(Wine-Searcher) - Changing conditions could mean a change of pace for the Pacific Northwestern state.

So far, climate change is turning out just ducky for the Oregon wine industry. Last year's harvest was the biggest on record, a whopping 39 percent bigger than the year before. This year might top it.

And 2015, on top of 2014, might represent a turning point for Oregon. The state historically struggled to ripen red grapes and turned that to an advantage with Pinot Noir, which now makes up 58 percent of Oregon's plantings. But 2014 was also the hottest year on record, and this year could break that record again. Oregon seems poised to produce two consecutive huge vintages that could redefine the image of the state's wines.

"We've had a lot of heat," said Jim Prosser, J.K. Carriere Wines' owner and winemaker. "The fruit quality is great, depending on what you believe about the world. If you want to make big reds out of Pinot Noir, you can do that in Oregon in 2015. If you're like me and you want to make balanced wines, then you've got to pull the reins in on the vintage and not let it get out of balance. You have to make very hard calls on the kind of wine you want to make. You have to do very targeted winemaking."

Of course, if you ask a winemaker or grapegrower whether he'd rather have a hot, sunny vintage or a cold, rainy vintage, not many would choose the latter.

"It feels like Oregon might be getting a string of great vintages," King Estate head winemaker Kevin Sommelet told Wine-Searcher. "Finally we have been receiving our first fruit from the Willamette Valley and it is picture perfect. Yields are relatively high due to a great fruit set throughout Oregon. The dry season hasn't brought much disease pressure, and the flavors are developing really nicely at this point."

People who have been in Oregon a while have compared 2015 to 1992, but, Erath winemaker Gary Horner said, "There's not too many people who can remember 1992. The heat units are off the charts. But we're seeing nice flavor development. I think the heat is keeping the sugar levels down. We didn't get water stress early in the season so the berries aren't tiny."

While it might be enduring its second consecutive hottest year on record, and unusually dry conditions as well, Oregon has not been quite as drought-stricken as California and Washington. But many of its vineyards – accustomed to rain all year – are unprepared for dry weather, so some wines' quality could suffer.

"More of the vineyards going into Willamette Valley are putting in irrigation for vintages just like this," Horner said. "But the older vineyards, a lot of them aren't irrigated. When we need it, we really need it bad."

As in neighboring Washington and California, Oregon's harvest started earlier than usual.