Winemakers are calling the vintage “the tale of two harvests,” making it one of the more unique vintages in recent history. The white wine harvest kicked off in early August, followed quickly by red wine varieties.
With climate variability as the new normal, Napa Valley grape growers aim to be resilient and adaptable. Their preparation and experience paid off in 2022 as growers faced triple digit heat over five days in September quickly followed by rain that brought harvest to a sudden halt.
The typical gap between the white and red wine harvest was almost nonexistent, and the frenzied tempo continued until the rains provided winemakers a much-needed break. Following the rain, grapes left to hang through October enjoyed mild weather days that allowed winemakers to wait for perfect ripeness.
Winemakers describe 2022 white wines as having perfect acidity and freshness with remarkable flavors and textures, and red wines as excellent structured with deep red colors, luxurious tannins and exquisite fruit-forward aromatics. Winemakers believe the unique weather events that defined the vintage will showcase the full range of flavors that Napa Valley wines are so well known for from crisp and vibrant to dense and powerful.
Read the “Vintage Tracker” updates from 2022.
“I think 2022 is a softer vintage. Tannins are lovely but it’s not a massively structured vintage. Tannins are very elegant and soft. I think they’re are really beautiful.” Robert Smith, Winemaker, Quixote
“I think the blended wines are beautiful in 2022 because we have all these interesting pieces to pull from. We have what I consider three parts to the harvesting process in 2022: the earlier picks, the picks right after the heat and then the ones that lasted through to the end of October. So that allowed a lot of really great balance for putting blends together.” Laura Barrett, Clif Family Winery
“2022 is an exceptional vintage for both Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc throughout the valley” – Jeb Dunnick
– 2022 Preliminary Napa Valley Vintage Report – Wine Independent
– Premiere Napa Valley 2024 and the 2022 Napa Vintage by Chelsea Herholdt on klwines.com
– A Look at the 2022 Vintage Through the Lens of Premiere Napa Valley – Vinography
– Farming for Labor Day: Winemakers Discuss the Challenging 2022 Harvest by Kerana Todorov for WineBusiness.com
2022 Napa Valley Vintage Report by Somm TV
A First Look at the 2022 Napa Valley Vintage by Karen MacNeil
Somm TV’s Napa Valley Vintage Update: 2022
Rainfall Summary – Oct + Nov from Paul Blank, Napa RCD Environmental Scientist November brought the first rain of Water Year 2022-23 (beginning October 1) to the Napa Valley, with two small storms and four to five days of measurable rainfall. Rain totals at the County ALERT monitoring stations (napa.onerain.com) were below average for the Read the full article…
Lush, opulent, challenging, amazing, rich and understated (that should age really well) – those are just a few of the words to describe the first impressions of the 2022 vintage from Napa Valley!
Hear from some of Napa Valley’s interns on what it’s like to work here: 5 questions with a Napa Valley harvest intern – Logan from Kentucky 5 questions with a Napa Valley harvest intern – Victor from Napa 5 questions with a Napa Valley harvest intern – Jesenia from Chile (special Spanish-language edition!)
Here’s are the details and summary of the 2022 vintage in Napa Valley: 2022, The Tale of Two Harvests With climate variability as the new normal, Napa Valley grape growers aim to be resilient and adaptable. Their preparation and experience paid off in 2022 as growers faced triple digit heat over five days in September Read the full article…
We caught up with Ralph Hertelendy, owner and winemaker at Hertelendy Vineyards, after his grapes were all in to see what he thinks about Napa Valley’s 2022 vintage. He is rolling with the challenges that Mother Nature sent us this year and expects his wine to be nothing short of excellent!
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