 2000
Okanagan
Vintage Report
By John Simes, Chief Winemaker, Mission
Hill Family Estate 
Courtesy of Wines
Northwest
2000 Climate Conditions:
The Okanagan Valley enjoys an excellent grape-growing climate,
but as with all wine regions, changing weather can create
challenges. Vintage 2000 was no exception, bringing the usual
frosty consternation along with patches of rain, even some hail,
but thankfully, there was also a good deal of sunshine.
Bud burst was earlier than in 1999, suggesting a good year may
be in store. However, cool, unsettled conditions in June had
everyone prepare for a very late harvest. A dry August with good
sunshine saved the season. But, it wouldn’t be the Okanagan if
we didn’t get at least a fright or two late in the season. The
end of September heralded a period of significantly below average
temperatures, occasionally dipping below zero. Luckily the impact
on overall quality was slight and October brought with it great
autumn weather, rewarding us for hanging on.
Our Vineyards:
Mission Hill Family Estate has extensive vineyard holdings. The
planting of family-owned vineyards began in 1993 and continues to
this day. Our newest vineyard will be planted this spring.
Most of our estate vineyards are planted in the southern
Okanagan, on the East side of the valley giving them south and
west facing slopes. All the vineyards are planted with grafted
rootstocks,
 which
increases the durability of the vines and allows them to survive
climate extremes. The southern vineyards are irrigated by overhead
irrigation. This allows us to maintain a cover crop to stabilize
the soil on the slopes and also provides us with some frost
protection in spring. In our northern vineyards the soils are
heavier and the need for cover crops is less, so we use drip
irrigation.
This past year, we installed a number of wind machines
throughout our vineyards, principally in the Black Sage Road area,
in order to provide additional protection from frosts in the
spring and fall. The wind machines allow warmer air that typically
forms in an inversion layer about 20-50 ft above the ground to be
mixed with cold air that settles on the ground during a frost.
These units have large rotors that allow us to push warmer air
down onto the vines, effectively raising the ground level
temperature by 2° centigrade and reducing the risk of frost
damage. The wind machines were successfully used during the 2000
season and more have been installed for 2001.
The 2000 Harvest:
Harvest began under sunny skies on September 21st and the last
parcel of Cabernet was crushed on October 27th, but the 2000
vintage wasn’t complete until the night of December 10th when
Chardonnay Icewine was harvested under a full moon in temperatures
of -15° centigrade.
The Mission Hill Family Estate vineyards that were planted in
1996 and 1997 are now approaching full maturity. Crop levels and
overall vine balance were in excellent shape in 2000.
In order to cultivate the highest quality crop, shoot and
cluster thinning was carried out after flowering to ensure
moderate potential crop levels. This combined with the settled and
generally warm weather that occurred from early October on,
allowed a long hang time in many vineyards and resulted in some
very high brix levels, particularly with the red grapes. Sugar
levels of over 24 brix, and deep full-coloured skins have resulted
in some big and exciting reds. With the white grapes, the lack of
any period of real intense heat has given the wines a delicacy and
freshness.
Overall, the expectation is that 2000 wines will be high
quality. Our thinning and crop reduction program and the evolution
of our barrel aging, utilizing wood from different forests and
regions are key to ensuring high quality. This year’s reds are
expected to be dark and full-bodied and our Bordeaux reds and
Syrah may well result in wines that surpass the quality of the
celebrated 1998 vintage.
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