September 3, 2008 Weather for grape growers and for the rest of us will probably warm up through Friday. Saturday, a weak storm system might douse northeast Washington and Idaho. Next week it’s supposed to cool down again.
In the Northwest and British Columbia, wine grape growers are slashing fruit off the vines. They are hoping that cutting down some of the bunches will sweeten-up the remaining grapes quicker. Ingo Grady is with Mission Hills Winery in Okanagan Valley. He has just a month and a half to harvest Cabernet, Syrah and Cab Franc grapes before the cold weather hits.
GRADY: So that doesn’t give us a lot of time. It will be going from a nice sort of easy going beaches and peaches mentality to fire drills for the next six weeks.
A late and small harvest means less money for growers, but it could be good news for connoisseurs. Paul Champoux grows Columbia Valley grapes for some of the Northwest’s top labels. He thinks ’08 could turn into a superb vintage, maybe even like the fabled ’99.
CHAMPOUX: It will be interesting to see what this vintage turns out because of the Mother Nature we got this year. I think the grapes are tasting real well already you know.
Still, Washington winemakers say they are most worried about ripening up their Cabernet. That’s one of the last varieties to be picked. Oregon grape growers are hoping for a dry fall that won’t rot their pinot noir.
