“Beautiful vintage. It was a fast and furious one, which I think I saw right from the start,” says winemaker Niki Williams from Cakebread Cellars about the 2024 wines during this year’s Napa Valley Vintage Report, now available on SOMM TV. “I really enjoy those harvests that don’t have a break because you can keep on running through with adrenaline and energy, and your head is down,” explains Rebekah Wineburg from Quintessa.
The annual report, available for free to both subscribers and non-members, sees four accomplished winemakers share the ups and downs of the season. Along with Williams and Wineburg, it includes Collin Cranor from Grape Culture and Kurtis Ogasawara of Robert Mondavi Winery. “I think it was a vintage where you could really make the wines you wanted to like,” claims Ogasawara. A wet spring gave way to a June heat wave, but it was the high October temperatures that put pressure on the winemakers to pick fast. “But in general, the quality is absolutely exceptional,” says Williams.
The Fruit Gave Winemakers a Lot to Work With
Despite the curveball of picking some vineyards earlier than usual — some mountain fruit came in before the valley floor — the grapes gave the winemakers a lot to work with. “Extractability was great, so you could pull out as much energy as you wanted or slow down to craft the stylistic intentions you’re looking for. And that was exciting for us,” says Ogasawara.
Williams also agreed with this. “You could constantly monitor what was happening with your fermentations, pivot, and make changes. By the end, I feel like I’ll have so many amazing blending options. Each lot has unique nuances because we kept refining decisions throughout the process to add complexity to the wines.” Cranor followed up with, “A lot to look forward to for wine drinkers, wine consumers, and everyone. I love Napa Valley Wine 2024. It will be epic, so long as we keep things on track.”
Great Fruit Equals Great Evolution
This year’s vintage also gave the winemakers a chance to try a few new tricks of the trade. Ogasawara isn’t just pleased with what’s happening in the vineyard but working with new equipment at the historic Robert Mondavi Winery. “We got ten new concrete tanks — so it’s the first time at Mondavi for reds. I loved them. They were great. At first, we were like, ‘All right, so what are we going to do?’ We had to do one of each variety a go, and once we started fermenting and tasting, we were sold.”
And he’s not the only one. Williams also added new tanks to her arsenal at Cakebread. “Last year was my first time working with concrete too, but the red tanks and eggs for white fermentations. And once you realize what they can bring to the wines, it’s something you don’t want to go back to,” she says.
The 2024 Vintage in Three Words
Summing up this year’s vintage into a few words is challenging, but this year’s winemakers walked away from harvest with a positive attitude and hope for the 2024 vintage with the recurring theme of “fresh.”
“For me, it’s going to be renovation, innovation, freshness, and fun. It was a fun vintage,” says Ogasawara. “There’s so much freshness across all varieties, which is so important. So it reminds me of the 2021 vintage, the acidity, brightness, and intensity of the things you love about wines.” And Cranor agrees. “I say fresh, focused and delicious.” Wineburg chimed in with, “We say precise, fine-grained, and focused.” But Williams still has her head in that quick pace of harvest season. “I will say fast, expressive, and fulfilling.”
Yet all agree that the 2024 Napa Valley Vintage is one to look forward to.
