Leelanau wineries are buzzing with excitement over the 2024 harvest season, thanks to a warm and sunny September that has set the stage for an exceptional vintage, particularly for reds.
Bel Lago in Cedar is especially excited about this year’s vintage. The heat in September has pushed grape development, enhancing both flavor and chemistry.
“They are coming in with great flavor and nice chemistry,” said Bel Lago owner Charlie Edson. “We pick fruit more on flavor and seed development than on chemistry and brix because of all the heat. We have pretty high sugar levels.”
Brix is a measure of sugar content in fruit juices, a key factor in winemaking.
Next up for Bel Lago is the harvesting of Macabeo white grapes. Like many winemakers in Leelanau, Edson is optimistic about the reds this year.
“It is shaping up to be an excellent vintage for reds,” he said.
The weather has reduced disease pressure which has reduced some headaches for farmers.
At Blustone Vineyards in Lake Leelanau, owner Tom Knighton shares the same enthusiasm.
“The quality of the fruit is some of the best we’ve ever had in Blustone’s history,” Knighton said. “The last time we had fruit of this quality was in 2012, a year we called our ‘Napa Valley summer’ because of the consistently warm weather.”
Blustone has already harvested its riesling, all picked by hand.
Knighton is particularly excited about the 2023 chardonnay, which was released in September.
“I can’t wait to enter it into competitions this winter,” he said. “It’s going to show really well.”
Blustone is also preparing to release its reserve pinot gris and blanc de noir sparkling wine, first to its wine club members and then to the public.
A busy October is expected at their Lake Leelanau tasting room.
Meanwhile, Two K Farms in Bingham Township has been pressing apples for the past few weeks while monitoring its grapes.
“The quality of fruits all season has been good for both grapes and apples,” said coowner Max Koskela. Two K Farms recently held its inaugural “Cider By The Bay” event in late September, which Koskela deemed a success, despite a learning curve in its first year.
Throughout October, Two K Farms will celebrate the season with a variety of beverages available at its scenic tasting room.
According to Nikki Rothwell, coordinator at the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center in Bingham Township, many grape growers are saying that this has been one of the best Septembers in the last decade. Winemakers are hoping for continued dry weather to maintain the high brix levels in their grapes.
“We are really excited and can’t wait to try the new vintages. This year is shaping up to produce some truly great reds,” Rothwell said.
As for the apple harvest, brix levels are also high, with Fuji apples ranging from 11% to 12% and Jonagolds hovering around 14%.
While some reports of Apple Scab, a fungal disease, have emerged due to humidity, the overall apple quality remains strong.
Rothwell noted that it’s still too early to tell whether the apple crop will be bigger or smaller than initial estimates, but so far, “quality has been good all around.”
