2006 Harvest Update

The 2006 growing season turned out to be a bit of an odd duck. The weather in Eastern Washington fell into a stop/start-mode during the early part of the season before the temperatures really cranked up during the late summer months.

The result is that winemakers were scrambling a bit in early September as everything was beginning to ripen at the same time and a mass-harvest, of sorts, was starting to take shape. Fortunately, Mother Nature intervened with a cool period in mid-September. This slowed things down, gave the grapes a bit more hang time, and allowed the flavors to catch up with the fairly high sugar levels that were being measured.

As the crush continues, I’m hearing more and more good news about the 2006 harvest. Jean-Francois Pellet (pictured at left) of Pepper Bridge Winery in Walla Walla says, “…all indicators point to a great harvest.” I also chatted with John Powers of Chuckanut Ridge, who purchased some of his fruit from Elephant Mountain Vineyard in Yakima Valley. He said that that this year’s Merlot was one of the most aromatic varietals he’d encountered and the Syrah was as dark and inky as you’ll ever see.

With reviews like that, 2006 may turn out to be more of a beautiful swan instead of an ugly duckling.