Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/591609
120 WINES&VINES November 2015 WINEMAKING WINE EAST G rand Junction, Colo.— Colorado grapegrowers started to pick Chardonnay over Labor Day weekend, and they anticipate end-of-season numbers will indicate a normal harvest in both quantity and quality. According to Dr. Stephen Menke, associate professor of enology at Colorado State Univer- sity, the crop this year "is the first full harvest in several years. We had a mild winter with no big spring freezes, and the quality looks good." He reported that Chardonnay had close to perfect numbers for the region, with 23° Brix, total acidity between 5 and 7 grams per liter and pH at 3.4 or 3.5. This season contrasts with the past several harvests, which have been problematic. Very cold weather and April frosts reduced the 2013 crop to approximately 50% of normal, and low temperatures in December 2013 damaged the 2014 crop. This past winter the temperatures didn't fall below 0° F; spring was cool and rainy, and summer was moderate. Jay Christianson, owner and winemaker at Canyon Wind Cellars in Palisade, Colo., told Wines & Vines that he picked all of his Merlot for Canyon Wind's rosé on Sept. 9, with a Brix level of 21°, total acidity of 9.5 grams and a pH of 3.28. Christianson grows nine vinifera varieties in his 35-acre vineyard. "All the chemistries are tight, and it looks like harvest will be condensed more than usual." With 115 wineries now open in Colorado, and only 1,200 acres of grapes planted in the state, one of Menke's concerns is that the state only produces approxi- mately 60% of the grapes that wineries need. The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey in Cañon City, Colo., is lo- cated about 115 miles south of Denver. In some ways, it is more typical of Colorado wineries in that the 11,000-case winery purchases the majority of its fruit. Most of the winery's grapes come from Pali- sade on the Western Slope. The winery has a 3-acre experimental estate vine- yard containing Riesling, Viognier, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Norton, and winemaker Jeff Stultz buys as many as 22 dif- ferent varieties of grapes from local "backyard" growers. The sugar levels on these grapes range from 16° to 23° Brix (depending on the variety), while the TA is usually about 5 grams per liter and the pH is 3.4 or 3.5. —Linda Jones McKee Mild Winter and No Frost Means Better Year for Colorado Grapes Norton vines grow at the home of Jeff Stultz, winemaker at the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey in Cañon City, Colo.