Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 25, 1995 TAG: 9511270035
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Short
This year's large crop - the largest in the recent past - should produce between $3 million and $4 million worth of grapes yielding as much as $14 million worth of Virginia wines, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
``The harvest looks like the best ever,'' said David Morrisette, owner of the Chateau Morrisette Winery in Meadows of Dan. ``The fruit is beautiful. We're seeing large quantities, and the flavor of the grape is excellent.''
Tom Wolf, a viticulturist with Virginia Tech, predicted the harvest at about 3,500 tons of grapes - well above the 3,000-ton average.
Last year, Virginia vineyards produced 2,800 tons of grapes - a drop attributed to the year's winter ice storms, damaged vines, and spring and summer rains.
This year, Wolf said, spring rains combined with a dry summer to produce great conditions for growing grapes.
The state's 47 wineries and 130 commercial vineyards cultivate about 1,400 acres of grapes. The operations represent a rebirth of Virginia's once-thriving wine industry, which died with Prohibition in 1919.
Figures on grape production before Prohibition are sketchy, but Wolf said that since Virginia's wine industry re-emerged about 15 years ago, this year's harvest is the largest.
by CNB