Still Waiting for Midwest Growing Season
St. Genevieve Winery
Elaine Hoffmeister Mooney, winemaker at Sainte Genevieve Winery sixty miles south of St. Louis, reports that budbreak still has not occurred. “We’re hoping they (the buds) stay that way for as long as possible. It’s supposed to get down to 34 later this week, which isn’t bad, but that’s the St. Louis forecast, and we could be colder here,” she said. “We have gotten a lot of rain so far this year, so we’re hoping that combats the drought.”
Last year at this time, the growing season had already been underway for a month in parts of Missouri and Southern Illinois. The Missouri State University Fruit Experimental Station at Mountain Grove finished 2012 with 4,370 growing degree days. So far this year, there have only been 82 GDDs at Mountain Grove. As they say in the investment business, “past performance is no guarantee of future results” but this year certainly is not a repeat of 2012.
Seyval vines at Sainte Genevieve Winey is Southern Missouri this week.
Noboleis Vineyards
Nobolies Vineyards, located in Augusta, Missouri has not had bud break yet. Since the vineyard is irrigated, the expect little damage from the drought last year. They do expect a reduction in fruit this year however.
Nobolies Vineyards decants every single bottle of their Norton Reserve before re-bottling and handing it to the customer (see below.) If pouring a single glass, they use an aerator to let the wine breathe.
Currently Noboleis Vineyards is sold out of four wines: Traminette Off-dry, Dry Vignoles, Chambourcin and a semi-sweet Autumn Blush. Their two bestsellers are a semi-sweet Vignoles and a semi-dry red blend of Chambourcin, Vidal and Traminette, called Steepleview.
All of Noboleis Vineyards marketing materials feature this huge tree, which sits over their patio.
Chandler Hill Vineyards:
Chandler Hill Vineyards, one of the closest wineries to St. Louis, Missouri, has not had bud break yet.
On one of the first nice weather weekends recently, Chandler Hill was packed.
Chandler Hill serves 10 Missouri wines, including a Late Harvest Vignoles, Traminette, Chambourci and Norton, plus 16 West Coast wines.
Chandler Hill was named after Joseph Chandler, a former slave who was freed and given the 40 acres the winery now sits on.
