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
March is usually Napa Valley’s last chance at rain on a normal season. This March we saw more rain than a year ago, but hopes for a “March Miracle” went unfulfilled. Over an inch in some places but an inch was about average for the month. We’ll take what we can get at this point! Read the full article…
In the past 2 weeks, we’ve gone from “green fuzzies” to popped buds all over the valley. Last Thursday, we went up to Henry Ranch in Pope Valley (in the far eastern side of Napa Valley) to take a look at 50+ year old Chenin Blanc vines with Shaina Harding of Gaderian Wines! And we Read the full article…
Budbreak is starting all over the valley – about a week earlier than last year. We’ll share more photos when we get them!
Read the details at Wine Business.
Have you seen the mustard of Napa Valley in person? For just a few weeks every year, the vineyards of Napa Valley fill with yellow mustard flowers. We took this photo a few minutes ago as these are just starting to pop up in a few vineyards around the valley. In a few weeks, they Read the full article…
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