Document text
47 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, October 10, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 25, 2004 Wine grapes in a vineyard off Griffin Creek Road southwest of Medford are close to harvest. Because many varieties didn�t produce a lot of fruit, many West Coast vintners are hungry for more grapes, a big change from recent years. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Grape expectations for wineries It’s not the best of times for pinot, not the worst of times for others By GREG STILES Mail Tribune This year’s early spring has reduced the pinot grape tonnage throughout the West, and that’s sure to reduce winery inventories down the road. Grapes that flowered and are harvested later, on the other hand, are doing reasonably well. "We and almost everyone I know have had an unusually small crop — particularly the early grapes," says Don Moore, who has grown wine grapes for 15 years in the Rogue Valley and presently maintains six vineyards covering 150 acres that produce 14 varieties. "We normally produce 500 to 600 tons, but this year it’s going to be about 400." Whether the dearth of pinot grapes is a harbinger for later-harvested varieties is debatable. But growers and wineries agree it shouldn’t have a great economic impact because the majority of grape prices are covered by long-term contracts. "Historically, when things are light, they are light across the board in varying degrees," says Mark Wisnovsky, president of Valley View Vineyard and Winery in Ruch. "Things that look normal or slightly below normal may look heavier, but you don’t know until you pick the light stuff. What you think is 2 tons, is only 1½ tons and so 5 tons becomes 3." Advertisement Rob Wallace, managing partner at Del Rio Vineyards outside Gold Hill, prefers not to worry too much about the weak early variety output. "We have 13 varieties and only two or three were affected — the ones that set during poor weather," Wallace says. "We only had about five acres of pinot." Now at the mid-point of harvest, he still expects the 200-acre vineyard to yield between 700 and 800 tons. Moore and Wisnovsky agree a short crop isn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering the recent glut of some varieties, including merlot. "We’ve been doing this so long that I could see there was going to be fewer grapes," Wisnovsky says. "Where possible, we contracted for more grapes as early as June, but you just don’t know." Valley View had planned on nearly doubling production of viognier grapes from last year to 20 tons. But that won’t be the case. "To double production was a pretty aggressive stance," Wisnovsky says. "If we do the 10 to 12 tons we did last year, we’re going to be happy." The short crop should mitigate merlot overplanting, which has clogged wineries in recent seasons. "A lot of Oregon wineries have a year or two more supply of merlot," Wisnovksy says. "Even if you get 25 percent less in one year, it won’t suck up two years of supply. You could almost skip a year, and that’s what we were planning to do until purchasing some merlot last week. When we looked at the numbers, unless (merlot) sales increased dramatically, we figured on skipping a year." Because many wineries sell their vintages before they press the grapes, it presents an opportunity for growers whose plantings aren’t under contract. Moore says they have a chance to cash in this year where they couldn’t during high-yield times. "With the exception of merlot, anybody that has grapes (is) going to have people at their doorstep on their knees trying to purchase grapes," he says. "I’ve been getting calls from Washington and California, they just don’t have enough grapes to meet sales." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities