Harvest 2022 a Wrap

As of this writing (November 3) the 2022 wine grape harvest is practically finished. Yesterday, many vineyards made their last picks and today, a few more will be making their final push before cold, rainy weather returns tomorrow. Winemakers are generally happy with the grapes they got (see below for the September 29 Blog). Because of the delayed harvest - about three weeks - due to the cold, rainy spring, there will be some challenges, especially with the late maturing Cabernet Sauvignon, but not as much so as in 2010 and 2011.

Looking Ahead to December

Over the past few days, I have been starting work on the December issue of the Review of Washington Wines. We were in Spokane two weeks ago and there will be a report on the Barrister, Robert Karl and Winescape wineries (see the Blog posting of October 25 for a preview). Tomorrow is the start of Fall Release Weekend in Walla Walla and we have appointments to visit Abeja, Dossier, Deux Soldats, Reynvaan, Va Piano and Foundry Vineyards. Then next week, we will be in Woodinville to visit DeLille Cellars, Sparkman, Lauren Ashton, Tinte Cellars and Adams Bench. In mid December we will be publishing our list of Top Wines of 2022, wines scoring 20/20 and 19.5/20 points and of Best Buys of 2022. wines scoring 19/20 points for $40 or less and wines scoring 18.5/20 points for $25 or less.