January 3, 2014October weather brings big-time benefits for vintage 2013By Karl KloosterReprinted from November 2013 Oregon Wine PressMother Nature lavished love on Oregon wine country for most of the 2013 growing season. Veteran vineyard manager and consultant Buddy Beck shared some instant observations about the 2013 vintage as it draws to a close. Beck, who has worked in the industry locally for 26 years, started his own company, Advanced Vineyard Systems, in 1999. In fact, for Southern Oregon growers, this season turned out close to ideal. With the later-ripening fruit, the rains slowed down the development of sugar, the ‘brix,’ and the subsequent cooler, dry weather allowed the flavors to mature.