The 2022 grape harvest has begun in Niagara with Henry of Pelham reporting the first pick of the year on Wednesday.
Henry of Pelham hand-picked Pinot Noir for its sparkling program, marking the 34th vintage for the St. Catharines winery located in the Short Hills Bench sup-appellation.
“A cold weather event back in January has limited the potential size of this year’s crop by about a third of what we would normally expect,” said Matthew Speck, senior vice president of operations. “The resulting smaller crop has the potential to produce exceptionally ripe and flavourful wines. The growing season has been well above average with excellent sunshine, heat accumulation, and nicely timed rainfalls keeping the leaf canopies healthy and ripeness levels high. Our core varieties, Baco Noir, Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay are performing especially well this year, and we look forward to starting our sparkling wine harvest 4 to 5 days earlier than usual.”
Similar to the 2021 harvest, this year’s harvest began almost one week earlier than previous seasons. Picking began earlier this morning (Wednesday) beginning with Pinot Noir for the estate’s Cuvée Catharine sparkling wines.
“The 2022 season is shaping up to be great,” said winemaker Lawrence Buhler. “With well-timed rainfalls and an abundance of sunshine, 2022 is stirring up excitement with our harvest and winemaking teams. With a lower crop level, fruit maturity is advanced with bright, fresh flavours in the white varieties and full fruit flavours in the reds.”
Wines from Henry of Pelham’s 2022 vintage will be available in market for Spring 2023 lead by Rosé, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling.
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