It’s no news most of the United States is in the midst of an ongoing heat wave.  But how has that affected harvest for the southwest? And what about that late frost that hit much of the south in early May?  Let’s take a look.

Back on May 3, many of the southern states were struck by a record-breaking late freeze, which damaged many crops. Typically by that time of year, most of the buds have broken and shoots very far along.  Although many areas may not have actually frozen, they were hit by hard, spotty frosts.  And just when many suffered through a harsh winter or squeaked by the late frost, many states are now dealing with a major heat wave and continuing drought.

A brief outlook for the southwest states:

New Mexico: Larger vineyards reported approximately a 70% loss and it’s expected that smaller vineyards suffered the same.

Arizona:  The late frost hit them as well, but weather appears to have been good to them after that.  However, they are still recovering from last year’s hail & frost, so crops are expected to be very light.

Oklahoma:  A severe cold spell in February (-19) contributed to massive vine loss across the state, followed by the May freeze.  A minimal crop is expected this year.

Colorado:  Grape growers have had a couple of tough years.  The weather has not collaborated to grow plentiful, rich grapes. They are still recovering from hail and extreme freezes over the past few years, which has caused a lot of replanting. This year has been very cold and wet during the spring.  The crop will probably be light and as typical with a lot of precipitation, they will be dealing with disease pressure throughout the year.

California:  Suffering along with us on the late frost, a lot of vineyards in central and southern CA had some spotty damage as well. They also have had unseasonably cool, wet weather and thus grapes are running a bit behind in development.  Crops are light and there is uneven fruit development due to freeze, especially in the typically warmer areas of southern CA.  Mildew and fungus have been a problem for many growers, due to the wet weather. More north of the state, estimates range from a light to normal harvest although running late due to cool weather.  With crops being light in much of the southwest and extremely light in others, California could have a challenge meeting the demand this year.

Texas:  In general, most of Texas avoided the late freeze.  There was spotty damage depending on the area.  But overall, not a big impact on the majority of the crop.

Harvest did come a bit early to the Gulf Coast, southern,and central Texas due to their warm winter and present drought.  Fruit came in early and quality is very good, although the volume is diminished.  Almost no disease and little bug damage. “This year has been an excellent year for the Texas Gulf Coast region.  The drought reduced berry size and cluster size, however the quality of the fruit is very good.  No rot or disease has been reported and harvest is about one week ahead of average….Overall, this should be a great year for wine quality in the Gulf Coast and a unique opportunity to push the envelope on the long sought after, dry red table wine production for Lenoir” reported by Fritz Westover of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

The High Plains have not harvested yet, although some will start in a week or so, with most following later into September.  However, this is still about 2-3 weeks earlier than normal.  The High Plains has had only 4″ of rain between July 2010 to July 2011 and 20 days of 100+ temperatures in June alone.  Cooler nights did well for fruit development and fruit is expected to be of high quality.

Although Texas’ crops are smaller this year, the quality and intense flavors that are coming out of this year’s harvest are expected to yield some incredible wines, especially reds.  Stay tuned until next year when the first of this year’s wine is released.  Expectations are great!

Thanks to our friends who sent in updates!