Clovis Point Thins Grapes in Rough Vintage Year

The owner of in Jamesport has thinned out his grapes to help the fruit still hanging to take in the recent warmth and sunshine and ripen.

New York Cork Report editor Lenn Thompson says it's a response to a very wet vintage.

From that post:

According to Hal Ginsburg, managing partner at Clovis Point, the vineyard crew there dropped more than half of their merlot clusters to the ground.

Thompson has an interesting photo of the vines before and after the thinning on his site.

Patch has already reported how the , and less grapes harvested is the telltale sign of a hard year. Still, the verdict won't be out on the wines for a while.

A Suffolk Times report Tuesday also points to how devastating 2011 has been for the local grapes.

From that story:

Sal and Maryann Diliberto of Diliberto Winery in Jamesport told a Times/Review photographer this weekend that this has been the worst year ever for farming their grapes, and that they are looking to buy chardonnay and sauvignon blanc grapes to augment their harvest.

Are you a winemaker or owner? Let us know how you are responding to the vintage.