TURNER, Ore. — The heatwave that recently hit the Pacific Northwest subjected the region’s vineyards to record-breaking temperatures nine months after the fields that produce world-class wine were blanketed by wildfire smoke. But when temperatures began climbing to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 Celsius) in late June, the grapes in Oregon and Washington state were still young, as small as BB’s, many still shaded by leaf canopies that had not been trimmed back yet.
The good news for grape growers, wineries, and wine lovers is that the historic heatwave came during a narrow window when the fruit suffered minor damage. Earlier or later in the growing season, it could have been disastrous. The bad news is that extreme weather events and wildfires are apt to become more frequent because of climate change. A less intense heat wave again hit parts of the U.S. West just about a week after extreme temperatures gripped the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia on June 25 and lingered for several days, causing what could be hundreds of heat-related deaths.
This cool, rainy part of the country typically experiences plenty of sunny summer days. However, winemakers are worried about what’s still ahead amid a historic drought tied to climate change: Extremely high temperatures could hit yet again, and wildfires are expected to be ferocious.
That includes Christine Clair, winery director of Willamette Valley Vineyards in the city of Turner, just outside Oregon’s capital. She watched rare winds last September smother the Willamette Valley, famed for its delicate pinot noir, in smoke from nearby flames.
“Last year was our first experience in the Willamette Valley with wildfires and smoke impact from them. Though it was considered a once-in-a-100-year east wind event, we believe we are at risk annually now,” Clair said.
In recent years, wineries worldwide began hedging their bets against global warming and its fallout by moving to cooler zones, planting varieties that do better in heat and drought, and shading their grapes with more leaf canopy.
Similarly, wineries plan to protect their crops from more blistering sunshine in the wake of the Northwest heat wave.
At Dusted Valley Vintners in Walla Walla, Washington, co-owner Chad Johnson said that less of the leaf canopy will be trimmed to keep the grapes shaded and prevent sunburn.
Johnson said that workers restricted to morning work on sweltering days would also leave more grapes on the vine, so the fruit ripens slower.
He has never seen conditions so early in the summer like those during the heat wave, with the thermometer climbing above 100 F (38 C) for several days in the eastern Washington town near the Oregon border.
“It is unusual and unprecedented in my career since I’ve been making wine for 20 years here,” Johnson said.
June 29 was the hottest day in Walla Walla’s recorded history, reaching 116 F (47 C) and breaking the previous record by two degrees.
Climate change, Johnson noted, has become a significant concern for him and other wine producers worldwide.
“If it’s not this early horrible spring frost, they’re having over Europe this year, it’s wildfires in the West, with the drought. It’s always something,” Johnson said. “And it’s getting just more severe every year.”
The industry, meanwhile, has been totaling the damage from last year’s wildfires that covered California, Oregon, and Washington state in thick smoke.
So many California growers worried about unpleasant “smoke taint” in the wine produced from their grapes that they tried to get the fruit tested to see if the crops were worth harvesting. The few testing labs were so overwhelmed they couldn’t meet demand. Some wineries opted not to risk turning some of their grapes into sour wine, hurting their brand, and stopped accepting untested grapes from growers.
