Dry stretch is a dream to southwest Michigan wine harvest

 

A glass of wine might not last long, but the journey from grape to glass spans many months, seasons, and weather patterns.

The polar vortex got this year off to a sour start this past January, when temperatures dipped to near ten degrees below zero in Berrien County.

“When that happens, we see a pretty big reduction in yield,” explained Tim Godfrey, the Director of Wine and Viticulture Technology Program

at Lake Michigan College.

Godfrey said that after the January cold spell, the initial fear was that up to 90 percent of the local wine grape crop was lost.

“Where we've ended up is closer to 50 percent,” surmised Godfrey, “but it varies quite a bit from site to site.”

First year LMC student Andrew Ryan is from a family of winemakers, and the grape doesn’t fall far from the vine, so to speak.

He’s learning the ins and outs of the industry, the ins being a press or a tank and the outs being a barrel or bottle. However, despite his knowledgeable instructors, the crazy weather patterns unique to southwest Michigan might be the best teacher of them all.

“It's not good for us making wine, but it's really nice to be able to learn with it,” Ryan said. “You know, seeing something that is really crushing our plants, and seeing how we would respond to that going on, it's useful.”

While some across Michiana have been suffering through a prolonged dry spell, Tim Godfrey says the sunny skies have saved the day.

“Rain can lead to disease outbreak like mildew and molds, it also can dilute some of the flavors and the sugars,” Godfrey explained.

“This is kind of a once in every once in a decade, or once in every two decade type of ripening period, Godfrey added.

That ripening paired with the early thinning blends into something worth celebrating.

“We could potentially see higher sugar, more flavor development, and it can make for a really great vintage,” Godfrey said.