5 tons of Tannat

The chemistry followed the heat. Many growers and winemakers reported lower acidities in 2013, sometimes markedly so, and in some cases higher sugar levels. That was not a universal experience. Rob Griffin of Barnard Griffin told Great Northwest Wine he was pleased with the quality and that his wines did not seem to lack acidity, despite going into the year expecting, on the strength of the heat, that he would need to acidify in the cellar. Growers themselves rated the year highly. In the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance survey, nearly 90 percent of responding members called overall 2013 quality above average or exceptional, and almost one in three called it exceptional.

• Many growers and winemakers reported lower acidities, sometimes markedly so, and in some cases higher sugars
• Barnard Griffin found the wines did not lack acidity despite expecting to acidify in the cellar
• Nearly 90 percent of surveyed Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance members rated quality above average or exceptional
• Almost one in three of those respondents called the vintage exceptional