Bloomer (WQOW)- "The orchard took a real hit this year," says Joe Wynimko.
Wynimko owns O'Neil Creek Winery in Bloomer, where he makes his own wine. Wynimko says the warm spring led to his cherries blossoming early, making them susceptible to frost.
This year, cherry growers in Door County, which ranks among the country's top cherry producers, are calling this the worst season they've ever seen. In a typical year, Door County says it usually produces between 8 and 10 million pounds of cherries. But early projections are showing the county only produced about half-a-million, which means higher prices at the grocery store.
Wynimko says he needs about 200 pounds of cherries to make a batch of cherry wine; and this year, he's produced close to zero. So he's looked to other producers in Wisconsin and also in Michigan. He says with such a low supply, prices have skyrocketed.
"My small winery, it's cost-prohibitive to purchase it and then try to produce it and make something out of it. It might be one year without it," Wynimko says. "Cherry is one of our mid-season popular wines but unfortunately we work with Mother Nature and this is a product of that but we'll survive."
Wynimko says if he doesn't make cherry wine this year, he would replace it with something else he's been working on, strawberry chocolate wine.
