State expects bumper crop of wine grapes

State expects bumper crop of wine grapes By BEN DOBBIN ASSOCIATED PRESS 8/31/2006
	Click to view larger picture Buffalo News file photo Although Western New York's grape yield is down, the Finger Lakes region expects a heavy harvest. ROCHESTER - Despite a projected 10 percent drop in New York's overall grape crop this year, a mild winter, plentiful rain and rising consumer demand could help generate the biggest supply of wine grapes since 1999. An estimated 160,000 tons of grapes will be produced statewide in 2006, down from 178,000 tons last year, according to a growers' survey by the National Agricultural Statistics Service's field office in Albany. The key reason for this year's decline was a spring frost that devastated grape-juice suppliers in Erie, Niagara and Chautauqua counties. By contrast, better-than-average growing conditions in the Finger Lakes and Long Island wine regions could help yield as much as 60,000 tons of wine-producing grapes - up sharply from 46,380 tons crushed in New York last year. Although a final tally won't be known until January, that would be the biggest wine-grape harvest since 61,120 tons were crushed in 1999. "Whatever it is, it should be a pretty significant increase over the past two years because we didn't have the winter damage," said Jim Trezise, president of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. With 31,000 acres of vineyards, 239 wineries and nearly 1,400 grape farms, New York state is the nation's third largest wine producer and third largest grape grower behind California and Washington. It typically churns out about 200 million bottles of wine each year, generating more than $1 billion in sales. Harsh winters in 2004 and 2005 left many wineries "low on inventory, so they're looking to replenish their warehouses," Trezise said. "The reputation of New York wines keeps going up and up, and so people really want them." That rising demand could persuade growers to turn a larger percentage of their Concord, Niagara and other native grapes into wine instead of grape juice, Trezise said. Many growers in the Lake Erie region, which accounts for two-thirds of New York's grape crop, lost at least half their crop to a late-April frost. But most Finger Lakes vineyards "experienced excellent growing conditions" and "there has been lots of rain which has increased berry sizes," the statistics agency said in a report this month. In addition, Long Island grape production is expected to be "average to slightly above average," it said. In California, the wine grape crop will be 10 percent lower than last year, according to a state Agriculture Department forecast that estimated a statewide crop of 1.9 million tons. California accounts for 90 percent of the nation's grape production, with Washington state at 5 percent and New York at 2 percent. For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com