Vintage 2026: Weather Update

It has been a very rainy summer which is continuing into the fall. This is not something that vineyardists want to see during harvest season. The rain has delayed ripening of some grapes and caused some grapes to split in area vineyards.
Mother Nature is still not done with rain since we are currently under a high wind and rain watch this weekend due to the nor'easter spinning in our area. The rain began on Friday, September 25 and is not expected to end until Monday, September 28th.
Before the rains came, my husband and I were able to unfurl the last of our nets on our vines and secure it with clothes pins. During the clothes pinning I came across this mushroom growing on one of our grapevine trunks. Good news, bad news. My husband and I concur that it looks like an oyster mushroom. Unfortunately, if an oyster mushroom grows on a living trunk, it is an indication of internal rot or that part of the tree is dying. After taking the photo I learned that I should look at the gills of the mushroom to get a proper ID. Oyster mushrooms have gills that run partially down the stem. I need to go and check this out when the sun comes out which we are hoping will be soon!

References:
1. Davey: Proven Solutions for a Growing World.
2. Mushroomn Appreciation.