Grape harvest wraps up
The 2011 grape harvest wrapped up quietly last week as growers tried to recoup as much of their crop as possible before the final crush.
“The grape demand was there, but supply was way down,” said Nick Frey, president of the Sonoma County Wine Grape Commission. He said he couldn’t be sure of exact figures until vintners release their crush reports in February, but said total tonnage was significantly decreased this year.
“I think we’ll be below where we were in 2008 when we were down to 165,000 (tons harvested),” he said, adding that last year, the harvest for the entire county was 191,000 tons. “We may be even lower than 160,000, but it’s too soon to say that for sure.”
David Cook, whose company Cook Vineyard Management oversees 475 acres of grapes, said he saw some varietals down as much as 30 percent over average years.
The entire season was a fight against the weather, growers said. It began in June with a devastating rain that knocked flowers off the vines, limiting the amount of fruit that could grow. Then there were the unseasonably low temperatures, which slowed the growing season and delayed the start of the harvest by two to three weeks in most vineyards. Cook said his harvest season was just 40 days, compared with 55 to 60 days in an average year. The delay meant more grapes were susceptible to bunch rot, or botrytis, when the rains settled in during October, causing further loss of yield.
“A lot of crops got dropped due to botrytis,” Frey said, adding that sauvignon blanc was hit the hardest by bunch rot.
But what hindered some wineries proved to be an opportunity for others. Zach Long, winemaker for Kunde Family Estate, said after seeing so many acres impacted by rot, they decided to make a limited production of botrytis white in a style similar to the French sweet wines known as sauternes.
“It’s kind of our celebration of detriment,” Long laughed.
He explained that the grey botrytis rot dries out the grapes, drastically increasing the sugar levels to around 40 brix. The wineries stomped 1.76 tons of fungus-infected grapes by foot to keep the fruit more intact, filling two barrels for fermentation. The unique flavor produced by botrytis mixed with the high sugar content creates a sweet wine with a higher alcohol content.
“It’s kind of like port, but you don’t add booze to it,” Long said. Although it’s a popular product, this style of winemaking is less common because so much fruit is required for a small yield of wine.
“It really is a high-end product lots of people strive for,” Long said, adding that it is not traditionally something Kunde offers. But the winery works exclusively off estate grown grapes, and this year, with a 30 percent drop in yield, it was important to salvage as many grapes as possible.
“Years like this are always a big heartbreak on an estate because you can’t subsidize the loss,” Long said. “If you have this challenge from Mother Nature, you might as well take advantage of it.”
While the impact on quantity was immediately apparent, the quality of grapes is yet to be seen. Thanks to the cooler weather, many vintners said the brix did not develop to the levels they were hoping, but the longer hang time on the vine meant the fruit was able to build more complex flavor profiles.
“I’m optimistic, a lot of the grapes that survived are pretty exceptional,” Frey said.Trailer 1
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(045) 599-5600
0922-870-5178
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Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar
Mimosa Drive past Holiday Inn, Mimosa Leisure Estate,
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, Philippines 2023
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3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay
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