Maple Lawn Farms has started making wine. It's a way to attract more visitors by offering another experience as well as to lower risk and reduce waste. Fruit damaged by a hail storm, for example, can still be pressed for juice to make wine. (Jeremy Long/WITF)
Jeremy Long / WITF
Jeremy Long / WITF
Maple Lawn Farms has started making wine. It's a way to attract more visitors by offering another experience as well as to lower risk and reduce waste. Fruit damaged by a hail storm, for example, can still be pressed for juice to make wine. (Jeremy Long/WITF)
Airdate: January 11, 2023
The Pennsylvania Farm show will take place this week through next week and the Pennsylvania Winery Association has been a part of the farm show for several years.
As the Pennsylvania wine scene continues to emerge, many may be interested in the wine production process and how it’s been affected by the spotted lanternfly and weather conditions within the state.
Ed Lazzerini, Pennsylvania Winery Association Board Member, wine grower, and winemaker at Octoraro Cellars in Chester County joined us on The Spark Wednesday to provide some insight.
“The spotted lanternfly definitely has been a major problem in parts of Pennsylvania and other parts of the mid Atlantic, and it’s a problem because it creates several challenges for the vines themselves,” Lazzerini said.
Spotted laternflies can create clusters within a given vintage, damage fruits with their feeding habits, weaken vines and reduce their amount of carbohydrates.
Lazzerini said, weather conditions in Pennsylvania are also a challenge for wine growers, as it is not a classically dry region during the growing season. He said, that’s why site selection, when planting a vineyard on the east coast, is very important.
