Reports for table grape harvest a mixed bag

By SEAN ELLIS

Capital Press

Not quite halfway through harvest, the size, quality and yield of Idaho's 2011 winegrape crop look good. But growers hope for a few more weeks of moderate weather so the remaining late-season varieties can reach maturity.

Idaho's early- and mid-season winegrape varieties look great, said Essie Fallahi, University of Idaho's project leader on fruit crops. But because of the state's unusually cool, wet spring and the late start to summer, some of the late-season varieties are facing maturity problems.

"We think the majority of the crop will finally mature; our main varieties (should) do fine," he said. "The varieties that need the most heat will have the most problems."

The quality of grapes this season has been good because of a consistent growing season with cool nights and warm days, Moya Shatz, executive director of the Idaho Wine Commission, said. But when the weather gets too cold, grapes stop producing the proper sugar levels, which is the main concern now.

If the recent 50- to 60-degree daytime temperatures in the state's main grape-growing region along the Snake River valley hold out for a little while longer, the rest of the crop should do well, she said.

"So far, it looks really good," Shatz said. "It's just a waiting game."

Idaho growers harvest about 3,300 tons of winegrapes each year, which are turned into 225,000 12-bottle cases of wine.

"Berry size is very nice and crop loads are about the same as last year," said Huston Vineyards owner Gregg Alger. "We're just pushing to get the sugars right now. We just need a few more days of heat here."

He said some grapes didn't develop as quickly because of the late start to the season but last year's harvest was late also and he's hopeful they'll mature if the weather holds out.

"If we have till the end of the month, we'll be (fine)," Alger said.

Harvest for Idaho's nascent table grape industry has been a mixed bag. For those growers who were able to spray their clusters, "the crop has been really good quality and yields have been pretty good," Fallahi said.

Quality hasn't been as good where spraying wasn't possible, he adds.

Mike Medes, owner of Rocky Fence Vineyards, said an overly wet spring resulted in a robust canopy growth that made it difficult to spray. As a result, he had to cancel some planned shipments of grapes that developed powdery mildew, a fungal disease that causes visual problems on grapes and is expensive to control.

About two-thirds of Medes' crop is table grapes, the other third winegrapes.

With table grapes, "we didn't do as well this year," he said. On the other hand, "We had some really good winegrapes."