2022 – Year in Review

Overview

The 2022 growing season began with a very cool – slow start. April and May temps fell in the range of those experienced during the record cold 2010 and 2011 vintages. Translation, bud break occurred 10 to 14 days later than normal. There were several Lake Chelan AVA vineyards which were hurt by a precipitous drop in temperatures early – November of 2021. Our estate vineyard was not injured whatsoever at that time. The sub – zero temperatures in December of 2022 did hurt our vineyard somewhat. We will experience reduced crop loads as a result of the -6 degree temperatures.

Some Highlights

The Winter:
A very mild winter to say the least. The lowest temperatures experienced from December through end of March was 21 degrees Fahrenheit. There was modest amounts of snowfall which occurred in late – November and sporadically January through March. Though not enough snow pack to cross country ski in at the vineyard, it provided good weather to prune by. Early March temperatures were above normal leading most to believe area vintners were going to have another very warm growing season. That was not to be.

The Spring:
As mentioned in the Overview, the Spring weather was less than ideal. Record cool weather and precipitation March through the second week of June made drastic grape growing decisions mandatory. There is a silver lining. It appears our estate vineyard was not hurt in the least due to the November, 2021 cold snap. Plenty of shoots loaded up with two clusters each. The second half of June saw temperatures and rainfall return to “normal”. Translation…… warm and dry.

The Summer:
Late – June through mid – September graced the Lake Chelan valley with excellent growing conditions other than two days of heavy rainfall in early July. That rainfall resulted in many Lake Chelan area grape growers struggling to keep vine growth under control. One truly had to maintain an eagle eye on their vines to keep grape – berry size as small as possible. Too much foliage makes for berries with vegetative flavors and aromas as opposed to the fruit flavors and aromas one seeks when enjoying wine.

The Harvest:
Due to the very cool weather from March through early – June, the overall growing season leading up to harvest was borderline disastrous. Utilizing excellent canopy management and dropping 25% of the grape clusters helped mitigate some of that growth delay caused by the cool weather. It was going to take unusually dry – warm weather through the end of October to allow winemakers to opportunity to spread out the harvest and gain some additional ripeness. Mercifully, that happened as grapes were being picked through the 6th – 7th of November without rainfall. Ultimately, grapes were picked between 14 and 20 days later than what we would normally expect. Regardless of the vineyard, all of our grapes used to make wine this vintage were harvested in good condition. Sugar levels were spot on or in two instances just slightly below ideal. Nothing sound winemaking could not overcome. Some positive notes, our Purtteman estate vineyard (located in the Lake Chelan AVA) has reached the age whereby it is supplying us with the amounts of Malbec, Tannat, Dolcetto and Gewurztraminer that we have longed for! You are going to have the chance to enjoy more of these exceptional wines.

Post Harvest: Fermentations proceeded smoothly yielding wines with exceptional depth of color and flavors. This will be a vintage where red wines will possess slightly elevated tannin and acid levels. Upon completion of the yeast fermentation, the young red wines were racked off of the yeast sediment to experience the malo – lactic conversion in French and American oak barrels.