Virginia Winegrowers ExpectRecord Year for Grape Crop
Virginia winegrowers expect to produce the state's most robust and prodigious grape crop ever, which could help them compete for customers who usually reach for bottles of European and California wines.</br></br>A sustained drought last summer and mild weather last spring created ideal conditions. And a shortage of rain, which continues this month, allowed the grapes to flourish without the usual fungus damage caused by precipitation and humidity.</br></br>Although nearly all Virginia wine is sold in the state, it has been catching the attention of specialists nationwide, said Thomas Matthews, an editor of the Wine Spectator magazine.</br></br>Although the drought caused millions of dollars in damage to crops such as corn and soybeans, the grape harvest is expected to reach 2,500 tons this year, the most ever.</br></br>The grapes are large and bursting with sugar because of the weather. More sugar means more flavor and alcohol in the wine. Fauquier and Orange counties are the state's two largest grape producers.