Lane County wine grape growers hit crunch time on harvest
It's a race against the clock and the weather at local wineries in Lane County. They're trying to get all their grapes harvested and off the vine before the heavy rains.
We checked in with a couple of vintners today (Monday) on their expectations for this year's harvest. The wine makers we talked with today say this year's harvest won't be bad, but it won't be as good as 2006. They add the cooler weather of late and the rain, came at the wrong time.
You can hear the sound for miles around...
They are the propane-powered sentinels guarding the grapes at Sweet Cheeks Winery. These are mini-cannons that go off to scare the hungry birds away.
Birds they can control. The weather they can't:
"We're looking at the weather daily and seeing what storms are there, looking at the satellite images," says General Manager Lorrie Norman at Sweet Cheeks.
These are pinot noir grapes, one of four varieties grown on the vines at Sweet Cheeks. They won't be on the plants much longer.
"I would imagine this fruit will not be here in 3 or 4 days time," says wine maker Mark Nicholl of the winery staff. He adds the sudden change to cool, fall weather came too soon and won't help the grapes, but, "If you've got low crop yield, crop levels, the yields are down; you're probably sitting pretty as I feel we are. We'll have everything off just before things get really wet."
Lorrie Norman tells KVAL, "It's not the worst crop that we've had in Oregon. It's definitely not the best. It's a vintage that's definitely keeping us on our toes."
Just 12 miles away is Secret House Vineyard in the Veneta area. For the crews here, the next few days will be critical for the grape harvest, to get it in soon.
Manager Patti Chappel is more blunt about the 2007 harvest and says, "This year for the harvest is going to be a bit challenging. We needed another 10 days to 2 weeks of reasonably warm weather."
Chappel says the sudden start to cool weather is like an off-switch to the grape plants. The fruit isn't going to ripen much more.
She says her grapes are disease free, but all 14 tons have to be harvested this week, before heavy showers arrive.
"It's a typical Oregon year. I think we've gotten a little spoiled I believe having so many great years, but this is pretty typical," explains Chappel.
Officials say ultimately, the wine business is a farming business, and they have to make do with what mother nature provides. As Patti Chappel tells her crew at the grape press machine, "Squeeze every last drop, every last drop."
Even with the lower yields, managers at Sweet Cheeks Winery expect to harvest 90 tons of grapes this fall.
We checked in with a couple of vintners today (Monday) on their expectations for this year's harvest. The wine makers we talked with today say this year's harvest won't be bad, but it won't be as good as 2006. They add the cooler weather of late and the rain, came at the wrong time.
You can hear the sound for miles around...
They are the propane-powered sentinels guarding the grapes at Sweet Cheeks Winery. These are mini-cannons that go off to scare the hungry birds away.
Birds they can control. The weather they can't:
"We're looking at the weather daily and seeing what storms are there, looking at the satellite images," says General Manager Lorrie Norman at Sweet Cheeks.
These are pinot noir grapes, one of four varieties grown on the vines at Sweet Cheeks. They won't be on the plants much longer.
"I would imagine this fruit will not be here in 3 or 4 days time," says wine maker Mark Nicholl of the winery staff. He adds the sudden change to cool, fall weather came too soon and won't help the grapes, but, "If you've got low crop yield, crop levels, the yields are down; you're probably sitting pretty as I feel we are. We'll have everything off just before things get really wet."
Lorrie Norman tells KVAL, "It's not the worst crop that we've had in Oregon. It's definitely not the best. It's a vintage that's definitely keeping us on our toes."
Just 12 miles away is Secret House Vineyard in the Veneta area. For the crews here, the next few days will be critical for the grape harvest, to get it in soon.
Manager Patti Chappel is more blunt about the 2007 harvest and says, "This year for the harvest is going to be a bit challenging. We needed another 10 days to 2 weeks of reasonably warm weather."
Chappel says the sudden start to cool weather is like an off-switch to the grape plants. The fruit isn't going to ripen much more.
She says her grapes are disease free, but all 14 tons have to be harvested this week, before heavy showers arrive.
"It's a typical Oregon year. I think we've gotten a little spoiled I believe having so many great years, but this is pretty typical," explains Chappel.
Officials say ultimately, the wine business is a farming business, and they have to make do with what mother nature provides. As Patti Chappel tells her crew at the grape press machine, "Squeeze every last drop, every last drop."
Even with the lower yields, managers at Sweet Cheeks Winery expect to harvest 90 tons of grapes this fall.
