Ideal weather conditions, minimal wildfire smoke and favorable harvest conditions have local vintners visualizing a 2024 vintage that could be one for the ages, with the region’s signature wine taking the lead.
“The region’s pinot noir promises to deliver a vintage that is vibrant, well-balanced and truly collectible,” a release from the Willamette Valley Winemakers Association said.
Local winemakers and marketers wholeheartedly agree.
“2024 has been an absolute dream for winemakers,” Anna Matzinger, winemaker at Newberg’s Matzinger Davies Wine Company, said in the release. “We’ve had highs in the low to mid-70s degrees and mostly sunny skies for weeks now, which has allowed us to be proactive rather than reactive in our decision-making. This gift of time has allowed sugar accumulation and phenolic ripeness to proceed in tandem with cool temperatures, preserving bright acidity and helping to develop incredible flavors.”
Those conditions have allowed for extended “hang time,” a phenomenon crucial for the development of complex flavors in the varietals most common to the Willamette Valley — pinot noir and chardonnay.