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60 WINES&VINES December 2017 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS WINE EAST L ancaster, Pa.—Growers, win- ery owners, researchers and extension advisors across the East told Wines & Vines that the 2017 harvest was mostly "average to above average." While the win- ter was relatively mild, topsy-turvy weather patterns began in Febru- ary. Temperatures in the 60s and 70s resulted in cherry trees bloom- ing a month early in Washington, D.C., and growers worried about early grapevine deacclimation. For- tunately, most vines didn't push early, and there were few issues with spring frosts. From Georgia to New York, grapegrowers experienced a some- what cool and wet summer, followed by a warm to hot September. Dr. Cain Hickey, assistant professor of viticul- ture at the University of Georgia, told Wines & Vines: "It rained a fair amount, intermittently, from bloom to véraison. Growers were spraying between bouts of rain." In Virginia, it started to dry out by mid-summer, but the temperatures were cool, es- pecially in August. In contrast with the drought conditions of 2016, the Finger Lakes had higher than average rainfall from April through August. Hans Walter-Peterson, viticulture extension educator with the Finger Lakes Grape Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension, summed up the weather changes in the Sept. 29 "Véraison to Harvest" up- date, saying, "The story of the growing season is never really writ- ten until September is behind us." This year summer arrived across the East in mid-September with temperatures in the 80s and 90s that were more typical of August. September also brought five major hurricanes. While the hur- ricanes caused major damage in many areas, the impact on the grape harvest was minimal. Hur- ricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast, but almost all the grapes in Texas growing regions had been har- vested weeks before. Hurricane Irma tracked over Florida, then became a rain event in Georgia. After devastating Puerto Rico, Hur- ricane Maria turned northeast and went out to sea. Hurricanes Jose and Nate both delivered rain. North Carolina Steve Shepard, winemaker at Ray- Len Vineyards and Winery in Mocksville, N.C., said, "It was a nice growing season. We had rain, but not an overload, and we missed the hurricanes. We only got 1.5 inches from Irma, and ev- erything was in except for Caber- net Sauvignon." Yields at RayLen were average, and Shepard stated, "The quality was good to above average, a normal year." Virginia Dr. Tony Wolf, professor of viticul- ture at Virginia Tech, told Wines & Vines that while early summer was wet, by mid-summer, vine- yards started to dry out. "We dodged a bullet with Irma and Maria," Wolf stated. "Quantity is up, as well as quality, and many growers had more crop than they had estimated. Across the state we may have the biggest crop ever, partly because new acreage is now yielding fruit. We had some prob- lems with downy mildew late in the season, but fruit quality is very good, even outstanding." N.J. and Pennsylvania Southeastern Pennsylvania had rela- tively cool temperatures and rain every two to four days from July through mid-August. Jerry Forest, owner and winemaker at Bucking- ham Valley Vineyards & Winery in Buckingham, Pa., credited his son, Kevin Forest, Buckingham's vineyard manager, for "doing a fantastic job with spraying" during the wet weeks in August. September and October in the Mid-Atlantic region felt more like summer than fall. In New Jersey, Dr. Gary Pavlis, professor and agri- cultural agent at Rutgers University, said: "It was a long, hot October. Just beautiful. It may have been the lon- gest October ever!" He noted when Chambourcin was harvested in late October, Brix levels were as high as 24.2°, and the grapes were some of the best he had ever seen. New York Dr. Tim Martinson, senior exten- sion associate at Cornell University, reported in the "Véraison to Har- vest" update Nov. 6 that the Finger Lakes had a cool summer. Warm, mostly sunny weather arrived in September, with highs in the 70s and lows in the 40s. He stated: "This year was, in many respects, the opposite of dry 2016, when a small crop, varying degrees of drought stress and a warm growing season led to high juice-soluble solids and lower acids. Ample moisture, high bud fruitfulness and big berries (some varieties) led to high yields among the vinifera and some hybrid varieties." According to Bryan Hed, re- search technologist at the Lake Erie Grape Research and Extension Center in North East, Pa., the Lake Erie region had larger than average crops both for juice and wine grapes and above-average quality. Welch's Grape Juice Co. reported in late October, "The 2017 harvest from the Tri-states/Ontario region delivered the largest Concord crop on record. Above-average harvest season temperatures enabled vine- yards to achieve very favorable sugar levels, and overall quality was excellent." Ohio Nick Ferrante, winemaker at Fer- rante Wine Farm in Geneva, Ohio, said that while the crop was smaller than in 2016, the quality was excel- lent. A hot September with three weeks of temperatures in the 80s and 90s followed a cool August. He reported high sugar levels (for Ohio), between 23° and 25° Brix, and thinks this year's wines may be the best he has ever made. Todd Steiner, enology program manager at Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, Ohio, commented that sugars were low and acids were high in late August. With hot weather in Sep- tember, sugar levels improved and growers are pleased. Steiner added, "We're starting to see better yields, up to where we should be, more like pre-polar vortex." Michigan Dr. Paolo Sabbatini, associate pro- fessor of horticulture at Michigan State University, reported that Michigan had cool temperatures and rain during bloom. It remained cool in July, and véraison was de- layed. As in other parts of the East, after Labor Day the weather warmed up considerably, and many wineries had a very good harvest. "This is one of the vintages to remember!" said Nancy Oxley, vice president of St. Julian Wine Co. in Paw Paw, Mich. She noted that southwest Michigan had a warm summer with dry to near-drought conditions, in contrast with other parts of Michigan that had some rain during harvest. —Linda Jones McKee Wine East Covering Eastern North America Eastern Growers Call 2017 an Above-Average Year A mechanical harvester drops fruit into bins at Fox Run Vineyards in Penn Yan, N.Y.