Amalie Robert Climate Update: August 2025
Hello and Welcome,
This is the August Climate Update and Photo Journal, Vintage 2025, from Amalie Robert Estate. Approximate reading time 2.13 ARB’s (Adult Recreational Beverages); Pictures only 1.41 ARB’s.
By the time we close out August on the calendar, most all of the heavy lifting is done. Sure, we have a little percussive maintenance on the tractors and implements before harvest (and a new set of tires to mount), but this is nothing new. If Ernie has been easy on the farm equipment all summer, then maybe some of his repairs and maintenance budget might find its way into subsidizing an afternoon Adult Recreational Beverage. Not likely, for the most part, but not impossible either. We drink a little beer and make wine, get to go farming most of the time, in Pinot heaven…
Now is the time we begin the transition from winegrower to winemaker. Different hat, same cattle. As Willamette Valley Pinot Noir winemakers, our primary concern is that we cluster pluck those little wine berries at just the most opportune time to produce the style of wines we want to show in the glass. But The Great Cluster Pluck is a continuum, like space and time. You know what is going to happen, mostly. It is just a question of when, and how much. Farming, in a word.
Our job is to schedule the harvest crews in such a manner that each block is hand picked at its zenith. In reality, you win some, you lose some and some get rained out. And there is nothing wrong with missing the ideal harvest window. Just try not to make a habit of it. You reflect on what you (and others) could have done better and move forward. That is called experience. And if that experience actually turns out to be positive, it is called a successful failure. Or, in a word, farming.
Best Case Scenario
As we look forward to The Great Cluster Pluck, Vintage 2025, we are looking back at our cellar holdings and would like to share our Best Case Scenario with you. We are finding the Hers and His Reserve Pinot Noirs from Vintages 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 are revealing the elegance from cooler growing seasons and the magic of refined stem tannins from whole cluster fermentation. This is your opportunity to peer “through the looking glass” into times gone by.
Amalie’s Cuvée Pinot Noir (Hers) is Dena’s favorite barrel selection for the vintage.
2010 Vintage Amalie’s Cuvée Tasting Notes
Ruby red exposes you to a cornucopia of exotic aromas orbiting around cinnamon, clove, coriander, and baking spices with an overlay of red raspberry preserves. The palate experience is lithe and elegant revealing red currant, tart cherry, and sundrenched blackberries wrapped in an earthy core of baking cocoa. The refined stem tannin provides the structure where the invigorating acidity teases the enduring finish. Unfined and unfiltered.
2011 Vintage Amalie’s Cuvée Tasting Notes
Riverside red introduces a sultry and savory bouquet of cocoa dusted almonds, ginger, carmelized brown sugar and freshly crushed black raspberries. A lively palate expression reveals rich red fruits supported by stem tannins that provide presence without the burden of over extraction. The curtains do in fact match the carpet. The transition to the teasing finish is conveyed through a gentle squeeze from the velvet glove of acidity. Unfined and unfiltered.
2012 Vintage Amalie’s Cuvée Tasting Notes
Amalie Robert red. The pervasive and permeating aromas of purple lilac, freshly crushed ripe red raspberries, cherry cobbler and sandalwood spice crescendo in a kaleidoscope of inherent beauty. Sweet and rich, yet tart and delineated, red fruits chase blue fruits; the palate is awash in pleasure while the feminine matrix of acidity and tannin linger at the edge of your perception. The enduring and repeating pleasure of the finish is the hallmark of “The Cuvée.” Unfined and unfiltered.
Estate Selection Pinot Noir (His) is Ernie’s favorite barrel selection for the vintage.
2011 Vintage Estate Selection Tasting Notes
RFN red provides notice while cinnamon and sandalwood entertain cocoa and five spice. A rich palate offers deep red fruits and integrated stem tannins. A masculine impression of a feminine vintage providing striking presence all the while keeping its knickers on. A long and lingering finish culminates the trinity of acidity, fruit and tannin. Unfined and unfiltered.
2012 Vintage Estate Selection Tasting Notes
Roadster red (at speed) exhilarates Montmorency cherry, cardamom, semi-sweet chocolate and violet aromas. The shift to the palate is polished and precise leading with an expansive and intentioned mid-palate vibrancy that reverberates. Refined stem tannin with throttled acidity have your cognitive abilities racing at WFO. That is pretty much the point. Unfined and unfiltered.
2013 Vintage Estate Selection Tasting Notes
Persuasive red. Deeply fragrant aromas of tilled earth, sweet wild raspberries, aged cigar box cedar, dried rosemary and pheromone provide a moment of pause. Energetic and fully engaging the palate with a wild streak of Wadenswil clone prompting the release of endorphins. Integrated stem tannins and balanced acidity sooth during the refractory period. Unfined and unfiltered.
Click on the Big Blue Button to order Amalie’s Cuvée and Estate Selection Pinot Noirs Best Case Scenario! Your Best Case Scenario is 12 bottles, 2 each of the above 6 wines, or a split case of 1 bottle each of these 6 wines. Or, pick your own Best Case Scenario from our extensive cellar holdings.
We are offering up to a $40 shipping credit for the Best Case Scenario and all shipping options are available to you. You can apply your credit to ground shipping, or next day air. The credit also applies to Alaska and Hawaii shipments. Please email Dena for options. We also suggest using a UPS or FedEx drop point. This allows for a climate controlled facility to receive and hold your wine. Another benefit is minimized travel exposure and ability to collect your wine at your leisure. It is also less expensive than shipping to a residential address.
And it’s better on the A-List! A-List members receive a 10% discount on any 1-11 bottle purchase, a 20% discount on a 12-bottle case purchase, and domestic ground shipping is always included with a 12-bottle case.
Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.®
We are living the dream so you don’t have to! Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.® is a repository of our farming history at Amalie Robert Estate.
We have over 200 posts going back some 25 years. It’s all out there on Substack. You can visit the archive for FREE! If you want to see what we see on a more regular basis, follow us on Instagram @AmalieRobert.
In This Communication:
Best Case Scenario
Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.®
Opening Day of Yellow Jacket Season!
Bringing the Heat!
The Calm Before the Storm
Through the Looking-glass into September
What to Do?
What Does This Mean and Why Should I Care?
Numbers, Numbers Everywhere!
Smoke in the Air!
Other Resources
Opening Day of Yellow Jacket Season!
August, Willamette Valley Vintage 2025 breaks down like this. The first week brings opening day of yellow jacket season. They were really aggressive this year, but Ernie was ready for them. In fact, he was ready in May, June and July.
As you can see, we did pretty farming well on opening day! Of course, this is just a drop in the bucket. When we first put out those traps, the new attractant is very potent and that really drives them wild. But sometimes they just buzz around the trap and won’t actually go inside it. At that juncture we deploy alternative tactics. You can only get so far with a kind word...
After we fully deplete our arsenal of nuclear weapons, photon torpedoes, bunker buster bombs, guided missiles, military grade munitions, flame throwers and pyrotechnics, we reach for the PyGanic. PyGanic is an organic spray approved for all manner of nasty biting, stinging insects and it debilitates yellow jackets Right Farmin’Now! Mano a Insecto.
And while taking a few yellow jackets off of the field of play provides tremendous emotional gratification, it has virtually no impact on the population at large. But still, it is great fun to watch them all buzzing about inside their newly confined space. Just a matter of time now. There will be no tears in rain for them.
Bringing the Heat!
The second week of August brought the heat. We topped out at 106, but the real story is the nighttime temperatures that were stuck in the 60’s. That means the vines kept up their torrid ripening pace. And by ripening, we mean accelerated sugar accumulation, not aroma and flavor development. Ideally, we would like to see low temperatures in the 50’s this time of year. But maybe those vintages are well past us now.
And the half inch of rain that was supposed to follow on forthwith, turned into 0.03 inches of measurable precipitation. Most likely, we will not see any measurable precipitation before harvest. We can’t say for sure, obviously, but it would be bucking the trend. Ernie is studying his rain dance notes from 2013. That brought 9 inches of rain in 3 days, so, maybe…
The Calm Before the Storm
The third week of August was actually quite pleasant. Moderate daytime temperatures and cool nights gave us a little side glance that maybe we had turned the corner. Yeah, not so much. The last week of August brought even more heat and topped out at 113! And that brought on the sunburn…
Our wine berry clusters are spaced horizontally along the fruiting wire every 4 inches or so. We control that. Leaf cover providing shade occurs vertically along each shoot about every 3 to 5 inches or so. Ms. Nature controls that. Most of the time, a cluster benefits from at least some shade in the morning or afternoon, or both.
We typically do not remove very many leaves around the clusters. We find a little more shade provides a very supple mid-palate texture that we enjoy. But sometimes it is the case that a cluster is bare ass naked to the direct afternoon sun. And if you have ever been in this compromising position, then you know what we mean by “sunburn”. (But, was it worth it?)
Through the Looking-glass into September
Vintage 2025 is presenting some interesting factors to consider as we approach The Great Cluster Pluck. First of all, we are early to ripen this vintage. We flowered about 2 weeks earlier than average, and Ms. Nature has her 105 day schedule to meet, more or less. This means a mid-September start to harvest. The weather should be very pleasant and warm with very little rot to deal with. This will be preferable to late, rainy and plenty of rot. However, the aforementioned yellow jackets will be out in full force starting about 10 am. Gird your loins…
The vines will most likely be in drought conditions. And that is not a good situation for the wine berries trying to hang on the vine long enough to develop aroma and flavor. The vines’ roots will try to bring up what available soil moisture they can to cool the leaves and carry on photosynthesis - until there is no more soil moisture available. At that point they turn to the wine berries for water.
This is called desiccation. Not a very flattering word, but accurate, nonetheless. The end result is that there is less water in each wine berry, thus concentrating the sugars and acids. But this does nothing to advance the aroma and flavor sensory development. The result can be an early harvest producing high alcohol, high acid, low aroma, light color and flavorless wine. Or if the sugars get too far out of range, it is the same wine, but now sweet as the yeast die before converting all of the sugar to alcohol. And thanks to the unwelcome heat spike, we also have some sunburn clusters to cull out.
What to Do?
Sometimes nothing is the correct answer. Albeit as humans, that is hard to accept. Having survived the infernal 2015 vintage, we learned a little bit about water management (it was a successful failure). There is only so much you can do with the vineyard floor to preserve soil moisture into September, and Ernie has done that. Irrigation is right out – no cheating allowed.
Next we look at the canopy. The wall of leaves that are ripening our wine berries are also translocating water. First, this water comes out of the ground and when that is gone, it will come out of the wine berries. Once we figured out that a taller canopy with more leaves means higher sugars and alcohol potential in our wines, we modified our farming accordingly. Now Ernie cuts as short a canopy as he can to reduce the amount of water the canopy uses. Thus reducing the alcohol potential and allowing more time for aroma and flavor development.
Then we look at thinning off the excess and sunburned clusters. Stop right there! While those clusters are not going to make the best wine, they are holding water that the vine can use. So, the idea is that we leave those wine berries right where they are so the vine can deplete a little water spread over more wine berries. This can slow the rate of desiccation and provide more hang time to develop aroma and flavor.
But there is more to that story. Once we begin cluster plucking those less desirable (and sunburned) clusters, we need a procedure to cull them out of the harvest bins. The good news for us is that we have been sorting out bad clusters at the harvest trailers for years! Been there done that. Woe is the machine harvester…
Of course, if we get rain in early September, well then, that changes everything.
What does this Mean and Why Should I Care?
Well That’s Fantastic, but you may ask, “How do I know if I will like the wine?” Wine is a luxury good and should provide you pleasure at the most opportune times. In this regard, wine is not significantly different from dating. To wit: What are you looking to get out of the experience?
While we acknowledge everyone has a different definition of “a damn fine spanking”, we assume that most people are looking for a pleasurable experience – whatever that may entail. So many “(fill in the blank)”, so little time.
But which one to choose? And if it doesn’t work out on the first encounter, you are under no obligation to go for round two. Like that time Mr. Right turned out to be Mr. Right Now. Bye-bye.
Live and learn from some telltale signs before you make your next selection. Corks and shoes can tell you a lot about your next experience. Women’s shoes are always impeccable. From flats to stilettos, they tell a story that men should be able to understand with just a modicum of effort. Men’s shoes provide a much broader range of study, but rarely lead to more than 2 distinct choices. And then there is ALWAYS the exception to the rule.
Corks, or the “closure” protecting your wine from anyone experiencing it before you do, also tell a story. The most basic screw-off closure is functional and performs the task adequately, albeit without much flair. You have a pretty good idea what lies ahead of you for the evening.
Technical closures (which is wine geek speak for ground up cork bits glued together), provide a simulated experience. It looks and feels like you are getting a real, well-endowed natural cork, but in fact you are not. Pomp and circumstance may get you off the store shelf but can lead to unfulfilled expectations as the evening evolves.
The holy grail of wine closures is the 54 millimeter length natural cork. That’s about as big as you are going to find in a bottle of wine. Often times the shorter, but full diameter 42 millimeter length cork is what you end up with. Of course, you won’t know any of this until you get comfortable and remove the protective foil. Your preferred wine key, or Teflon coated cork screw, will help you slowly extract the cork from the bottle bit by bit until all is revealed. The Full Monty, as it were.
There you have it. Now after all of this pre-amble you can actually get down to business and find out just what kind of pleasurable experience awaits you. But in either scenario do your part, just in case. Proper stemware and clean underwear are a must.
And for those of you who are up for the little mid-palate nuance of whole cluster fermentation, extended bottle maturation and delayed gratification - Wait no longer, we have the wines for you. The Best Case Scenario!
Numbers, Numbers Everywhere!
Before we open a portal to The Great Cluster Pluck, it is useful to understand the dwindling number of daylight hours in the Willamette Valley. The vines of course, inherently know their ripening season is coming to an end. The yellow jackets also sense this and turn more aggressive as their rightful end is drawing closer.
The farther north, the more dramatic the reduction of daylight hours. The Willamette Valley, for the most part, lost about 80 minutes of daily sunlight since the beginning of August, as measured at the end of the month. For some perspective, Seattle lost about 92 minutes, but farther south in Houston, the change was only about 46 minutes. Day drinkers pay heed.
Despite the reduction in daylight hours, August was hot. And it didn’t rain. That’s typical for the month, but it doesn’t mean we have to like it. Said another way, a moaning farmer is a happy farmer. But it is better than moaning about the farm equipment. We get plenty of opportunities to do that.
August added 692.5 Degree Days, bringing the growing season to date total to 2,203.7. The first half of the month was cooler logging 317.9 Degree Days, while the second half (16 days) added 374.6 Degree Days.
The high temperature for August 2025 was 113.70 degrees Fahrenheit recorded on August 23rd at 4:36 pm, and the low temperature was 46.90 degrees recorded on August 5th at 6:12 am. We recorded 0.09 inches of rainfall for August 2025. This brings the growing season to date rainfall total to 2.56 inches of measurable precipitation.
Smoke in The Air!
There are a few fires in the Pacific Northwest that we are monitoring. But nothing compares to our good friends in the Great White North, eh?
The Canadian fires are burning near the west coast of Canada between Alaska and Washington State. The smoke from these fires is making its way out into the Gulf of Alaska. This becomes an issue when the jet stream flows below us and allows all of that cool, smoke particulate filled air from Alaska to settle into the Willamette Valley.
Generally speaking, this cool air late in the growing season is a good thing. Moderate daytime and cooler nighttime temperatures put the brakes on sugar accumulation. This weather pattern extends aroma and flavor development while reducing the rate of sugar accumulation in the wine berries. Sure we are loving the hangtime from the cool weather, but at what cost?
Washington State also has a fire out on the Olympic Peninsula that is contributing to this phenomenon. Not to be outdone, Oregon has several fires burning just east of the Willamette Valley. Weather conditions have NOT favored containment. While California is leading the way in acres burned, the fires are far enough away to not cause us significant concern at this time. That could change at any moment with a change in the jet stream.
So far, we just have “Global Dimming” as the smoke particles are high enough in the atmosphere to filter out sunlight. Meanwhile, we are enjoying the colorful sunrises and sunsets, but no smoke aroma to speak of
Traveling to the Willamette Valley?
Planning to enjoy traveling and exploring the Willamette Valley? There are two primary gateways to the Willamette Valley. Most people are familiar with Portland International airport (PDX) at the top of the Willamette Valley. However, there is a second gateway in Eugene (EUG) at the south end of the Willamette Valley. Both of these airports service the major carriers.
Insider Tip:Alaska Airlines offers a Wine Flies Free program from both PDX and EUG. You will need to acquire a wine shipper box as you tour the valley. When you check in for your flight, indicate you have a case of wine, and it will be checked for FREE on Alaska Airlines. BONUS: Many wineries will provide you a FREE wine shipper box with a 6 bottle purchase.
Interested in learning about the newest AVA? Download our FREE guide to the Willamette Valley AVA’s!
Amalie Robert Estate is open year round by appointment for vineyard tours and tastings. Request a tasting appointment with your preferred day and time
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
Other Resources
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As always I enjoyed reading such a well written and informative update.
Your candid insights are truly a treasure to the life of a farmer and how
good wine is made.