Grape Growers of Ontario - Trevor Falk

Let's meet the next grape grower who grows the wine we love! This is Trevor Falk. He is a grower from Niagara-on-the lake.

Trevor Falk, Ontario grape grower

“You might say that wine runs in my blood. In the 1930’s, my grandfather was one of the first farmers to recognize the Niagara region’s grape-growing potential and in the 1970’s, my parents became pioneers in the industry. Even as a boy, I looked forward to the day I’d take over the family operation, and I’ve already got plans for the 4th generation of Falks”.  - Trevor Falk, Ontario grape grower

4th generation in the making!
How cute is this little guy!

In the video Trevor gives us a small glimpse of a typical day during harvest.  I know that sometimes people romanticize harvest and what fun it must be to gather the fruits of the vine's labour. I know I do!   I always forget that harvest is downright dirty hard work along with long hours. Trevor mentions how he used to help with hand harvesting when he was younger. With the advance in technology of mechanical harvesters, what used to take days to complete, can now be finished in hours.

What's the difference between hand and mechanized harvesting?

Hand
Picking by hand is expensive and to harvest an entire vineyard can take days. However, having that human contact, the grapes can be more scrutinized. Rotten or unripe clusters can be excluded and "MOG" can be further reduced. MOG stands for material other than grapes such as leaves, twigs...bugs...animals...well, you get the point. Picking by hand is much gentler on the fruit so there is less of a chance that the grapes will get damaged. If the grapes break open, they're exposed to air and yeast. This is a big problem because it causes oxidation and premature fermentation.

Machine
Mechanical harvesters move above vines and gently vibrate them so that the grapes are separated from their stems. This process must be a gentle one because you don't want to ruin the vines in the process. You also don't want to have “MOG” mixed in with the picked grapes. That'll just create more sorting work once the bins reach the winery.A machine can generally pick about 5 tons of grapes per hour. That's a lot. That's a lot more than hand pickers! Speed is the greatest asset of a machine harvester. It can gather the fruit and have it brought to the winery right away. This brings down the cost for producing the finished wine but it can also save a harvest if extreme weather conditions threaten the harvest and the fruit needs to come in quickly. Harvesting by machine can also be done at night while the temperatures are cooler which preserves the fruit.

We always hear how high quality wines are associated with hand harvesting. However, more and more producers are switching to either mechanical harvesting or a combination of the two. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages.

To read more about Trevor Falk:
www.grapegrowersofontario.com

Let's support our local growers by continuing to drink local wine! Go Local! :)

The Grape Growers of Ontario have been featuring different growers during key points of the grape growing season.

Early spring with Prince Edward Country grower, Debra Marshall
www.theyummygrape.com/2011/07/grape-growers-of-ontario.html

Discovery berry formation with the Funks in St. Catherines
www.theyummygrape.com/2011/08/grape-growers-of-ontario-funk-family.html

Verasion in Niagara-on-the-Lake with Kevin Watson
www.theyummygrape.com/2011/09/grape-growers-of-ontario-watsons.html

Beginning of harvest with the Mitchell family of Lake Erie North Shore
www.theyummygrape.com/2011/11/grape-growers-of-ontario-mitchells.html

Meet Ontario grape growers on facebook.com/grapegrowersofontario

Grape Growers of Ontario - The Watsons

It's harvest time in Ontario! I spent the day in wine country this past weekend and seeing the vines full of ripe fruit made me so excited. What will the vintage of 2011 bring?  This is the time of year where everyone holds their breath, hoping that mother nature cooperates. Hopefully as harvest approaches, we will have that warm, dry weather that's needed to bring this vintage to a close. Fingers and toes crossed.

My next post for the Grape Growers of Ontario series features Kevin Watson.  He runs K.J Watson Farms LTD in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  As a second generation grape grower, Kevin and his wife, Cathy, now have 80 acres with over 13 different vinifera (the most common wine vine) varieties. In the latest video, Kevin discusses what makes a good wine grape and how to tell when a grape is ripe. These are fitting topics as we head into the 2011 harvest season.

This video is filmed during the period called "veraison". This is when the grapes start to turn colour as they mature and ripen. Did you notice in the video that Kevin was taking away the extra leaves off the vines? This is so that the grapes can get that much needed sunlight. If the vines have too much foliage, they don't turn the energy to ripening the berries. If at veraison, certain clusters are lagging behind the rest, those clusters can be dropped to the ground so the vine can turn its energy into ripening the remaining clusters.  This is called "green harvest".  Unripe berries can lead to unripe flavours in the finished wine. Sure, you'll get a smaller crop in the end, but more flavourful fruit. Wine grapes are meant to be small. You don't want big, fat and juicy grapes. Leave those for table grapes. Good wine comes from small berries. Good things do indeed come in small packages!

We all know that the main difference between red and white wine is of course, the skin. Red wine gets its colour from the the skins of the grapes. You can certainly make a white wine from red/purple/black grapes...just leave out the skins during the winemaking process. The grape skins can include a lot of the flavours that you might find in that particular varietal wine. If you pick a Syrah (Shiraz) grape off the vine, for example, the skin itself can exhibit black pepper flavours whereas Gewürztraminer grape skins can be spicy. Neat!

Kevin Watson, 2007 "Grape King"
Each year the Grape Growers of Ontario award a grower as being the Grape King.
This recognition is for the best grape grower of the year.

As harvest approaches, how does a grower tell when to pick the grapes? Kevin talks about how he assesses the grape seed colour, texture and firmness. Ultimately, it's the act of tasting the grapes that is usually the final indicator of when to pick. So now is the time when growers and winemakers walk between the vines, tasting the berries. When they call to pick, it's a mad dash to get those grapes off the vines and into the winery to perform the magic!

Meet the growers and see the care that goes into growing the grapes that produce the Ontario wines you love at: www.facebook.com/grapegrowersofontario