2024 Harvest Update: Suhru & Lieb Vineayrds | Cutchogue, New York
Weather that is great for the beach isn't always great for grapes
I know that I can always count on veteran Long Island winemaker Russell Hearn, who is also owner-partner at the newly combined Suhu & Lieb Vineyards, for an honest (and detailed) assessment of how things are going in the vineyard or in the cellar.
This is a 2024 harvest update he sent on October 2:
Spring frost hit some early bud-breaking varieties — chardonnay, albarino, gewurztraminer, and pinot noir — in multiple vineyards with chardonnay being the hardest hit.
Vineyards further West on Long Island are warmer because of the increasing distance from water (either Peconic Bay or Long Island Sound). These suffered more losses including later bud-breaking varieties [because more buds had broken at warmer sites].
Suhru & Lieb Vineyards suffered chardonnay bud damage/loss which has resulted in 65% loss of fruit. Our other varieties had not broken bud at that time in May, so I have not seen any appreciable losses. Right now I am feeling very optimistic about red wine quality, however we need 14-25 more sunny predominantly dry days to finish the harvest off.
After a cool spring which initiated slow shoot growth, June and July were at or above normal temperatures. This summer presented its challenges for growth in the vineyard. July was a taxing month with above normal temperatures and high humidity. While the heat in July makes for a nice beach day, in the vineyard it is less desirable as the extra humidity and stagnant air creates fungal disease pressure.
Through diligent scouting in the vineyard we established a proactive spray schedule to combat this added disease pressure. In addition, we spent many more hours hand leaf removing leaves in the fruiting zone to allow better light, wind, and spray penetration. If you look at our vineyards you will notice minimal leaves in the fruiting zone, these were removed by hand to increase air flow and ensure that minimal amounts of humidity remained close to the fruit clusters, where it can do the most damage.
This added leaf pulling was at a large labor cost but provides the highest quality results.
On the very last day of September we finished picking our chardonnay, bringing one of the last of our white wine varieties into the winery. Almost all white varieties are harvested at this point, with only our riesling still ripening on the vine.
Sparkling grapes were picked at perfect ripeness levels with the correct sugar levels and high natural acidity remaining in the grapes. This was due in large fact to slightly cooler daytime temperatures and below average evening temperatures throughout the month of September. This continued with all our other white grapes: pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, La Crescent and finishing with chardonnay. Flavors developed beautifully while retaining nice levels of acidity.
The first week of October signals the harvesting of fruit destined for our rosé —cabernet franc, merlot and a little lagrein.
Some Septembers can be very warm with warm evening temperatures that “burn” acidity in grapes, forcing them to be harvested a little earlier than optimal — but not this year!
The earlier varieties such as lagrein and teroldego might be harvested in the second week of October, followed the third week with cabernet franc and merlot.
As always at this time of year we are hoping for sunshine and very little rain. I hope Mother Nature is kind!
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