Warm weather no threat to ice wine - yet

FINGER LAKES - If you're worried that the balmy temperatures might mean no ice wine this season, there's no reason to be alarmed.
At least not yet.
According to Gene Pierce, a Finger Lakes grape grower for almost 50 years, it's just unusually warm for this time of year and no reason for concern.
"When you look at weather patterns in the past, there have been years that have been very similar to this," said Pierce, owner of Glenora Wine Cellars in Dundee, Chateau LaFayette Reneau in Hector and Knapp Winery and Vineyard Restaurant in Romulus.
"In fact, that's why one year we didn't harvest until late January or early February, when we could get the temperatures down to 17 degrees Fahrenheit and keep them consistently at that level for 24 hours."
To be labeled as ice wine, grapes must be picked when they are frozen on the vine and then immediately processed. Ice wine grapes are left to hang on the vine much longer than table wine grapes to develop their sugars.
Because so many factors are involved, it's hard to say what the drop-dead date would be to make ice wine, Pierce said.
"If it were to stay at 60 degrees for the next two or three weeks, then at that point, we would be bringing our grapes in as late harvest because I just would be concerned about them being able to withstand those types of weather conditions," he said, noting that wet, damp conditions are not really conducive to what they are trying to accomplish.
"If we were to see that pattern continue for the next two to three weeks, we'll harvest the grapes and then it will be a late harvest wine, rather than an ice wine," Pierce said. "We're not going to be in a situation where it's going to be a crop loss. Either way, there's always the option of saying 'Hey, this isn't going to work, so we'll harvest them, bring them in as a late harvest grape wine.'"
For Art Hunt, co-owner of Hunt Country Vineyards in Branchport, it's too early to be concerned about the warm weather's impact on ice wine.
"I'm not concerned. They're predicting cold weather in about 10 days, and they (the grapes) are holding up very nicely so far. They're extremely sweet and clean, so we're hopeful for a really nice quality crop," he said. "With a little bit of luck, we'll all make some very, very nice ice wine."
The drought reduced the size of crops this year, but the result was wine that has been exceptional, Hunt said.
"Some of us did a lot to mitigate that," he said. For example, a blanket of hay was put down every other row, which meant half the vine was under the protective moist side and was able to get enough moisture to keep the crops ripening during the hottest part of the summer, he said.
"Because it was so dry, there was virtually no disease pressure, so the grapes are super clean and evenly ripe," Hunt said. "All the early grapes we picked [are] of exceptional quality. So we're hoping in two weeks or so, we get some 10-degree weather and we can pick them."
During their longer "hang time" on the vine, ice wine grapes are subject to possible disease, bird damage and other risks. They also shrink in size significantly, meaning much less tonnage per acre.
Heron Hill Winery in Hammondsport produces ice wine but has decided not to do one this year, said Erin Rafalowski, marketing and public relations manager.
"We did not leave any of the grapes on the vine," she said. "It was a decision that the winemaker made based on temperature and looking at the acidity of the grapes and a few other factors."
It's always possible Heron Hill will make an ice wine next year, Rafalowski said
"For us, we're just looking at either the vineyards on Keuka Lake or Canandaigua Lake, and we're only going to make it in the vintages where the winemaker believes that they really have the potential to be a stellar wine," she said.
Ice wine is a sweet dessert wine made from grapes that are harvested after freezing on the vine during the winter. They are not to be confused with "iced" wines that are made from grapes that are frozen artificially as opposed to naturally outdoors.
For wineries like Lakewood Vineyards in Watkins Glen, the warmer weather isn't a concern because they handle the grapes differently to make their product.
"We do an 'iced' wine, which is a little different," Vineyard Manager Dave Stamp said. "What we do is we pick them when they're ripe, freeze them and then press them, as opposed to leaving them out on the vine."
Last season was not a typical season for area grape growers. With record warm temperatures throughout the region in December 2015, many vineyards that planned to make an ice wine were left waiting until this past January before temperatures were cold enough to harvest.