A bright spot for 2020
Lehigh Valley wineries seeing optimal harvest weather
On a crystal clear, just-warm-enough day, Sam Landis dumped a bucket of freshly picked chambourcin grapes into a sorter.
“Agriculture doesn’t care about a pandemic,” said Landis, one of the owners of Vynecrest Winery in Upper Macungie Township.
Harvest season is in full swing at Vynecrest and other Lehigh Valley wineries and so far it’s looking to be an exceptional one, thanks to the preharvest weather. It’s a bright spot in a year where little has been sunny.
“In the chaos of 2020, it’s the only thing that’s kept us sane,” Landis said.
Now, this year’s weather hasn’t been perfect. No winery owner wants a late spring frost because it can damage new buds on the vines. The Valley had frost May 21, nearly a full month later than
average, according to Ed Vallee, a meteorologist with Empire Weather who provides localized forecasts to The Morning Call.
Then summer arrived. August was super wet, something vines don’t like. The Valley saw nearly 9.8 inches of rain, three times the amount we normally have, Vallee said. Vines are pretty finicky. They like just enough water to stay hydrated but not too much to have “wet feet” or soaking roots.
But then came September, that critical month before the harvest begins. Ideally, September harvest weather is warm and dry, to allow the grapes to concentrate their flavors. Too much rain and the grapes swell, diluting the delicate chemistry inside, as well as causing them to crack or burst. Excessive wind can damage vines and grapes.
In September, the Valley saw below average rain (nearly 4.2 inches) and about average temperature (64.8 degrees, 0.9 degrees above normal), Vallee said. That warm, dry September gave the grapes the chance to deepen their flavors.
Elaine Pivinski, owner of Franklin Hill Vineyards in Lower Mount Bethel Township, has seen nearly every kind of environmental threat and has survived everything that Mother Nature has thrown at her in more than four decades as a winery owner.
Some Septembers, she and crews had to hurriedly harvest ahead of a tropical storm. Not this year.
Reds can hang out on the vines until they are really ready, while whites can either be picked with ease or chill out to enjoy the cool evenings. Her pickers don’t have to contend with intense heat or soaking conditions.
“I don’t even recall days that are as beautiful as they are now,” Pivinski said.
With the perfect preharvest weather, the grapes have become tempting to birds, an annual winery threat. Winery owners employ a variety of tactics to keep them at bay, including sky dancers (those tall, slim, inflatables), sirens that emit distress calls, drones that fly up and spook them, and good old-fashioned netting.
There’s also a newer predator, one that has become very familiar in the Valley — the spotted lanternfly. This year was the first time Pivinski really had to contend with the bugs and she tried a few different methods to get rid of them, including a spray.
“They are relentless,” Pivinski said.
Spotted lantern flies, an invasive pest from Asia, love grapevines. They suck out the plant sap and secrete a substance that can create a mold that damages the vines.
Vynecrest has been battling the bug for a while now. A quick look at some vines on the outside of the vineyard reveals a swarm of the bugs hanging out, feeding. Landis tried sprays and has had experts on his property to study the pests.
“The only way to defeat them is if they migrate or there’s a predator,” Landis said.
And then there’s the COVID19 pandemic, which threw a giant wrench into everything.
The wine industry is an important one in Pennsylvania. According to the National Association of American Wineries, Pennsylvania is the No. 4 wine-producing state in the country and has the seventh-highest number of wineries, with more than 200. Nearly 10.3 million gallons of wine are produced each year in Pennsylvania.
Like other businesses, the wineries faced the statewide shutdown and had to shift to curbside ordering only. Then, as restrictions eased and the state began to reopen, new rules were in place, including that meals had to be served with alcohol. Tastings, a staple of any winery, shifted to flights (to cut down on handling of wines).
“Everything in life has changed as we know it,” said Andy Warner of Lower Saucon Township’s Black River Farms Vineyard & Winery.
Many of the Lehigh Valley wineries sought to use their outdoor space. Landis quadrupled his available room with a new patio, and just got outdoor heaters for when the weather gets cold.
All that aside, the harvest season is benefiting from what was a gorgeous September and that optimal harvest weather is carrying, so far, into October. It’s just what the wineries needed after a year of canceled events and pandemic-prompted shutdowns and restrictions.
“It’s a once-in-10-years kind of year,” Landis said.