Harvest  2000  Final report, Nov. 8, 2000

Oregon's Harvest 2000. Oregon has never before seen three great vintages in a row. Perhaps it's global warming, perhaps it's smarter viticulture, perhaps it's luck!

We are pleased to announce a Vintage 2000 equivalent to 1998's, the currently released rich and full vintage, and 1999's, a dense, firmly structured vintage that will dominate the market over the next year.

Vintage 2000 was a year when Mother Nature gave us the steering wheel, rather than insisting she drive. Early on we had generous croploads, which we could carve down to perfect yield levels, plus warm and dry growing and ripening seasons, which allowed us to patiently await physiological and chemical maturity. Sugars and alcohols are moderate to high; acidity and structure less than the firm 1999s; and uniformity of quality as good as 1998.

We made a record amount of great Pinot noir, with new blocks at Stoller Vineyard and more than prior puny yields from Ridgecrest giving slightly more fruit to work with. Still, yields were a low 2.31 tons/acre for Pinot noir, with 2.50 and 2.55 for Pinot gris and Chardonnay, respectively. Pinot noir colors and flavors are deep and rich. Whites will be very good, but likely not as intense and firmly acidic as 1999.

Logistics were strained with a compact 28-day harvest. The Pinot noir came in over a mere 17 days, which is intense considering the varied elevations and sites of our three estate vineyards. Eighteen hour days were par for the course. Cheryl, Michael, and I dictated the process while our harvest crew of outstanding interns and winemakers from New Zealand and Austria provided great energy.

Signing off to escape with the rest of the crew for somewhere distant—to sleep, perchance to dream (but who could hope for a 4^th great Oregon vintage?).