Vintage Weather
1966 across the wine world
Every region on record for 1966, read the same way: temperature, rain, harvest timing, and the events that shaped the season.
Northern hemisphere
A cool, rainy summer was saved by a near-perfect September and late harvest.
A poor summer redeemed by a stunning September Indian summer made refined wines.
Frost and a wet summer nearly ruined it, but a sunny fall saved the harvest.
A warm, sunny autumn built classic depth in Hermitage and Cote-Rotie.
The lowest yields in years and a rain interruption still made a great year.
A secondary vintage overshadowed by 1964, with quality varying widely by bottle.
Southern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere: the vintage year is the harvest year, so the growing season began in the previous calendar year (spring in September to October, harvest in February to April of the vintage year).
Warm season and dry pre-harvest weather gave good, tannic reds despite lower yields.