Vintage Weather
1985 across the wine world
Every region on record for 1985, read the same way: temperature, rain, harvest timing, and the events that shaped the season.
Northern hemisphere
A cold, damp spring gave way to a record-dry September that saved the year.
Savage January frost gave way to near-drought heat, making sweet, lush reds.
A brutal winter freeze cut yields, but a cool season kept the wine precise.
Winter frost gave way to a hot, dry, aromatic summer with a large crop.
A brutal January freeze and wet summer were rescued by a sunny, dry autumn.
A warm, healthy summer after a poor 1984 built a landmark year.
Warm, mostly dry weather from June through harvest made a classic year.
A hot, rainless July and August stressed vines into thick-skinned fruit.
A record-large harvest that quietly outperformed its official Good rating.
A calm, balanced season: no heat spikes, no harvest rain, no disease.
A rare hot, dry year that helped prove Oregon could rival Burgundy.
A cool spring and warm, dry summer gave the vintage textbook balance.
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).
Heat, drought stress, and a wet March made for an uneven, forgettable year.