Early frost pushes growers to pick

Colorado's major wine-grape regions - the Grand Valley and West Elks AVAs - are scrambling to to adjust picking schedules after record-low temperatures late last month and into the early days of this reminded everyone that life is a matter of balance. *Vineyard worker Carlos Adan picks riesling grapes at Avant Vineyards in Palisade as harvest continues following an early fall frost.* In several places along the Colorado River, which runs through the Grand Valley AVA, temperatures dipped to 27 or 28 degrees, up to 13 degrees below normal. Those cold marks were of pretty short duration - maybe an hour or two - long enough to concern growers but not enough to freeze the grapes. "We got frost in some areas but it was really spotty," said grower Bruce Talbott of East Orchard Mesa. "There was some damage here but most things are pretty well finished. It's inconvenient but not a big deal." When frost kills the leaves, the vines shut down and grapes don't ripen further. Growers want to get the grapes off the vines before the grapes start to dry out, called "raisining," which changes the taste profile of the grapes. Plus, frosted leaves dry out and pickers have trouble keeping them out of the crush. Some growers, such as Nancy Janes at Whitewater Hill Vineyards, a longer hang time for some grapes is preferable. She's hoping for a little raisining to raise brix ( a measure of dissolved sugar in the grapes) for her Zero Below late-harvest chardonnay. "We sometimes let them hang for 10 days after the frost and they can reach 34 brix, which is really high," said Janes. Since the first frost normally doesn't arrive in the Grand Valley until mid- to late October, nearly a month of so later than this year, the grapes can hang an dditional four weeks or more. "Yeah, a month and half can really change the flavor profile," Janes said with a laugh. She's doing a lot of things right. Her 2008 Zero Below Late Harvest Chardonnay took a gold medal at the 18th annual Colorado Mountain Winefest. Several Grand Valley winemakers buy riesling grapes from the North Fork Valley growers, but those grapes are being harvested early this year because temperatures there dropped to 24 or so. Picked early, the riesling won't be as ripe, with less sugar (lower brix) and higher acidity. This means Grand Valley riesling will hang a little longer to develop more sugars to balance the acidity in North Fork riesling. *Riesling grapes hang among frosted leaves* "Our riesling usually isn't this late but we're trying to get a few more brix," said winemaker Jenne Baldwin-Eaton at Plum Creek Winery in Palisade. "Usually the riesling comes in before the Bordeaux varietals but with the frost everything had to come in together. Delta County got a little damage in their riesling so some of the growers there brought in their rieslings before their Bordeaux." The sudden onset of full-on harvest means crush lived up to its name. Two weeks into it and "we still haven't caught up," said Baldwin-Eaton. "Maybe by the end of the month."