Vintage Weather
2016 across the wine world
Every region on record for 2016, read the same way: temperature, rain, harvest timing, and the events that shaped the season.
Northern hemisphere
A soaking first half and a bone-dry summer gave a big, healthy crop and a late harvest.
April frost, hail and mildew cut the crop; a warm, dry summer salvaged the rest.
Frost, record rain and mildew cut the crop by at least 30%, then healthy grapes came in.
Hail and a wet spring tested the north; the south had a dry, near-ideal season.
A wet, hail-hit first half saved by a warm, very dry August and September.
A very dry, hot summer with cool nights; fresh, firm, balanced southern reds.
A wet, mildew-hit spring gave way to a dry, hot late summer and a calm, chilly harvest.
A long, late season, mostly dry and warm, with 26 July hail and Nebbiolo into October.
Cool, wet spring, hot dry summer, September rain, and five stars for Brunello.
A wet winter and spring, a hot summer, then patient picking after September rain.
Drought and summer heat, then a favorable autumn and a clean, two-month selective harvest.
An even growing season with September heat that brought the Cabernet in fast.
An early start, a moderate summer and a calm harvest with no weather pressure.
An early start and a cool, foggy August gave Sonoma a steady, uneventful harvest.
A record crop from an early warm start and a long, cool finish.
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, very wet El Nino year that cut the crop and gave fresher, lower-alcohol wines.
A dry, early year in much of the south, while January rain hit the Hunter Valley.