2007 Growing Season and Harvest Notes

by Rollin Soles, Argyle Winemaker

I'm calling this vintage "The 2007 Vintage" up until the 27th of September, and "Son of 2007 Vintage" afterwards!

The 2007 growing season was picture perfect right up to the end of September. Weather that's not too cold and not too hot usually makes Argyle a very happy winemaker.

Often times, bad weather warnings are thwarted by the Autumn jet stream's ability to suddenly pop back up into British Columbia. This was not the case for 2007. The September 27th rain event that was predicted a week before became a reality.

Luckily, Argyle has over 20 years of experience with Oregon weather (even nasty weather) and believes in balanced irrigation to encourage leaves on the vine to stay healthy; leaves actively "pump" flavor into the fruit berries. We found over time that this activity can actually encourage slightly earlier ripening than dry-farmed portions. This earlier ripening - even by a couple of days - paid off for Argyle in 2007.

We went to the whip to pick a significant amount of our ripest fruit just prior to the night of September 27th. This, of course, meant that a significant amount of fruit had to ride out the storm. The result though seems to be great balanced structure showing off elegant, juicy fruit. There are going to be some very classy wines without heavy alcohol effect made from this vintage.

"The 2007 Vintage" portion has produced our finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir still wine. The "Son of 2007 Vintage" portion has provided us with amazingly structured, balanced Sparkling and Riesling bottlings.


Download these 2007 Growing Season and Harvest Notes in PDF format.