Hot dry weather is proving exceptional for Ontario's 2007 harvest, with some growers calling it the best vintage for decades.
‘We had a very warm spring, a warm summer and unseasonably warm weather now,’ Daniel Speck, co-owner at Pelham Estate Winery in Ontario told decanter.com. ‘This weekend, it is supposed to be 28 degrees, which for October is very warm. It has been the driest year in 37 years.’
Speck, whose winery specializes in Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Merlot said the 2007 harvest was rot-free and proving to be a ‘grape grower’s year.’
‘It’s one of those years where the second tier houses will be delivering at a high level and the first tier will be blowing the doors off,’ he said.
Other producers underlined the hype, saying the 2007 Ontario harvest would be one of their best.
‘Unbelievable, the best harvest I’ve seen in 25 years,’ Allan Schmidt, president of Vineland Estates Winery, told the Toronto newspaper Globe and Mail.
Harbour Estates Winery, in Jordan Station, Ontario, has just begun harvesting Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc:
‘The grapes have been hanging so well, there is still a good chance to gain brix (sugar level) and all the nice things we need to make a vintage grape harvest,’ Fraser Mowat, president and owner, told decanter.com. ‘Early fermentations have been particularly smooth and trouble free – a very good sign for the quality of the vintage.’
Written by Panos Kakaviatos
