2017 Willamette Valley / Oregon Vintage

After a few dry winters, the 2016-17 winter finally gave Oregon ample rain and snowpack statewide. That winter gave way to a relatively cool, wet spring compared with recent years, and bud break started closer to normal timing, in mid-April. Spring then warmed with record heat in late May that initiated flowering in most areas of the state, before a cool-down in early June slowed flowering through the second and third weeks of the month, followed by a few days of record-high temperatures. Flowering was reported as very complete and produced very good fruit set, helped by warm 2016 conditions that had set the stage for increased fruitfulness, meaning more clusters per vine and larger clusters. The Willamette Valley ran on its own clock. Rollin Soles of Roco reported that the wet, cool spring delayed Pinot Noir flowering there until late June, setting the stage for a later harvest than the three prior vintages. July then brought ramping heat that moved the vintage rapidly toward veraison, and August delivered multiple one-day records for maximum daytime temperatures with heat-stress events early and late in the month. It was the warmest August on record in Oregon and across much of the western United States. Soles described hot, dry conditions prevailing throughout summer in the Willamette Valley specifically. The heat stress did not produce much sunburn, though it may have delayed ripening in some varieties, and some growers dealt with water berry and sugar accumulation disorder and thinned affected clusters, adding labor costs. A warm early September accelerated fruit development, then a mid-month cool-down slowed things again. Growers who feared a fast, compressed harvest got a slow, steady one instead. Isabelle Meunier of Lavinea began picking in the last week of September and worked at her own pace into October, taking advantage of mild weather and slow flavor development to chase fuller skin and tannin ripeness, and one Willamette Valley producer started on September 28. Statewide, the harvest was wrapped up by mid-November. On crop size, fruit set was higher than average in the Willamette Valley, and growers who thinned bunches were reported to have made especially strong wines.

• The 2016-17 winter brought ample rain and snowpack after a few dry winters, followed by a relatively cool, wet spring
• Bud break started closer to normal timing in mid-April; record late-May heat initiated flowering before an early June cool-down
• Willamette Valley Pinot Noir flowering was delayed until late June, per Rollin Soles of Roco
• August 2017 was the warmest on record in Oregon and much of the western United States, with heat-stress events early and late in the month
• Heat stress produced little sunburn but may have delayed ripening, and some growers thinned clusters affected by water berry and sugar accumulation disorder
• A warm early September then a mid-month cool-down turned a feared compressed harvest into a slow, steady one from late September into October
• Fruit set was higher than average in the Willamette Valley, and growers who thinned bunches were reported to have made especially strong wines

2017 was a heavy fire year in the Pacific Northwest, and the question of where the smoke actually landed matters for reading the vintage. The Chetco Bar fire in Southern Oregon started by lightning strike on July 12, 2017 and burned through the summer, with shifting winds carrying smoke periodically through the Rogue Valley and into northern Oregon. In early September a fire erupted in the Columbia Gorge and produced significant smoke over that region, and smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted over the Pacific Northwest for a significant part of the summer. Wine Spectator reported the fire season running for months, blanketing Seattle and Portland in smoke and ash, with flames coming within miles of some vineyards but causing no direct vine damage. Growers statewide had concerns about possible smoke taint, and there were scattered reports of it, but the largest growing regions dodged the worst of the smoke. The plumes that lingered during veraison, the period of peak smoke-taint susceptibility, sat over the Columbia Gorge and the Southern Oregon AVAs of Rogue Valley and Applegate Valley. Herb Quady of Quady North in Southern Oregon found smoke taint in some of his wines, while Barbara Steele of Cowhorn in the Applegate Valley reported none.

• The Chetco Bar fire started by lightning on July 12, 2017 and burned through the summer in Southern Oregon
• A Columbia Gorge fire erupted in early September, and Canadian wildfire smoke drifted over the Pacific Northwest for much of the summer
• Flames came within miles of some vineyards but caused no direct vine damage, per Wine Spectator
• Smoke plumes lingered during veraison over the Columbia Gorge and the Rogue and Applegate valleys, and the largest growing regions dodged the worst of the smoke
• Herb Quady of Quady North found smoke taint in some Southern Oregon wines; Barbara Steele of Cowhorn in the Applegate Valley reported none

Grower reports put the vintage at near-average to slightly higher than average sugar and acid levels, with many describing beautiful flavors and well-balanced fruit. The season rewarded the people who managed their crop. Rollin Soles of Roco said the growers who thinned bunches made incredible wines, and pointed to a fresh fruit component and a complexity that comes out in the wines. Winemakers overall were optimistic about quality despite the roller-coaster season.

• Grower reports showed near-average to slightly higher than average sugar and acid levels
• Many described beautiful flavors and well-balanced fruit
• Rollin Soles of Roco credited bunch thinning, citing a fresh fruit component and complexity in the wines
• Winemakers overall were optimistic about quality despite the roller-coaster season