The searing heat of the last six months continues to be the dominant theme when assessing Europe’s harvest, however Germany and Portugal fared better than most. The story is altogether different in California where a wet and cool spring se the scene for a disappointing season. Chris Brook-Carter and Larry Walker report
Germany
While some of the warmer wine regions of Europe have struggled to come to terms with this year’s searing heat, the non-stop sunshine has seen Germany record its second magnificent vintage in three years. One third of the country’s vineyard is planted to red varieties, and while these have shown particularly well, the white wine producers are similarly confident.
With the harvest in the Mosel only just beginning in mid-October, 2003 is already being talked about as being as good as 1959, a legendary, and similarly ripe vintage.
A perfect bud break and flowering early in the year were followed up by near unbroken sunshine through the summer. Some vines on the sandier soils of the Pfalz and the well-drained terraces of the Mosel suffered from heat stress, and sunburn occurred throughout the country. Rain at the end of August was greeted with relief.
The heat led to high must weights, great concentration of flavours and lower than average acidity – potentially a problem in a predominantly white wine producing country. But Ernie Loosen of Dr Loosen in the Mosel believes the wines will be in balance.
“The grapes are mostly coming in at between seven and eight grammes per litre [of acidity],’ he said. ‘It’s perfect. In fact, it’s more than perfect.”
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By GlobalDataThis year’s small berries may give extra concentrated wines, but they are also certain to see lower than average yields, particularly in warmer regions such as Württemberg, where initial reports suggest the harvest could be off by as much as 50%. Most regions, however, are looking at a reduction of 10-20%, and significant price increases are not anticipated.
Portugal
Oddly enough, for one of the hotter wine regions in Europe, the Douro seems to have escaped the worst of the weather. While temperatures soared in Oporto, further up the Douro, they peaked at 42°C in August, barely any worse than the average. In addition, a wet winter and some scattered showers in June, July and the end of August allowed the vines some breathing space, and shippers are tentatively hopeful.
“We had perfect picking conditions for five weeks from August 15th,’ said Paul Symington. “All the signs are there for very good wines.”
Indeed, with ripe tannins and good colours, the only concern is the lack of acidity, which might mean less full declarations, but some very fine single quinta wines.
What is for certain is that 2003 will be a bumper year for table wine in the Douro. With a huge cut in the ‘beneficio’ – the licences required to produce Port – thousands of tonnes of grapes originally destined for Port will end up in ripe, concentrated table wine. And with prices remaining low, buyers are licking their lips.
It was a less happy story down in the dustbowl of the Alentejo, where all but the most heat-loving varieties struggled with a summer that was hot even by the standards of one of Portugal’s warmest regions.
There were no problems early in the year, but the heat of July and August, exacerbated by hot, dry winds from Spain, took its toll on the vines. Syrah and Touriga generally coped better than Aragones and Trincadeira, while white grapes came in ripe and blowsy with limited acidity. Barrel-fermented examples will fare better.
Those who could irrigate managed to harvest reasonable crop, but for those relying on nature, 2003 was tough. As vines shut down with heat stress, many growers found themselves with the worst of all possible worlds, harvesting red grapes that were shrivelled but still unripe, with green tannins, harsh acidity and little juice.
“It was a year you had to be a lot more involved in the vineyard,’ said David Baverstock, winemaker at Herdade do Esporão.
All in all, 2003 for Portugal seems to have been a case of close, but no cigar. “It is the Sogrape winemakers’ feeling that 2003 could have been an exceptional year, but the damage caused by the heatwave has taken its toll,” said Vasco Magalhaes, winemaking spokesman for the country’s biggest wine producer.
California
By mid-October the California wine grape harvest was nearing the end, with mostly Cabernet Sauvignon left on the vines on the North Coast. Up and down the state, vineyard managers and winemakers agreed that quality was good, while quantity was off, especially for Merlot and, in some areas, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Tom Patterson, who oversees the Beringer Blass Vineyards on the Central Coast and in Napa and Sonoma, said heavy rains in April along with a generally cool spring got vines off to a late start and they never really got back on track.
Merlot is off as much as 50% in some cases. But what we have is outstanding, Patterson said. Pinot Noir also looks good, he added.
Daryl Groom, the winemaker at Geyser Peak in Sonoma County said he was pleased with the quality and agreed the size of the crop was below normal. Groom said the cool summer and slow, steady ripening of the grapes was a plus this year. We had a bit of a heat spike in mid-September which brought the Merlot around, and more warm weather in early October which helped the Cabernet.
In general, growers around the state estimated the crop was off about 20%. Final numbers wont be available until February, but in August the California Agricultural Statistics Service estimated that 3.05 million tons of wine grapes would be harvested, down 3% from 2002. On the spot estimates during harvest indicate that the drop in tonnage could be greater than 3%, at least in the premium coastal areas.
It is difficult to estimate at this point what impact the drop in tonnage will have on the California wine glut. Also, at least part of the decline could be because an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 acres of grapes were taken out of production in the Central Valley.
