Warm, sunny summer proves good news for P.E.I. wineries

P.E.I.'s hot, dry summer may spell problems for some crops, but local wineries say it's a boon for grapes.

"Honestly I think it has been our best year yet for growing," said Mike Newman, president of Newman Estate Winery in Murray River.

The moisture content is just about right for us. The grapes are doing fine. They seem quite happy.- John Rossignol, RossignolEstate Winery

Newman said he's feeling optimistic about the 2016 crop.

"It has just been dry and hot. I think for a lot of other crops, that possibly can cause problems, but for grapes it is what we are looking for. We are mainly looking for heat," he said.

"What happens with the dry conditions is that we'll get much smaller berriesbut that's a good thing for wine. So it's just the berry will basically dehydrate and be high in sugar, resulting in a very good wine."

'Just about perfect'

John Rossignol of theRossignolEstate Winery in Little Sands is also looking forward to a quality wine from this year's crop.

"The crop is looking very good," he said.

"We have had a nice summer and it looks just about perfect. There is lots of sunshine and the grapes like sunny, warm weather. The moisture content is just about right for us. The grapes are doing fine. They seem quite happy."

Rossignolnotedthe crop isn't harvested until late October so it could still be affected by poor weather, such as a fall hurricane.

But he's keeping his fingers crossed that won't happen and his grapes will stay happy.

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