2022 Willamette Valley / Oregon Vintage

Oregon went into 2022 off a warmer, drier-than-normal winter, which pushed Chardonnay and Pinot Noir buds to break earlier than usual and left them exposed. Cold temperatures, snow and frost arrived in the Willamette Valley starting April 11. The worst of it came in the pre-dawn hours of April 15, when numerous vineyards recorded overnight lows in the range of 26 to 32 degrees F; the Oregon Wine Board independently cites 27 to 28 degrees F for the advective frost event. Greg Jones called it February in April, and described the full sequence of warm dry March, early bud break, early April frost and cold wet late April as individually unremarkable but collectively a one in every 30 to 50 year event. The region's last comparable early-season frost was May 1985, which is part of why most Willamette Valley wineries had no frost fans or overhead protection and were largely defenseless. Amalie Robert Estate noted the frost behaved unusually for the region: instead of cold air draining down the slopes, it came like a blanket and did not flow downhill, so upper and lower elevations fared similarly and bud developmental stage, not elevation, determined the damage. After the frost, April turned cool and wet and that pattern held into May and early June, setting vine growth back an estimated 2 to 4 weeks. Flowering was delayed accordingly, but spring finally arrived just in time and produced a very good fruit set. Then the heat turned on for the rest of the summer. With soils saturated from the wet spring, vines threw a healthy, vigorous canopy, and that canopy plus summer humidity created high powdery mildew pressure that growers managed aggressively with leaf pulling, hedging and spray programs. July and August were warm and dry. Nationally, 2022 produced the third-hottest United States summer in 128 years, and Oregon was among the states with record-warm August nighttime temperatures. In early August, western Oregon vineyards were running roughly 6 days ahead to 6 days behind normal growing degree day accumulation, helped by a late-July heat blast. A cut-off low brought light rain around September 20 and 21, then conditions dried out again. September finished nearly 3 degrees F warmer than average and October ran 4 to 6 degrees F above average, with mid-October days approaching 80 degrees F in parts of the valley and warm, dry weather persisting through about October 20 to 21. Harvest started 1 to 3 weeks later than normal and then compressed hard as the warm fall accelerated ripening. Hazelfern Cellars began on September 29, about three weeks late. At least one Willamette Valley estate did not start picking Pinot Noir until the second week of October. Et Fille wrapped up on October 21. King Estate saw its harvest compressed to about two and a half weeks against a usual three and a half to four, which filled the winery to overflowing. On yield, secondary-bud fruit set compensated for the burned primaries with fewer but notably larger and heavier berries and clusters. Hazelfern came in close to its seasonal average, Et Fille reported yields similar to a normal Oregon year with larger clusters, and King Estate's tonnage landed close to 2019 levels. Statewide, production hit a record 137,065 tons, up 19.5 percent over 2021, with value up 22 percent to a record $330 million.

• Warm, dry winter drove early bud break and left buds exposed to an April 11 to 15 frost event
• Overnight lows of roughly 26 to 32 degrees F on April 15; Chardonnay in the northern valley was hardest hit
• Primary bud loss ran 50 percent to 100 percent at hard-hit sites; least damage reported in the Eola-Amity Hills
• Cool, wet April through early June set vine growth back 2 to 4 weeks and delayed flowering, but fruit set was very good
• Warm, dry July and August, with high powdery mildew pressure from vigorous canopies and summer humidity
• September nearly 3 degrees F above average and October 4 to 6 degrees F above, with warm, dry weather through about October 20
• Harvest started 1 to 3 weeks late and compressed; secondary-bud fruit set brought tonnage back to a statewide record 137,065 tons, up 19.5 percent over 2021

Damage was uneven and specific. Chardonnay, an early-budding variety, took the worst of it overall, especially in the northern Willamette Valley where bud break was furthest along, with the Dundee Hills and Yamhill-Carlton AVAs among the hardest hit. Vineyard consultant Jessica Cortell of Vitis Terra Vineyard Services reported the least damage in the Eola-Amity Hills and significant damage in the Chehalem Mountains, where Chardonnay buds were particularly hard hit. Oregon Wine Press reported that the northernmost appellations suffered most, but only at certain sites, and that in most instances a few buds survived. Estimates of the loss varied. Stirling Fox of Stirling Wine Grapes in Newberg put primary bud damage at 50 to 100 percent across many vineyards he surveyed, with roughly half the secondary buds also burned at many of those sites, and initially projected the valley could lose about half its crop. Hazelfern Cellars reported frost damage to about 75 percent of primary buds. Oregon Wine Press cited up to 50 percent primary bud loss in several northern Willamette vineyards. What followed was the part nobody forecast: secondary buds set fruit and carried the crop. Ken Wright put it plainly, saying that none of the growers he knows anywhere in the world could recall such a recovery as the northern Willamette Valley saw that year, and that it defied all prior recorded experience.

• Chardonnay was the most-affected variety, especially in the Dundee Hills and Yamhill-Carlton
• Least damage in the Eola-Amity Hills, significant damage in the Chehalem Mountains
• Primary bud loss estimates ranged from 50 percent up to 100 percent at the worst sites
• Ken Wright called the secondary-bud recovery unprecedented in recorded experience

Decanter's Clive Pursehouse reported that 2022 Chardonnays show great elegance and Pinot Noirs an outstanding confidence across the valley's appellations, crediting the cool, prolonged growing season with wines of tremendous freshness balanced by ample concentration. His overall verdict was that the vintage got off to a shaky start but ended brilliantly, and represented a return to the region's classic conditions. Alex Sokol Blosser noted that even though the secondary-bud fruit set produced fewer, plumper berries and therefore less skin-to-juice contact, the Pinot Noirs showed deep pigment and well balanced acid, tannin and phenolic structure, pointing toward long-lived, complex wines. Hazelfern described its fruit quality as epic, with ripe flavors and ideal acidity. Multiple growers and winemakers framed 2022 as a return to normal or a classic Oregon vintage after several difficult years. Oregon Wine Board president Tom Danowski characterized the year as an extraordinary recovery from the April frost, coming alongside strengthening global demand in a sluggish business environment for wine.

• Decanter: great elegance in the Chardonnays, outstanding confidence in the Pinot Noirs, freshness balanced by ample concentration
• Sokol Blosser reported deep pigment and balanced acid, tannin and phenolic structure despite fewer, plumper berries
• Growers widely described 2022 as a return to classic Oregon conditions
• Oregon Wine Board president Tom Danowski called the year an extraordinary recovery from the April frost