Newsletter Archives > Viticulture

The 2002 Vintage

As Good as They Say?

By Harry Peterson-Nedry

Corral Creek Vineyards at Harvest.
New Releases include 2002 Corral Creek Vineyards Pinot Noir

Is 2002 a great Oregon Pinot noir vintage, or just a great press release? All years are not created equal. We innately look for differences to intrigue the intellectually curious, to celebrate a product that is much like art in its ability to reflect diversity and stimulate creativity, to create a high-C against the choral sameness of passing years.

Wine regions worldwide are known to pronounce greatness at the drop of a hat, either because of impressionable winemakers caught up in the excitement of a new harvest, or because of over zealous marketers staring at warehouses of new wines—and sometimes because it is a great year. The Bordelais made vintage deification an art form years ago and much of the wine world has followed in their steps, aided by publications that need to make new judgments in order to sell copies. Sometimes they're right and sometimes they're just blowing smoke!

The assessment of the 2002 vintage of Oregon Pinot noirs doesn't seem to be overly generalized or overly generous. No caveat emptor needed here, as this is likely the best overall vintage since 1998. Our first releases from this vintage are the blended 3 Vineyard and single vineyard Corral Creek Vineyard bottlings. We are very proud of both wines, as well as the rest of the family waiting in the wings. They all have great balance, concentration, fruit range and complexity. An almost perfect growing and ripening season gave size without losing elegance, gave richness without losing great acid structure. White wines from 2002 may be the best ever, and the weight seen there is continued in Pinot noir. The new releases show robust, friendly fruit, mouthfuls of it. But they're just babies and will refine themselves as they mature. These wines will age as well as any vintage we've seen. Classic. Mother Nature in basic black and pearls.

Mother Nature has been good to us. Although 2002 is virtually perfect, we have seen six vintages with good ripening and without the infamous harvest rains, years when either warm summer weather has pushed ripening earlier or summer has extended into Indian Summer territory.

I wouldn't suggest there is possibly (shh!) global climate change at work—we wouldn't think of disagreeing with our government lest it be seen as a breach of homeland security or as threatening to industries and economies invested in generating greenhouse emissions, like the automotive and oil industries. We, the technologically most advanced country led by scientific wizards, wouldn't ignore irrefutable data from multiple sources, refuse to sign Kyoto accords, be so arrogant as to think concerns and rules don't apply to us just because we're the biggest user and polluter, or just because of politics and the inconvenience it might cause our businesses—we wouldn't, would we?

Global Climate Change

It isn't a question of “if,” it's a question of “how badly” our climate tomorrow will be affected by our profligacy today. Higher temperatures from increased greenhouse gases (like CO2) and aerosol particulates from 2-10º F, depending on model and assumptions you take—are a given, and we're already seeing it. Besides fiery summers and more so warm winters, with daily temperature swings (day to night) decreasing, this upset to the earth's equilibrium brings a threat of greater extremes like flooding and drought, as different regions respond non-uniformly to resultant increased precipitation.

I don't want this to be a diatribe on climate change, although I wouldn't rule it out in a later newsletter, but it needs to be mentioned as we view vintages of the last decade. If they are a taste of what can be expected, with half rainfall and 2003's almost intolerable heat reflecting only a 1-2º F increase over the prior two years' average temperatures, I will be looking for vineyard land on the flanks of Mt Hood or in a Canadian province.

How We Measure Seasonal Differences

Historical Phenological Data
Growing parameters for the last four vintages at Ridgecrest Vineyards, plus what is typical. Gives a sense of variability, even between very good vintages--all vintages, even great ones, are not alike.

Despite the stylistic influences winemakers have over vintage, Mother Nature crafts the most significant changes. Annually, the basic questions are “will we have enough heat and will the rains hold off until after harvest?” All other parameters we monitor just flesh out our view of heat and rain. Parameters such as timings of bud break, flowering, veraison (color change/seed hardening), and harvest record the rhythms of a vintage. Simple measurements of heat accumulation in degree-days and total inches of rainfall during the growing and ripening seasons generalize vintages.

Accumulated heat, in Degree Days over 50º F, show the warming trend. In the graph increased heat is apparent in years like 2003, which had the heat of a Region II growing site at 2500 degree-days or approximately 400 degree-days warmer than average, based on the old UC Davis grading system (the same Region II into which Napa, Santa Barbara and Auckland were placed).

Vintage 2002 is warmer than average by approximately 150 units also. However, the length of the ripening season is what made 2002 exquisite, with September 15-October 15 max temperatures averaging 71º F and having only a single day each above the 80s or below the 60s.

Average Highs and Lows over the last Thirty Years, with 2002 Highs superimposed showing a cooler Spring and warmer late ripening season.

Rain in this month was a mere 0.76 inches. The next two weeks even permitted late season ripening, averaging 61º F, with no rain. This luxury is seen if you view harvest dates in 2002 being spread over an entire month, with a long 114 days from bloom to harvest. The 2004 vintage is beginning where 2003 left off, with higher accumulation than we've seen through early May (see black shaded curve beginning).

Heat Accumulation Curves for Recent Vintages--Ripening depends on adequate warmth during the growing season. However, how much heat and when it comes is vital to the character of the vintage. Measured in Degree-Days above 50F. Region I, Cool Climate, extends to 2500 degree-days in the UC-Davis system.

In general, my observation is that great vintages have in common enough warmth for full grape maturity, lack of an event that prematurely ends ripening (like rains or freezes), and a long, moderate ripening period. (See graph showing "tonnage by harvest date.") Appropriate crop sizes and absence of disease are necessary, but should be givens in well managed vineyards when weather cooperates. As in 2002, when all those requirements are met, wines have size, ripe flavors, deep colors, good tannin and acid structure and layers of complexity and spice. The spherical ideal is met, where no one wine attribute is dominant—where you see a great wine but can't attribute it to any one feature.

The Corral Creek and 3 Vineyard new releases show classic numbers for a great vintage, registering 14% alcohols, 6 g/L acids and 3.6 pHs. A classic, fully ripe but gradually ripened vintage, with no rain at the end, 2002 shows the attributes of a cool climate, giving ripeness, acidity and complexity in an elegant package. Oh, and did I say “classic”?

Graph showing global mean temperature changes
Projections leave little doubt, even with maximum uncertainty built into the model, that temperatures will continue to climb over the next century--not a question of "if" but a question of "how much."

Global Mean Temperature Changes for HadCM2GGa and HadCM2GSa Ensembles, changes are with respect to 1961-90, the bold line represents the ensemble mean. The green curves show a range of temperature changes extracted from the IPCC 1995 analysis published in Kattenberg et al., 1996. Bold curve is IS92a emissions with a 4.5°C climate sensitivity: the thin line is for IS92a emissions with a 1.5°C climate sensitivity. These IPCC curves exclude sulphate aerosol forcing.

For More Information on Vintages and Weather....