2023 Harvest

September ended with a Harvest moon and the Chardonnay is lime green and the Pinot Noir dark purple and plump on the vines. Harvesting began over the second half of September starting with grapes for sparkling wines (which we want less ripe and sweet due to the double fermentation required to make it). As we ended September, harvesting of still wine grapes started in earnest, and is well under way at vineyards across the County. Some growers/producers are nearing completion and others are starting this week. Depends on where they lie in the County’s many microclimates and proximity to the lake. We seem to be about a week ahead of Niagara for harvest this year which is probably a bit of a rarity.

It has been a startling turnaround to what looked like a potentially awful vintage in early August. Over the last 6-7 weeks we have seen virtually no rain and bright sunshine in the County. It has been a glorious time to visit. And September has brought warmth and temperatures in the 20’s throughout. Early October is bringing near record temperatures into the mid to high 20’s.

All to say it has been a very happy time for the grapes at the end of the growing season, and I’m hearing nothing but positive outlook for the strength of the vintage (even in light of all of the challenges faced in the vineyards from May through to mid August - see our earlier posts to understand why).

That said, some producers will be a little more challenged in grape sorting this harvest as there are rotted grapes (from July/early August) hiding in the clusters that need to be sorted out before fermentation. And the vineyards that produce great wines this vintage are the result of a lot of tender loving care from the caretakers.

Lots of celebration events upcoming with Countylicious and Wassail on the horizon for November and early December. Fall is a great time to enjoy everything the County has to offer and support the local business ecosystem that is driven by people and their passion for what they do.