Despite surprising October freeze, Idaho vineyards tout likelihood of ‘tremendous’ vintages
An early freeze affected Southern Idaho vineyards, just as it did farms and ranches. But in spite of scattered crop losses and a rush to harvest during Idaho’s coldest October on record, winemakers and growers say the 2019 harvest likely will produce “tremendous” vintages.
“It’s been a tale of two harvests,” said Moya Shatz Dolsby, the executive director of the Idaho Wine Commission. “Because of what came in before the freeze and what came in after.”
The Idaho Wine Commission estimated that vineyards harvested only 70 percent of their normal crop, due to lower fruit yields overall and a hard freeze across Idaho and parts of Oregon starting Oct. 10. Although numbers aren’t final yet, Dolsby estimated that Idaho vineyards yielded roughly 2,000 tons of grapes this year, compared to 2,800 tons in 2018.
Faced with October’s cold weather, growers had to decide whether to harvest some varietals early — before much had fully ripened — or wait it out in hopes the grapes would survive. Harvesting early means the grapes could have less sugar and alcohol content than desired, while grapes that freeze can begin dehydrating.
Mike Williamson, a commissioner on the Idaho Wine Commission, said later-ripening reds such as cabernet, petit verdot and mourvedre were more likely to be harvested after the freeze. Some varieties, such as his sangiovese, were harvested before the cold set in.
His Williamson Orchards and Vineyards in Caldwell also harvested about 30% less than usual, due to lower yields and the cold.
“In general, I don’t know that it’s going to negatively affect the quality of the wine that comes out,” Williamson said. “It could mean more intense flavors. We have such awesome, skilled winemakers that can handle this.”
What does this mean for the 2019 vintage of Idaho wines?
More than 1,000 of Idaho’s 1,300 vineyard acres are part of the Snake River Valley AVA (American Viticulture Area) and concentrated in the Sunnyslope region of Canyon County. Idaho’s other wine regions are the Eagle Foothills AVA and the Lewis-Clark Valley AVA, which is in North Idaho.
This year wasn’t the first time that unexpected cold weather threatened Idaho vineyard production. Weeks of snow and below-freezing cold in January 2017 dropped yields to dangerous lows, with some growers losing or replanting half of their vineyards, according to a 2018 Idaho Press report. Some Idaho winemakers that usually sourced the required 75% of Idaho grapes to maintain the “Idaho wine” label had to turn to Washington grapes instead.
The harvest setbacks dealt to growers in 2019 are minor in comparison, experts said. Alcohol content in this year’s wines will trend a little lower, according to the wine commission, but even the lower yields were to be expected after 2018’s strong harvest and an unusually wet and cool growing season.
Now winemakers and vineyard owners alike are eagerly anticipating the flavors that will come from “Mother Nature’s curve ball,” as Williamson put it.
“The early frost changed our decision-making for all of our winemaking this year,” said Martin Fujishin, winemaker and owner of Fujishin Family Cellars. “The results we got from our wines were pretty tremendous.”
Williamson said wine from grapes harvested before the freeze will have stronger fresh-fruit flavors, with a bit more acidity and brighter tones. The grapes harvested after the freeze likely will produce wine with mature fruit flavors and “jammy” notes.
Fujishin said some of the grapes harvested after the freeze were able to ripen more fully than if they had been harvested before, producing “nice fruit structure.”
The 2019 red wines won’t be available for a while, but white wines — which winemakers said would definitely benefit from increased acidity of the early harvest — from this year’s grapes will begin appearing in the spring.
Williamson said customers and visitors who eventually sample the 2019 vintages should ask winemakers whether they came from the early or later harvest, and then compare the differences. He said he’s excited for customers to taste a white varietal new to his vineyard, albarino, which he planted in conjunction with Fujishin.
“The winemakers do some pretty amazing science magic to get the flavors they’re working with,” said Williamson, who sells grapes to other local winemakers, including Cinder, Koenig, Indian Creek and Split Rail. “That’s part of the fun for us, to get to see the different styles that come out of this.”
Itching to get an early start? Fujishin said Thanksgiving weekend is when visitors are most likely to catch the growers and owners of Sunnyslope at their vineyards. Visitors can hear for themselves how vineyards fared and what they are making, and begin planning returns to try the 2019 varietals.
“We felt like we were rewarded through waiting,” Fujishin said. “We really did get the flavors and the color extraction. ... I think it’s a really nice vintage.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 2:53 PM.
