CLARK COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) – Despite all the rain we’ve had this past week, much of our area is still experiencing a mild drought.

Many farmers may be concerned about this, but wineries don’t seem to be too bothered by it. While many crops need rain to bear fruit, wineries can actually tolerate drought quite well.

“When the grass around us is brown, the vineyards are bright green. They just have a deeper root system and can somehow survive a drought, unlike maybe other crops that need to be watered frequently,” says Nini Edwards, owner of Harkness Edwards Vineyards.

Edwards says this is largely due to Kentucky’s wetter climate than other western wine-growing regions, and drought can actually improve grape quality.

“So when it’s drier, the grapes tend to get smaller. They don’t get as juicy and big, and you might say that doesn’t sound right. But when you press the grapes and make wine from them, the juice becomes more concentrated and less watery, so it gets more flavor,” Edwards said.

Edwards says that it is not so important that the weather is dry. That will not be the case for a few weeks.

“If it’s wet all summer, it’s fine. The grapes are robust, they grow, but if we have a wet autumn, more of a wet autumn than a wet summer, then it gets a little tricky,” Edwards said.

So Edwards wants to see what the weather will be like in the next few days.

Edwards says a wet fall can lead to fungal infections on the grapes.

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