It had been a second brutal winter, one most unkind to vineyards. During 2014, low temperatures in some parts of the region dipped below -20°C through the worst of the freeze-up. Last winter provided a repeat of those wintery extremes. Earlier this year, Niagara grape grower Bill George feared the worst. “In January and February I didn’t think we would have a crop at all, given temperatures we were seeing through the winter,” said George. “But it did turn out to be somewhat better than we expected.” Numbers continue to be down following two hard winters, but Ontario’s grape growers have still topped last year’s harvest. Grape Growers of Ontario is reporting their vineyards in the 2015 growing season have produced 52,888 tonnes of grapes with farm gate value of $62.38 million, as of Tuesday. That tonnage compares to 52,716 from the 2014 harvest that followed a more serious winter kill that hammered some vineyards. In comparison, 2013’s harvest was a record bumper crop at 80,548 tonnes, according to the Grape Growers. Niagara produces 92 per cent of a provincial grape tonnage that amounts to 69 per cent of the Canadian total. “There’s still a big gap between a normalized crop of around 67,000 tonnes (or more) we should have,” said George, who is also chair of the Grape Growers. “So I think the growers are feeling the impact of the last two winters.” Debbie Zimmerman, Grape Growers’ CEO, said tonnages were up with some varieties like Merlot, “where we thought we’d be in a situation where we’d be a lot worse … it was one of the varieties where we thought there would be a problem. “So some growers actually had a good year, compared to other growers who were definitely down anywhere to about 25 per cent. “There was varying tonnages all around us,” Zimmerman added. She said warm days in August and September also helped with the grapes, which are showing decent sugar counts — a big measure of quality. Other area tender fruit did not fare badly this year, said Kevin Ker, a research associate with Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute. “Stone fruits had really good cropping this year, and most of the trees come through pretty well, “said Ker, who is also an independent grape and tender fruit crop consultant. “We avoided a couple of close (frost kill) calls with crops and the season started really early. We got out of the gate fast this year.” Fruit quality was also decent, said Kerr. “And on the grape side, the yields were actually higher than expected coming out of that winter,” he said. “Those yields actually came out pretty good … September and October saved our bacon, as we had such a glorious fall.” Source - http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca