2013's triple whammy of record weather for grapes in the Pacific Northwest

What a year this 2013 has been, for grapegrowers!

1. Some sites in the PacNW saw record heat in July. Above 90 or 95F, a grapevine suspends the fruit ripening process, so very hot days are "lost time" and they can impair the production of fully ripe fruit.

2. The entire region had record rainfall in September, which had heavy impact on a small portion of regional vineyards. Ripening earlier, many of the modern varieties were harvested before the rains, but most of the vinifera had to keep hanging. Fortunately, most of those were able to "hang through" into a dry late September and October. But too much water can dilute the desired flavors in the grapes.

3. In December, we saw very frightfully cold (and suddenly cold) weather: Hermiston OR got down to -8F, Ephrata WA and Yakima WA saw -2F (breaking a record held since 1972), and even sheltered Hillsboro OR (just west of Portland) saw a low of 9F with two weeks of all-day sub-freezing temps. These sudden, extremely cold temps can kill vinifera grapevines, especially younger ones.  Modern varieties of grapes (hybrids) are fine at these temps, however--a real advantage of growing them, as they have hardier American grapes in their lineage.

Fingers crossed for milder weather in 2014!

(image credit: Kendall Jackson winery)

Organization promotes hybrid winegrapes in Europe

Here is the group's website. Its name, PIWI, is an acronym for the German name for fungus-resistant grape varieties.

The problem in Europe is that the cherished vinifera winegrape varieties are losing out to fungal attacks. The grapes haven't been allowed to evolve fungal defenses and thus they require more and more chemical sprays to fight fungus. This has rendered many vineyards sterile--devoid of life. A shocking result, considering that in healthy soil there are thousands if not millions of beneficial fungii, insects, worms, etc. in a cubic foot of earth.

France (and to a lesser extent other wine countries) has been fighting hybrid grapes for over a century, as they were perceived as a threat to the classical vinifera varieties. But as attention is directed to this looming environmental catastrophe, those rigid countries are starting to open up to hybrids.

Hybrids are crosses of vinifera grapes (which have desirable flavors) with modern grape varieties (which can provide disease resistance, winter cold tolerance, and earlier ripening). It's classical crossing, not modern genetic engineering: The pollen from one grape is put on the egg of another grape, and the resulting seeds collected and sprouted, to see if a better variety has been created. The process takes many years, but has already given us a number of winegrapes which not only resist fungal disease, but also ripen earlier and make great wines.

So it is pretty big news when countries like France are starting to realize something must change.

In the U.S., vinifera don't have disease pressure in very dry climates, such as Walla Walla WA. But in many states, growing vinifera requires a heavy spray program. Even if the sprays are organic (those are more expensive), spraying still requires a lot of tractor fuel, so growing disease-resistant hybrid grapes is quite "Green."

Here is a quote from Mark Hart, of Mt. Ashwabay Vineyard and Orchard: "The writing is on the wall that these PIWI grapes will play a larger role in European viticulture as restrictions on pesticide use tighten."

It's a fascinating issue that bears close watching. Meanwhile, everyone should be trying hybrid (modern) winegrapes' wines frequently. If you haven't, you may be surprised at their variety and quality!

OMG! Vineyard spraying in Champagne and Bordeaux is creating sterile deserts

This is just wrong, folks. Vinifera grapes have gotten so weak against natural funguses that they require massive spray programs. In France the sprays are so many and so deadly that vineyards have become dead zones (except for the grapes, of course).

There will be a growing backlash against this crazy practice. There is an alternative: modern grape varieties (hybrids), which are crosses of vinifera grapes with disease-resistant American grapes (we have more more native grape species than any other country, I think). In the successful crosses, you get the taste of vinifera and  the disease resistance of the American parent. Easy. All we need is for talented winemakers to keep making and marketing the new wines, and someday the worms, birds, and insects can breathe a sigh of relief.

read about it here.