2013 Winemaker’s Vintage Report

With 2013 now behind us, our wines in the cellar and vines gone dormant for the winter, our winemaker Bradley Cooper has taken stock of the year and provided us with his assessment of how the season went…

An early spring and moderate rainfall at the beginning of the growing season helped set the stage for an above average growing season in the Okanagan Valley. Soil temperatures were close to normal or slightly above as we approached bud break in late April. A blast of summer in May over a three or four day period accelerated development and by the time flowering began the consensus was that the grape growing season was a week to 10 days ahead of schedule. By the end of June, most vineyards had a good fruit set. June also saw significant rain in the latter half of the month. Along with warm temperatures, this initiated some impressive vine growth. Summer weather took hold in the last few days of June and held fast until mid-September. Days were warm and free of any extended heat spikes and the number of diurnal temperature swings of more than 25 degrees celsius were lower than usual. Rapid ripening, especially of white varieties, saw some record early picking by peers and our own grape sources were close to record early harvest as well.

Township 7’s harvest began on September 11 with a small batch of Muscat Ottonel. Although sugar and acid indicators suggested ripeness, winemakers in the valley were expressing concern about red grape flavour development in an accelerated season. Mother Nature then performed a favour, with the onset of cool, wet weather in September that slowed the ripening and allowed remaining grapes to gain more physiological maturity and more complex flavour evolution. Cool, dry temperatures in October ushered in a measured and thoughtful harvest of the balance of grapes for Township 7 and the last of the vintage was harvested on October 27 when the Blue Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon was brought in. Some of our neighbour winery operations had to contend with hail damage and sour rot but we were fortunate to escape these setbacks in our varieties.

My overall assessment of the 2013 season is above average value and should be one of the top five vintages of the last 15 years. Early indications in the cellar are very encouraging

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