Vintage Weather
2011 across the wine world
Every region on record for 2011, read the same way: temperature, rain, harvest timing, and the events that shaped the season.
The coolest season in a decade delayed ripening by three weeks.
Harvested autumn 2011
The earliest flowering ever was followed by a cool wet summer and early picking.
A hot spring and July hailstorm made an early, charming, fruit-forward vintage.
A cold wet July was rescued by a long Indian summer through October.
A warm, frost-interrupted season made generous wines rather than razor acidity.
A hot April and scorching August built a forward, fruity wine.
An African heatwave made ripe, generous, early-drinking wines.
A dry year with a June heat spike still gave elegant, powerful wines.
Near-total summer drought concentrated fruit into a second straight Excelente year.
A cold wet year with a tiny crop, October rain and widespread botrytis.
Oregon's latest and coldest season on record, saved by a sunny late autumn.
Sonoma's 'vintage of the long faces' still delivered pure, high-acid, elegant wines.
A cool summer and a light crop made the latest harvest on record for many sites.