Troon Vineyard Director Brian Gruber
Troon Winemaker Herb Quady
It’s all systems GO for Vintage Watch 2013 as vineyards in Southern Oregon shift into high gear much sooner than expected—and the fruit looks to be of superior quality. Normally the grape harvest in our region begins around the first of October, but this vintage saw an early start to the season thanks to warm spring temperatures and a relatively dry summer season. And then there was the smoke from wildfires in July which diffracted the sunlight resulting in a faster, more even ripening. “This caused the vines to advance quickly with ripening speeding-up considerably,” says Troon Vineyard Winemaker Herb Quady. “During the first week of September, the sugar levels in the grapes were rising at such a rapid rate that we started picking small batches that very week. It was fast and intense and now we are in full-throttle to bring all the fruit in quickly.”
One of the reasons to pick early is to make sure the future white wines don’t suffer from the excessive heat. Quady says, “As long as the grapes have sufficient flavor, we are going to bring them in. Otherwise we’ll end up with wines that are too hot and just not fruit friendly.” Troon Vineyard Director Brian Gruber says, “Our goal is to retain our signature acid and develop intense flavor.”
Getting the crop in may be quite an undertaking as vineyard managers in the area are predicting a larger than normal crop yield. Estimates predict this harvest could result in 25% more fruit. “The fruit is pretty compact, so hopefully we’ll be able to bring it in faster,” says Mike Wisnovsky of Valley View Vineyards. “We think it’s going to be a very good to excellent year.” Wisnovsky predicts the entire harvest will wrap before the end of October. The bigger issue for vineyards, however, may be where to ferment all of the bounty. “We are at maximum capacity,” says Gruber, “which is a nice problem to have!”
Applegate Valley’s Troon Vineyard will celebrate the early harvest with a Crush 2013 Party on Saturday, October 5th from Noon to 5:00pm. Event plans include grape stomping, barrel rolling and live music. There will also be pumpkins to decorate for the kids and a tempting fall menu (www.troonvineyard.com)! Wineries on the Upper Rogue Wine Trail will celebrate on October 12th (www.upperroguewinetrail.com).
With successful vintages behind us and a future vintage that may be the best yet, Southern Oregon has become a wine region that experts across the globe are talking about. For those of us who live here and drink it in every day, we know with certainty that we produce great wine. But sometimes it takes outside forces a little longer to catch-up. This fall, Sunset Magazine, along with other national publications, will feature Southern Oregon as the “up and coming wine appellation to watch.” But Wisnovsky has a different take on the situation. “Why does it have to be about north and south? Why are we just now the one to watch? The Willamette Valley is world-renowned for its Pinot Noir. In Southern Oregon we make bolder reds like Tempranillo and Zinfandel. But these are all great wines. So shouldn’t the story just be about Oregon? Oregon IS wine country.” And when this crop of wines hits the shelves in the coming months, Vintage 2013 may just seal the deal.
Photos: Troon Vineyard
