2016 Napa Valley Vintage

2016 got moving early and stayed steady. An early bud break followed by warm weather and spring rains brought a rapid start to the growing season, a combination NVV described as near perfect. In its statewide context the season began with 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: ripening had gone well, and it had been a wonderful season with beautiful weather from bloom, to berry set, to hard seed, through veraison. The ripening season enjoyed cooler than average daytime highs and cold nights, which Cathy Corison of Corison Winery called perfect for inky, complex wines, and its measured pace made it an easy year on the winemakers, she added. September then turned hot, and the heat is what people remember. At Chateau Montelena in Calistoga, Matt Crafton had 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 start that NVV called near perfect
• Welcome winter rains helped alleviate the statewide drought ahead of a relatively even growing season
• Garrett Buckland saw beautiful weather from bloom through berry set, hard seed and veraison
• The ripening season ran to 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. Picking in earnest, including aromatic whites like Sauvignon Blanc, was expected 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, Cabernet was coming in fast and furious for Dawnine Dyer of Dyer Vineyards since the preceding Monday, driven by the heat, with Diamond Creek seeing good concentration and brilliant color extraction and Schramsberg experimenting with shade cloth to protect clusters from the intense heat. On Howell Mountain, the heat had moved ripening along and raised the prospect of harvest compression and tank-space pressure the following week for Pat Stotesbery of Ladera Vineyards. 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 had all Zinfandel harvested with Cabernet and Merlot just beginning to show full maturity, and later saw 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 had 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 saw 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
• Harvest compression and tank-space pressure were flagged at Ladera Vineyards on Howell Mountain 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 saw 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. The average number of berries per cluster ran higher than the historical average in some blocks, and he noted 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. Armstrong Ranch on Kortum Canyon confirmed a lighter-than-average crop attributed to low cluster counts for Dawnine Dyer, a pattern also found in other hillside AVAs. Matt Crafton saw 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.

• Yield was expected 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 had lighter crops on low cluster counts
• Chateau Montelena saw 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