Frosts in spring take their toll on grape harvest

The grape harvest in the canton is currently under way, with most of the white grapes safely gathered in, the picking of red grapes not due to start until October.
 
It was already known the frosts in spring had had a deleterious effect on vines and in some cases winegrowers lost up to three-quarters of what they would otherwise expect to produce. Nevertheless, the outlook is not entirely bleak.
 
As Konrad Burch, the chairman of the Steinhausen winegrowing cooperative, explained, 60% of the grapes of the Riesling Silvaner variety were lost to the cold spell in April, the frost destroying the young buds. However, the vines went on to recover in the summer. At least the developing grapes were not affected by hail this year, unlike in 2016.
 
Over in Rotkreuz, winegrower Alfred Knüsel said this year’s harvest of white grapes of the Solaris variety was only a quarter of that what it was last year. One additional problem he encountered on his 5,500 vines this year was the vinegar fly. Whereas Burch sprayed his vines with lime to combat the problem, Knüsel used fly traps as he did not want any lime residue in any remaining pulp.
 
Fortunately, winegrower Renat Nussbaumer of Cham (photograph) was not affected by this insect problem with the Riesling Silvaner variety he grows. However, the frosts earlier in this year mean he will be producing just 70 bottles of wine rather than the usual 300. On the other hand, thanks to the hot summer, the quality of the grapes which did go on to thrive has been very good.
 
As Knüsel summed up, “the fewer the grapes in one season, the better the quality of those which thrive”.