2020 Napa Valley Vintage

The year started dry. Winter was warm, and rain and cold weather did not arrive until the end of March. The mild spring that followed gave the vines a great early start. In the Stags Leap District, winter rains were lower than average and the frost season was mild but inconsequential, with some shatter from uneven weather at bloom pointing to a smaller crop than the prior two vintages. In Carneros, the frost was the coldest and longest since 2008, perhaps worse, alongside drought conditions that left dry soils and struggling vines with decreased yields, plus rain during Chardonnay and Pinot Noir bloom that left small and sometimes heat-dried berries. Summer brought very cool mornings and very warm days. On the valley floor in Yountville, temperatures reached the low 90s on May 7 and 8, dropped 20 degrees the following week, then set record highs on May 25 to 27, before a cooler July helped the vines coast through veraison. On Mount Veeder, extreme hot weather promoted veraison, and Coombsville had a blistering heat wave coupled with tropical weather. White-wine harvest started in early August, with the wines showing excellent development in the cellars. In the Oak Knoll District, growers picked the first Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for sparkling wine during the first week of August. Honig started Sauvignon Blanc from Gordon Valley early in the morning of August 17. Howell Mountain had most Cabernet just finished with veraison and was weeks away from harvest, and Oakville red-grape harvest was still weeks away as well.

• A warm, dry winter with rain and cold arriving only at the end of March, then a mild spring that gave vines a great early start
• Carneros had the coldest and longest frost since 2008 plus drought-stressed soils and decreased yields; the Stags Leap District had a mild, inconsequential frost season with some shatter at bloom
• Very cool mornings and very warm days through summer, with record highs May 25 to 27 on the Yountville valley floor and a cooler July helping vines coast through veraison
• White harvest opened in early August with excellent development in the cellars; sparkling-wine picks in the Oak Knoll District began in the first week of August
• Honig began picking Sauvignon Blanc from Gordon Valley on the morning of August 17
• Most Cabernet on Howell Mountain had only just finished veraison, with harvest weeks away

The LNU Complex Fire, including the Hennessey Fire, started on August 17, 2020, sparked by lightning strikes during a statewide heat wave as crews scrambled to contain dozens of blazes across the region. Howell Mountain was under mandatory evacuation from August 19 due to the surrounding wildfire activity. On September 27, in the early hours, the Glass Fire ignited in the Deer Park area of Napa Valley and burned wineries and vineyards. Fewer than 20 wineries suffered significant damage, though many homes were destroyed and thousands of residents were evacuated. Kirk Venge of Venge Vineyards called the smoke from the current fires oily and almost resinous, and the smoke from the early-summer fires not as pervasive and not an issue. Wineries also worked under extensive safety protocols because of the COVID pandemic. Thomas Rivers Brown said the only comparison he could think of was the valley's phylloxera outbreak of the 1990s, noting that phylloxera's drop in wine made was spread out over a decade.

• LNU Complex Fire, including the Hennessey Fire, started August 17, 2020 from lightning during a statewide heat wave
• Howell Mountain was under mandatory evacuation from August 19
• The Glass Fire ignited in the Deer Park area of Napa Valley in the early hours of September 27
• Fewer than 20 wineries suffered significant damage, though many homes were destroyed
• Wineries worked under extensive COVID safety protocols

The testing story of 2020 is a story about time. Silverado Farming Company, which farms grapes for Melka and dozens of other Cabernet-focused wineries in Napa and manages roughly 800 acres, had samples taken on August 23 and 24, and 98 percent came back without smoke issues. The grapes then sat in smoke for another two weeks. Silverado typically harvests 3,500 tons a year; in 2020 about 1,300 tons went unpicked. Melka, who consults for 25 clients across Napa and Sonoma, estimated that 35 to 38 percent of the Napa crop he had surveyed had been harvested to date but believed only a portion of that could result in bottled wine, saying possibly 70 percent would be declassified. Thomas Rivers Brown estimated perhaps only 20 percent of the Napa crop would get bottled, and production was estimated at around 20 percent or less of an average vintage. Pretty much all of the appellations were affected, even Carneros, but a little less. Turley's Howell Mountain estate vineyards tested positive for smoke taint and the winery dropped 100 tons. St. Supery determined it would not be able to harvest the 500 acres of its Dollarhide Vineyard in Pope Valley, though it had begun Sauvignon Blanc harvest just before the fires. ETS Laboratories was working 24/7 on possible smoke impact issues, and turnaround times were approaching normal. Wineries working with Silverado Farming Company agreed to a sliding scale for grapes, paying the full amount if the grapes were fine and less if not, and agreed to pay $1,500 per ton to leave grapes on the vine.

• Silverado Farming's August 23 and 24 samples showed 98 percent clean, but the grapes then sat in smoke for another two weeks
• About 1,300 of Silverado Farming's typical 3,500 tons went unpicked
• Estimates of the share of the Napa crop that would be bottled ran as low as perhaps 20 percent
• Production was estimated at around 20 percent or less of an average vintage
• Turley dropped 100 tons on Howell Mountain after positive tests; St. Supery would not be able to harvest its 500-acre Dollarhide Vineyard in Pope Valley
• ETS Laboratories worked 24/7 on possible smoke impact issues, with turnaround times approaching normal
• Silverado Farming's wineries agreed to a sliding scale for grapes and to pay $1,500 per ton to leave grapes on the vine

The vintage was smaller than usual, but not lost. Napa Valley Vintners president and CEO Linda Reiff said on October 27, 2020 that 80 percent of members were still moving forward with the vintage, calling 2020, while challenging, not lost and saying volume would be smaller than usual. Red-wine harvest was smaller than usual, but most wineries were still able to move forward with red-wine vinification. Corison had its grapes in by September 15, before the Glass Fire, and by October 22 all lots had finished fermentation and were in barrel. Spottswoode was testing every lot and had not detected smoke taint from the August lightning fires, and its harvest finished a day before the Glass Fire. The Wine Independent describes the 2020 growing season as similar to 2017, right down to the Labor Day heat wave and the fires, and from barrel samples of Dalla Valle, Spottswoode and Eisele Vineyard found more purity and delineation than in the 2017s, with slightly more weight and alcohol and riper tannins.

• By October 27, 2020, 80 percent of Napa Valley Vintners members were moving forward with the vintage
• Red harvest was smaller than usual, but most wineries were still able to proceed with red-wine vinification
• Corison had its fruit in by September 15 and all lots in barrel by October 22
• Spottswoode was testing every lot, had not detected smoke taint from the August fires, and finished harvest a day before the Glass Fire began
• Barrel samples from Dalla Valle, Spottswoode and Eisele Vineyard showed more purity and delineation than the 2017s, with slightly more weight, alcohol and riper tannins