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January 2016 WINES&VINES 91 VINTAGE 2015 FAMILY OF TANK CLEANING PRODUCTS www.cloudinc.com 8784-Cloud-Products-Ad-(3.5x4.875).indd 1 10/6/15 1:31 PM Marquette, Frontenac, La Cres- cent, Edelweiss and Brianna con- tinue to gain varietal awareness. Petite Pearl and Frontenac Blanc are in very limited supply but will grow dramatically during the next several years. Looking forward to first plantings of Crimson Pearl and Verona going into Iowa vineyards in 2016. MICHIGAN Duke Elsner Small fruit educator Michigan State University Extension The 2015 crop was a very small one for our region. Many vinifera growers were only able to bring in 10% to 15% of a normal crop, and even some of the hybrid varieties came in short. Whatever could go wrong did go wrong in 2015: severe winter cold in February and March, a hard freeze May 20, and a devastating wind and hail storm Aug. 2. Late summer and fall conditions were fairly favorable, but most sites did not have many grapes to ripen, so it was a waste of good weather! Up until the Aug. 2 storms, it had been a mild season for insects and diseases. Following the storm there were problems with botrytis rots on injured fruit clusters, and powdery mildew pressure grew later in the year as some growers went with reduced spray programs to cut costs. Demand far outreached supply since the weather was so destruc- tive. Increases in prices have not been reported to me to this point, but the returns to the growers will be small no matter what due to the high levels of crop loss. OHIO Dave Scurlock Viticulture outreach specialist Ohio State University/ Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center Grape, juice and wine quality was exceptional this year. In Ohio we had a near perfect fall. Normal rain- fall, warm days and cool nights. The overall yields of vinifera varieties were down by 80% due to the cold 2015 winter temperatures that reached into the lower -20s in mid- February. French hybrids and American varieties had a near-nor- mal crop, each with good quality parameters of percent soluble sol- ids, pH and titratable acidities. Weather was as perfect this fall in Ohio as possible. The only problem is we would have liked to have more vinifera. We had warm days, cool nights and adequate water throughout the harvest season. One of the nicest falls to ripen grapes, and very similar to 2010. Downy mildew and powdery mil- dew were both issues this year due to an unusually wet spring. Phyl- loxera was also a problem across the state due to the wet spring. Grape prices do not really fluctuate much, even though demand was ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° Worst we've had in (our) 40-year history on the Old Mission Peninsula. Hard frost on May 20, and then hail on Aug. 2. Mark Johnson Winemaker and vice president Chateau Chantal Traverse City, Mich. ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° Our wines are made with cold-hardy varietals, and the frosts did not dam- age our own vineyards too badly, say 10% to 20% loss. The second shoots gave good clusters. Charmaine Murphy Owner Pleasantview Vineyards Harbor Springs, Mich.