2016 Washington State Vintage

The season started early and it started warm. April and May were warm and dry, and temperatures reached the triple digits by early June. Juan Munoz-Oca, then winemaker at Columbia Crest, told Wine Spectator that budbreak, bloom and veraison in 2016 were all the earliest he had ever seen in Washington, making it one of the earliest growing seasons on record. Then the pattern reversed. Cool temperatures arrived at midsummer and continued right through harvest, slowing ripening and preserving freshness and elegance in the finished wines. Charlie Auclair of Auclair Winery, working on Red Mountain, said things cooled significantly in late August into September and October, allowing for longer hang times and optimal picking dates, and that his reds came in closer to normal harvest dates as a result. Early whites still moved fast off the warm start: Auclair picked Sauvignon Blanc on Red Mountain two weeks earlier than normal. The Washington State Wine Commission described 2016 as a near-perfect growing season and credited the cooling in eastern Washington with extending the growing season and giving grapes extra time to mature. Picking began in August and did not let up. Vintners called it the longest harvest they could remember, and some crews were still in the vineyards as late as mid-November. No wildfire or smoke exposure was reported for Washington in 2016. Volume went the other way from most long, cool seasons: the state brought in 270,000 tons, a record and a 22 percent increase over the previous year, which had itself come in slightly below the prior record of 227,000 tons set in 2014.

• April and May were warm and dry, with triple-digit temperatures by early June
• Budbreak, bloom and veraison were the earliest Columbia Crest's Juan Munoz-Oca had seen in Washington
• Cool temperatures arrived at midsummer and continued through harvest, slowing ripening
• Sauvignon Blanc came off Red Mountain two weeks earlier than normal, while reds returned closer to normal dates
• Picking started in August and ran to mid-November at some sites, the longest harvest vintners could remember
• The crop reached a record 270,000 tons, up 22 percent year over year

2016 rewrote Washington's production table. The 270,000-ton harvest beat the prior record of 227,000 tons from 2014 by a wide margin, and the growth was overwhelmingly on the red side. Red varieties accounted for 58 percent of the harvest, with red production up 39 percent year over year against 3 percent growth for whites. Cabernet Sauvignon led at 71,100 tons, or 26 percent of the total, with Merlot second at 48,400 tons, or 18 percent. Chardonnay was third overall and the top white at 45,000 tons, with Riesling close behind at 41,300 tons. Growers were paid an average of $1,157 per ton across all varieties, up $12 over the previous year, and Malbec drew the highest average price at $1,587 per ton. The state also passed 900 winery licenses in 2016.

• Cabernet Sauvignon led at 71,100 tons, 26 percent of the state crop
• Merlot second at 48,400 tons, Chardonnay third at 45,000 tons, Riesling close behind at 41,300 tons
• Red varieties were 58 percent of the harvest, with red production up 39 percent year over year
• Average price was $1,157 per ton, up $12, with Malbec highest at $1,587 per ton
• Washington surpassed 900 winery licenses in 2016

The people working the vintage liked the shape of it. Munoz-Oca described 2016 as offering the best of both worlds, with richness coming from the warm start and freshness and elegance from the cool finish. Steve Warner, president of the Washington State Wine Commission, said 2016 was a year for the record books, and that the state did not only see its biggest harvest ever but a great harvest. Contemporary reporting from the vintage focused on Cabernet Sauvignon, which took the largest share of the crop and benefited most from the extended hang time that the cool late season allowed.

• Columbia Crest's Munoz-Oca called it the best of both worlds, richness from the warm start and freshness from the cool finish
• Commission president Steve Warner said Washington saw not only its biggest harvest ever but a great one
• The cool late season gave late-ripening reds longer hang times and more choice over picking dates