PORTLAND, Ore. -- This summer's cool damp weather is taking its toll on a lot more than people’s moods. It's now taking aim at Oregon's wine industry forcing winemakers to toss out a large part of their harvests.
Right now, grapes are about two to three weeks behind where they should be this time of the year.
Many of the Pinot noir grapes are still very green. As a result many wine growers are having to cut-back a lot of their harvest.
First they had to deal with a late bloom. They say now the cool wet weather is delaying the ripening even further.
As a result, they’re having cut-down and toss out the grapes that are too slow to ripen. They say that will allow the grapes left hanging to ripen faster.
Forrest Klaffke, winemaker for Willamette Valley Vineyards, anticipates he'll lose about 30 percent of his grapes.
"We're just hedging out bet to try and get the fruit as ripe as we can and make sure we pull a harvest off and i think its going to do it ... in 2008 we were just as far behind or pretty close to same exact spot ... we had a great October in 2008," explained Klaffke.
Experts say 2008 actually turned out to be one of the best years for pinot noirs in Oregon.
If the weather does not cooperate, experts worry we could see a shortage of 2010 wines. But Oregon winemakers are optimistic that despite a smaller harvest it will still be a good one.
Experts say because of the cool temperatures and wet weather, 2010 wines in Oregon won’t be big bold fruity wines, instead they'll have more of a subtle flavor.
