Much of eastern Washington has an arid, semi-desert environment that specializes in warm-climate wines like Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Even there, Oliver May, the manager ofin the Horse Heaven Hills, says that while growers tend to prefer hot years, there’s a limit to what any grapevines can take.
Wildfires brought on by extreme heat and drought can also be detrimental for vineyards, regardless of whether flames come in direct contact with the vines. “Smoke taint that attributes to grape skins can ruin the vintage,” May says. “If this is an omen of things to come, there should be tremendous concern. And as things have warmed up over the last decade, that’s certainly been the pattern,” he says. “In the 40 years I’ve been doing this, we’ve shifted the entire planning of vineyards in cool places like the Willamette Valley from trying to get the fruit to ripen earlier to now doing everything possible to cool the fruit and have it ripen later in the autumn.
In other news, raisin future prices drop sharply on the Chicago Board of Trade. Sun-Maid files for IPO.