Texas expects sad harvest: frost and rain diminish grape crop by as much two-thirds.

Dallas, Texas -- Yes, Gary Elliott said in mid-August, it was raining. He was not happy about it. And why should he be? Many Texas winemakers and grapegrowers, who endured two years of drought, saw that end this spring with record-setting rains in the Texas Hill Country between Austin and San Antonio

Meanwhile, Texas High Plains growers in West Texas, who avoided much of the rain, never recovered from more than two days of below-freezing temperatures in April. Crop yields could be down as much as two-thirds throughout the state, said viticulturist Ed Hellman of Texas A & M.

Elliott, who owns the 1,500-case Driftwood Vineyards in Driftwood, about 20 miles southwest of Austin, said, "This is going to be a disaster year for the whole state. But we should be used to being devastated one out of every two or three years by now."

The August deluge, delivered by the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin, was insult added to injury. Parts of the Hill Country, Texas' second-most important appellation, had as much rain in June and July as they normally get all year. It rained every day for three to four weeks, flooding vineyards and stripping leaves from vines, and making it almost impossible for growers to spray for the various blights common to the area, like powdery and downy mildew.

In West Texas, meanwhile, Neal New-some, who farms 88 acres at 3,700 feet in the High Plains appellation southwest of Lubbock, recorded 50 hours below freezing over Easter weekend. He lost not just the first growth, but much of the second growth as well. His Cabernet Sauvignon and Muscat Canelli were all but wiped out. Newsome anticipated half a crop of Sangiovese and Pinot Grigio, while the Tempranillo and Malbec will be close to normal. In all, he expected to harvest just 90 of his normal 300 tons.

What about quality? At best, it will be a challenging year, said Paul Bonarrigo of Messina Hof Winery & Resort in Bryan, which produces about 33,000 cases a year. The rain delayed harvest, which usually starts around the last week of July and goes through the end of September. It was 10 days to two weeks late in many parts of the state.

Some growers had to pick before the fruit reached their preferred ripeness, either because it had stopped ripening, or because rot had started to appear. Elliott at Driftwood related the disastrous chain of events that will cost him most of a 60-ton harvest. Months of constant rains retarded ripening and prevented spraying; downy mildew invaded the vineyards, destroying the canopy and making it impossible to apply bird netting. A puny second growth of canopy proved inadequate. Birds devoured the rotting fruit.

"It rained every day, and the leaves all fell out," Elliott said. "We're trying to salvage what we can."