Eastern U.S. Needs a Sunny September

(Wines&Vines) - What a difference a year makes. March 2012 was exceptionally warm across the eastern United States, which led to early bud break and problems with spring frosts in some areas. Some rain in May and June was mitigated by warm, even hot, sunny weather in mid-summer that accelerated grape maturity, and some growers in the East reported 2012 was the earliest harvest they had ever experienced. By the time hurricane Sandy hit Oct. 29, almost all grapes were harvested.

The growing season in 2013 has been very different for vineyards from North Carolina to Connecticut. A cool spring led to bud break that was as much as three weeks later than normal, and the weather this summer has been cool and excessively wet. The wettest area has been from North Carolina up into the Mid-Atlantic region that stretches from northern Virginia, across Maryland and into southeastern Pennsylvania. Vineyards to the north and into the Appalachian Mountains have had less moisture and a more normal growing season.

How will the 2013 vintage turn out in the East? Most vineyard observers agree with Hans Walter-Peterson, viticulture extension specialist at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in New York, who told Wines & Vines, “September will make or break the vintage.” Sunny, warm days and cool nights until the end of harvest would make a big difference in overall wine quality.