Grape harvest projected to be better this year making tasty, consistent wine

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Many wineries on the South Plains are preparing for grape harvest and it’s looking like farmers will get a better yield this year.

Joy Tackett, the winemaker for English Newsom Cellars, said we can thank the significant rainfall from a few months ago.

“We’re expecting a better, larger, harvest this year just because we had a lot more rain,” Tackett said.

Tackett tells KCBD a big plus for English Newsom Cellars is having full control of the farming side.

“We know when is the perfect time to harvest those grapes to have the best wine,” Tackett said.

That also means knowing exactly how to manage the vines in drought conditions.

“If they’re not going up in sugars, then we know they’re getting a lot of water,” Tackett said. “If they’re getting drier and their sugars are getting high really quickly, then we know they’re probably drier and we can irrigate.”

This year, more rain means the vines are healthy.

“Everything is looking really even. It’s growing evenly, the vines are healthy, everything is coming in tasting really good,” Tackett said.

Tackett said based on the current grape conditions you can expect tasty and consistent wine from the 2023 crop.

“Make all of the reds we have planned to make, we’ll be able to make all the whites and the blends, all of the typical labels that everyone looks forward to getting to each year,” Tackett said.

The additional rain means there will be fewer steps in Tackett’s process to make it taste good.

“It’s going to make my job easy to make good wine,” Tackett said. “So, I would say consistently across the board everything’s going to be great.”

English Newsom Cellars will start harvesting late this week. Then, employees will continue the long process from vine to wine.

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