Some N.S. vineyards in urgent need of pickers as grapes ripen simultaneously

N.S. vineyards looking for grape pickers Vineyards in Annapolis Valley are looking for grape pickers as warm weather forces the ripening of many grape varietals.

The early harvest is promising at Domaine de Grand Pré Winery in Nova Scotia.

"The growing season has been very good," says winemaker Jurg Studz.

That's usually a positive thing, but this year warm temperatures are causing many varieties of grape to ripen at the same time, requiring vineyards in the valley to harvest as much as they can as quickly as they can.

"The problem really is that if you don’t harvest in time, the grape, the quality of the grape, really starts to deteriorate and the acidity might drop too quickly, too soon," Studz says.

Wanted signs for pickers are up at numerous vineyards as groups try to find enough help ahead of the harvest deadline.

"Usually we work with 15, 16 people, pickers; however they might come for a few days and then they don’t show up again, so it’s a little bit unreliable. Pickers are a little bit unreliable; however, at the same time we have pickers that come back every day,” Studz says.

Getting the grapes off the vine is one problem; processing them once picked is another.

“When we harvest early varieties, early ripening varieties, they would be done with fermentation before other grapes come in, but if you have everything at once, you don’t have time enough to turn the tanks around,” Studz says.

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