Date£º
2015-08-27 17:37 Source£º
http://www.kmtr.com Author:
News Staff Translator:
Oregon¡¯s early wine harvest could be one of the biggest in history. Wine growers say the weather this summer has produced an outstanding grape crop.
Bill Fuller planted some of his vines in the early ¡®70s on land just outside of Forest Grove. He¡¯s the founder of Tualatin vineyards which is now owned by Willamette Valley Vineyards. 2015 marks Fuller¡¯s 42nd vintage.
The hot summer has been a challenge, but he believes it will be one of the best crops in his career. The vines that usually produced two to three tons of grapes per acre could yield an extra ton per acre. One of the biggest harvests he¡¯s seen.
¡°Apparently the long term weather forecast says September is warm and dry¡ which is ideal. Not ideal for firefighters and others, but ideal for vineyards,¡± he said.
Fuller said he was a little concerned about the last few weeks of the growing process.
¡°What happens now is these vines are under a certain amount of stress, moisture stress. After the hot summer we¡¯ve had, if we get a downpour of rain, it¡¯ll soak up all the root, but fruit has a certain size and you end up splitting the fruit,¡± he said.
Fuller said a sign of the success he¡¯s seen in the Oregon wine industry is the price of land. The land he purchased in the early ¡®70s for $1,000 an acre would now sell for 30 times as much today.