State of the Vines: July 2023
Speak to any Napa Valley vintner, and all will agree: the 2023 grape growing season has been one of the most unusual we’ve ever experienced here in Wine Country. Where years past have been marked by droughts, fires, and heat waves, Mother Nature has had a far different plan of action in mind for this year’s crop thus far.
A RAINY RESTART
The abnormalities began as our vines went dormant in the months after harvest. Deluges from the sky soaked the Valley almost constantly, breaking previous patterns of below-average rainfall in what is supposed to be our wettest season.
Heavy rainfall after such a long period of drought can sometimes spell disaster for agriculture, but this was far from the case in our vineyards. Thanks in large part to our Regenerative farming practices, we’ve built up an incredible amount of organic matter in our soil, which functions like a sponge when inundated with water. Because of this, we were able to store thousands of gallons of water in our soil, which will be invaluable to the health of our vineyards when those days of drought inevitably return.
SNOW!
Excessive amounts of rainfall were not the only oddity dropped from the heavens during the winter months. Near the end of February, the entirety of Napa Valley was shocked when snow began to fall from the sky, blanketing vineyards that had been untouched by such a chill for decades. In the entire history of Grgich Hills, never before has one of our vineyards been covered in snow. Despite the rarity of such an occurrence, we once again had no reason to fear for our vines- still deep in their dormant state, they were blissfully unaffected by yet another of Mother Nature’s curveballs.
LATE AND GREAT
The snowfall seemed to be a precursor to the weather for the rest of the year – unseasonably low temperatures persisted until the end of June, when temperatures typically rise up to 80 or even 90 degrees Fahrenheit. This lack of warm weather has led the vines to develop slower than in years past – bloom was delayed by up to two weeks for some of our varietals.
However, despite the fact that we are trailing behind in growth and development compared to last year, the immense stores of water from one of our wettest winters have allowed our vines to flourish. The number and vitality of their new shoots has been far above normal, leading our winemaker to expect a much greater crop this harvest season, which, as you may have guessed, will begin a little bit later than usual.
Of course, much can happen in the summer months of July and August that will affect our grapes. As farmers, we are at the mercy of nature’s whims. Thankfully, even the unexpected climatic events this year has brought thus far have been benign at worst, and we can only hope for more of the same as we march towards autumn. One thing is for certain, though: the memorable flavors of the 2023 vintage are going to be unlike any we’ve seen in quite a while.