All season we've watched and waited. We've seen the annual transition from dry, brown vines pulled taught on poles to lush, green, leafy fingers drooping low and laden with sugar-filled grapes. The droughts have passed, the backlash from hurricanes is only a memory. But, as old grape-growers say, "The wine remembers."

So, what kind of season was it? What will the harvest bring in terms of the 2004 vintage?

The quality of the harvest of any crop of wine depends on a handful of dominant factors -- climate, weather and insects among them. Apparently, 2004 has been a good year for the grape on Long Island.

Matthew Gillies of Peconic Bay Vineyard in Cutchogue said, "It was a fairly dry summer, with some well-timed rains. Grapes like some rain to get started with and moisture to sustain them, but they're happy to have dry feet," he explained.

Too much rain or damp, cool weather produces rot and fungus. Wine roots are deep and, as Jeff Cox says in From Vines to Wines, "Only enough water to keep the vine from actually dying should be applied." He adds that when a dry spell hits during maturation of the grapes, the temptation to soak the vineyard should be resisted. The result of soaking will be grapes that are simply plumped with water, adversely affecting the quality of the wine.

As with any crop, grape-bearing vines are worked on, pruned and fussed over. For instance, to combat too much rain, leaves are pruned away from the clusters of grapes, allowing sun and air to help dry them faster.

And then, of course, the number of grapes on the vine is reduced, sometimes by as much as 50%, said Gillies. "Taking a smaller crop increases quality. That wall of leaves is basically a factory and that factory has to work harder to produce more fruit."

The vines bud in May, flower in mid-June and ripen about 100 days later. "We pick chardonnay the first week of October, merlot after that, and some of the reds well into November," adds Gillies.

A lot of grapes go into one bottle of wine. "One acre yields about two to four tons. One ton of grapes will give you 62 12-bottle cases. Right now, if all the grapes make it to bottle, on the East End there's about $80-$100 million on the vine," Gillies says.

Alice Wise, viticulturist at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Riverhead, spoke to The Wine Press as what was left of Hurricane Frances reached the East End, bringing sporadic rains and showers. "Things look promising right now. It seems it's going to be a good year. We're quite happy to see the remnants of Frances have not had much impact. A day of rain here and there is no problem. What has more impact is cloudy and cool weather," according to Wise.

She said this summer began with a dry June, with less than an inch of rain. July and August were more in the normal range, with 3.4 and 3.7 inches respectively.

Wise remembered the rainy spring of 2003, remarking that, in the end, it really had no effect on the crop. "As long as the weather is reasonable the latter half of the summer, the grapes can tolerate it well. Every year brings its challenges. We have to respond differently to different types of weather. You adjust the size and type of the crop according to the weather."

Cornell Extension has a 22-acre vineyard in Riverhead where 22 varieties of grape are grown. Ms. Wise, who has been viticulturist there for 13 years, oversees research on the various aspects of what has become a very viable industry on the East End.

Why is the North Fork so suited to grape growing?

"All fruit, grapes included, like well-drained soil -- soil that holds some water, but not a lot. That's what you have on the North Fork," she adds.

Jason Damianos, head winemaker at Pindar Vineyards and Duck Walk, agrees. "The soil on the South Fork is richer and deeper. It has more clay and is better for white wines. It's also cooler on the South Fork during the summer because of the breeze coming off the ocean. This affects the maturation of the grapes. For instance, it would be hard to ripen merlot there."

He added that in all of New York State, the area that's last to get too cold for grapes is the East End, because the two forks are surrounded by the moderating influence of water.

Jamesport Vineyards' sales director Steve Maier echoed the assessment of many growers. "Obviously we're pleased at how the season has gone. It's been great weather, although with all the hurricanes in Florida recently, we've been a bit worried. We're knocking on wood. Whenever your capital is hanging on the vine, subject to God's whims, you're a little apprehensive."

Vineyard manager and winemaker Ron Goerler Jr. is optimistic. "We've been blessed with the ideal amount of sun and ideal amounts of rain at the right time. We're having a beautiful September -- the temperature was in the 80s yesterday. If September is cool, it takes that much longer for the grapes to ripen and they're out on the vine subject to the possibility of bad weather."

Ron talked about Hurricane Gloria in 1985 and Hurricane Bob in 1991. "You can be having a great season, and then it all goes awry. Gloria was the worst. And with Hurricane Bob, I got married that year, in July. The temperature was over 100, and then at the end of August you get a storm like that. The grapes take up too much water and you get rot. That's when the talents of the winemaker really get tested."

He said the best years of late have been 1997 and 2000. "2001 was also pretty good, since we had a great Indian summer. When you have an Indian summer on top of a good growing season, it's perfect."

WÖlffer Estate in Sagaponack is one of just three South Fork vineyards. Established in 1988, its 50 acres are overseen by Rich Pisacano, vineyard manager, who also rhapsodized about the weather. "In general, what determines a great vintage is the weather. Even though the human factor is important, you can't overcome the hand nature deals you. We've had a great season. We're on the verge of harvest; you just have to hope things stay the same."

Jim and Linda Waters opened their Cutchogue winery, Waters Crest, last year. Although Waters Crest has no vineyard, Jim purchases grapes from two growers and, with them, manages the fields he uses.

"We've had a very good ripening year, Waters said. "The acidity of the grapes is good. We're all creating our own unique flavors and great wines out here on the East End. Every time I go to a restaurant I try another East End wine. It's a pleasure to see what's being accomplished here and this year it looks like we all have a chance to put out our best wines."

How does the type and quality of the harvest affect the price of wine?

Pindar's Damianos sees little connection between the two. "We're a large winery with a large distribution network, producing 75,000 cases of wine. It's not a matter of our prices going up or down. If some fields come in a little better, those grapes might go to our reserve wines -- in other words, our top end, as opposed to our regular wines. But the prices for wines basically stay at the same level."

As of this writing, everything looks fine in East End wine country, though heavy rains in the second half of September could have an impact on wine quality. Too much rain at the end of the maturation process causes the roots to transmit too much water to the grape, diluting the quality.

But, as Jason Damianos said, "So far it's worked out. The heavy rains have stayed to the west or south of us."

Cornell's Alice Wise is positive, "You never know until the crop is all in. But we're close and it's looking good.