2024 Harvest and Pressing Activities
Tony says the 2024 harvest is the best vintage this decade. We worship Tony as a wine-making god, and this writer (the best wine writer in his family, after all) cannot help but appreciate the truth and wisdom of Tony’s words.
Seriously though, Tony is hedging his bets a bit. Sometimes, we know that a vintage is bad from the get-go. Or do we? At this point in 2013, and even when the bottling was released two to three years later, many thought that vintage was mediocre, at best. Yet here we are in 2024, and people are remarking on how eminently drinkable those 2013 wines are. So, with the knowledge borne of years crafting the finest of wines, Tony knows that one does not declare victory when the fruit is yet hanging on the vine.
Still, what we know points to 2024 as yet another in a string of good years in the valley. As this article was written in late fall, Chardonnay grapes were harvested, and Pinot grapes were plucked from the vine. Moderate temperatures in September have allowed the fruit to hang on the vine, slowing the sugar ripening and allowing flavor and phenols (chemical compounds in the grapes that affect flavor, color, and mouthfeel) to develop. Rains have been periodic, but not sustained, reducing disease pressure.
Workers have picked, destemmed, and crushed in preparation for fermentation. Many steps still remain before the juice hits your glass. Still, we are confident that 2024 will be another great year for Willamette Valley wines.
