After a second consecutive bad winter in Ontario, the totals are in for harvested grapes in 2015 with signs of optimism.
Despite the challenging winter and spring, Ontario’s grape growers have successfully managed their vineyards through the 2015 growing season to produce 52,888 tonnes of quality grapes with a farm gate value of over $62.38 million, according to the Grape Growers of Ontario. Included in that total is over 4,000 tonnes of grapes left hanging in vineyards to produce VQA icewine.
Extreme cold temperatures last winter and spring frost in some areas made for a challenging growing season for Ontario’s grape growers.
“There was considerable variability depending on location and varieties of grapes,” said Bill George, Chair of the Grape Growers of Ontario. “This summer’s warm temperatures that carried into the fall harvest season make for great quality grapes and we are looking forward to this year’s vintage of Ontario VQA wine.”
Through hard work and investment in technologies like wind machines, the 2015 harvest is slightly higher than 2014 although down from the 2013 record harvest of 80,548 tonnes.
Ontario’s grape growers account for 69% of the tonnes of grapes grown in Canada in a normal year. The overall economic impact of the grape and wine industry in Ontario is $3.3 billion.
“The grape growers’ economic contribution goes beyond the farm gate revenue in providing jobs, supporting local retailers, and volunteering in their communities, said Debbie Zimmerman, CEO Grape Growers of Ontario. “We believe this is an important story to share with consumers.”
After talking to many winemakers and growers in Ontario during the harvest, some of the grape superstars in 2015 will be Pinot Noir, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Riesling. Chardonnay was totally dependent on when it was picked, while Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot levels are down significantly.
Grapes such as Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Gewurztraminer and Merlot were hit hardest during the two bad winters and are either being replanted or retired completely as growers reassess where best to plant these more sensitive grapes in Ontario.
I think it’s safe to say that everyone in the wine industry in Ontario is hoping for a more normal winter in 2016 to get production back up to levels that are sustainable for their business plans.
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