By Doug Fabbioli

In the world of wines, where the grapes are grown and when they were grown are pretty important things.  Location and time play an important part of the story that affects the flavors and influences the style, character and end results. The biggest character of the wine is the grape type, but the location and vintage date will certainly come into play for some of the more knowledgeable and detail-oriented wine folks. Now that the grapes are harvested, here are a few thoughts on the 2024 vintage from our region.

I would characterize the 2024 season as mostly dry. Dry is a usually a relatively good thing for grape growers, as long as it’s not too dry. Many grape growers had to combat the dryness by watering some vineyard rows in order to give the vines a chance to survive. Also, in some cases it was necessary to drop grapes on some vines where the stress of the season showed in the leaf condition. Vines can drop leaves in stressed conditions, but it is harder for them to drop fruit. Their natural instinct to reproduce will have them use their last bit of energy to make the fruit more attractive to birds rather than to retain its energy for survival. The driest part of the season for me was late May, through June and into the beginning of July. Lots of growing usually happens during this time frame and some vines in some soils really suffered.

In July and August, we got some much-needed rain.  The summer showers were welcome but I am not sure we got enough to reach the deep roots of all our vines. We want deep roots because that brings the flavor and sense of terroir from the soils into the grapes and ultimately the wine produced.

Late August and early September were quite nice! Warm days and cool nights with no rain and lots of sunshine is just what the vintner wants for finishing up the grapes on the vine. We can track the progress of the fruit both with numbers from our sugar and acid tests as well as with our eyes and palates. The flavors developed nicely. As we got to mid-September, the tropical moisture began to affect us. It was not many inches of rain, but more misty, cloudy and damp weather. The vines did not get a chance to dry out. Many of our reds were not quite ready to harvest, so we let them hang on the vine hoping for better weather.

As the weather forecast was not really improving, we committed to picking through the misty days. The grapes were good but not really improving. Critters, bees, deer and disease were starting to hinder the quantity and potential quality of the season. Some folks picked everything before the rains started. Personally, we have lots of fruit and physically we could not pick everything before the rain started. We sorted fruit in the field, and picked with care to bring in the best of what we had.

In the end, most of the white grapes came in before the rains. The reds were picked as quickly as possible. As farmers who dance with Mother Nature, we complain a lot and sometimes second guess our decisions.  As we work with these wines in the cellar, I will feel more confident about how they have come together. But each year we do this, we want to improve over the last year. In Virginia, we have done a great job over a relatively short period of time, learning our vines and soils in a way that we can adjust our practices in the vineyard and cellar to improve our quality. Each vintage is different and we learn something new each year.

The ability to reflect and adjust keeps us improving. I am very grateful to our customer base that supports our endeavors and enjoys our wines. I hope you have a good Thanksgiving surrounded by family and friends and maybe a bottle or 2 or more of locally made wines.

About the Author: Farmer, winemaker, entrepreneur, educator, and leader, Doug Fabbioli has been accelerating the growth and quality of Virginia’s wine industry since 1997. With his wife Colleen, Doug is the owner/operator of Fabbioli Cellars in Leesburg, VA. He is the founder and director of The New Ag School, which focuses on teaching the next generation of farmers and agriculture-related leaders. No wonder they call Doug Fabbioli the Godfather of DC’s Wine Country.