Vintage Guide
Here’s how to identify a good year for Virginia winemaking: We have a wet spring, a wet early summer, and then a moderate drought through November - nothing too terrible. That would be bad for your yard, but good for the grapes.
What’s a bad vintage year for Virginia? Heavy rain from March to November. That’s what happened in 2018, when the state got 82 inches. So if you didn’t need to water your yard the whole summer, it’s probably not a good year for the vines.
A late spring frost is also stressful. That happened over Mother’s Day weekend in 2020, and many vineyards here in Northern Virginia were damaged.
There is no substitute for tasting. With the best vineyards in the state, growing and cellaring skills are good enough that bad vintages are less common, and good vintages are the norm.
BEST VINTAGES:
2019: A polar vortex brought temperatures down to 0 degrees in Northern Virginia. However, the spring was uneventful (no late frosts), and the summer was dry. 2019 is considered one of the best vintages in recent years.
2017: It was a drier and warmer year than average, which helped grape production.
2014: Extreme cold damaged many vineyards in January. However, it was dry in September and October, which was favorable for ripening. The good fall weather led to high-quality fruit.
2010: This was one of the hottest and driest years in modern history. Many vineyards were harvesting three weeks earlier than usual. Fruit quality was considered excellent.
ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT VINTAGES:
2020: An unusually cold April and May damaged vines that had budded in a usually warm March. The harvest in the fall was smaller than usual.
2018: It was the wettest year on record for many areas of the state. Some areas of the Blue Ridge Mountains got over 80 inches of rain. Yields were down 35% from 2017. Some vineyards lost most or all of their crops due to the weather. Many winemakers say 2018 was the worst vintage ever. Be careful about buying a wine from 2018: Try before you buy. (Although, to be frank, we don’t often follow our own advice. We had a 2018 red blend from Early Mountain that was delicious.)
2011: The year was uneventful until harvest time. In late August, Hurricane Irene and then Tropical Storm Lee brought heavy rains to parts of the state. Then, in September, a low-pressure system out of the Gulf brought rain for five days. October was also cool and wet.
In tough years, look to Virginia’s rising-stars: Petit Verdot, Petit Manseng and Tannat. They can handle the heat and humidity better than the other varietals.