2018 Vintage Report

The Vintners Quality Alliance Ontario has released its annual Vintage Report, and it’s a tale of tumultuous weather and challenging harvest conditions, but the overall outlook for wines from this vintage is positive, according to the report.

We had a very cold winter, a warm March, but then “winter reappeared in April, bringing cold weather, snow and ice.” Finally Spring arrived in May, followed by a summer that included some extreme heat, heatwaves, and thunderstorms. Rain and humidity brought challenges during harvest season, but the report noted that “Precision agriculture, teamwork and expertise ensured grapes were harvested in peak condition.” There was some reduction in yield, but the VQAO report concluded that “above average heat paired with a dry summer allowed a good level of ripeness and concentration to develop in remaining 2018 fruit.”