That’s a Wrap

Harvest 2023: great acid, great color, great flavor

Pinot Noir clusters on the crushpad await processing

By the time you’re reading this, the heavy lifting of harvest 2023 will be in my rear-view mirror. My reds are through primary fermentation, drained to barrel and working through malo-lactic conversion. My rose tank is nearly dry, and the chardonnay is chugging along in barrel. With some space to reflect, I’m excited to share my insights for harvest 2023. (Spoiler alert: good news ahead).

After settling the chardonnay juice in a cold tank, I rack the clear juice from tank to barrel.

You already know that I love harvest. Every year I am brimming with enthusiasm for harvest. Every vintage is awesome for me; I ❤️ fermentation. Yet even if you prefer cellaring wine and uncorking wine and sharing wine to yeast microbiology, I have great news: this year is extraordinary. And what makes 2023 super special is more nuanced than being a “late year.” For indeed, harvest 2023 arrived “late.”

But Late Compared to What?

Back in 2009, I picked my Anderson Valley pinot noir on September 29th.  Heck, in 2010, I picked Anderson Valley on October 15th.  And in 2011, well, that year I picked Anderson Valley on October 18th. In my early days of winemaking, we often picked pinot noir in October.  For me, the big shift happened in 2015, when I suddenly found myself harvesting pinot noir in mid-August. (For what it’s worth, in 2015 I picked Sangiacomo Vineyard pinot noir 33 days earlier than I did this year). In fact, our most recent vintages have skewed “early,” especially as compared to colder, wetter years like 2011.

In 2023, heat accumulation (as measured by degree days) lagged behind the 5 year average. Data from Atlas VM.

The 2023 growing season degree day data demonstrates that our heat accumulation lags behind the 5-year average. And thus, with less sunshine and less warmth, wine grapes require more time to reach ripeness.

But Why?

Sonoma County enjoyed (endured??!) heavy winter rains and a cool, wet spring. Bud break started late, pushing the entire wine growing season further down the calendar. And if bud break is delayed from March until April, then bloom, veraison, and harvest dates are delayed, too. Furthermore, bloom date is predictive of harvest date (for pinot noir, for example, 100% bloom to harvest averages 110 days-ish).

In 2023, I started sampling later, and I sampled more often, looking for ripe seeds and flavor development.

In addition, unlike 99% of the globe, Sonoma relished an unseasonably cool summer. By May, Sonoma County counted only 86% of the degree days accumulated by the same date in 2022. One month later (6/21/23), Sonoma measured only 68% of degree days as compared to 6/21/2022.

Enough with the Data

So, we have established that harvest 2023 is “late,” notable for grape development lagging behind the previous 5-year average. This is largely secondary to a cool, wet spring and a cool summer growing season. What does it mean for you, the wine lover? In short: good acid retention, long hang time, excellent phenolic development, good seed ripening, ideal tannin development, and extraordinary flavor- all at lower sugar accumulation.

2023: stunning fruit quality

Do you prefer age-worthy wines you can stash and cellar? You’ll love 2023. Do you love rich flavor and texture at moderate alcohol levels? You’ll love 2023. Does your heart swoon when you see deeply-hued magenta wine flowing in your glass? You’ll love 2023. Do you appreciate a balance between fruit forward notes and zingy acid? You’ll love 2023.

Blue skies for miles

Can You Go Back to that Phenolic Part?

Ripeness includes two complementary components: sugar and phenolic development. Sugar accumulation is easy to understand. Sunshine = photosynthesis = sugar accumulation = sweet = ripe.

If the juice is sweet enough to attract a honeybee, then it’s sweet enough for me!

Phenolic ripeness considers acidity and tannin development. Are seeds brown and toasty? Do skin tannins taste mature? How is robust is color? Are canes and rachis lignified (translation- are stems brown)? Although malic acid is temperature sensitive (retained in cool years; respired in hot ones), tartaric acid drops with time. If too much heat and too much sunshine happen too quickly, sugar ripeness can leapfrog ahead of phenolic ripeness.

We look for brown, toasty seeds. Unripe seeds are neon green surrounded by a clingy halo of pulp.

Thus, the 2023 vintage is a gift of extended hang time, with moderate weather allowing grapes to lounge on the vine, slowly aggregating sugar in synchrony with the other indices of ripeness, everything maturing in harmony. Best of all, flavor, color, and texture development arrived at lower-than-expected brix. Just being on the vine longer allows for added maturity and flavor complexity, at lower sugars. I anticipate 2023 being a lower alcohol year, too. (n.b. This is a generalization. Ripeness/alcohol levels vary with winery style).

Santa Lucia Highlands grapes hanging out & enjoying extended hang time. Photo courtesy of Mark Pisoni.

Don’t Take My Word for It

I am thrilled with this year’s results. My fruit looked gorgeous. Fermentations completed easily. The earliest wines smell wonderful and taste great. But naturally, I’m a Tigger (I don’t jump; I bounce). So, I polled some of my favorite colleagues, who range from Winnie the Poohs (cheerful and good hearted) to Owls (sage and experienced) to Rabbits (control freak) to Eeyores (occasionally grumpy-pants).  As winemaker Moret Brealynn observes, “Whether it’s too hot, too cold, or just right kind of vintage, one thing that I’ve found to be consistent is the community…I love our Sonoma County/Grand Cru wine making community, and I’m eager to taste what everyone made from this 2023 vintage.” So let’s hear what my pals in Grand Cru’s Hundred Acre Woods have to say about harvest 2023.

“Bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!”

Everything delicious!

In 2023, flavor development trumped sugar accumulation. Trombetta winemaker Erica Stancliff shared “I think this year more of a focus was on the phenolic development and the flavors versus the sugar… [everything] tasted great; the skins were beautiful; and the acid levels were in balance with the sugar.”

Humane Pacing

More than one winemaker rejoiced over the mellower harvesting schedule that marches alongside a cooler vintage. Joe Ryan of Ernest Vineyards noted, “My fruit came in three waves. The spacing between picks was humane.” Jeff Cohn echoed Joe’s sentiments, explaining, “I picked when I wanted to pick,” meaning that Mother Nature never forced his hand. Others noted our unseasonably cool summer, with few (if any?) 100+ degree days. Adam Lee of Clarice Wine Company remarked he hasn’t seen this kind of extended, cool growing season since 1997-98. Incidentally, ’98 remains Adam’s favorite SLH vintage of all time. This comparison bodes well for all of us!!

I’m surrounded by passionate, smart, knowledgeable winemakers every day!

Awesome Color

Every winemaker spoke to the rich hues and stunning color absorption in 2023. Both Charlie Gilmore of Cormorant Cellars and Derek Flegal, winemaker for Platt Vineyard expressed excitement about 2023 being a strong color year.  

The richness of hue is magnificent. Pinot Noir draining from tank.

Walking the Razor’s Edge

A late harvest comes with risks. Weather & natural disaster come to mind. But furthermore, grape phenology rides an internal clock. Rootstocks help determine the lifespan of leafy green canopies, which eventually dehydrate, brown, and shut-down. A defoliated grape vine offers little photosynthesis. Once the canopy craps out (yeah, that’s technical UC Davis terminology), any additional sugar accumulation is secondary to dehydration, rather than meaningful ripening. Winemaker Joe Ryan delighted in persistent low pH’s, encouraged by the long hang time, a testament to the cool, moderate weather. Veteran winemaker Jeff Gaffner remained measured. He notes that vibrant acid retention is the windfall borne of a cool growing season; luck is the delight. “We walked the razor’s edge,” he remarked, meaning he allowed grapes to hang as long as possible, just before weather turned rainy and meaningful sugar accumulation ceased. “But unlike in 2011, this year we won.”