Recent rain worrisome for harvest of grapes

By The Associated Press

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PORTLAND — Grape growers around Oregon are scanning the skies uneasily, hoping that the unseasonal rains that have soaked their vineyards for the past few weeks will let up soon.

If not, grapes may split from too much water, which would expose crops to vine-killing diseases like mildew and rot.

"This has been the toughest year we've ever had farming grapes in Oregon," Brian O'Donnell, owner of Belle Pente Vineyard & Winery in Carlton, told The Oregonian. "Some years in the 1980s may have been harder, but this is certainly tougher than any year we had in the '90s."

This year's hot, dry spring had vineyards on track for one of the earliest harvests ever. But that was followed by an unusually cool, wet September that pushed everything back again.

Assuming the next couple of weeks conform to the forecasts of drier weather, this year's harvest will come about a week or two earlier than most years. It is shaping up to be one of low yields but very high quality, growers say.

Most of the state's 250-plus commercial wineries will begin picking the bulk of their crop this weekend and early next week.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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