WESTBY, Wis. (WXOW) - As we head into late summer, many might not know the grapes in our region are flourishing and ready to be picked.
As many of us are begging for rain, local grape growers are loving these dry conditions. Gene and Therese Bergholz own Branches Winery in Westby. They said this hot weather seems to be ripening the grapes quickly this year. "Primarily it helps in the ripening. They like sunlight they like warmth. When it's dry we have less disease pressure," said Gene Bergholz.
Thanks to Mother Nature this year's crop is looking to be the best in years.
"The fruit is beautiful and it's so abundant this year, so when you can just stand in front of a vine and fill up a 5-gallon bucket of grapes in a matter of minutes...it's so abundant," said Therese Bergholz.
According to the winery, they'll pick roughly 80,000 pounds of grapes this year. When it's all said and done that equates to roughly 40,000 bottles of wine if they are able to use the entire crop.
The winery also says that there are misconceptions about Wisconsin wines.
"One of the misconceptions of Wisconsin wines is that they're all sweet and that's not true," said Bergholz. "We get a lot of people here from California and they love our wine because it's different. It tastes so unlike anything they've grown accustomed to."
While this summer has taken a toll on the tourism industry, Branches Winery says the community support has been incredible.
They have plenty of outdoor spots to hangout, drink some wine, socially distance and explore the vineyard. They also mentioned the grapes will be in their prime for the next few weeks.
Business hours are abbreviated to three days a week, so make sure you click here to find out when they're open.
The Link LonkAugust 27, 2020 at 06:09AM
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Grape crop thriving thanks to hot & dry weather - WXOW.com
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