Ontario vineyard puts new tech to the test amid harsh winter
Tara Walton/THE CANADIAN PRESS
David Paddon
The Canadian Press
Updated January 11, 2018
Ontario’s wine makers and grape growers are nervously watching the weather, fearing that this year’s harvest could be literally nipped in the bud by an unusually cold winter.
“We’ve gotten very close to the critical temperatures for bud survival for vines for next year’s crop,” says Matthew Speck, the viticulturist at his family’s vineyard and winemaking operation near St. Catharines, Ont., in the heart of Ontario’s best-known wine region. He said this winter reminds him of 2014-2015, when his winery lost 30 per cent of its yield.
