Grapes shrivel but harvest still plump

VICTORIA’S freakish autumn heatwave has forced Bendigo and district vineyards to harvest up to six weeks early. But growers still predicted a solid 2008 crop as they picked feverishly at the weekend.

Owner of Mandurang Valley Winery, Wes Vine, expects to produce about 2500 cases of wine this year, after frosts destroyed his 2007 crop.

He said last week’s heatwave had spoilt an otherwise perfect growing season.

‘‘This season had excellent potential, but I think the hot weather of the last week has pushed the fruit along too quickly,’’ he said.

‘‘When you get heat like this you can’t get water into grape vines quick enough because the transpiration rate through the leaf is faster than the plants intake through the root.’’ Mr Vine said the heat caused the grapes to shrink and shrivel.

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Wine grape harvest up slightly for 2007

BERKELEY, Calif. -- The California wine harvest came in at normal levels for a second year in a row in 2007, and brokers say the industry is heading back into balance after the curve thrown by 2005's bumper crop.

Preliminary figures released by state agriculture officials Friday showed the overall grape crop, including table grapes and raisins, totaled nearly 3.7 million tons in 2007, up 5 percent from the year before.

Looking at just wine grapes, the increase was smaller, 3.2 million tons in 2007 vs. 3.1 million tons in 2006.

The 2007 total is "probably right where we need to be," said John Ciatti, of San Rafael-based Ciatti Company Wine & Grape Brokers. "It feels much better out there."

Prices to growers in 2007 dropped, decreasing about 2 percent for red wine varieties and 4 percent for white, which Ciatti said reflects the industry working through '05 inventory.

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