The vintage of 2020 in Oregon for sure is going to be a prime example of Murphy’s Law in action. One of its infamous idioms says that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. 2020 is here to prove it.
So what could and did go wrong?
First There Was A Pandemic
First, the pandemic hit the world and the Oregon wine industry hard. Overall, the consumption of wine went up, but here’s the rub. Many Oregon wineries are small (5,000 cases/year) and rely on their tasting rooms as a primary sales channel for their wines. Due to the restrictions, wineries had to close their tasting rooms, and income sources dried up for a while.
Some were able to open in the summer but with restrictions on how many patrons they can serve simultaneously. Some couldn’t due to the size of tasting rooms and staff limitations. Still, even for open wineries, visitors’ volume is barely enough to sustain operations.
Elusive Spring
There are a few crucial stages in vine growth that impact how the vintage will turn out. The foundation for the vintage is set in the spring. So when we got a little heatwave in early spring, we thought it might be a repeat of 2014, 2015, or 2016. But then nature hit the brakes with colder weather and followed with gradual warm-up and cooler nights. So it began to look like a typical kind of year for Oregon and Willamette Valley, its wine gem.
Why is that bad for the grapevine? Grapevine might wake up with warmer weather in early spring and go dormant again if there’s a cold spell after the heatwave. That may delay bloom, véraison (ripening), and harvest.
Cruel Summer: From Cold to Hot
The next curveball came during bloom when we had some rain and wind. It’s an incredibly vulnerable stage of vine growth because severe weather at this time can substantially reduce or destroy the future harvest. It wasn’t that bad, but many vintners confirmed that 2020 would be a smaller vintage.
If the impact is moderate, it’s good news for us wine lovers. Lower yields mean higher quality fruit with more concentrated flavors and potentially better wines if the rest of the season is ok. Yes, there will be fewer bottles and possibly a bit more expensive, but they might be darn good.
After the bloom through the beginning of July, we had relatively cooler weather than in recent years but within Oregon’s norm. That meant that fruit would need more hang time to get to full ripeness, and if all goes well, the 2020 vintage might turn into fantastic vintage despite a rocky start.
Finally, the heat came and lasted through the first week of September, which as a good thing. Grapes need sun, heat, and dry weather to ripen.
Up until September, 6th things were going well. Grapes were catching up on the much-needed sun and humming along through véraison. Moreover, some winemakers in Applegate and Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon started harvesting white and early red varietals. They expected a later than usual harvest and were surprised by how fast grapes ripened, considering the season’s delayed start.
Some Willamette Valley winemakers picked Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for Sparkling wines and Rosé as well.
Fiery Finish: Oregon Wildfires
But then came an extreme wind event in Oregon at the end of the first week of September, and ripped through Oregon with hurricane-like gusts in some parts. It turned the most of the state into a tinder box by reducing humidity down to 5%.
We were wine swinging in Southern Oregon at that time, and when we came back to Portland, our trees looked like they were exposed to dessert hurricane winds with branches stripped and leaves wilted.
The high winds fueled and spread ongoing wildfires all over the state. The disaster of biblical proportions followed.
Smoky Sensations: Wine and Smoke
Luckily, the fires didn’t touch the vineyards, but now they are facing another problem. However, by the second week of September, the entire state was covered by a thick plume of smoke. At the time of this writing, both Southern and Northern Oregon wine regions were affected by heavy smoke. Some areas have hazardous smoke conditions for almost a week.
So what it has to do with wine?
Smoke from forest fires may cause a smoke taint in wines if ripening grapes are exposed long enough to smoke. Unlike pleasant smokiness in wines, smoke from fires is never enjoyable. It may come across as burned rubber, disinfectant, bacon, or wet ashtray in aromas and flavors.
So now winemakers facing another challenge. Pick fruit even if it’s not at the desired ripeness, or let it hang on the vine with hope for better weather. What complicates things with this approach is that the sun is blocked by the smoke, and temperatures are 15-20°F below what it should be. The ripening of the grapes is essentially halted.
Saving Harvest
At this point, it looks like many experienced vintners and winemakers decided to go for it and bring the harvest in. The good thing is that Willamette Valley is not flat, and there’s a lot of hills and valleys and microclimates’ variability. So the impact of smoke will vary too.
Moreover, white wines typically are not susceptible to smoke taint because there’s little contact with skins during fermentation.
It’s a bigger problem for red varietals because skin contact is a must, as explained in the previous article.
Oregon 2020 Vintage Expectations
Oregon needs a miracle. A day or two of heavy rain to put out the fires. Next, a couple of breezy days to dry out the vineyards to prevent mold and disease. Then two-three weeks of dry, sunny weather to turn it into a fantastic vintage. Let’s be real, it’s not that kind of a year.
Back to planet Earth circa 2020. So what can we expect from this vintage? Variability!
It’s easy to make high-quality wine in a good vintage such as 2014, 2015, and 2016 in Oregon. This will be a challenge, especially for start-ups, urban wineries, less experienced winemakers, and others who have little control over the quality of the fruit they get. All are likely to face two common challenges: the variability of fruit ripeness and possible smoke affected grapes.
For formally trained and experienced winemakers, the ripeness won’t be a big problem. Those who have done 10 vintages in Oregon or other cool-climate regions faced it before. Smoke is a more significant challenge and sometimes impossible to overcome even if the winemaker dealt with it before. That’s why those who value their reputation and respect their customers may forego harvesting some of the plots if tests prove that smoke taint is unavoidable.
How to buy Oregon 2020 Vintage Wine
We would buy 2020 Oregon wines in stores if we can’t taste them and stick to well-respected producers. Those wines were vetted by buyers, distributers, evaluated by sommeliers at some to point, and likely professionally rated.
Suppose you buy directly from a boutique or new winery. In that case, it’s best to visit the winery and ask questions about the vintage or taste the wine before you purchase. Alternatively, you can check for online reviews or reach out to us for advice about Oregon and Washington producers.
Still, we would be wary of buying Willamette Valley wines for our wine library. Sometimes smoke taint may not be apparent at release and develop with ageing.
Keep following us for updates on vintage 2020 and more objective and non-sponsored reviews. Cheers!