Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/230154
ules in some areas, with the secondary crop of chardonnay ripening after cabernet sauvignon in some places, Penn State's Chien said. Yield losses were exacerbated by exotic grape diseases such as bunch stem necrosis and berry shrivel, which Chien said may be connected to nutrient imbalances. Rain was frequent in the summer, but total rainfall was below normal. Nevertheless, the constant moisture caused problems, largely addressed by spray programs. "Growers are getting much more savvy about reading these conditions and adjusting in real time to those conditions," Chien said. August 2013 was one of the coolest on record and most growers were "glum," he said. Then at the end of the month, the rain stopped, breezes dried the canopies and the ground and temperatures climbed. "Every cool region needs to know how it can pull a vintage out of a hat, as growers did this year," Chien said. Wasps and birds were mysteriously absent, with raccoons taking their place. There was very little fruit rot on reds, and white wines have the potential for greatness, he said. COLORADO For the eighth year in the past decade, Colorado growers were walloped by extreme weather events. This time it was a deep freeze that extended from Dec. 26, 2012, well into January 2013, when lows plunged to minus 12° again and again, killing vines to the ground, said Horst Caspari, viticulturist with Colorado State University. He estimated that yields were halved for merlot, the most planted grape. Variety made a difference; for example, cabernet sauvignon wasn't hurt by the freeze as much as merlot. Resilient rkatsiteli pulled through as always. "Rkatsiteli is never lost," Caspari said. "It just smiles through the freezes." The eastern side of the Grand Valley was a little warmer and escaped with less freeze damage. Yet a late-spring freeze took a bite out of early breakers such as cabernet franc and gewürztraminer. Rain during harvest caused cases of Botrytis and black rot, rarely seen in Colorado. Cool weather pushed the start of harvest back two weeks, from late August to mid-September. Recurring weather extremes are setting the table for a wholesale change in the industry landscape, Caspari said, as more growers either give up or give serious consideration to hybrids and unconventional grapes. "After 10 years of clobbering, they are rethinking and replanting with hybrids," he said. "Newer growers, particularly those in the Front Range, come to us with the mindset of planting hybrids." VIRGINIA March and April were cool in Virginia, pushing the 56 V I N E YA R D & WINE RY MANAGEM ENT | Jan - Feb 2014 w w w. v wm m e d i a . c o m