Essex County vineyards enjoying extended warm weather during grape harvest season
Wine makers in southern Ontario are in the homestretch of this season’s grape harvest with growers in Essex County enjoying a mild fall.
The majority of this year’s harvest began in late August and is expected to continue into November.
“It was looking a little iffy at the end of August with all the rain and cloud cover we had, but September saved the day,” said Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery wine maker, Tanya Mitchell.
According to Mitchell, a wide variety of grapes at the family winery were being picked by machine and hand, noting higher quality wines require handpicked varieties.
“We have quite a few,” Mitchell explained. “Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio. I'm playing around with a bit of Auxerrois on the on the white side. We have Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Baco Noir, of course we’ve always had our Merlo, but we just added on Marquette and petite Pearl, which are two new varieties we've been growing in our vineyard that are very promising,” Mitchell continued.
“They're sustainable and they last through the winter as well and they require less sprays and they're just altogether a better growing grape.”
Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery in Amherstburg, Ont. on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)
Mitchell said the season started with record dry conditions followed by a wet summer, but believed a mild and dry September helped bring things together. Mitchell noted the region benefits from an extended growing season allowing the grapes to hang a little longer on the vine and let flavours continue to concentrate.
“As you progress and watching the grapes, you're checking for its sugar level, its pH and acidity,” Mitcehll said.
Mitchell added, “We are in a wonderful location in the world to grow grapes and we have the longest and warmest growing season in all of Ontario and I think Canada as well.”
Mean time, Pelee Island Winery’s Tim Charisse said a good vintage is expected from Canada’s most southern vineyard.
“An extended growing season is definitely better for sure,” Charisse said.
Pelee Island Winery & Vineyards in Kingsville, Ont. on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)
Charisse told CTV News the island winery boasts between 700-800 acres of grape vines, with each acre yielding upwards of five tons.
“We had a really dry start to the growing season,” he explained. “Basically the opposite of what we kind of want for our growing season. We want a little bit more wet in the starting time and definitely dry in the end. So the grapes are bringing up the sugar level and getting ripe.”
Charisse continued, “The longer the lake stays open the better is for us. That means the grapes are more secured in the winter from frost.”
Pelee Island Winery is partnering with Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island (TWEPI), EPIC Wineries and Scotiabank to host the first ever EPIC Wineries Harvest Festival, on November 4 at their Kingsville location.
“You can get our wine in Quebec. You can get our wine in Saskatchewan. You even can get our wine in China,” Charisse said. “So yes, we are basically all over the world and trying to expand more and more and make sure people enjoy wine everywhere we can sell.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.