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Ontario wine news: VineAlert back, VQA’s take on Vintage 2014, Wine Country Ontario’s taste truck, Icewine Fest details, Tony Aspler’s new wine book

B333BVSIAAEt2VcWith another tough winter predicted, Brock scientists are once again helping grape growers prepare for the fight with the VineAlert program. We also have news on the VQA’s take on the 2014 Ontario wine vintage, Wine Country Ontario’s tasting truck, details on the Niagara Icewine Festival and a cool new book from Tony Aspler.

Here are the various releases, as sent to Wines In Niagara.

VineAlert Program Back

Amid new predictions for another deep-freeze winter, scientists at Brock University are taking steps to help Ontario grape growers avoid millions of dollars worth of cold-weather damage.

Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) has re-instituted VineAlert, a program that measures the cold hardiness of grapevines and warns growers when to turn on their frost-fighting wind machines.

polar_vortexAs another tool, CCOVI is also partnering with Ontario Grape and Wine Research Inc. (OGWRI) to produce a best-practices manual to help growers avoid devastating injury to grapevines.

This comes as a new economic impact study says VineAlert helps Ontario’s grape industry avoid up to $13.8 million in lost sales from a single severe cold weather event, as well as $11.7 million in lost sales while damaged vines recover in subsequent years, and $29.1 million in vine renewal and replacement costs.

The study by the Goodman School of Business Consulting Group also found that, last winter alone, VineAlert helped growers save as much as $2.3 million in fuel costs just by knowing when it was not necessary to turn on their wind machines.

Ontario’s $3.3-billion grape and wine sector represents half of the Canadian industry, and CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis says preventing winter injury is a constant concern.

LgkH2CEvR6eB6BS6GEAzqurn4fvsjBMuDsGDM4kIyPU7F1rmJs3N54Xbg3D3ZyBW2MZQOtStRalDYsgfOhWWLnwGLO82lFhLBByqlNEWFXMyLXYr54ovfpZ0gjMH7N33ugzcD_SORx9XauPyNv0irD-26hwlJGFJUv4zUZk=s0-d-e1-ft“It only takes one cold event where vines are not protected, and you can have serious crop loss and ongoing costs associated with that loss,” she said. “Our cold hardiness program gives growers the knowledge to make informed decisions, which results in savings of time and money.”

Niagara-on-the-Lake grape grower Trevor Falk says VineAlert helps local growers by providing distinct information for different micro-climates within a single Ontario region.

“To have research done on representative vineyards is invaluable when making business decisions in the vineyard regarding wind machine use,” said Falk.

VineAlert tracks a grape bud’s ability to survive severe cold during the dormant season from October to April, signaling at what temperature different varieties would sustain damage.

“The key is to know when to turn on a wind machine, to warm up the local air so the vine never experiences the cold temperatures,” said Inglis. “You cannot tell that just by looking at the vine. We actually go out and sample buds from grapevines, bring them back and use our freezer systems to measure how cold tolerant they are before they die.”

Besides considering the vine variety and vineyard location, VineAlert researchers also factor in the conditions and lateness of the preceding growing season, and how deep into the winter a cold snap is occurring.

“If a vine’s cold hardiness in autumn has been delayed due to a late start in the spring growing season, or a cool growing season like we had this year, then a minus-15 spell in late November has more impact than a minus-15 event two months later.”

Beyond economic savings, there are social and environmental gains from knowing when wind machines are required. Benefits include noise reduction in areas where vineyards border urban developments, and reduced running time for wind machine engines.

7858377066_bba226cd07CCOVI scientist Jim Willwerth, supported by colleagues Kevin Ker and Inglis, developed the new best-practices manual, which is based on five years of cold-hardiness research.

VineAlert is currently supported through funding from the Grape Growers of Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation’s (MRI) Ontario Research Fund’s Research Excellence program. Funding from MRI and OGWRI supported the development of the best practices guide and the VineAlert database.

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Ontario Vintage 2014

This is a look at the Ontario wine harvest and vintage predictions for the 2014 wines.

VQA Conditions

grapesWeather conditions in Southern Ontario were unusually cold and snowy in the first few months of 2014 and cool prevailed well into spring.

January through April brought mean temperatures consistently below normal and several regions saw their coldest spring in the past four decades. Finally, May brought a return to normal temperatures. The sustained winter cold and late spring led to a cautious outlook for the vintage, with grape growers concerned about the potential for winter damage and the relatively late start to the growing season.

May saw slightly more rain than normal for Prince Edward County and Lake Erie North Shore but otherwise normal conditions and gave the vines a chance to settle into the season. Slightly wetter and cooler weather prevailed across most of Ontario for June and July, making for a dreary summer but allowing for a slow, steady maturation of the vines and grapes. By early August, it was apparent that harvest dates would be about 10 days later than normal in all regions. It was also clear by this time that the cold winter would result in some crop reductions for tender varieties but in quite a sporadic pattern. The wide range of outcomes this year underscores the basic principle of appellation — that different combinations of specific locations and specific grape varieties matter.

August was relatively normal, and September finally brought enough sun and warm temperatures to push the grapes to maturity.

Harvest


photo3Harvest began a bit late, but was helped along by a good long stretch of dry and sunny September weather. Prince Edward County was drier than normal, and the other regions about normal for the month. The favourable weather continued into October allowing most of the grapes to ripen and come in before the rather quick onset of colder fall temperatures.

Preliminary registrations for Icewine and Late Harvest grapes show that production is likely to be just over half of that in 2013, with an estimated total of 3850 tonnes of 11 different grape varieties left on the vine after November 15.

Wine Expectations


DSC_3496This year highlighted the craft involved in growing good grapes and making quality wine. Technique and experience play a very important role in getting the best wine to the consumer.

Viticulturalists and winemakers are faced with continuous decisions about the care of vines, when and how to prune or pick, grape sorting, time on lees, stainless or oak, varietal or blend, and many, many other things. These are all tailored into a unique combination to yield the best grapes and wine from the vintage.

As is often the case, nature eventually found a balance by the end of the season. Early reports suggest a solid vintage, but perhaps with limited availability for some varietals from some producers. This year was quite variable so each wine is likely to reflect the care and attention of its coach.

•••

Wine Country Ontario Extends
Sampling Tour on Wheels


WINE COUNTY ONTARIO - Wine Tasting Truck Back by Popular DemandWine Country Ontario has extended the tour of its VQA Wine Tasting Truck to take the wine tasting experience directly to consumers across Ontario. The mobile tour showcases Ontario VQA wines and encourages Ontarians to sample and discover what’s great about local in a unique, educational and fun way!


The extension will include five stops across Ontario in various areas including Toronto, Cambridge, Blue Mountain, Barrie and Ottawa at key events that started on Nov. 28. Over 17 days during the winter months, the truck will set up shop at local festivals and events allowing consumers the opportunity to meet winery personalities and taste the wines that are produced right here at home. A complete list of scheduled stops can be found at here.


“Due to the overwhelming success of the VQA Wine Tasting Truck this past summer, Wine Country Ontario is thrilled to announce that we are extending the truck to include another five stops across the province this winter season,” said Allan Schmidt, Chair of the Wine Council of Ontario.

WINE COUNTY ONTARIO - Wine Tasting Truck Back by Popular Demand“The 20 week 2014 Summer Tour across 16 different cities was a huge success allowing over 21,000 consumers to experience local wine from the three appellations of Lake Erie North Shore, Niagara Peninsula and Prince Edward County. This innovative sampling truck allows us to bring wine country to consumers in an unexpected and exciting way”, added Schmidt.

Consumers are encouraged to join in on the social conversation by following the new Twitter and Instagram handles @TheVQAwinetruck and also by using the #followthetruck hashtag within Wine Country Ontario’s @winecountryont Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels. Consumers will be able to find the wines featured at the VQA Tasting Truck easily at LCBOs located nearby the (festival) locations by looking for the VQA Wine Tasting Truck “bottle neck tags.”

•••

Niagara Icewine Festival Guide

WINE COUNTRY ONTARIO - Early Icewine harvest in Wine CountryCelebrate the magic of winter at The Niagara Icewine Festival in Niagara Falls. Enjoy a fabulous weekend of VQA wines, gourmet cuisine and live entertainment, both inside and outside.
For more information and the full program, or to purchase tickets, call 905-688-0212 or visit Niagara Wine Festival.

•••

Tony Aspler’s Five Minute Wine Book

Tony Aspler has been chasing the grape around the world for thirty-five years, in the course of which he has written seventeen books on wine and food and nine novels (including a series of wine murder mysteries featuring the itinerant wine critic Ezra Brant).

AsplerIn his new e-book, The Five Minute Wine Book, Aspler has distilled his passion for the fermented grape into 90 chapters; none of which takes more than five minutes to read.

Tony Aspler describes himself as “a wine evangelist” rather than a wine critic and in this humorous and easy-to-read collection of his thoughts on wine he distills a lifetime of wine appreciation into 75,000 words. Whether he’s writing about how to out-snob a wine snob, confessing to wine fascism or suggesting a range of beverage alcohol for breakfast, his light and witty touch will engage the seasoned wine enthusiast as well as those who are about to embark on their wine adventure.

Read this book with a glass of wine in hand and enjoy. The e-book is available here at Amazon.