2016 Napa Valley Vintage

2016 got moving early and stayed steady. NVV reported an early bud break followed by warm weather and spring rains, a combination that brought a rapid start to the growing season and which NVV described as near perfect. The Wine Institute set the same season in its statewide context: welcome winter rains that helped alleviate the drought, followed by a relatively even growing season. Garrett Buckland, president of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers and of Premiere Viticultural Services, tracked it through the year and reported that ripening had gone well and that it had been a wonderful season with beautiful weather from bloom, to berry set, to hard seed, through veraison. Cathy Corison of Corison Winery described the ripening season as enjoying cooler than average daytime highs and cold nights, which she called perfect for inky, complex wines, and added that its measured pace made it an easy year on the winemakers. September then turned hot, and the heat is what people remember. Matt Crafton at Chateau Montelena in Calistoga described alternating cool mid-week temperatures with a return of late-season heat, which meant watching nighttime temperatures and humidity closely to stay ahead of it. The heat did not do damage so much as compress the calendar, which is a different kind of problem.

• Early bud break followed by warm weather and spring rains gave a rapid, near perfect start per NVV
• Welcome winter rains helped alleviate the statewide drought ahead of a relatively even growing season
• Garrett Buckland reported beautiful weather from bloom through berry set, hard seed and veraison
• Cathy Corison described a ripening season of cooler than average daytime highs and cold nights, measured in pace
• September heat arrived in alternating bursts, with Chateau Montelena watching nighttime temperatures and humidity to stay ahead of it

The first wine grapes of the vintage moved from vineyard to crush pad by July 29, somewhat earlier than average but similar to the first-picking dates of the prior three years. NVV expected picking in earnest, including aromatic whites like Sauvignon Blanc, within a week to 10 days of that, as warm temperatures moved grapes from veraison toward full ripeness. The September heat then pulled the reds in. In the Diamond Mountain District, Dawnine Dyer of Dyer Vineyards reported Cabernet coming in fast and furious since the preceding Monday, driven by the heat, with Diamond Creek reporting good concentration and brilliant color extraction and Schramsberg experimenting with shade cloth to protect clusters from the intense heat. Pat Stotesbery of Ladera Vineyards on Howell Mountain said the heat had moved ripening along and raised the prospect of harvest compression and tank-space pressure the following week. Growers were tracking it cluster by cluster. One Cabernet Sauvignon cluster followed by grower Kyle Kemp sat at roughly 25.5 Brix and 130 days past bloom in late September, with harvest expected about seven days later. In the Chiles Valley District, Alexander Eisele reported all Zinfandel harvested with Cabernet and Merlot just beginning to show full maturity, and later described harvest continuing at a steady pace under what he called perfect conditions, with the remaining hillside Zinfandel and the flat-land Zinfandel both coming in while Cabernet and Merlot lagged behind. Matt Crafton reported a terrific week of picking with balanced fruit chemistries and flavors, crediting a more methodical, patient pace than in years past.

• First grapes reached the crush pad July 29, earlier than average but in line with the prior three years
• Diamond Mountain reported Cabernet coming in fast and furious on the heat, with good concentration and brilliant color extraction at Diamond Creek
• Schramsberg experimented with shade cloth to protect clusters from the September heat
• Ladera Vineyards on Howell Mountain flagged harvest compression and tank-space pressure as the heat pushed ripening
• A tracked Cabernet cluster sat at roughly 25.5 Brix and 130 days post-bloom in late September
• Chateau Montelena reported balanced fruit chemistries and a more methodical, patient picking pace than in years past

Garrett Buckland's read on the crop was that yield looked good, with 2016 expected to come in close to average and Cabernet Sauvignon slightly below the normal average. He noted that the average number of berries per cluster ran higher than the historical average in some blocks, and made the point that yield matters but is not the only factor in quality, adding that he anticipated tremendous quality. The hills told a different story from the flats. Dawnine Dyer reported Armstrong Ranch on Kortum Canyon confirming a lighter-than-average crop attributed to low cluster counts, a pattern also reported in other hillside AVAs. Matt Crafton reported the same split from Calistoga, with yields lighter on hillsides and benches but heavier on the valley flats. Statewide, the California Department of Food and Agriculture estimated California's 2016 winegrape crop near the historical average of 3.9 million tons in its August 2016 figures. Cathy Corison summed the Napa year up in three words: early, small and delicious.

• Buckland expected yield close to average overall with Cabernet Sauvignon slightly below normal
• Berries per cluster ran above the historical average in some blocks
• Hillside sites including Armstrong Ranch on Kortum Canyon reported lighter crops on low cluster counts
• Chateau Montelena reported lighter hillside and bench yields against heavier valley-flat yields
• CDFA estimated California's 2016 winegrape crop near the historical average of 3.9 million tons
• Cathy Corison summarized the Napa vintage as early, small and delicious