(Wines&Vines) - Like many grapegrowers across the Northwest, Ron Bitner is grateful for a normal growing season after two years of difficult weather and late harvests. Gazing out on his 15 acres of vineyard above the Snake River, Bitner says the grapes appear to be about a week or 10 days ahead of schedule. “We’ve had a pretty warm summer, and even the reds everything’s gone through veraison, and we’ve color-thinned already,” he told Wines & Vines this week.