by Dirk Brink, Winemaker

As red wine ages, and small amounts of oxygen is introduced, the mouthfeel becomes softer, less astringent. The tannins chemically change, undergoing polymerization, causing the tannins to bind up in long chains. These chains reduce the tannin’s surface area, making the wine taste rounder and silkier. From my perspective, the term “Aging to perfection” , is driven by the fact that the wine becomes more approachable and balanced.

These days most people like to enjoy and consume younger wines, and never will experience how the wine will change and evolve. That’s why it is important to create a library, hold back special vintages, and reveal the special nuances with the consumer as the wine matures. It is an education. This will make the visual of the specific vintage clearer, convey a true story and create a connection. At the same time is it crucial to bottle the wines at the right time, preserving and capturing the beautiful nuances, retaining brightness and freshness, along with ample tannin and balanced acidity. The two most important and natural preservatives in wine are tannin and acid. It will pave the way for the wine to age gracefully.

by Jay DeWitt, Managing Partner and Vigneron

The Walla Walla valley was visited by a polar air mass in February. Sub-zero temperatures killed over 95% of the 2024 fruit buds. As of now, there are a few clusters scattered about our estate vineyards, but not enough to make much wine. Fortunately, there is enough new growth to repair the spur positions without cutting the plants off at the ground, so the 2025 crop should produce normal yields.

You might recall that we also lost the 2022 Birch Creek Estate grapes to a freak August hailstorm. Fortunately both the 2021 and 2023 vintages provided us with plenty of outstanding fruit from Birch Creek. In 2022 we made limited quantities of Walla Walla Valley wine using fruit from Breezy Slope, Minnick Hills, and the new vineyard that Dirk and his family own, Hidden Stone. We don’t have that same opportunity in 2024 since the whole valley was affected by the freeze.

The loss of two crops in three years is a difficult pill to swallow. We take comfort in the fact that we can pull back from the wholesale market and still will have enough great wine from our library to share with you, our loyal wine club members through the coming years.

by Jay DeWitt, Managing Partner and Vigneron

Close up of grape clusters in Birch Creek Vineyard in the Walla Walla AVA just after veraison.

It has been a full 12 months since our 2022 crop was wiped out by the hailstorm. At the beginning of this crop year, we could only guess what effects the damage would have on the 2023 crop. There were some problems, but, shortly after bud break, the crew was able to sort through and remove the shoots that were not growing normally.

Since the plants didn’t have many leaves left after the storm, they were unable to fully replenish themselves. As a result, this year’s leaves, clusters, and berries are smaller than expected. Small berries are what we hope for every year, because the flavors are more concentrated and the wine is better.

After getting a late start due to a cool spring, the temperatures have been favorable since, the vineyard has caught up. The end of veraison is near. The crew is making the last pass through to remove unwanted clusters. Then they will apply the bird nets. It has been dry, which is good for grape quality. It is important that the plants experience a little stress before veraison, but from now on we will give them all the water they want through our drip irrigation system. Now we just need another 6 weeks of reasonable weather, without smoke or an early frost. That’s not too much to ask for, is it?

by Jay DeWitt, Managing Partner and Vigneron

Contrast of hail damaged bud burst (first bud at the bottom of the spur, close to the tie tape) vs normal bud burst (at the top of the spur). Note also the scarring on last year’s wood.

The 2023 crop is coming along fine. There was hardly any bud damage from winter freeze events, and spring frosts were avoided completely. The buds burst about 2 weeks later than normal due to a cold spring. The first leaves and fruit clusters have expanded, and berry set is nearly complete. The next stage of growth is called “rapid berry expansion.”

The soil is drier than normal. We can irrigate when necessary, so that isn’t a concern to us. The beautiful green wheat fields that surround the valley are drying up prematurely, it won’t be a very good year for the dryland farmers.

As expected, there was damage to the buds resulting from the August 2022 hailstorm which destroyed our 2022 grapes. The damage was impossible to detect until the buds started to grow this spring. To compensate for this, we adjusted the winter pruning practices to leave more buds to choose from. Normally we leave 30 buds per grape plant, this year we left 60 buds per plant. Right after bud burst it was easy for our workers to see which ones were damaged and remove them by hand. Now the crew is removing surplus healthy shoots to bring the crop level back to what is needed to optimize quality. This is what we mean when we say our grapes are “hand nurtured.”

The next step for the crew will be to remove leaves to get more sunlight on the grapes. Sunlight builds better flavors.

by Jay DeWitt, Managing Partner and Vigneron

In my blog post last March, I wrote “Mother Nature can be an ill tempered, whimsical disciplinarian.” I am chuckling as I reflect on how right I was, considering the 2022 wipeout. (Vineyard Celebration of Life).

We expect there will be some problems with the 2023 crop due to the bruising of the buds that took a direct hit from a hailstone. The buds for the 2023 crop were fully formed by the end of June 2022, the storm occurred 6 weeks later. Using a microscope, you can see all of the anatomy for the next crop–tiny stems, leaves, and fruit clusters. The clusters contain the flower parts that will produce the berries after they bloom during the following season.

Not all of the buds received a direct hit. The buds occur randomly around the diameter of the stems. Since the hail was wind driven, the buds on the downwind side were protected by the stems. The storm also caused some phloem damage to the stems. But, in contrast to the buds, the plant can repair phloem tissue, and that is what happened last year after the storm. We won’t know the full extent of the damage until the berries begin to expand in July. The crew is pruning now, and instead of leaving the normal amount of buds which would be 30 per plant, they are leaving 45 per plant. That will allow us to trim out any clusters that don’t look right and still get a full crop.

by Jay DeWitt, Managing Partner and Vigneron

Several of you have asked about how the vineyard is recovering since it was decimated by the hailstorm in early August. The plants go through physiological changes as the season progresses. During the first stage, carbohydrates stored in the roots are transported to the expanding leaves. Once there is enough new leaf surface, the carbohydrates manufactured by the new leaves are used to grow more leaves and stems, expand the berries, replenish the roots, and feed the buds that will produce the next year’s crop. At veraison the carbohydrate flow shifts to the ripening of the berries.

The storm occurred during the veraison stage. The plants had severely damaged leaves and clusters. It was clear that the clusters had no value for winemaking, but their presence would nonetheless continue to absorb all the carbohydrates the damaged leaves produced. We decided to drop the damaged clusters to the ground in hopes that the plants would turn their focus into repairing the damage and strengthening the plants for next year. We also gave the plants a thorough watering to support new growth.

The strategy worked as planned, the damaged plants grew some new leaves which will help with next year’s crop. The pictures on this page show the plants with a mix of new and old leaves. The new leaves are lighter in color. We are confident the plants will be able to support a normal crop next year.

by Jay DeWitt, Managing Partner and Vigneron

My 86 year old father likes to say, “farming is a series of compromises.”  It is one of those nuggets of wisdom that takes years to understand. Each vintage begins with the promise of perfection. We are ready. The vineyard has been pruned precisely. We have the knowledge, the machines, a dedicated crew, and positive energy. Inevitably, perfection is lost, replaced by compromise. 

In some years a harsh winter ruins the vintage before the grapes have a chance to grow. 2022 was close. The temperature at Birch Creek vineyard bottomed out at 0°F on new years eve. Dirk and I brought in the new year struggling to get our 3 wind machines started. We finally succeeded shortly after midnight. The wind machines kept the coldest air from setting around the buds, and in this case it was just enough to get us through without much damage. Three  miles north of us the low temperature was -12°F and the more sensitive varieties were lost for the year. 

Spring was unusually cold and wet. NOAA tracks heat unit accumulation at various sites. Thru July 1, 2022 at the Walla Walla airport, the heat unit accumulation for 2022 was the lowest on record, tying 1955. What a contrast to last year, which was one of the hottest on record.  Accumulated rainfall was nearly a record, and a whopping 9.5 inches above the same date for 2021 which was the driest on record. One might make the sardonic observation that the weather over the last two years has been average, if combined. Farming is so much fun!

Ours is an arid climate, so too much rain early in the year is not a problem for us, it just means delaying our irrigation. Lack of heat is another matter. Fortunately, July was warm and we have largely caught up on heat units. One of the advantages of being small is that we can monitor the grapes closely for the peak of quality; the point where flavor development, acid balance, and tannin resolution are optimum. In a cold year the grapes don’t always ripen fully, so that particular advantage is lost. In those years (2011 is the perfect example), we rely on our winemaking skills to differentiate our wines. 

So, you might ask if perfection is unattainable for 2022. Absolutely not! This year’s problems are all solvable, and we are 70% of the way there. Stay tuned!

by Jay DeWitt, Managing Partner and Vigneron

Birch Creek Vineyard looking eastward with a deep blanket of snow

It is Saturday, April 16. I am looking out the window at a snowy blizzard, wondering if the grape buds can withstand these cold temperatures. The grapes at Birch Creek are at the end of dormancy, on the verge of “bud break.” The vulnerability of the tissues changes rapidly during this time. Two weeks ago the tight buds could have withstood a low temperature of 20° for several hours, two weeks from now 32° for a few minutes will kill the green tissues and leave us without a crop. There is not a lot we can do to protect the grapes in these conditions. We have wind machines that are helpful if there is a temperature inversion, but that is not the case during a snowstorm.

The grapes do not all break their buds at the same time, there are varietal differences and differences due to microclimates within the vineyard. The timing of bud break is mostly due to air temperature. If the daily air temperature average is above 50° physiological processes move forward. The first visible evidence that bud burst will happen soon is plants “weeping” from the pruning cuts as the sap moves up from the roots. The buds swell in response, eventually the first leaf will unfold, or “burst” from the bud. The amount of time necessary to move from weeping to bud burst depends on air temperature.

The varietal differences governing the timing of bud break are important. At this time, a few of the buds on the earlier emerging varieties (Syrah, Grenache) have burst, they will be damaged to some degree since there were nighttime temperatures below freezing earlier in the week. The buds on later emerging varieties (Cab Sauv, Merlot) are still tight and should be fine.

by Jay DeWitt, Managing Partner and Vigneron

Birch Creek Vineyard with dusting of snow on the ground and mostly blue skies in the late afternoon.

I sometimes chuckle to myself at the personification of “Mother Nature,” as the benevolent, nurturing life force. Farmers know that “Mother” can also be an ill-tempered, whimsical disciplinarian. I’ve made my living farming and winemaking for nearly 4 decades, and can remember a number of hard spankings administered by “Mother Nature.”

The singular winter time worry for Walla Walla Valley grape farmers is that low temperatures will damage the fruit buds that formed in the prior growing season. If the temperatures get low enough, the buds die and there won’t be a crop that year. In very extreme circumstances, there is even the possibility of having to replace the vineyard.

This winter has been kind to the vineyard thus far, at the time of this writing, there has only been one such night. Dirk spent that very cold January night babysitting our wind generating machines that moderate air temperatures. It worked, a recent evaluation revealed less than 10% of the primary buds are damaged. That small amount of damage is not enough to affect the yield or quality of the 2022 vintage.

by Jay DeWitt, Managing Partner and Vigneron

The 2021 vintage will produce excellent wines from Walla Walla valley vineyards, but there won’t be much.

The extreme and persistent heat during June was something we have not dealt with in previous vintages. The heat arrived near the end of our bloom period, just as the delicate berries were forming and beginning to expand. Any of the grapes that were not protected by the shade from a leaf simply burned up in the afternoon sun, as if they had been hit by a blow torch. The berries that were left did not expand to their full potential. If the heat had come later in the year, we would have been able to manage our way through it with minimal damage. But the end result was a 35% yield reduction. Each variety fared a little different, dependent upon which growth stage the plants were in when the heat hit. Cabernet Sauvignon, which blooms later than the other varieties, was impacted the most, the Birck Creek Cab Sauv was reduced by half.

Heat and drought often come together, as they did in June 2021. Our grapes were not affected by lack of water, in fact we used our irrigation system to help reduce the damage caused by the heat. Even though they had plenty of soil moisture, the plants couldn’t take up enough water to keep the developing fruit fully hydrated in the afternoon sun.

The good news for our wine drinking friends is the remaining berries were outstanding. These battle tested survivors were small, thick-skinned, and fully ripe with concentrated flavors. We are nearly finished with pressing the wines, which are packed with aromatics, color, and flavor.

Anytime a crop is damaged by an extreme weather condition farmers ask themselves if there is anything that can be done to reduce the impact if the same situation is encountered in the future. In this case the answer is yes. Pruning practices could be adjusted to provide more clusters and more shade for the clusters as the grapes are developing. Early leaf expansion and thus more shade could be encouraged by adding a little fertilizer. Overhead misting systems that provide evaporative cooling during extreme heat could be installed. These preventative steps would add cost and contemplicate quality management. Over the winter we will consider this and weigh the cost of any adjustments against what we judge is the future risk. Farmers jokingly refer to this process as “managing the year that’s gone.” 🙂