In the Czech Republic, they call it “vinobrani.” In France, they say “vendange.”

In Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia, vineyard owners say “it’s time to harvest the grapes.”

This year’s wine-grape crop sparkles brighter than last season’s, local growers said.

“Mother Nature seems to overcompensate when we have a disaster. This year is tremendous,” said Bruce Davis, co-owner of Savannah Oaks Winery in Delano, Tenn.

A hard freeze in early April 2007 wiped out last fall’s grape crop across the state.

But not all vineyard owners reported a good season.

“We’re still feeling the effects of the freeze,” said Charles Burnette, owner of Sequatchie Valley Vineyards Inc. in Sequatchie, Tenn.

His vineyard’s production was about 14 percent under an average year — 60 tons compared to a typical 70 tons, he added. The vines, French and hybrid varietals, regrew their top branches this year, stealing energy from fruit.

Prices for grapes to make wine remain attractive, Mr. Burnette said.

“They normally run $1,000 a ton, give or take a few hundred dollars,” he said. “The wine industry in Tennessee always pays good prices. Now they’re as good as ever.”

Fifty years ago, Americans drank less than a gallon of wine per person each year. Today that number more than doubled, to 2.47 gallons per person in 2007, according to the Wine Institute, a California-based advocacy group,.

Tennessee didn’t have any wineries in 1975, but now it has 29. Other Southern states report the same trend. Alabama had no wineries in 1975, yet counted nine last year. Georgia grew from one winery in 1975 to 20 in 2007, according to WineAmerica, a winery trade association.

While many wineries, such as Sequatchie Valley, raise grapes of European origin, others focus on native scuppernongs or muscadines.

Patty Prouty, owner of the Georgia Winery in Ringgold, Ga., said her 15 acres of native muscadines sailed through last year’s freeze.

Muscadines bloom later in the spring, she said.

Last year’s severe drought, though, reduced her yields.

“We had about a 75 percent loss,” Ms. Prouty said.

Like Mr. Davis, who also grows muscadines, she said 2008 looks to be a “bumper crop year” for the Georgia Winery.

“Our last bumper crop was about five years ago,” Ms. Prouty said. “We could use a little more rain this month, but this year has been really, really good.”

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