Re: Wollersheim Winery

Tell them to contact California. They are swimming in grapes!

I found your article interesting, did they say what the problem was. Stephen. uk

June 29, 2003, 2:00PM Have you seen this extract

Texas ruling favours out-of-state wineries AUSTIN -- Out-of-state wineries can now ship wine directly to Texas wine lovers. Texas law prohibits such shipments, but a federal appeals court ruling found that the rules were discriminatory and treated out-of-state wineries unfairly. The ruling, issued on Thursday, upholds U.S. District Judge Melissa Harmon's

2002 ruling in which she said the state law violated the Constitution's interstate commerce clause. The state appealed Harmon's ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by three Texas wine lovers who wanted more choices when buying wine. In Texas, consumers must buy wine directly from retailers based on a law that's been in place since Prohibition ended in 1933. The state law, however, allows Texas wineries to ship directly to in-state consumers. The wineries ship up to 25,000 gallons of wine a year. "This is a good precedent that breaks down these artificial barriers," Mark Harwell, the Houston lawyer that represented the plaintiffs. The Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission hasn't yet decided how it will respond to the high-court ruling. Commission Chairman John Steen said in a story for Saturday's edition of Austin American-Statesman that the commissioners will consult individually with the commission's general counsel on Monday. The state has until July 10 to request a review of the appeal by all the judges on the court. Texas residents could start ordering wine from other states immediately if the state doesn't take action by the

Yes. They feel it started with the 2002 harvest "outstanding bud break", in which the mild spring weather didn't take as many buds out as it usually does here in southern Wisconsin. This was followed by dry conditions in May - July, in which the vines struggled to ripen the grapes. Even though the 2002 harvest was good, the vines didn't bounce back. And then came a cold, dry winter of 2003 which dried out the vines. They have 23 acres.

6-7 acres made it unscathed, 3 acres were a total loss, and the balance suffered scattered damage. In hindsight, they figured they should have done cluster thinning, and will consider it in the future as well as canopy management as an aid to help plants ripen without working so hard. I've been toying with sometime down the road trying to grow my own grapes. It was interesting to hear that they plant Marechal Foch vines which can handle our harsh northern climate. I suppose those vines would be a bit pricey, but it was interesting to know that there are types of grape vines which can handle our climate. Darlene

Hummm, Me think's you are "righter!"

This is interesting. I helped Wollersheim harvest the grapes last fall (2002). The crop looked really good last September, but that Wisconsin weather can be so unpredictable. BTW, Wollersheim makes some pretty decent wines with the Marechal Foch. Fortunately for their business, their vineyards only supply about 20% of their grapes. The balance are purchased from out of state.

Darlene-Foch or Leon Millot (cousins) shouldn't be expensive. Try Double A Vineyards

or Foster ( snipped-for-privacy@aol.com). At Foster they were $1.90 to 2.00 in 2000/2001

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas

Thanks, Bill.

Brad, I did catch that as well. Maybe they can take advantage of the grape glut in California as was previously mentioned. You helped harvest, how neat... I've been gardening for years, and the weather always keeps one on its toes. Darlene