Gilroy – The grapes are safe.
As skies darkened along the Central Coast Sunday, winemakers fretted that soggy weather could drown their crop. At stake are delicate white wine grapes, prone to nasty fungal rot. But Santa Clara growers say they’ve already picked their white wine crop.
“It won’t be an issue for us,” said Steve Tebb, owner of Clos LaChance Winery in San Martin. His vineyard produces 60,000 cases of wine each year. “Most of the folks growing grapes in Gilroy have already harvested them.”
Carlo Fortino, of Hecker Pass Winery, said he felt lucky to be on this side of the valley, instead of along the coast, where cooler temperatures keep grapes on the vine – and in harm’s way – longer. But Gilroy’s not immune to Mother Nature’s whims, he added: Fortino lost 10 percent of his crop to a stretch of summer heat.
“One good tropical storm can ruin it,” Tebb said. “You just pray. It can wreak havoc on one’s livelihood.”
