So what’s the vintage looking like so far? Hear what Winemaker/Owner Adam Campbell has to say about the outlook for the 2024 vintage:
“I like to compare it to like 2022, which was just two years ago. And I think they’re similar in that, both vintages kind of had an extended season due to some cooler weather in late August and September, and we were able to pick the majority of the grapes in 2022, just like this year, (from) late September and really well into October. And that’s just key for us: into October. As long as we stay dry, and we get cool nights, we can pick the grapes early in the morning at really low temperatures, with just tons of freshness… The hang time, the ability to stay on the vine longer ’cause the weather’s cooler – we don’t have to rush out and pick because the weather’s too hot – that kind of nice end of the season is where you really get full flavor development, intensity of fruit, and length on the palate, which are the three kind of hallmarks of great wine.” – Owner/Winemaker Adam Campbell
TRANSCRIPT OF THE VIDEO (edited for readability)
Adam Campbell: Hi, my name’s Adam Campbell, owner and winemaker here at my family’s winery, Elk Cove Vineyards.
I’m gonna tell you a little bit about the 2024 vintage, which we’re super excited about. Here we are in the third week of September, beautiful sunny sky, and we are super excited about the pinot noir grapes that you see behind me. 2024 Started out in the spring with kind of cool weather and we thought it was gonna be a little bit of a later ripening year, but we got some really nice weather throughout the summer. A little bit of rain in late, late August and into, um, early September, which I think kind of gave the vines a chance to kind of take a deep breath before their final push into ripening. The forecast looks great.
We’ve got an amazing crew, interns from around the world and an amazing full-time crew both in the vineyard and in the winery. And I’m super excited about the vintage.
Anna Campbell: So, Adam, are you worried about all this rain we had?
Adam: You know, in some ways the rain is kind of an opportunity for the grapes to take a deep breath before they push on into the final ripening. I think that sometimes people, uh, get a little bit overly concerned with rain. We have such an amazing crew, that does amazing work in the vineyard to create airflow and to get these grapes, to let the sun dry them out. We pull leaves on the east side of the vines and we’re just rewarded through all that great vineyard work by having really low disease pressure. So when the rains come in, they rebound really quickly. And we know there’s more sun on the other end of the timeframe.
Anna: What have we brought in so far?
Adam: Well, it’s September 20th, and so far we’ve brought in primarily sparkling wine, both for our sparkling rosé from La Bohème and the Blanc de Blanc, which is a Chardonnay from our Five Mountain Vineyard. And then some Pinot and Chardonnay from Mount Richmond as well.
Anna: How would you compare this vintage to other vintages?
Adam: Well, I like to compare it to like 2022, which was just two years ago. And I think they’re similar in that, uh, both vintages kind of had an extended season due to some cooler weather in late August and September, and we were able to pick the majority of the grapes in 2022, just like this year, (from) late September and really well into October. And that’s just key for us: into October. As long as we stay dry, and we get cool nights, we can pick the grapes early in the morning at really low temperatures, uh, just tons of freshness. And then even just, just the hang time, the ability to stay on the vine longer ’cause the weather’s cooler. We don’t have to rush out and pick ’em because the weather’s too hot. And I think that kind of nice end of the season is where you really get full flavor development intensity of fruit and length on the palate, which are the three kind of hallmarks of great wine.
Anna: So when will we actually know how this vintage turned out?
Adam: Yeah, we don’t want to talk too soon. We don’t want to jinx anything. It’s looking really great. It’s September 20th, we’ve got a 10 day forecast that is really favorable. The grapes are just really on the precipice of being amazingly ripe… When I go out and taste the grapes in the vineyard, I can see that even just five or six more days and we’re gonna really see some amazing things out there. In terms of what we know about the vineyard and the vintage: we know it’s a reasonable yield, and we’ve got small clusters and small berries, things that add really good flavor potential to the wines.
So I think we’re set up for a really big success, but again, gotta knock on wood.
Anna: Any, any last thoughts on vintage 2024 so far?
Adam: Cross your fingers for three to four more weeks of really nice cool dry weather it’s what we need. Come experience the wines a year plus from now, and tell us what you think!
Anna: Cheers!
