Climate change is altering the way winemakers work in southern Oregon, as conditions move from foggy to fiery.
Lisa Zimmerman, wine-searcher, August 2nd 2021
The past few years of hot weather and forest fires have taken their toll on vineyards in the southern part of Oregon, a growing region that naturally runs much hotter than the established northern Pinot Noir haven of the Willamette Valley. As a result, producers are taking a number of measures to protect the grapes and the workers who have had to harvest them in these tough conditions.
Initiatives include everything from focusing on different varietals to harvesting earlier and irrigating vineyards more intensely and frequently. Smart producers have been slowly changing up their game for some time but new strategies for moving forward are only likely to get more drastic as the heat in the Pacific Northwest – once known as a fairly foggy and cool region of the country – shows little signs of abating.
