Saturday, May. 16, 2009

Slow spring in Washington wine country

By Andy Perdue, Wine Press Northwest

It has been a cool spring again this year in Washington's Columbia Valley, with bud break occurring a couple of weeks later than usual. Winemaker (and now grape grower) Charlie Hoppes said vines are about as far behind as he can recall in his two decades as a Washington winemaker.

My humble backyard vineyard, which consists of 10 Sangiovese and four Riesling vines, definitely was late for the second consecutive year, but the vines seem to be doing well now. I have shoot growth of at least six inches on the Sangiovese.

The first signs of tiny clusters have appeared. They will bloom into white flowers soon, then form grapes. By the first or second week of August, the grapes will begin to turn purple, and they'll be ready for harvest around mid-October.

Last year, my grapes never fully ripened, reaching only around 21 brix. That was fine for my purposes (juice for jelly, sorbet and sparkling wine), but I would have preferred a bit more ripeness.

This winter, I pruned much more aggressively in the hope of having fewer clusters, which presumably will have a better chance of ripening.

This is my sixth year for the Sangiovese, so I will get a full crop. The Riesling is just third leaf, so I will probably see a few clusters this fall, then a fuller crop in 2010. I hope to plant a few Petite Sirah vines this year, but that probably won't happen until next spring, as I have a few other projects to complete first.

Columbia Valley grape growers are pretty much out of the danger zone for frost, and temperatures this weekend are in the mid-80s, so vines are going to have a chance to do a fair bit of catching up from our relatively cool spring.