We’re approaching the six week mark on harvest in Washington. Harvest began on August 23^rd with picks of Tempranillo for rosé in the Walla Walla Valley and picks of Pinot Noir for sparkling wine in the Yakima Valley. Most winemakers I’ve spoken with have reported that they have brought in 30-40% of their fruit at present. Hillary Sjolund, consulting winemaker at Wine Boss in Richland, provided the following summary of recent vintages at Wine Boss:

Tons received by Oct. 2nd in each vintage:
2015 – 540 (82% complete)
2016 – 419 (67% complete)
2017 – 211 (~40% complete)

Of note, 2015 was one of the warmest vintages on record (read a harvest report here) and 2016 had an extremely warm start followed by more moderate temperatures (read a harvest report here).

Looking at this vintage, temperatures have cooled considerably recently and the state could use a kiss of warm weather – as well as a few more weeks of frost free nights – to bring the fruit still hanging to the finish line.

Below is a look at harvest based on what has been picked when and where. Enjoy!

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See information on the Washington State Growing Degree Days here.

See monthly forecast for Yakima Valley (Sunnyside), Red Mountain (Benton City), Walla Walla, Paterson, and Mattawa.

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The information in the table below is aggregated from personal correspondence with growers and winemakers, as well as information posted on Twitter and Facebook. It is not intended to be comprehensive but rather is intended as a snapshot of what is going on around the state. If you wish to send data for your grapes or vineyards (or correct any of the information below), please email me at [email protected], leave a comment here, or leave a comment on the WWR Facebook page.