The 2004 growing season at Van Duzer vineyards was marked by ill-timed rains and a heat spike, but a cool dry period in the end delivered a fully mature crop that chalked up 7 to 8 weeks on the vine from the time of veraison to harvest.

“Already the wine is displaying nice, rich flavors, an intense color and solid structure,” said Winemaker Jim Kakacek. The Pommard grape, he predicted, would be the star of the 2004 vintage. “Intense black cherry aromas, a rich mouth-feel, thickness in the palate, and well balanced acids and pH are impressive at this point.”

The vineyard has seen a steady rise in the average veraison-to-harvest times. The hang time interim grew to 6 weeks in 2002 and as the vineyard adopted cover crop practices that triggered earlier veraison, the interim rose somewhere between 7 and 8 weeks in 2004.

Average Number of Weeks, Veraison to Harvest
1998 - 2001.........4 weeks
2002.................6 weeks
2003.................6 weeks
2004.................7-8 weeks

The unpredictability of a growing season keeps winegrowers humble. In 2004, we dealt with incomplete bloom, a heat spike, fall rains and lower yields. The steady summer warmth and a cool, dry spell just before harvest, however, more than compensated for nature’s challenges.

Growing Season
Early warmth brought about bud break on April 1, kicking off warmer-than-average daily temperatures during spring and summer. By the first week of June, when bloom was only 15% complete, a week of wet, cold weather set in. As a result, the blooms that would have occurred during that period were lost. The net effect, seen most clearly among the young vines on the West Side and hillsides, was a crop level 60% of normal.

The looser clusters proved beneficial later in the growing season when they showed resistance to mold and mildew and required less thinning than previous vintages. Typically, we drop 25-30% of the crop through selective thinning, but found that unnecessary this year, offsetting the below-normal bloom count.

Three days of heat exceeding 103° the last week of July triggered veraison, first on the west-facing bowl, then Flagpole Block and the older hillside eastern blocks, and by August 10, the pinot gris and pinot noir growing on the flatter blocks. With irrigation, the grapes were not negatively affected and stayed healthy.

September in the Willamette Valley lived up its anything-can-happen reputation with first a rain spell, then temps that hovered in the low 80s. With sugar levels rising, wineries in the valley began harvesting. Van Duzer’s position in the cooler section of the valley enabled us to forestall harvest as a storm system stalled off the Pacific coast, providing two weeks of 70° temperatures. The late cool, dry spell enabled the fruit development to catch up with sugar levels and brought pH and acids back in balance.

Yields
Van Duzer saw a simultaneous drop in yield per acre and increase in gallons per ton. Overall tonnage averaged 1.75 tons per acre, compared to 2.5 tons in more typical years. Offsetting the decline was an increase in the gallons of juice realized per ton of grapes harvested.

Despite lower crop levels, overall production promises to equal or slightly exceed the 2003 vintage, the combined effect of the greater gallons/ton figure and fuller utilization of the vineyard that has occurred as the estate has matured over time.

Grapes at Harvest
Van Duzer went into harvest with sugar levels of 23 to 24 brix, slightly above target. To compensate, we used less aggressive yeasts and expect alcohol content to materialize at 13.5%, in line with our target.

As harvest ended, the vines were still growing. The prospect of more photosynthesis and carbohydrates stored in the roots sets the stage for healthy vines for the 2005 vintage.

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Source: Van Duzer Vineyards, November 2004