Weather Pushes Back Oregon Wine Grape Harvest
Weather Pushes Back Oregon Wine Grape Harvest
Sep 20, 2010 6
A cool spring followed by a summer with only a scattering of hot days has delayed the Oregon wine grape harvest by at least two weeks and possibly up to a month.
Growers are trying different ways to speed up ripening before fall rains arrive, including pulling leaves to expose grapes to the sun.
If the weather is not warm and sunny enough until the harvest is complete, the grapes could fall victim to drowning rains and botrytis, a moldy fungus that thrives in damp, humid conditions.
"At this point, it's a nail-biter," said Dick Shea, founder of Shea Wine Cellars & Vineyard in Yamhill. "Frankly, it could still be everything from excellent to terrible. It has everyone pretty anxious."
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