By BILL O'BRIEN
bobrien@record-eagle.com
September 14, 2008 12:00 am TRAVERSE CITY -- Northern Michigan vineyards are quiet these days, the fruit soaking up late summer sunshine, even as the region's other top crops are carted in from the fields. But vineyards soon will buzz with activity, filled with workers and machines needed to harvest another grape crop, while local tasting rooms swell with thousands of wine enthusiasts. It's an annual rite that excites even longtime winemakers like Leelanau County's Larry Mawby. "Once the fall color starts, the season is busy, busy, busy," said Mawby, now in his 35th year growing grapes and his 30th year of making wine at his vineyard south of Suttons Bay. Most area growers are still a few weeks away from harvest. Mawby said he'll probably begin gathering grapes the last week of September, a bit earlier than many growers, since his winery specializes in sparkling wines that don't need sugar content levels as high as other varieties. Most other growers will leave their grapes on a bit longer to let them ripen. "I don't want grapes as ripe as everybody else does," he said. Most local vintners expect a quality harvest, although the season hasn't been as hot and dry as 2005 and 2007, years that generated an excellent crop in Michigan. "Things are much more typical this year," said Nikki Rothwell, head of the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station in Leelanau County. The growing season's waning days can be critical. Rainy weather in the late season can increase the chances of disease, although Rothwell said "things look pretty clean so far." Mawby described this year's growing season as fairly typical for northern Michigan and expects grape quality to follow suit. "This is not at either end of the scale of the best or worst year we've ever had," Mawby said. "Actually, the last few years are the weird years. This is a normal one." In today's business section, newcomers try their luck in the vineyards. See record-eagle.com/business
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Photos
Larry Mawby inspects his grape crop at his L. Mawby vineyard in Leelanau County's Bingham Township. He's in his 35th year of growing grapes on the Leelanau Peninsula, and expects a good-quality crop this year. Record-Eagle