Hello and Welcome,
This is a 2020 Vintage Update: Earth, Wind, Fire & Smoke. A FLOG communication from Dena and Ernie @AmalieRobert. Amalie Robert Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.
September is the month where Mother Nature puts the finishing touches on the
vintage. She dots the T’s and crosses her I’s or vice versa, depending on her
prerogative. And she has all manner of tools at her disposal. Our job is to
time the Great Cluster Pluck accordingly.
A westerly or “on-shore flow” will bring westerly cool and humid air down from
the Gulf of Alaska – good for hang time and low alcohol wines. It is also good
for the humans with cool nights for some much-needed rest before the Great
Cluster Pluck kicks into high gear.
An “easterly flow” brings hot, dry, desiccating winds from the interior of the
western states - and a compressed harvest window – gitter done! This pattern
also has the tendency to bring with it dreaded wildfire smoke. And speaking of
which, there is the biggest variable of all. The elephant in the room. The Jet
Stream.
The Jet Stream is the common name for the trade winds. Back in the day, tall
ships would sail from the far east to the new world. Actually, they tried to go
from Europe to the far east, but instead they “discovered” the new world. Our oldest city is St. Augustine,
Florida, founded way back in 1565. From the far east, they would make landfall
in Los Angeles, or San Francisco or ports farther north. It mostly had to do
with where the trade winds were blowing that week. A lot rested with the skill
and ability of the captain in the ways of celestial navigation
with his new-fangled sextant – and ability to find the North Star.
In the Pacific Northwest world of winemaking, we too are keen on navigating the
Jet Stream. The Jet Stream has the most significant impact on weather leading
up to harvest. And that weather will mostly determine the type of wines we
produce from elegant and ethereal to blockbuster and epic. We now rejoin the
wildfires and smoke discussion, already in progress…
As we all have borne witness, California is wildfire central and has been for
some years now. Ernie grew up in Montana, and there were wildfires there too,
mostly caused by lightning. And if we have a westerly flow, that smoke might
just make it back to the Willamette Valley. You can follow along in near real
time with this fire tracker covering the significant fires impacting the west
coast, and Oregon Pinot Noir in particular: Wildfire Tracker
Kickin’ acid and takin’ names. This image best depicts the impact of the Jet
Stream on vintage 2020. Here we see the Jet Stream bend the curve way north.
This allows all of California’s Central Valley heat to invade the Willamette
Valley. And as a double whammy, the smoke particulate hangs in the atmosphere
acting as an insulator. In other words, we do not cool off at night and the
wine berries continue to develop sugar when they should be holding onto their
acidity.
Where there is smoke, there is smoke taint. But so far, that has not been the
case for us because the Jet Stream has been below Oregon. This phenomenon takes
all of the California smoke and points it toward the Rocky Mountains as we can
see here. Let’s hope that trend continues, or someone has a good recipe for
Pinot Noir BBQ sauce.
So, here is where we stand. California has over 750,000 acres burned with some
of the largest wildfires on record still burning. The Jet Stream is working its
way north allowing the heat into the Willamette Valley. The wildfire smoke to
date, has been directed east and south of us. But all of this could change –
quite quickly. And we haven’t even brought up the possibility of RAIN!
As we turn into the unknown that is September, we leave you with our
inspiration from Earth, Wind and Fire.
“And we say
Ba de ya, say do you remember?
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day”
You can watch the Official Video right here – Highly recommended!
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
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