BC's 2020 vintage: great but scarce

 

                    Photo: Jeff Martin of La Frenz Winery

 

  

Here is a tip: when British Columbia wineries begin releasing their 2020 wines next year, stock up.

 

The quantity of the 2020 wines will be significantly lower than recent vintages but the quality will be among the best in this decade.

 

Don’t take my word for it. Here is what Jeff Martin, owner of La Frenz Winery, says about the 2020 vintage:

 

“The critical ripening months of September and October were a total surprise with next to no rainfall, continuous sunshine and temperatures often in the 20's,” he wrote in an email. “This was simply textbook perfect ripening conditions. 2020 was a stellar harvest of excellent quality and the wines produced will rate in the top 3 years of the past decade, if not higher.” 

 

This stands in contrast to the problematic 2020 wines that will becoming from California, Oregon and perhaps even Washington State. The enormous forest fires in the western United States disrupted the normal ripening and likely also resulted in a lot of wines with smoke taint.

 

While vintners have figured out how to mitigate smoke taint in wines, it is better not to have it in the first place. On that score, British Columbia was lucky: 2020 was a very moderate forest fire season here. And the dense pall of smoke from the American fires did not persist over our vineyards long enough to cause problems.

 

The 2020 season in the Okanagan and Similkameen started wet and cool. That made for a smaller fruit set than usual. As a consequence, the grape harvest was reduced and thus the quantity of wine will also be reduced. But the grapes that were picked generally were of top quality.

 

The Summerland Research Station tracks the growing degree days every year. In 2020, the accumulation for Osoyoos was 1,616 GDD. That is a comfortable seasonal average. It compares to a high this decade of 1,764 in 2015 (the hottest year since 1998) and a low of 1,348 in 2011 (the coolest year in two decades).

 

Growing degree days measure the sunlight and heat the vines get to mature the fruit they are carrying. The 2020 number is excellent.

 

Here is what Graham O’Rourke, a viticulturist and co-owner of Tightrope Winery on Naramata Bench, says of the vintage:

“After a slightly slower start than what can be expected as average, we had a brilliant year. The humidity was higher than normal in June and the beginning of July but once the heat came on the weather could not have been better. Here on the Bench there was only one day where temperatures reached 40 degrees. The majority of the days were in the high 20's or low 30's, perfect for grapes. This weather continued into September which allowed very good balance between Brix and Acids for the harvest, which started the third week of September with Pinot Noir Rose fruit and Pinot Gris. Harvest was cut short last week with below freezing temperatures but all in all a very good season.”

 

Yet another vintner singing the praises of 2020 is Michael Bartier, co-owner of Bartier Brothers on the Black Sage Bench.

 

“Bud dissections over the winter showed no significant winter damage; all primary buds were healthy,” he writes. “Cool, wet weather in the spring led to a delayed bud burst about 7 – 10 days behind typical (Apr. 7 for Chardonnay). Heavy rains during blossom interrupted pollination, leading to a very poor fruit set.  This became a defining feature of the vintage, with eventual yields being down 20-30% from typical.”  

 

Michael continues: “Typical hot and dry weather resumed in July and August, allowing ripening to catch up from the delayed start.  Smoke generated from the infamous western United States wildfires drifted north to our region, at one point giving us up to 134 hours of uninterrupted heavy smoke cover.  This was a scare for smoke taint flavours; however subsequent lab testing for these compounds showed low levels.  The local wisdom is that the smoke, having travelled so far, was low in ash solids which dropped before getting to us.  The ash is what will affect the grapes, and eventually the wine, so we’re happy not dealing with this. 

 

“Harvest was affected by lack of available transient labour due to the Covid-19 pandemic; resulting harvest costs were high.  First frost was recorded in colder areas on Oct. 16, and a significant snowfall on Oct. 23.  Vineyards in close proximity to the heat sink of Okanagan Lake were not affected by either of these events, though by this time, most of the harvest was done.”

“The warm, sunshine-soaked August and September was the ideal climate to advance ripening with great flavours developing on the vine,” agrees Quails’ Gate Estate Winery. “September was full of luminous, dry days which ensured full physiological ripeness.”,

 

“The grapes from this harvest were really nicely balanced,” writes Rolf de Bruin, co-owner of Fort Berens Estate Winery in Lillooet. “They had a fair amount of acidity and good sugar levels, so we anticipate a new vintage of wines that are fresh, clean, and beautifully fruit-forward. As we look forward, we are very optimistic about our 2020 vintage.”

But Rolf has the same observation as Graham. “Cropping levels were lower than in prior years, with some varietals coming in with yields 20-40% lower than normal. Lower cropping levels meant we had less fruit to work with, and ultimately, we anticipate that this will be one of our smallest crops ever, similar to our 2017 yield.” 

 Judging from the comments from Zac Brown at Alderlea Vineyards near Duncan, the Cowichan Valley vintners had a somewhat more challenging year – but one that turned out fine at the end. 

“April and May were warmer than average and we saw bud break a week earlier than the previous three years,” Zac writes. “Early June saw average weather before turning horrible from mid-month into early July. We experienced a large amount of rain and cooler than average temperatures for weeks. Bad weather in June typically impacts the fruit set in the Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir and 2020 was no exception. We saw a reduction of yield in those two varieties by 10 and 15% respectively. July and most of August saw much improved weather with hot days advancing fruit maturity. Early September through us a wild card: smoke from American fires in the upper atmosphere caused problems. What would have otherwise been hot clear sun was obscured by smoke for a week.

“The impact of this was the longest, most drawn out veraison I have ever seen,” Zac continues. “We let everything hang for 10-15 days longer at Alderlea than any year since 2013. The result? Our whites came in with normal sugar levels and textbook acid levels. The reds saw slightly lower sugar levels and higher acid levels than 2019, however well within the expected range. Overall, I’m happy with the vintage so far.”

 

That sums it up for British Columbia’s wineries: good to great wines but just not enough of them. Buy early.