I spoke with three vintners to hear their concerns about potential impacts of the storms.

“Crop sizes are likely to be smaller due to potential shatter,” said Mitch Cosentino, proprietor and winemaker of pureCru Napa Valley.

According to Cosentino, shatter occurs when not all of the grapes develop fully because rain at the time of flowering — usually late April through May — destroys  blossoms that would otherwise develop into fruit.

Cosentino also expressed concern about mildew from the wet weather.

Garret Busch, director of operations at Trinitas Cellars, was just discussing the weather issue with his winemaker when I reached him.

Wine magazine Decanter published its 2011 power list this week, ranking the 50 most influential people in the industry. Not only do five people on the list reside in China or Hong Kong, but Asian consumption patterns are also changing the wine world, even in traditional powerhouse countries such as France, said Guy Woodward, editor of Decanter.

“In China and Asia, the rate of change is so fast and the potential so large that that influence is brought to bear across the global market as a whole,” Mr. Woodward said.

The highest-ranked wine influencer in China is seventh-ranked Don St. Pierre Jr., the Canadian chief executive of ASC wines, the country’s biggest wine importer. Just behind him, in eighth place, is Wu Fei, chairman and general manager of Cofco Wines & Spirits, a Chinese state-owned company that owns the Chinese-made Great Wall brand of wines and has been on a global buying spree, snapping up vineyards in Chile and France.

The former vineyard in the Yates County town of Italy is next to the High Tor state wildlife management area. The land is designated as an “Important Bird Area” by the National Audubon Society.

Constellation Brands is one of the world’s largest wine and spirits companies. The Land Trust is a non-profit organization based in Ithaca that works with land owners and communities to conserve lands in the region.

“We thought this would be a great opportunity to make this donation to a well-respected organization. It fits well with our objectives for preserving the land,” said Angela D. Howland, Constellation’s director of corporate communications.

The donated land has not been used for grape production for about 15 years. There are still vines on the property, but many have fallen over and brush has grown around them, said Andy Zepp, executive director of the Land Trust.

The Land Trust will develop a management plan for the property using input from the community and state officials, he said.

“The goals are to make it accessible to the public, to enhance the value as a wildlife habitat and to maintain the scenic views,” Zepp said.

“I think it reflects their commitment to the community. We’re thrilled with the gift,” he said.

“This is an area that had development potential,” he said.

BLOUDON@DemocratandChronicle.com

Prosser, Wash.—Cool weather continues to dog the Northwest’s wine industry, delaying grape growth and discouraging tourism. Data from Washington State University indicate that growing-degree days at the end of May were less than half what they usually are at this time of year. There were just 154 growing-degree days at WSU-Prosser as of May 30, compared to the long-term trend of 359 during a normal year. Moreover, growers who thought spring 2010 was cool could at least give thanks for a burst of warm weather in May 2010.

There’s been no such warming this year, and some growers expressed concern as June kicks off. Skyline Vineyards, southwest of Boise, Idaho, reported that its vines are as much as three weeks late. Bud break occurred two weeks later than usual, and so far, there’s been no sustained sunshine. Owner Dale Jeffers is pinning his hopes on a late, hot summer as in 2010. Across the state line in Washington, grapegrowers are also waiting for good weather to arrive. Winemaker Aryn Morell of Tenor Wines in Western Washington’s Woodinville, wrote on June 1 to customers in one of the winery’s regular e-newsletters: “It has been cool and wet, leaving us a few weeks behind in the vineyards but about even with the 2010 vintage.” He told Wines & Vines that many Eastern Washington vineyards are three to four weeks behind, while Tenor’s Walla Walla sites, “were wiped out in the early December frost, with only buried canes surviving.”

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