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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 29, 2005 Mark Wisnovsky checks the sugar content of his Valley View Vineyard grapes. An off-kilter season for grapes has delayed harvest, and may tarnish the vintage if rains or cool, cloudy weather take hold in the next week or two. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell It’s all about the weather Vintners worry that rain could impair grapes’ maturation, resulting in a mediocre crop By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune After a long, cool spring and a long, hot summer, winemakers are in nail-biting mode, hoping grapes can grab enough "hang time" in the few sunny days left, allowing for an unusually late harvest in October. If grapes get that needed sunshine, they will mature into complex, delicious wines that age well and have a good alcohol content, said Mark Wisnovsky of Valley View Winery in the Applegate. If it starts being cloudy and rainy a lot, the vintage won’t fully mature and it could be a so-so year — or worse. "It’s been eight years since we went into October before harvesting," said Wisnovsky. "It makes for better quality of fruit, with the grape juice at an even ripeness and a better balance of acids, tannins, sugar and flavors — but the later it goes, the more we’re biting our nails." It’s supposed to get cloudy and cooler this weekend and if it hangs around long, he added, "it could be a lousy year." Eric Weisinger of Weisinger’s of Ashland Vineyard and Winery echoed those worries, noting harvest is 10 days to two weeks later than usual at this point. Advertisement "It could mean grapes without as high a sugar content and that translates to wines with a lower alcohol percentage," Weisinger said. "If the next weeks are dry and warm, it could average out to a normal year. Sugars in grapes should be 25 percent, which ends up as about 14 percent alcohol, said Wisnovsky. However, with the extreme seasons here this year, grapes have only gotten up to 23 percent sugars, which ends up as 12.5 to 13 percent alcohol. This doesn’t have to be tragic, because "we want alcohol to be in balance with flavor," he added. "It’s a good thing if we have two more weeks like today (warm and sunny). The wines will be better balanced than if you picked them with higher sugars in a shorter season." While Southern Oregon is known for wet winters, often extending into spring, followed by hot, dry summers, this year has gone overboard, with wetness above normal through April and May, then a normal June, but a hotter and drier July and August than normal, said Roger Gerig of the National Weather Service in Medford. Extended high heat, over 100 degrees (such as we had from July 5 to mid-August) causes grapes to "shut down" ripening till normal temperatures resume, said Weisinger, thus slowing down the season. By this time of year, noted Wisnovsky, 30 to 40 percent of the harvest is usually done, sometimes even 50 to 75 percent. If it gets cloudy now, he said, "we’ll have a lot less expensive wine in three to five years. We price by quality, not our costs." Weisinger observed, "If we have bad weather now, it’ll be unfortunate, but we’re farmers and we have a love-hate relationship with the weather. I do love years like this — very dramatic, and you’re not sure what’s next." Phil Kodak of Ashland Vineyards and Winery, who has 60 acres of grapes, said harvest is "a tad later, not drastically" but if it rains, grapes start absorbing moisture and losing sugar content, forcing the choice about harvesting quickly or hoping for more nice weather. "This year could dry up and warm up, giving maximum hang time and still be absolutely stellar, like it usually is," said Weisinger. "On the other hand, the worst-case scenario is it rains till Thanksgiving, we harvest grapes early, some not at all and it would be extremely difficult to make quality wine. As of now, it’s up in the air." John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Advertisement s