2009 Vintage Report

by Donald Ziraldo, Chairman, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre

The harvest this year is about ten days late, due to the somewhat colder weather and wet summer. Recent weather has been ideal and it has not rained since August 23rd. Verasion, which is a term describing the changing colors of grapes as they ripen (grape clusters start out green and as they ripen, red varieties turn red and white varieties turn golden, or slightly pink) was late this year, however, sunny days are now balancing that out.

Winter was quite regular, the East side of St. Catharines was normal, while the West side experienced some very cold nights. Spring was also regular but the temperatures at flowering in June were below normal and very dry, which resulted in flowering coming a few days late, yet blossom set was still good.

July and August have been the wettest months, which created great difficulty throughout vineyard management. However, one positive effect of all of this additional moisture is that when the grape berries move into verasion, the berries don’t split. Leaf and fruit development has been good, with the exception of rampant diseases such as Downey and Powdery Mildew, which have required a lot of work to control.

This year’s buzzword is “Canopy Management”, which refers to arranging the structure of the vine to optimize sun exposure. However, some bunches may have to be removed in order to balance the vine and crop load. This technique is known as “green cluster harvest” or “vendage en vert” and it decreases the yield by reducing excess bunches during the ripening period, which concentrates the flavors and color and of the remaining berries. This practice is both time consuming and expensive and may be required several times this season. On the flipside, it helps immensely in maintaining fruit quality, especially in varieties like Pinot Noir. Additionally, leaf pulling is used to remove leaves that produce excess shade that prevents berries from getting optimal sun exposure. Leaf pulling should be done on the shady side of the canopy first. These treatments are more pronounced in their results in years like this, and as the sun now shines on these berries, their quality is improving exponentially.

Since August 23rd, it has not rained and the crop is developing very nicely. It is sunny and dry with cool evenings, which will compensate for the rather wet conditions that were experienced throughout the summer.

If the weather continues (which is what the prediction is) the harvest should be of very good quality, especially for the growers and wineries that followed the above practices to ensure proper ripening.

The initial harvest has begun for sparkling wines, and some early white varietals like Pinot Grigio.

Albrecht Seeger and I toured through his Niagara vineyards and tested some bunches randomly, with Pinot Noir showing at 19 Brix and Chardonnay at 18 Brix.

Donald Ziraldo, Chairman, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre

  "We needed to do a lot more canopy management, leaf removal and thinning to balance the vine. the last 3 weeks in September have had nothing but sunny warm days and cool nights, this should really enhance the flavors in the whites. We are also confident for the reds, growers have adjusted their vineyard management to make sure we can ripen the reds, all we need now is for a good finish in October sunny days and not to much rain."
            - Matthias Oppenlaunder, grape grower and Chair, Grape and Wine Research Inc

"This vintage is turning out better than expected ,cold wet summer gave us small concentrated berries highish in acid but sept sun and heat have pulled up sugars ,black rot, which organic farmers are not well equipped for, and hail have ensured a natural thinning to a low but normal for us yield , happily our organic regime was adequate to keep other diseases off the fruit, harvest will be late starting end of sept  leading probably with pinot gris  which is tasting  very promising ,our 777 pinot noir is also quite exciting"
                  -Martin Malivoire, Malivoire winery

"The 21 straight days of sun with good winds could not have come at a better time in the ripening cycle. This could end up being a remarkable year from both a flavour and stability standpoint. May the sun continue to shine"
                       -Norman Hardie, Prince Edward County

" Grapes that have ample rainfall throughout the growing season, but with lots of sun in the finishing stretch. A vintage to look forward to."
                 - Albrecht Seeger, Grape grower, Niagara-on the Lake

"Summer arrives in September just in time for the 2009 vintage. The extended warm and sunny days has me very excited as I plan to receive grapes this week. The early varieties such as Pinot Gris and Chardonnay will come in with optimal flavour and ripeness. I am confident that Mother Nature will continue to shine and the Niagara region can look forward to a stellar grape harvest."
                          Bruce Nicholson, winemaker, Inniskillin Wines

"We have reduced yields and have been doing a lot of canopy management to in courage ripening. Whites, pinot noir, gamay and Baco Noir are looking great. Cabernet S and Franc need what we are getting now which is the driest Sept on record and nice warm sunny days. This reminds me of 97 which we had an extended fall and the reds were excellent."
                      -Paul Speck, Henry of Pelham Winery

"The spring was cool and wet. The summer on the other hand was kind to us in that we had very little summer rain fall, in conjunction with the dry September. The grapes are coming in light on volume but, I am happy with quality and brix. Early last week, I had Chardonnay come in at 21 brix and Pinot Grigio at 20.2."
                               -Tim Reilly, Head Winemaker, Colio Estate Winery, Lake Erie North Shore

" From a winemaking point of view I’m very excited about the sparkling base grapes, PN and Chardonnay are looking very good at the moment and the balance between acidity and sugars are at the right levels. Aromas in the Sauv Blanc are very varietal, intense flavours in the GWT as well. I think for whites (as far as now) the vintage is shaping up very promising, especially for aromatic varieties"
                                    -Marco Picolli, winemaker, Jackson-Triggs Winery
 
"The cool summer has ensured healthy canopies and a stress free growing season.  Minor mildew issues, particularly Downey, in early to mid summer, but otherwise vineyards looks great and after prudent crop thinning and vigorous canopy management I’m quietly optimistic. Basically, growers that have proactively adjusted the crop load in line with heat summation and now late season water deficiency will have the best chance, especially reds. Sugar intake has been steep over the last 2 weeks but acid may be the Achilles heel of the harvest showing abnormally high levels for this time of year. Sugars are fast approaching 20 – 21 brix in Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris and I’m hoping the low pH and higher acid, together with a healthy vine, will give us some insurance in the coming week.  The next 7 days will dictate the destiny of these varieties and perhaps put pressure on Chardonnay in the coming 2 – 3 weeks. Whites will be crisp and steely   Our fields were thinned to 2 – 3 tonnes per acre (1 bunch per shoot) 6 weeks a go and whilst the sugar has raced, the acid has been slow to move down.  Perhaps a high malic year and consequently but drop in TA during Malolactic fermentation. "
-Craig Mcdonald, winemaker, Creekside Winery

"Cool weather and more rain followed into July and August. Even though there was more than normal rainfall, with some big rainstorms the region also escaped any damage from hailThere were always enough dry periods with opportunities for growers to maintain a very tight spray schedule to keep vines free from disease. Most vineyards entered the ripening stage in very good shape, with just slight Downy Mildew symptoms showing especially high on the tops of canopies. A great deal of work was done to the vines to keep the crop clean. Shoot thinning; leaf removal on both sides of the trellis was necessary on almost all vinifera varieties. Finally as the grapes began to develop sugar and begin to ripen, a great deal of the crop was dropped to the ground in order to ripen the balance of the fruit remaining on the vine, often times in excess of 50% especially on red varieties. Some blocks were thinned twice in order to fine tune the remaining fruit. All the steps used by growers in the vineyard, manipulating the vines, are beginning to paying off. Weather in September has been just terrific and the vines and the remaining crop are responding well. Sugars are increasing and acids are dropping….the harvest is near. Growers and winemakers are optimistic for another great vintage from Niagara"
   - Gerald Klose, grape grower and viticulturalist

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