An interview with Bruce Sonnen, Van Duzer Vineyard Manager
Well, the fruit is in, the leaves are starting to change colors, and the harvest equipment is being cleaned and fixed and put back to storage. What is your overall take on the 2026 harvest?
Bruce: The 2026 growing season was one of steady consistency. That doesn’t sound all too “exciting”, but it is for us vineyard managers. It helps us maintain a high quality and accurately predict key farming and grape ripening dates – all which helps us pick to perfection and make a better wine.
Bloom came early this year, first seen in the vineyards on May 25th. Mother Nature showed up with 3 days of rain during flowering, which actually did us a favor – as it knocked off some pollen to subsequently require only minimal manual fruit thinning later in the growing season. Too large of a crop load and the vines have to spread their energy too thinly, leading to inconsistent flavor, acid, and sugar levels. It’s all about balance.
The entire growing season was steady and warm, but never hot. We only saw one 100°F day on our Van Duzer estate the entire summer, with a total of only seven 90°F days. This steadiness meant that our earlier-than-normal budbreak of March 23rd and thus, early bloom, did not lead to a particularly early first harvest date – the consistent warmth and lack of rain smoothed out the growing season.
When did harvest officially begin?
Bruce: we started our sparkling pick on our Dundee Hills estate August 26th. We were able to harvest all relevant fruit for our sparkling wine program across both estates right before a 3-day rain event in early September. Mother Nature again worked in our favor with the timing of this rain: the approximately 2.5 inches of rain that fell on our Dundee Hills estate, and 2 inches on our Van Duzer estate, did little more than clean the fruit and water the land, instantly green-ifying the Willamette Valley seemingly overnight.
Two or three days after the rain, on September 11th, the grape chemistry was back in balance and we started our still wine pick in Dundee. Then began the trips across the two sites! After picking approximately 50% of the Dundee estate, we headed back to Van Duzer September 16th for a pinot gris pick. Then back to Dundee to wrap up that site by September 19th, and finally finishing back at Van Duzer to wrap up all of harvest. Once harvest started, it went by in a flash, with all fruit harvested by September 24th.
You mentioned harvest started first on the Dundee Hills estate, starting at the Van Duzer estate days later. Why is that?
Bruce: Simply put, the different soil types and a faster accumulation of heat units seen in the Dundee Hills leads to earlier ripening than on our estate in the Van Duzer Corridor AVA. The coastal winds funneled through the Van Duzer Corridor means this property cools faster than Dundee, and warms more slowly, leading to a smaller diurnal swing between the coldest and warmest points of each day. In other words, we see more even keel daily temperatures on the Van Duzer estate versus the highs and lows seen in the Dundee Hills.
What does this mean for the fruit?
Bruce: in a nutshell, it means grapes on our Dundee Hills estate ripen about 5-7 days sooner than on the Van Duzer estate. We pick the fruit at similar brix (sugar) levels across both sites, this just occurs at slightly staggered times.
How did this year’s harvest timing compared to years past?
Bruce: harvest timing has moved slightly earlier in the 25 years I’ve been managing vineyards in the valley. This was the earliest start to harvest I have seen, but only due to the sparkling program. Every year is different and you never know what Mother Nature is going to do, or what curveball she is going to throw your way. We experience, we learn, we adapt.
In my 25 years of managing vineyards, I have seen several harvests wrap up in September. The majority have started in September and finished in October. Two extremely late harvests come to mind, 2010 and 2011 – harvest didn’t start until mid- to late-October, wrapping up in November. The main pattern I have seen lately is that we’ve had 4 years in a row of earlier starts and earlier finishes. If history repeats itself…we are due for a late one soon.
Fascinating. What were your first impressions of this year’s fruit?
Every vineyard manager proclaims that the current vintage is the best yet, and 2026 was no exception. Grape cluster size and berry density were Goldilocks-like: not the heaviest nor the lightest. The yield per acre was right in line with what we like to see. And the consistency of the growing season meant there weren’t any surprises or oddities. We were able to predict the effects of the rain events, so harvest timing didn’t catch us off-guard. It was a streamlined, organized, yet chaotic harvest! As all harvests are.
Any other notable changes you’ve seen over your 25-year vineyard manager career?
Bruce: one of the biggest changes I’ve seen over the years is the influx of women working as vineyard stewards. When I first started, harvest crews were entirely made of men. Seven to eight years in, more women started trickling in. We immediately noticed women stewards have a high level of precision and attention to detail, and an even-keeled delicate approach to their work. Today, it’s now preferable to have women in this line of work as they “have the finesse”, and we never have to revisit the work the women do.
I’ve seen some years where harvest crews were an even 50/50 men/women split. On average, it’s about 60/40, and is yet another aspect of how our fruit and wine quality has continued to improve over the years.
So, harvest is over. That means you don’t have to work again until next Spring…right?
Bruce: ha! If only. Once harvest wrapped up, we switched to our standard post-harvest activities: fixing equipment, cleaning up the vineyards and removing any under-performing vines, and habitat restoration in our Oregon Wine Oak savannah – to name just a few. We’ll be busy pruning the vines beginning in the cold, wintry days of December, preparing them for yet another growing season!
Thanks to Bruce for your insight on this year’s harvest. We look forward to seeing how the 2026 vintage shapes up! The first wine from the vintage, our 2026 Rosé of Pinot Noir, will be ready for release in early Spring. We’re already looking forward to it.
