Local wineries prep for a potentially fruitful growing season
Local wineries prep for a potentially fruitful growing season
Cooper’s Hawk Vineyards founder, president and co-owner is expecting a good crop this year in part due to the long range weather forecast in Harrow, Ont. on March 27, 2023. (Gary Archibald/CTV News Windsor)
Now that the spring season is underway, local vineyards are hard at work.
Preparation in the first few weeks of spring focuses on warding off potential frost — a vine killer.
The good news for local wineries is that the long-range weather forecast suggests a warm and humid summer awaits, which is perfect for the growing season. The humidity is likely too, which is not ideal but there are ways for vineyards to deal with humid air.
Tom O’Brien, the founder, president and co-owner of Cooper’s Hawk Vineyards in Harrow, Ont., says he’s happy about the probable future weather trend.
"Humidity — we can weather that and no pun intended on that,” said O’Brien.
“That [humidity] does encourage the growth of a lot of the molds and funguses that grow on plants and we spray almost weekly and even during regular seasons and about 95 per cent of that spray is to combat downy mildew and powdery mildew."
In addition, O’Brien notes a change in consumer spending habits with respect to wine — it has decreased across the board over the last season.
Moreover, global inflation has hit the wine industry hard, and that has an impact on consumers who are already reeling from the same economic pressures.
The bottom line is that operating costs for vineyards are up — labour, for example, is up by 18 per cent. This will eventually translate to higher prices for wines across the board over time.
However, local winery pricing increases are not likely to be as pronounced as imported wines in the short term.
In the meantime, vineyards like Cooper’s Hawk in southwestern Ontario are positive about making more award-winning vintages, in what could be one of the best harvests in recent memory.
More information about Cooper’s Hawk Vineyards is available online.
Meta is planning to run a test that will block news for some Canadian users on Facebook and Instagram in response to the Liberal government's controversial online news bill.
The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada
Gatineau police say officers responded to a call from staff at l’école l'Oiseau Bleu on Nelligan Street just after 10 a.m. Friday about a camera found in the washroom.
Researchers at Carleton University's Department of Electronics in Ottawa created a ground-breaking testing device to detect early signs of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s through biomolecular activities in a person’s saliva.
The wedding of Jordan's crown prince to the scion of a prominent Saudi family began on Thursday in a palace celebration that drew massive crowds and a mood of excitement around the kingdom, while presenting the young Hashemite royal as a new player on the global stage.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh slammed foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston's refusal to heed the House of Commons' call for him to step down as 'tone-deaf.'
The elevated walkway in Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar that collapsed during a school field trip, sending 16 children and one adult to hospital, was last repaired a decade ago.
The family of an engaged couple who were shot dead following a dispute with their landlord in Stoney Creek over the weekend released a statement of their loved ones, remembering them as 'two beautiful souls.'
Police say a man appeared to suffer from a medical incident while driving in Guelph, causing his vehicle to go off the road and hit a woman who was sitting on the grass.
The manufacturing company Injection Technologies Inc. has filed for bankruptcy and insolvency and a number of former Kitchener employees tell CTV News they have been terminated.
OPP are looking for Matthew Daigneault — wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for a breach of statutory release. He is described as a white man about 6’ tall, 243 lbs, with a short/receding hairline.
Researchers at Carleton University's Department of Electronics in Ottawa created a ground-breaking testing device to detect early signs of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s through biomolecular activities in a person’s saliva.
'That '70s Show' star Danny Masterson was led out in handcuffs from a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday and could get 30 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty on two of three counts of rape at his second trial, in which the Church of Scientology played a central role.
Huntsville OPP has charged a third girl in connection to an alleged assault captured on video at a local high school and shared on social media earlier this month.
As the Rainbow flag flew at schools across Ottawa on Thursday, the public school board says some parents kept their children home from school due to possible Pride activities.
An Iranian family living in Ottawa is desperately pleading for help and struggling to stay in Canada with their two young kids, after falling out of status and losing their jobs.
An Ontario man with a genetic disorder said he was shocked when he got his latest prescription filled for a medication he has been taking for the past ten years.
Residents who wish to speak with the City of Montreal by calling 311 now have to attest they can receive services in English because of Bill 96. New provisions of the language law came into effect Thursday.
Several regions of the province have been hit by power outages. The total of Quebec customers without electricity stood at around 42,000 as of 8:30 p.m. Thursday. At its peak, Hydro-Quebec said 250 thousand customers had lost power.
Premier Tim Houston repeated his calls for urgent firefighting help Thursday, asking Ottawa to “be proactive” with aid as multiple wildfires continue to burn out of control.
Halifax deputy fire chief David Meldrum says a new fire started Thursday afternoon on Prospect Road, near St. Margaret’s Bay Road, and “a large area of forest and brush are involved.”
The elevated walkway in Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar that collapsed during a school field trip, sending 16 children and one adult to hospital, was last repaired a decade ago.
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson formally apologized in the legislature Thursday to former residents of the Manitoba Developmental Centre, one of the country's last large institutional facilities for people with intellectual disabilities.
Suncor Energy Inc. will cut 1,500 jobs by the end of the year, as new CEO Rich Kruger forges ahead with his mandate to reduce costs and improve the company's lagging financial performance.
Calgary police are hoping the public can help them identify a man wanted in the attempted sexual assault of a woman in the community of Royal Oak last week.
Mike Mercredi is staying back to protect his northern Alberta community from a nearby wildfire after hundreds of people were forced to evacuate the area.
Krispy Kreme will soon have a drive-thru and dine-in location in the Alberta capital, and that's just the beginning, the global doughnut giant and a local developer announced Thursday.
Last Door Recovery Society says it fired a contractor as soon as allegations of sexual assault surfaced online, but others say the organization was slow to act.
Cooper’s Hawk Vineyards founder, president and co-owner is expecting a good crop this year in part due to the long range weather forecast in Harrow, Ont. on March 27, 2023. (Gary Archibald/CTV News Windsor)
