Wash. grape growers expect harvest record

Washington grape growers say they are set to break a harvest record this year, expecting to box about 200,000 tons of the wine fruit.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports (http://bit.ly/Qjghgm) that a combination of warm weather and new acreage has combined for a good harvest. The expected 200,000-ton harvest is well above the previous record of 160,000 tons set in 2010.

Harvest is still at least a couple weeks away still

This past June was cool and growth was slow but the vines caught up easily in early July. And some growers experienced hail damage, but it came in isolated pockets small enough to not skew the statistics.

The Associated Press