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SUNNY Temp: 57 °F Wind: NW at 4 mph Sunday, October 5, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 27, 2003 Paschal Vineyard manager Greg Bryant checks the sugar content of the vineyard�s pinot gris grapes Friday using a refractometer. Harvest, timed for the perfect amount of sugar in the grapes, is tentatively set for Tuesday. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Watching wine grapes sweeten Growers prepare for high-sugar harvest By GREG STILES Mail Tribune TALENT — The warm weather hovering in the Rogue Valley has played right into the hands of wine grape growers, who are poised to harvest a high-sugar crop. "Everything has just gone mad," said Traute Moore of Quail Run Vineyard, one ear pressed to her cell phone as she randomly cut clusters and deposited them in a 5-gallon bucket. Like growers throughout Oregon on Friday, Moore was sampling for sugar levels so that picking could proceed at the optimum moment. Refractometers, generally costing between $125 and $200, evaluate the grape’s sweetness based on the Brix scale. The system is used in viticulture to determine the sugar content in grapes and wine. Each degree of Brix is equivalent to a gram of sugar per 100 grams of grape juice. Advertisement "The count didn’t move that much last week," Moore said. "Now, at the end of the week, things are shooting up. I’d say that’s pretty typical." Quail Run Vineyard will harvest merlot today, and Moore was trying to get a fix on when tempranillo and other varieties will be ready. She predicted that pinot noir and chardonnay fruit would follow the merlot. "I may be picking Sunday and Monday, too," she said. "Grapes don’t always follow a pattern; sometimes we pick pinot gris first and some times merlot first." Moore actually picked some chardonnay grapes last week because a winery wanted grapes with lower sugar for a particular vintage. "The weather has been perfect," she said. "Grapes like best the warm days and cold nights with about a 50-degree temperature difference." Southern Oregon’s micro-climates mean that harvests don’t necessarily coincide from one vineyard to the next. At Paschal Winery & Vineyard, 12½ acres of pinot gris and pinot noir are slated for picking Tuesday with chardonnay likely to follow, said Agnieszka Stachurski. But Sams Valley Vineyard in Gold Hill has already delivered some syrah and merlot grapes picked Tuesday. Paschal winemaker Joe Dobbes, who manages Paschal along with his sister Rene, said drip irrigation proves helpful when temperatures remain in the 90-degree range. "Just like humans, a grape’s health depends on how well vines are hydrated," Dobbes said. "Bordeaux and Rhone varietals like the heat. Syrah doesn’t like as much heat as cabernet or merlot. "I’d rather have hot, dry weather than cold and wet. At least it makes flavor in the grapes," he said. "Some years, there’s too much alcohol and other years not enough ripeness. The trend lately in industry vintage is to go with higher sugars for more favorable wine." Betty O’Brien, executive director of the Oregon Wine Advisory Board, reported that the statewide harvest began five to 10 days earlier than usual. Oregon’s Agricultural Statistics Service projects 25,000 tons will be harvested, 13.6 percent more than in 2002 when 22,000 tons were produced on 9,400 acres. Another 2,700 planted acres were not in production last year. Per-acre yields, at 2.3 tons, have been kept low to enhance the grapes’ flavor. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times