WESTPORT — Every sunny, mild October day is like a late blessing at Westport Vineyard and Winery, says Rob Russell, co-owner and vineyard manager.

“It means we can leave the grapes out a little longer and the longer they’re growing, the better they are getting,” he said. “It’s what we’ve been praying for.”

For a growing season that started off about as badly as could be, things are turning out much better than he had dared hope, Mr. Russell said.

Record rainfall right through June and into mid-July nearly stalled early growth. Starved for the warm sunshine they crave, the vines put out fewer flowers in late June than usual — a cause for concern then but in the long run, “a blessing in disguise.”

When the good weather finally did arrive, the grapes grew faster and fatter than they might have had there been more for the plants to feed.

“As a result, this will not be a heavy tonnage year but the grapes we do get will be good ones,” ... good sugar, good taste. He predicted that the crop will weigh in at around 160 to 170 tons as opposed to the 200 to 250 tons that a sunnier summer might have produced.

“The weather from August on and into this fall has cooperated,” Mr. Russell said. “We are about two weeks behind but it’s turning out to be a decent year. We still have a good canopy of leaves and the grapes are still ripening.

Especially fortunate has been the lack of any hard freeze so far which has enabled the vineyard to leave this late crop on the vine longer than they might otherwise dare.

“We had a touch of frost Monday night (Oct. 19) which cost us maybe 15 percent of our canopy but did no harm to the grapes.”

A hard freeze, though, would damage the grapes and would force all hands out for immediate picking.

“When a grape freezes, it feels slushy inside which means that it is breaking down,” and that time to pick is short.

As of late last week, Mr. Russell said that crews had picked about 35 acres of the 80-acre vineyard. Considerable picking is planned for this week as well.

Most of the picking is done by the vineyard’s own employees.

“We scrounge up eight to ten people from our own crew and maybe five other people from around the area,” he said.

The harvest is proving to be happier than seemed likely back in early July.

“For such a wet, cool, slow start, things are turning out very well.”