We harvested Brianna at the Tassel Ridge Vineyard last week. The yield was low but the quality looked good. While we are waiting for more grapes to ripen, we have been focused on removing Virginia Creeper (aka Parthenocissus quinquefolia) from our vineyards. Virginia Creeper is native to the Eastern U.S. (including Iowa) and it is very invasive. We didn’t even recognize it until about a year ago but it has exploded this year and last. It is toxic and it produces a berry that ripens about the same time the grapes do. We don’t want it in our harvest so we are removing it everywhere we see it. We also got all the vineyards mowed.
This week, we collected grape samples for testing in the cellar. We also scouted for signs of downy mildew.
The grapes are ripening but very slowly and we are not sure why this is happening. We are hearing that some other growers are experiencing similar harvest conditions so we probably are not alone.
