LEXINGTON, N.C. — Childress Vineyards is starting to harvest its vineyards for the season.

What You Need To Know

  • A good vineyard harvest could mean great quality wine and a lot of it
  • Winemakers say their harvest is dependent on mother nature, weather that's not too hot and not too rainy is ideal
  • The wine and grape industry has a more than $2 billion impact in North Carolina 

Over 70 acres of grapes will be crushed, cooled, clarified, and turned into wine. Winemaker Mark Friszolowski says this time of the year is like Christmas.

“Open our package, see what we get for the year. It really designates the quality of the wine we can produce,” Friszolowski said. “This is what a farmer lives for, harvest.” 

Friszolowski is optimistic for a great harvest that could be good quality wine. He says the Childress Vineyards 2022 harvest was 30% bigger in volume than their average, and the weather conditions this year are making for a comparable year.

“We want it to be hot, but not too hot, and we want dry over wet,” Friszolowski said. “This year has been pretty textbook. I mean, it’s only the first couple days of harvest, and we’re hoping it stays like this, but if it stays like this, it’s just perfect for us.”

He and other winemakers across the state are keeping their fingers crossed. Friszolowski says good quality grapes can be the difference between a $10 bottle of wine and a $30 bottle.