The Governator has officially declared a drought in California. Water rationing and other rules of conservation are a very real possibility in the near future for residents and businesses of CA. This is not good news for CA grapes and it will be interesting to see how they cope this season.
This got me thinking about our abundance of rain here in MO and how it might affect the grape harvest this year. Some areas of MO have seen an extra 15-20 inches of rainfall this year and it is just the beginning of June. Yesterday I emailed Elaine, the wine maker of Ste. Genevieve Winery, and asked her how the grapes on her vineyard were faring. Here is what she had to say…
“The rainfall so far has been fine, good even. We have been in a drought for a couple years, so rain is good, especially since we dry farm. Rain during bloom is bad, and the grapes are just starting to bloom, but we have missed a lot of the rain this week that other parts of the state has had. Hail is always bad, heavy hail can be very bad. It could wipe out a considerable part of the crop. We did have hail here about a month ago, but it was not detrimental to the vines. Since we dry farm, we rely on the rain, and so a shower a week all summer long would be ideal. July seems to be really dry the last couple years, which is bad for us, since that is when the grapes need moisture to plump up.
Also, our vineyard is away from any major flooding river, so excess rain early in the year is no problem for us.”
Elaine also runs a blog called A Day In The Life Of A Missouri Winery. It is a very interesting read about so many topics involved in running a farm and winery. Check it out. Thanks, Elaine, for your help.
And as I finish this up, the sun has gone away, and the clouds have started to roll in.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Claire // Jun 6, 2008 at 9:57 am
I talked to a friend that works at a MO winery, & he said that the biggest issue will be mold & rot. They usually don’t need to spray, but this year, they will have to.
2 Peggy // Jun 6, 2008 at 10:06 am
Thanks, Claire. Last year, frost. This year, rain. Mother nature is trying to mess with my future cellar selections.
3 LucyinStLou // Jun 6, 2008 at 10:53 am
I was recently reading about a movement in California to return to more “dry” farming methods to make the vines less reliant on rain. Apparently, Zinfandel is particularly suited for this method of farming.
4 Alanna // Jun 9, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Welcome to food … well, wine … blogging! We have a whole pile of St. Louis food bloggers and I do hope you’ll e-mail me so that I can add your name to our mailing list. We do occasional parties/events, one’s in the works for this summer.
Alanna
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8 DominikKoehlerun // Nov 18, 2008 at 11:02 am
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