GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Extreme heat is a different weather pattern that doesn’t occur very often here in Wisconsin. When it does, we notice more of the negative impacts, like disrupting some outdoor activities like hiking, sports, and biking or maybe our health.

In other news, the recent extreme heat had a positive impact on some of our favorite foods, that being fruits!

Owner and Winemaker Steven DeBaker from Trout Springs Winery discussed the impact the extreme heat had on his grape production so far this year:

“Thank goodness we had some heat units the last week or so because, before that, we were at about 16 degrees bricks, which is not very ripe. We had those 90-something-degree days we rose about two bricks a day, so right now, we are at 22 to 23 bricks, which is good”.

DeBaker said bricks are a measure of how much natural sugar is in the grapes, and the higher the number is, the less sugar is needed to be added when bottling up the wine. To measure these levels, he uses a refractometer, where he squeezes some grape juice into the refraction, holds it up to the light, and sees what the levels are at.

Prior to this extensive heat, DeBaker says the production of grapes with an adequate level of bricks was not where it should be:

“Before the heat, we were not where we needed to be. So those three or four days of high heat units really helped us out in making our crop in on time this year.”

With peak apple season soon approaching, owner Steve Gonnering of Misty Ridge Orchard says this heat was well welcomed:

“As far as the apples with the heat, I would have to say the apples seem to be coming in just a little earlier than normal, maybe a week or so, maybe a little more. The apple size has been better than what we expected this year with the dry weather that we did have, so that’s a good thing.”

The heat was definitely out and about this past weekend, as many places around our area saw record-breakers, with Green Bay tying the daily high-temperature record on Sunday and breaking the daytime high-temperature record on Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Green Bay. Other locations, including Manitowoc, Antigo, Wausau, and Appleton, also broke records.

Trout Springs Winery is open for wine tasting and pickup from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and Noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, according to their website. As for Misty Ridge Orchard, they are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, but no free picking options.