2013 Willamette Valley / Oregon Vintage

The Oregon Wine Board's 2013 harvest report describes a vintage that began warmer than usual, with early bud break across most of the state's wine-growing regions leading into a long, warm summer. Youngberg Hill in McMinnville recorded the same pattern from the vineyard, an early spring and warm-side timing that held through the season, and noted that the summer warmth moved sugars and acids ahead of the other ripening factors, a dynamic some growers worried could push the wines out of balance. The warmth of that long, dry summer drew comparisons to 2003 and 2006. Harvest started early. The Oregon Wine Board reports that picking began in September, with some producers going in the first week and most well underway by mid-month, the earliest start statewide in a number of years. Then, in late September, the weather turned abruptly cool and wet with one of the largest September rains on record for the region. The event was the remnant of a typhoon that had struck Japan a few days earlier, making landfall over the Pacific Northwest on the weekend of September 28 and 29 and delivering roughly 5 inches of rain. The Willamette Valley Wineries Association calls it a 30-year rain event. Some fruit that was already ripe, white varieties especially, had been picked before the rain. Much of the red crop rode it out on the vine. After the rain came an extended warm and dry period that lasted through the whole of October, and it allowed most producers to resume and complete harvest. It was not clean going for everyone: rot and mildew became problems at some sites, and mud-slickened slopes made equipment access difficult at some Willamette Valley vineyards. Youngberg Hill credited October's sunshine, drying breezes and moderate temperatures as pivotal in salvaging quality. The rain split many vineyards into two discrete picking rounds, an early pick already in barrel before the storm and a second, later pick after the October dry spell, which is why the association's review of the year is titled A Tale of Two Harvests. Croploads in the Willamette Valley were moderate to high overall, except in blocks and varieties lost to the rain. Statewide, the 2013 harvest was described as possibly larger than the 2012 record of more than 50,000 tons by low double-digit percentages, with more conservative growers predicting 10 to 15 percent above 2012.

• Warm start with early bud break across most Oregon growing regions, leading into a long, warm summer
• Summer warmth pushed sugars and acids ahead of other ripening factors and drew comparisons to 2003 and 2006
• Harvest began in September, some in the first week and most by mid-month, the earliest statewide start in a number of years
• Typhoon remnants made landfall the weekend of September 28 and 29 with roughly 5 inches of rain, a 30-year rain event per the Willamette Valley Wineries Association
• A prolonged warm, dry October let most producers finish, though rot, mildew and muddy slopes caused problems at some sites
• Croploads were moderate to high except where blocks were lost, with the statewide crop projected 10 to 15 percent or more above the 2012 record of 50,000-plus tons

The rain sorted the vintage into before and after. The Willamette Valley Wineries Association reports that grapes picked ripe before the rain and grapes picked later after the dry October both showed very good quality, and that many in the industry saw the added coolness and longer hang time for the late-picked fruit as a net benefit, preserving acidity and flavor while keeping alcohol down. Fruit caught in the rain was vulnerable to botrytis. On the whole, though, color, texture, balance and acidity held up well across the Willamette Valley.

• Fruit picked ripe before the rain and fruit picked after the October dry spell both showed very good quality
• Many in the industry read the extra coolness and hang time for late fruit as a benefit, preserving acidity and holding alcohol down
• Grapes caught in the rain were vulnerable to botrytis
• Color, texture, balance and acidity were good for the vintage overall in the Willamette Valley

Wine Spectator's Oregon Pinot Noir vintage chart scores 2013 at 90, with the summary that rain turned a very ripe year into a light, uneven vintage, and a drink window status of past peak. That is a harder read than the view from the valley floor, and the gap between the two is a fair reflection of how much the outcome depended on when a given producer picked.

• Wine Spectator Oregon Pinot Noir vintage chart: 90 points for 2013
• Chart description: rain turned a very ripe year into a light, uneven vintage
• Chart drink window status: past peak