U.S. Wine Harvest in Trouble

Photo: Okanagan Wine Review

The entire state of California is struggling to harvest wine this year. The struggle is due to harsh spring rains that damaged the grape vines, an unusually chilly summer that slowed ripening and more rainfall in the autumn that diluted the grapes’ juice.

Vineyard owners are going to great lengths to try and correct the problem. Bruce Cakebread of Cakebread Cellars in Rutherford, California is trying very hard to save  his Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Cakebread hired a helicopter to fly over the rows of his grapes at about 20 feet high, with a goal of creating wind and drying off the plants.

Other wine producing areas such as Washington are behind also but not as bad as California, fortunately. Thankfully Ontario, known for certain types of wine, is mostly on schedule and plans to harvest a full crop of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Rieslings.

Source: Reuters

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