Vintage Weather

2018 across the wine world

Every region on record for 2018, read the same way: temperature, rain, harvest timing, and the events that shaped the season.

Temperature
Cold → Hot
Argentina (Mendoza)

Average · Hail, Frost

A textbook, balanced year with warm days, cool nights, normal yields.

Harvested autumn 2018

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Australia

Warm · Frost, Heat spike, Low yield

Frost and February heat hurt the east, but the west had one of its best years.

Harvested autumn 2018

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Bordeaux

Warm · Mildew / rot, Hail

Severe spring mildew gave way to three months of perfect, dry summer weather.

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Burgundy

Hot · Drought, Heat spike

One of the hottest, driest years made rich, plush, generous, early-picked wines.

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Champagne

Hot · Hail, Mildew / rot

A wet winter fed vines through a record-warm, record-abundant summer.

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Rhône Valley

Warm · Mildew / rot

Severe mildew cut yields, but a hot, dry summer built powerful, generous wines.

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Mosel

Hot · Heat spike, Drought

The hottest four-month stretch since 1881 produced a huge, ripe, early harvest.

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Barolo

Average · Mildew / rot

One of the wettest springs on record built a perfumed, elegant wine.

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Tuscany

Cool · Mildew / rot

A cool, wet spring and mild summer made elegant, fresh, silky wines.

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Rioja

Cool · Mildew / rot

A cooler, wetter season built fresher wines with lower alcohol than 2017.

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Napa Valley

Average · Harvest rain

A mild season with no heat spikes, a late harvest and a very large crop.

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Willamette Valley

Warm · Drought, Smoke

A very warm, very dry, very sunny year saved by a half inch of September rain.

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Sonoma

Cool

A long, cool, generous season made some of Sonoma's most balanced wines in decades.

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Washington State

Warm

A hot, dry summer and a cool, timely fall gave Washington balanced wines.

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