2016 Vintage Report: Idaho Recovers From Negligible 2015 Harvest

Click Here for Original Article by Katherine Jones of The Spokesman-Review, 11/14/2016

The 2016 Idaho wine grape crop is rebounding after a negligible harvest in 2015. A November 2014 freeze sharply reduced the amount of wine grapes available for the 2015 vintage. A tremendous amount of work went in to reconstituting vineyards damaged from the Fall freeze. As a result, growers and vintners experienced 50-100% increases in crop yields in 2016 over those of 2015. This net result is a slightly larger than normal harvest for the State. Some growers even stopped picking the remainder of the bumper crop due to a lack of tank space for wine crush and fermentation. All the numbers were spot on in the fruit for acids, sugars, and flavors. 2016 may prove itself to be one of Idaho's best vintages.