Grape crop and wine turn out this fall

 

The fall season means harvest time for a lot of local farmers. We talked with Rockie Rick, owner of Red Top and Gravity wineries. He said his grape crop this year could be one of the best he's ever had. What contributes to having a good grape crop?

Dry weather is a grape vines best friend. During the summer months, drier than average weather and low humidity are preferred, just like what we seen this year during the months of June, July, and August. This keeps plant diseases at a minimum and grape sizes smaller. Wine gets most of its flavor from the skin of the grapes, so ideally you want a higher skin to water ratio, which can be found in the smaller grapes.

Dry weather is also needed during the harvest season. Wetter weather, this time of the year, leads to higher chances of fungus growing within the mature grapes. We have been lucky so far, that conditions have remained mostly dry.

So what types of wine look to have a great turnout this year? Keep an eye out for a local Riesling, Merlot, or Cabernet Franc. These three wines are showing great promise this harvest season.