(Wines&Vines) - After two consecutive difficult winters, growers in the Finger Lakes were uncertain what the overall effects would be on the size and quality of the grape harvest this fall. According to Dr. Tim Martinson, senior extension associate at Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture, the low temperature in Geneva, N.Y., was -14° F, while farther south on Seneca Lake the temperature dropped to -6° F. Cold temperatures were followed by the slow arrival of spring, and some vineyards both in the Finger Lakes and the Thousand Island region in northern New York experienced spring frosts as late as May 22 and 23. June was exceptionally wet, with the Finger Lakes getting 7 inches of rain that month. Once summer arrived, the weather dried out, and warm, sunny weather has prevailed.

As of this week, fruit maturation in the Finger Lakes is ahead of the 2014 season. “Cabernet Franc is up to 15° Brix,” Martinson told Wines & Vines, “while last year at this time it was only at 11° Brix. In 2014, acids were at 20 grams; this year they’re at 13.5. For Riesling, 11 vineyards averaged 14.7° Brix in 2015, compared with 9° Brix in 2014.”

 While the numbers look better and harvest is earlier, the crop size this year for vinifera will be smaller because of the cumulative effects of two cold winters. “Compared with Ohio and Michigan, we’re lucky we escaped the worst of it,” Martinson stated. “Frost pockets showed up this year, and we’ve seen a lot of bud and trunk injury.” He thinks that the increase in trunk damage is probably cumulative from two very cold winters, and in some cases it has shown the importance of good site selection. He concluded, “The crop will be smaller this year. There won’t be a barn-buster yield for this year, but the quality is great.”

Hans Walter-Peterson, viticulture extension specialist at Cornell Cooperative Extension, reported that Constellation Wines began harvesting Aug. 31. “Things look good,” Peterson stated. “We’ve had three weeks without rain—and from a disease standpoint, that’s good news. I worry if things get wet again, because there’s downy mildew and botrytis out there that could ignite if wetter conditions occur. A lot of rain would not be good, but a little would be okay. Another week or week and a half and some grapes might show some drought stress. I’m hearing that vinifera yields will be down from normal because of the cold winter, but that is partly dependent on location and variety. The native and hybrid varieties are in good shape, not a huge crop, but a “normal” crop. Overall, I’m cautiously optimistic!”