Northwest Wine Harvest Begins

(Wines&Vines) - Northwest growers have started to pick grapes, beginning with a most unlikely variety—Marquette.

Harvesters entered the vineyard of veteran grower Paul Champoux near Alderdale on Aug. 19, pulling off a half-acre of grapes that checked in at nearly 30º Brix.

“That’s unprecedented here in Washington—surprised everybody, actually,” Champoux told Wines & Vines this week. “One of the signatures of Marquette is high acidity, so that’s why the Brix got so high: because we were waiting for the acidity to reduce.”

The grapes eventually registered 0.9 grams of acid, while Brix were kicked up by especially warm weather: The Horse Heaven Hills has seen an accumulation of 2,289 growing degree days this year, slightly above the long-term average for the period.

Marquette, a red hybrid variety developed at the University of Minnesota and released in 2006, is—in the words of the university—“a cousin of Frontenac and grandson of Pinot Noir.” Wines made from the variety reflect its tendency toward high sugar levels and above-average acidity with “attractive ruby color, pronounced tannins and desirable notes of cherry, berry, black pepper and spice on both nose and palate.”