Vintage Weather
2006 across the wine world
Every region on record for 2006, read the same way: temperature, rain, harvest timing, and the events that shaped the season.
Northern hemisphere
A hot July and cool August ended in mid-September storms and a hurried harvest.
Wet spring, record July heat, hail and a wet August, saved by a warmer September.
High sugar and low acid made 2006 broad, generous, and best enjoyed young.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape: a dry, sunny 2006 kept grapes healthy for generous wines.
End-of-September rain spread botrytis through ripe Mosel grapes and forced an early pick.
A snowy winter, a torrid, dry early summer and mid-September storms made powerful Barolo.
Wet spring, very hot July, sunny early September; five stars for Brunello.
Spring rain, a dry August and September heat gave Rioja a Muy Buena year.
A wet spring and July heat wave made a grower's challenge and a late harvest.
A warm, dry year with a big crop that gave rich wines and high alcohols.
Cool, soggy spring, July heat and October rain; a B- year per Wine Spectator.
A hot, dry summer and a cooling September let flavor catch up to sugar.
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).
A cool, dry season with slow ripening, a late harvest and one big December hailstorm.
Picked early with lower yields in most places; Western Australia was cool and wet.