16 CapitalPress.com
October 9, 2015
Wine Industry
Tale of two harvests in Idaho
November freeze reduces
yields but not quality,
winemakers say
By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
CALDWELL, Idaho —
Last November’s bitter cold
snap has significantly reduced
Idaho winegrape production
this year.
But vintners and growers
say the smaller harvest is re-
sulting in concentrated fruit
flavors and winegrape quality
is excellent.
Winemaker Martin Fu-
jishin said some vineyards
look normal but others have
produced close to nothing.
“It has kind of been a tale
of two harvests,” he said.
“There are some vineyards
that didn’t have anything on
them and some vineyards
came out of it just fine and
yielded very normally.”
He said the reduced har-
vest is due largely to the four-
day November freeze, when
temperatures fell suddenly
from near 70 degrees to near
or below zero in many parts
of the Treasure Valley, where
most of Idaho’s winegrapes
are grown.
The temperature fell to
as low as minus-6 degrees in
some parts of the valley.
“The plants just didn’t re-
act well to going from 70 de-
grees to zero degrees in three
... days,” Fujishin said.
The good news, he added,
is that grape quality has been
superb.
“I’m super tickled with
what’s come in,” he said.
Bitner Vineyards owner
Ron Bitner estimates his pro-
duction will be down by 30 to
50 percent, and he said some
growers with small blocks
lost everything this year.
But, he added, “The fruit
looks good. It’s good, clean
Economy, social media push
consumers to higher-end wines
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Martin Fujishin, left, and Glen Lacey sort Petit Verdot grapes at Koenig Winery near Caldwell, Idaho,
on Oct. 2. Fujishin and other vintners say Idaho’s winegrape harvest is smaller this year but grape
quality is excellent.
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Petit Verdot wine grapes wait to be sorted at Koenig Winery near
Caldwell, Idaho, on Oct. 2.
fruit.”
The impact of the cold
snap varied a lot by location.
“I have two vineyards
1.5 miles apart,” Bitner said.
“One was really hammered
and the other one wasn’t.”
“Depending on where the
location of your vineyard
was, some people got hit
hard,” said Hat Ranch Winery
owner Tim Harless.
He said his production will
be down by about 15 percent
“but quality looks wonder-
ful.”
Skyline Vineyards Man-
ager Dale Jeffers estimates
his total production could be
down by as much as 30 to
40 percent, but he’s excited
about the flavor profile and
quality of the grapes that have
been picked.
“All the winemakers are
saying the quality looks pretty
good,” he said. “Hopefully, it
will be a winner vintage for a
loser crop as far as quantity
goes.”
Fujishin, who teaches vi-
ticulture at Treasure Valley
Community College, said
vineyards on high ground
tended to whether the cold
snap better than vineyards
lower in the valley.
The take-home message,
he said, is that “having a good
site is the most paramount
thing to do here in Idaho and
the Treasure Valley.”
DAVIS, Calif. — The re-
fined palates of the millennial
generation are pushing pur-
chasing trends toward more
expensive wines, a pair of
University of California-Davis
surveys has found.
California’s wine industry
is splitting its sales above and
below the $10-per-bottle mark
as overall consumption rises
and consumers put a growing
emphasis on premium wines,
industry leaders told the uni-
versity.
While the overall increase
in wine sales in recent years
has been attributed to chil-
dren growing up accustomed
to seeing it at the dinner table
and then drinking it as adults,
the preference for higher-end
wines might suggest it’s be-
coming more of a beverage for
special occasions.
But the improving econo-
my in some sectors has given
many millennials the spend-
ing power to enjoy higher-end
wines more frequently, said
Robert Smiley, a professor and
dean emeritus in UCD’s Grad-
uate School of Management.
“It makes the winery own-
ers very optimistic,” Smiley
told the Capital Press. “Those
people are going to grow in in-
come as they move through the
demographic chain.
“We have a sector of people
that are doing well,” he said.
“If you went back five years
ago, that wasn’t the case. Peo-
ple were trading down.”
The purchasing trends were
among several notable bits of
information found in the sur-
veys of the heads of 24 wine
companies and of 187 Califor-
nia wine professionals, includ-
ing grape growers and wine
producers.
Among other findings is that
professionals expect to face
more challenges with water
availability and environmental
issues such as air quality and
increased traffic in wine-grow-
ing regions. Company leaders
are noticing more consolida-
tion among wholesalers and
retailers, creating greater com-
petition among wine producers
as they jockey for limited shelf
space in stores, according to
the university.
On the subject of consum-
er trends, 48 percent of wine
professionals agreed that
wine buyers are increasingly
seeking unique experiences.
They’re also using social me-
dia to make more of their pur-
chases and compare varietals
and tastes, the researchers say.
“The product appeals to
people that are savvy with re-
gard to the web,” Smiley said.
“They’re learning about wine
through discussions with other
people and with proprietors.
The product itself lends itself
to the skill set of millennials.
They’re going online, form-
ing groups, interacting with
the winery and doing a lot of
things that didn’t used to hap-
pen.”
The surveys come as over-
all wine prices and sales values
are trending upward, partly
because of drought-induced
low grape yields. The average
price per ton for all varieties in
2014 was $743, up 4 percent
from 2013, reported the Na-
tional Agricultural Statistics
Service. Grapes produced in
Napa County averaged $4,077
per ton last year, a 10 percent
jump from 2013, according to
NASS.
U.S. wine exports, 90 per-
cent of which were from Cali-
fornia, reached $1.49 billion in
winery revenues in 2014, the
second-highest dollar value for
U.S. wine exports and a 64 per-
cent increase from five years
ago, according to the San Fran-
cisco-based Wine Institute.
The Power of Exercise
in Breast Cancer Survivors
By Elizabeth Mendes
Getting regular exercise is important for breast
cancer survivors’ continued health. Physical activity can
help lessen certain side effects of treatment, such as
fatigue and depression, and has been shown to reduce
risk of recurrence and improve survival.
The American Cancer Society, as well as the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
recommends cancer survivors get 150 minutes of
moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity physical
activity, along with at least 2 strength training sessions,
each week.
Few survivors, however, are getting enough exercise
for it to be beneficial, according to a recent study
conducted by the Yale Cancer Center and Yale School
of Public Health. Barriers to exercise such as cost or not
knowing how to get started need to be eliminated,
says Melinda Irwin, Ph.D., study co-author and co-
director of the cancer prevention and control program
at the Yale Cancer Center.
Irwin is well versed in the vital role exercise can play
in improving the lives of breast cancer survivors. She
has conducted several studies about the impact of
exercise on breast cancer survivors. Her early research
on the topic, which was funded in part by grants from
the American Cancer Society, was among the first to
show that in breast cancer survivors, exercise lowers
levels of insulin and a hormone-
like substance called insulin-like
growth factor-1 (IGF-1). High levels
of these are linked to breast
cancer.
Irwin’s studies have also found
that women who engage in
exercise after breast cancer are
more likely to lose weight and
body fat. Being overweight or
obese has been shown to increase
risk for recurrence of breast cancer
and the risk of dying from it.
More recently, Irwin found that exercise also helps
reduce the joint pain brought on by the hormone
therapy given to some women after breast cancer
surgery in order to reduce the risk of recurrence. Many
women stop taking this type of medication due to the
pain they experience. In Irwin’s study, women who
exercised were more likely to report a reduction in pain
from moderate to mild. “This is important because in
turn it will lead to better quality of life and better
adherence to the medication, which we know strongly
improves their prognosis,” says Irwin.
Bottom Line
Ultimately, when it comes to exercise, for breast
cancer survivors, “anything is better than nothing,” says
Irwin. “Even brisk walking can be beneficial,” and of
course cost effective, Irwin notes.
Irwin hopes the results of her studies and others will
influence the way doctors and health insurance
companies handle exercise. “This research gives more
information to insurance companies to say these
exercise lifestyle programs are effective and you should
reimburse for them.”
As far as doctors go, Irwin hopes they take an even
more active role in encouraging exercise in breast
cancer patients. “Patients will really listen to their
doctors, so it will help if we can get the doctors to
remind patients of the importance of exercise and
help them try to find a community [exercise]
program.”
She also thinks that it may benefit patients if
their doctors begin a discussion about exercise
at diagnosis.
During this time, “there needs to be lifestyle
based discussions – we cannot wait until they are
1 to 2 years out from diagnosis,” Irwin says. “Doctors
need to have the discussion upfront along with other
treatment options because exercise is also a treatment
and can help prevent weight gain during cancer
treatment.”
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