Local wineries prep for a potentially fruitful growing season
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Nine suspects arrested in $24M gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport: Peel police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Australian clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says
The father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader said on Wednesday as police began arresting suspected rioters who besieged a Sydney church demanding revenge.
500 Newfoundlanders wound up on the same cruise and it turned into a rocking kitchen party
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
Liberals must now sell a budget they say will help younger Canadians catch up
It's now up to the federal Liberal government to sell a spending plan it says will help younger Canadians catch up to their elders.
Ontario woman out $30K after investing in mortgage company accused of being unlicensed
An Ontario nurse is fighting to recover tens of thousands of dollars in savings she invested in a mortgage company that has since been accused of operating without a licence.
Canada is expected to win 22 medals at the Paris Olympics
Canada is expected to win a total of 22 medals, including six gold, at the Paris Summer Olympics, which open on July 26.