Last Year’s Harvest- Crushing Grapes

Contributed by Dan Wolfe, Associate Winemaker.

Everyone remembers the last two very cold winters, with temperatures ranging from -17° to -30° in the vineyards. This was followed by  a very wet June and July this year. Finally the sun came out in August, finishing the summer up rather dry. These weather conditions provided by Mother Nature did not help the recovery of the crops.

In addition to the vinifera loss, the Traminette and Vidal also suffered heavy bud loss and trunk damage. The Niagara started out looking good, but suffered damage and disease as the season went on.  The vineyards I walked last week  will end up with about 50-80% of a normal crop.

The good news? Concord remain to look very healthy. Despite the local damage, Presque Isle Wine Cellars is making every effort to continue to have product available for all of our commercial and home winemakers. In addition to sourcing the best and available grapes in the area, we are bringing grapes in from the Finger Lakes and West Coast to ensure our customers will have the grapes and juices they need this season. Explore all the products we have to offer here.

What’s next? We will start pressing Niagara this week! Be sure to get in your orders for Niagara as quantities are limited.

ORDER GRAPES AND JUICES NOW

Dan Wolfe joined PIWC in 2011 and is our Associate Winemaker. Dan started making wines from Wine kits in 2007 and the hobby quickly became an obsession. His habit then escalated to buying Fresh Grape Juice at harvest time, and he started experimenting with blending different wines. Dan has entered his wines in many local and out of town competitions, bringing home Gold medals and best of show in places like California. He is a member of the American Wine Society and judges wine competitions locally and around the state.