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 Vintage
2000
By Andrew Campbell
The 2000 vintage is upon us! As the winemakers
harvest the vines, we eagerly ask the question: What is the
quality of the 2000 vintage? We have received good reviews.
In California, there was much rain in the winter and early
spring. Severe heat spells in May and June did cause some damage,
mainly to Merlot. July and August were ideal, maintaining
consistent temperatures for nearly three months. Because of this
fact, there is a record crop coming from California! The last
record was the famed 1997 vintage, and the 2000 vintage exceeds
the 1997 crop by 10%! According to some harvest notes there is
"an excess supply of Coastal-grown Chardonnay…with few
interested buyers". It is still too early to draw conclusions
to this fact, but it raises many questions, like "Will this
affect prices?" or "Will the excess influence
quality?" Despite the surplus of chardonnay, there is still
high demand for California merlot and cabernet sauvignon.
Washington has also been very consistent. For the past three
vintages (1998, 1999, and now 2000), the quality Washington wine
has been stupendous. July and August for the Columbia and Walla
Walla valleys were very warm. The weather during these months
ripened the grapes to their fullest, providing clean rot-free
fruit.
In closing, the 2000 vintage of California and Washington are
of high quality, but it is still to early to predict what kind of
wine will come of this vintage. We know the weather was consistent
for the vintage and there will be a huge supply of wine, but it
isn't the weather that makes the wine.
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