Wine and Grape Grower 8.12

The NEWSPAPER for the wine and grape industryAugust/September 2012 www.wineandgrapegrower.com Volume 1 Number 5

In This Issue

Minimizing damagefrom birds and other

unauthorized vineyardvisitors ~ Page 17

GROWERGROWERWine& Grape

Classifieds~ Page 20-21

Tasting Rooms Section~ Page 8

WycombeVineyards

~ Page 8

by Karl H. KazaksCHARLOTTESVILLE, VA —

Winemaking and viniferagrape growing require an abil-ity to juggle a multitude ofvariables. There are so manyinterlocking factors — weatherconditions, vineyard manage-ment practices, decisions onwhen to harvest, how long andat what temperature to fer-ment, what yeasts to use, andon and on — and every yearnew decisions have to bemade, influenced by a new setof variables.

Yet the juggling act MichaelShaps manages while runninghis several wine businesses isparticularly impressive. Hemakes wine in Virginia, undertwo labels: Michael Shaps andVirginia Wineworks. He makeswine in the Burgundy regionof France — he is a partner inMaison Shaps & Roucher-Sarrazin. He consults for anumber of wineries up anddown the East Coast. If that’snot enough, he also conductscustom winemaking for some25 different labels.

How does he manage all ofthose endeavors? By using thesame guiding philosophy forthem all. “You take the sameapproach,” no matter whereyou’re working, Shaps said.The goal is to “reflect the localconditions, the style of theplace.” In colder climate

regions, like Burgundy, thatmeans wines that emphasizeminerality, acidity, terroir.Warmer climes are better forproducing richer, moreintense wines, with “more aro-matics, more extraction, morestructure,” Shaps said.

Shaps studied winemakingin Burgundy in the early1990s, receiving a degree inEnology and Viticulture fromLycée Viticole de Beaune.While there, he also internedat Maison Chartron etTrébuchet, where he befriend-ed Michel Roucher-Sarrazin,

the winemaker and generalmanager of the winery (andtoday Shaps’s partner in theirBurgundy winery).

By 1995, Shaps was inVirginia, making wine atJefferson Vineyards. Hequickly made a name for him-self with the quality of thewines he was making. “I start-ed getting calls from severalwineries asking for help,”Shaps recalled.

So, in 2000, Shaps decidedto go into business for himself,as a winemaking consultantand as the producer of hisown wines, under the MichaelShaps label. As a consultant,Shaps helps wineries manageaspects of their productionfrom the vineyard to the cellar.He has helped many start ups,and typically works withbetween eight and 12 clientsat any one time. Some clientsuse Shaps’s services for just afew years or so, others preferto keep him as an advisor overthe long-term. He has consult-ed to wineries along the EastCoast, in New York,Pennsylvania, Maryland,Virginia, West Virginia, NorthCarolina, and Georgia. “I enjoyhelping grow the industry,”Shaps said.

There are currently sevenMichael Shaps wines beingmade — Viognier,Chardonnay, Petit Verdot,Cabernet Franc, Merlot, a dryred Meritage, and a sweet redwine made with the ripassostyle of drying grapes prior tofermentation. The wines areproduced in a traditional old-world style. The reds are high-ly extracted and typically ben-efit from aging. The whitesshowcase varietal intensitywhile maintaining naturalacidity.

All grapes used in MichaelShaps wine production comefrom leased vineyards. Shapsselects vineyards that have

varietals suited to the loca-tion. The reds come fromCentral Virginia nearCharlottesville, Viognier fromfurther south near Roanoke,and Chardonnay in northernLoudon County, in northernVirginia. The Chardonnayfrom that location, Shapssaid, “ripens two weeks laterthan here in Central Virginia.There’s more balance to thefruit, more natural acidity.”

Shaps’s vineyard-leasearrangements are structuredon a per-acre basis. “We don’tbuy by the ton,” he said.Instead, he offers his growersa premium for adhering to hisspecified management prac-tices. That work — includingcanopy management andgreen harvesting — is oftendone by Shaps and his wine-making team. “During thegrowing season we’re on siteevery few weeks,” he said.

For the vineyard owners,Shaps said, that arrangementis “win-win.” Because theyknow what they’ll get per-acre, they don’t have to worryabout maximizing productionfor profit. “It reduces their riskconsiderably,” Shaps said.Typically, production at theseleased vineyards is three tothree-and-a-half tons per acrerather than the five or six tonsper acre that could beachieved if tonnage was theonly production goal.

The annual production ofMichael Shaps wine numbersabout 1,000 cases. Shapslikes to use small lots becauseit allows him to manage themwith his high quality stan-dards while also keeping upwith his consulting business.“I don’t want to grow too big,”he said. “I want to keep an eyeon quality.”

That same model applies inShaps’s Burgundy winery,which he established with hispartner Roucher-Sarrazin in2004. There, the duo con-tracts all of their grapes — butinstead of leasing acreage,they lease by the row, follow-ing a typical Burgundian prac-tice. They make wines from amultitude of appellations,from Bourgogne Rouge andBlanc, to village wines (Nuits-St-Georges), to a few premiercru vineyards (the climatsVolnay Santenots andChaponnieres, MeursaultCharmes and Les Cras).

“It’s kind of like a dreamcome true,” Shaps said, ofmaking wine in Burgundy.Total, he and his partnermake about 1,000 cases ofBurgundy, half estate wineand half negociant. Most ofthat wine is produced undertheir own marquee, but some200-300 cases they sell underanother label, l’étalon, whichis more value-driven.

Multitalented Michael Shaps a Virginia wine industry leader

Michael Shaps shows how the bag-in-the-box bottling machineworks at Virginia Wineworks. It is set to fill each bladder with exact-ly three liters of wine and then purge in a measure of nitrogen.

An associate at Virginia Wineworks/Michael Shaps works on thebottling line to label the wines of a custom crush customer ofVirginia Wineworks.

Michael Shaps in the cellar of Virginia Wineworks/Michael ShapsWines. Behind him a cellar assistant filters a batch of wine.

Photos by Karl Kazaks

Michael Shaps - Page 4

by Tamara ScullyBy focusing on education

and extension, the NorthernGrapes Project aims to tapinto the potential for farmwineries throughout coldnorthern climates, TimMartinson, Northern GrapesProject director and seniorextension associate at CornellUniversity, explained. “We arereally trying to link up thegrowing and the fruit charac-teristics with the wine making,marketing and decision-mak-ing. There is vast interest fromgrowers even in very cold envi-rons.”

It is now estimated that over3,000 acres of cold climategrapes are in productionacross the United States.Vineyards and wineries havesprung into existence in areasnot conducive to growing tra-ditional wine grape varieties.Over 300 wineries and 1,300grape growers, spread acrossa dozen cold-climate states,are involved in the industrytoday. The Northern GrapesProject aims to address theneeds — from vine to wine —via a network of industryresearchers and professionals,spread across 12 states in theNortheast and Midwest, inconjunction with numerousgrape growing organizations,focusing on the unique con-cerns that arise for both thevineyard and the winery.

The development of cold-hardy grapes, able to surviveharsh extremes of winter

weather, has been ongoingsince the 1940s. FarmerElmer Swenson, used thenative Vitis labrusca, orEastern wild grape varieties ofcold hardy grapes developedat the University of Minnesota,beginning in the 1970s. The

Vitis labrusca have Vitisriparia, also native to NorthAmerica, as a parent. Fourwine grape varieties have beendeveloped by the university,with a fifth — Frontenac blanc— now available. All are con-sidered reliably hardy to -35degrees or better.

Canopy managementThe survivability of cold cli-

mate grapes isn’t just aboutthe weather. Special treatmentyear-round is needed to retainthe ability of the vine to with-stand the cold. Developingtechniques to increase thesurvivability of vines in coldclimate areas is one focus ofthe research being done.Cultivation issues impactingvines grown in extreme weath-er areas are not the same asthose encountered by tradi-tional grape growers in moder-ate climates. Pruning, diseasecontrol, canopy managementand training systems canaffect the ability of the vines tosurvive the harsh weather.

“The best choice for hardi-ness is one that favors photo-synthesis in the renewal zonewith resultant maximal dark-ness of cane periderm color forthat cultivar,” said PaoloSabbatini, assistant professorof horticulture at MichiganState University. Sabbatinispecializes in wine and juicegrape cold climate physiology.

The management of thecanopy was the topic of one ofthe initial webinars recentlyproduced by the Northern

Grapes Project. Martinsonaddressed this topic at theMinnesota Grape GrowersAssociation Cold ClimateConference, held Feb. 23-25in St. Paul, MN, as well as viathe mid-February webinar.Viticulture Specialist Mike

White of Iowa State Universityco-presented the webinar withMartinson.

White stated that very littlecanopy management is need-ed in-season if the cultivar,site selection, input manage-ment and trellising system areall in balance. Indications thatmanagement is neededinclude: high vine vigor withlow yield, lack of fruit ripen-ing, inadequate skin color andineffective sprays. Propercanopy management willincrease sunlight penetration,increase airflow through thevines, provide more effectivespray management and effi-ciency, increase fruit qualityand balance the crop load tothe vine to prevent winterinjury.

Perfect growing conditionsfor grapes don’t exist in thecolder climate regions, socanopy management is goingto be a necessity, Martinsonsaid. While canopy manage-ment costs time and money,and can also reduce the over-all yield, it does result in high-er quality fruits.

At Cornell, Martinson’s ownresearch for the NorthernGrapes Project will focus onwhether or not “there isenough heat to consistentlyripen” cold climate winegrapes in the areas. Summerheat is not as reliable here asin Minnesota, Maritnson said,and the grapes don’t alwayshave enough time to matureduring the season. Martinsonwill explore “ways to manipu-late this through canopy andcrop management, to pushthings in a certain direction,”he said.

EnologyProducing high-quality

wines is another part of theNorthern Grapes Project mis-sion.

“These varieties are thingsthat have some unique char-acteristics from a wine-mak-ing perspective,” Martinsonsaid.

Katie Cook, enologist at theUniversity of Minnesota, hasbeen delving into the intrica-cies of wine making withextremely cold-hardy grapevarietals. Recognizing theinherent characteristics of thefruit, she said, is the first stepto success.

“While one of the objectivesof using (Vitis riparia) in thebreeding program was toimpart its super cold-hardi-ness into our hybrid varieties,we also inherited its tendencytoward high acidity and highsugar,” Cook said.

There are different types ofde-acidification techniquesavailable for highly acidic

grape varieties, Cook said.Malolactic fermentation is anoption, as is stopping the fer-mentation process with resid-ual sugar, thus balancing thehigh acid content. With somevarieties, particularly theSwenson cultivars hybridizedfrom Vitis labrusca, harvestoccurs when they are still a bitunder-ripe, to minimize theirstrong “grapey” aroma, whichis not considered desirable. Asa result, the grapes are low insugar, and winemakers wouldneed to address this deficit inorder to achieve the desiredalcohol content.

Murli Dharmadhikari,extension enologist at IowaState University, along withAnna Katharine Mansfield, ofCornell University, presenteda Northern Grapes Projectwebinar on enology inJanuary. Mansfield identifiedhigh titrateable acid, highmalic acid and high potassiumas potential issues when mak-ing wine from cold-climategrapes. Understanding thechemistry of wine, and themany factors that contributeto the fermentation process,as well as how to adjust oradapt the wine-makingprocess to achieve the proper

balance, was discussed atlength by both presenters dur-ing the webinar.

Selling the product“It’s a tourism business,”

Martinson said of makingwines from cold climategrapes.

Even vineyards withoutwineries are ultimately sellingtheir grapes primarily to smalland mid-size farm wineries,that are dependent, in turn, onthe business of agritourism forsales. By focusing on educa-tion and extension, theNorthern Grapes Project aimsto tap into the potential forfarm wineries throughout coldnorthern climates by “support-ing the people in the industryto help them make moreinformed decisions about whatthey grow and how they growit,” and also how to make andmarket an end-product thatattracts a strong customerbase, Martinson said.

The webinars will focus onall aspects related to cold-cli-mate grapes: cultivars, cultiva-tion, enology, and marketing,with new webinars eachmonth. Northern GrapesProject webinars will also beavailable in archived formfrom Cornell University.

Northern Grapes Project expanding cold-climate frontier

Judging wines at the International Cold Climate Wine Competition.Started in 2009 and held each August at the University of

Minnesota. Sponsored by the University of Minnesota, MinnesotaGrape Growers Association, MInnesota Farm Wineries Association,and the Minnesota State Fair. The competition reflects the increas-ing number of commercial wineries making wines in northernregions. In 2011 over 250 wines were entered in the 27 differentcompetition categories.

Winter pruning at the University of Minnesota's HorticulturalResearch Station, where breeding of extremely cold-hardy grapesoccurs.

Photos courtesy David Hansen, University of Minnesota

Justin Fraser, the son of Wycombe Vineyards owners Rich andDebbie Fraser harvests grapes at the Furlong, PA, winery.

Cover photo by Sally Colby

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(518) 673-3237 • Fax # (518) 673-2381Wine & Grape Grower is published monthly by Lee Publications, P.O. Box 121, 6113 St. Hwy. 5,Palatine Bridge, NY 13428.Periodical postage paid at Palatine Bridge, NY 13428.Subscription Price: $12 per year. Digital Subscription: $12 for 2 years. Canada $55 per year.POSTMASTER: Send address change to Wine & Grape Grower, P.O. Box 121, Subscription Dept.,Palatine Bridge, NY 13428-0121.Publisher, President........................................Frederick W. LeeVice-President Production ..........................Mark W. Lee, ext. [email protected] & General Manager ..........Bruce Button, ext. 104 [email protected] ................................................Robert Moyer, ext. [email protected] Coordinator ............................Jessica Mackay, ext. [email protected] ......................................................Joan Kark-Wren, ext. [email protected] Composition ..................................Michelle Gressler, ext. 138 [email protected] Ad Manager ..............................Peggy Patrei, ext. 111 [email protected] Bridge, Main Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518-673-3237Accounting/Billing Office . . . . . . . . 518-673-2269. . . . . . . . . . . [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518-673-2448 . . . . . [email protected]: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.leepub.comSend all correspondence to:PO Box 121, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428Fax (518) 673-2699Editorial Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

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Shaps has a partner in his MichaelShaps label, Philip Stafford, whoalso partnered with the winemakerin his most recent development,Virginia Wineworks, established in2007.

Located at the site of the oldMontdomaine winery (built into ahillside, with a green roof, it offersideal cellar conditions — cool tem-peratures and high humidity),Virginia Wineworks is a dual-pronged operation. It makes value-oriented Virginia wines — includingthe first Virginia wines sold as bag ina box (which Shaps accomplisheswith a piece of equipment he pur-chased in Burgundy), and somescrewcap wines — under the VirginiaWineworks label. Virginia Wineworksis also Virginia’s first winery to pro-vide custom winemaking services.

Again, as with his consulting,Shaps started the custom winemak-ing business when people came tohim asking for help.

“People had vineyards but didn’twant to build wineries,” Shaps said,describing the source of the some ofthe requests he fielded. “Bulk grapesdon’t always sell,” so by making theirown wine these vineyard ownerscould have more control over theirproduce.

What’s more, there were some peo-ple who didn’t own vineyards whosimply wanted to make their ownwine. About the time Shaps startedVirginia Wineworks, there was achange in Virginia’s farm winery lawthat allowed such non-vineyard own-ers to get into the wine business.

Starting from scratch, “wordspread pretty quickly,” Shaps said,and soon the custom crush businesswas operating at capacity. TodayShaps custom makes 20,000 casesof wine for some 25 different labels.Some of those are private labels forrestaurants, hotels, and grocers.

“It’s very labor-intensive, having somany lots and brands,” Shaps said.

Virginia Wineworks currently keepsfour full-time employees, with a goodbit more help in the fall duringcrush. The various lot sizes alsorequire equipment of different sizes.The fermentation tanks, for example,range in size from 500 to 5,000liters.

The role of the custom crush cus-tomers in the winemaking processvaries. “Some want to be reallyinvolved,” Shaps said. “Others tell usthe style they want, the influencethey want, and let us do it.”

In 2010, Shaps expanded his win-ery, enclosing what had been the for-mer crush pad, turning it into morecellar space, and constructing a newcrush pad outside. Still, VirginiaWineworks at present cannot take onmore custom crush business. “It’sunfortunate,” Shaps said. “We’returning away customers.”

Minimum production for customcrush is 100 cases, though in mostcases the amount is larger. As part ofthe forecasting process, each springShaps asks his clients for theirannual production plans.

Recently, Virginia Wineworksreceived a grant from the VirginiaDepartment of Agriculture andConsumer Services (VDACS) to helpwith promoting and marketing thevalue-oriented brand.

Now that Virginia Wineworks hasmatured from start-up phase into anestablished company — operating atfull capacity and adequately staffed— Shaps plans to turn his attentionmore to his Michael Shaps andBurgundy wines. He’s even consider-ing producing a Burgundy bag-in-a-box wine.

“Consulting and VirginiaWineworks have been driving thebusiness side of things,” Shaps said.“Michael Shaps and Shaps &Roucher-Sarrazin are more for thepure satisfaction of producing wine. Ihope to step up my attention tothem.”

Michael Shaps Continued from Page 2

LANSING, MI — The MichiganDepartment of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MDARD) announced itssupport for proposed changes to thestate’s liquor control laws, rules, andpolicies. Seventy-two recommenda-tions were developed by an AdvisoryRules Committee (ARC) under thedirection of the Office of RegulatoryReform in the Department of Licensingand Regulatory Affairs. The committee,comprised of 21 stakeholders in alco-hol regulation, met over severalmonths to develop its report for Gov.Rick Snyder.

“The ORR report regarding liquorregulations is one more example ofhow the state is moving forward insupporting business growth,” saidJamie Clover Adams, MDARD Director.“With growing momentum in manysectors of Michigan’s food and agricul-ture industry, efforts to streamline

regulations and make it easier to dobusiness in Michigan without sacrific-ing public safety, will foster statewideeconomic activityand businessdevelopment.”

The recommen-dations includechanges to proce-dures to stream-line the licensingprocess atMichigan LiquorC o n t r o lC o m m i s s i o n ,which providesbenefits to all licensees, includingwinemakers, small winemakers,micro-brewers, and distillers. MDARDwill work closely with industry groupsto fully consider each of the recom-mendations, such as the recommenda-tions regarding the establishment of a

Farm Winery License and the abilityfor small winemakers and craft brew-eries to sell wine at farmers markets

within the state.The beverage

alcohol industry isa highly regulatedindustry, with fed-eral, state andlocal regulationsimpacting busi-ness activities.Over 250 Michiganwineries, breweriesand distilleriesthroughout the

state are part of the growing food andagriculture sector. Many of these bev-erage manufacturers use grapes andother fruit, hops and grains grown inMichigan. By doing so, they furtherenhance the contributions to thestate’s economy. Wineries, breweries,

and distilleries are also important des-tinations in Michigan’s growingtourism and hospitality industry.

“The Michigan Grape and WineIndustry Council looks forward to pro-viding input on the implementation ofrecommendations from this report,supporting the Council’s mission ofvalue-added, sustainable agriculture,”said Linda Jones, executive director ofthe Michigan Grape and Wine IndustryCouncil. “Michigan ranks in the top 10states in the nation for wine grape andwine production; and the industry hasgrown rapidly in the past decade, from39 wineries to 95 wineries today.Future growth will bring economicbenefits and jobs to new regions of thestate, as new super cold hardy vari-eties of grapes become part of theindustry in regions of the state thatwere not suitable for grape growing inthe past.”

MDARD in favor of reforms to liquor control regulations

“The ORR report regardingliquor regulations is onemore example of how thestate is moving forward insupporting businessgrowth.”

~ Jamie Clover Adams

What’s in thepipeline?

Second half marketing strategies Many major sports

(except our summer ob-session, baseball) haveeither drawn to a close,or are contemplatingand planning for thenext few months of arapidly culminatingyear. We like to call theprocess: Taking stockand future planning.Some producers liken itto looking far down themarketing pipeline anddeciding where to shuf-

fle the business for aprofitable ending. Witheither analogy, the planremains the same, whatmarketing strategies inthe second half of theyear will work thebest?

Maybe the first half ofthe year has positionedyour business for newopportunities: Addingvalue to an already ex-isting product, rollingout an entirely newventure, or diversifyinga current operation toinclude a different setof products or services.

Whatever the opportu-nity, a business opera-tor needs to considerthe best use of threemajor components:Land, labor and capital.

Of the three factors,land use is often themost difficult to planfor and implement. Un-like hiring more help orseeking more funding,planning for new or di-versified uses of fields,pastures, cover crops,and even rented landdemands “think time,”research, risk manage-ment and flexibility.Even if a new venturelooks promising, theimplementation timecould be months toyears before a newproduct could bebrought to market. In-corporating new prod-ucts into a rotation, orwithdrawing a productfrom a current farmplan, should includecareful consideration ofjust what is down the

pipeline in terms ofpossible expenses vs.income.

While labor may seemlike an easier compo-nent to handle on atimely basis, it too, re-quires advanced plan-ning. What will happenwhen your summer helpreturns to school, or if afamily member cannothelp? Risk managementcarries over into laborissues as much as crop-ping, raising livestock,or agri-tourism. Afterreviewing the first halfof the business year,you may be looking atexpanding a part of theoperation or extendinghours of operation. La-bor requirements foreach part of this newoperation must be cov-ered and included afluctuating businessplan for the remainderof the year.

Making major adjust-ments that affect capitalconsiderations half waythrough the year is noeasy task, either. If anew venture requiresmore capital than youplanned for, you mayneed to go back to yourlending agency to dis-

cuss additional financ-ing, or pull money fromyour savings or “rainyday” fund. Lenders willwant to see how the newventure or diversifica-tion will add to yourprofit margin and whattypes of risk may be-come barriers to repay-ment. If you are self-fi-nancing, borrowing for anew venture should beweighed against otherfactors that may occuruntil the end of the year.

Great summer salesmay encourage you toconsider other optionsfor the second half ofthe calendar year, butbe prepared to outlinehow the venture mayimpact the three majorcomponents of land, la-bor and capital, as wellas many other life andbusiness factors. Unex-pected things happenwith farm families andto business operations.Being prepared for asmany situations as pos-sible is a prime part ofrisk management. Man-aging the “what ifs,” al-lows for more immedi-ate and better imple-mentation when newopportunities show up.

As you look down thepipeline and decidewhat the second half ofthe business year willbring, you can opt fornew and exciting waysto grow your business,or be mired with deci-sion-making that couldkeep you from pursuinga great option.

Producers often askwhy business and mar-keting plans are neces-sary — why you can’tjust offer a product andsee what happens, orstart a new venture thatlooks like a good deal.

Planning for diversifi-cation and managingyour overall businessthrough new phases ismuch easier if you havethought about it,planned for it, and areready to implement astrategy that has sub-stance backing it. Agood business plan pre-pares you for handlingan ever changing mar-ket and meeting cus-tomer needs.

The above informationis provided for educa-tional purposes only andshould not be substitut-ed for professional busi-ness or legal counseling.

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Today’s Marketing ObjectivesBy: Melissa Piper Nelson

Farm News ServiceNews and views on agricultural marketing techniques.

More than 2,500 peo-ple sat next to mani-cured vineyards andsoaked in sunshine,blue sky and lake viewsat the Third AnnualWinestock NY 2012 onJune 16 held at ThreeBrothers Wineries &

Estates located nearGeneva, NY.

They tasted award-winning wines — freshfrom media and con-sumer acclaim at the“NYDrinks NY” programin New York City —from Three Brothers

Wineries & Estates,Miles Wine Cellars,Fulkerson, Fox Run,Anthony Road, DeepRoots Winery, RedNewt, Hazlitt, HectorWine Co. ButtonwoodGrove, Hosmer Winery,Americana Winery and

Lakeland Winery.Chinchillas, Misfit

Karma, Dirty Birds, Bu-ford and the Smokin’Section, and Mike Shawand the Delta BluesBand played on twostages all afternoon.

Joe’s Hots and NapaWood Fired Pizzas, ar-tisan cheeses and cre-ations of local artistsparticipated in thisevent.

Stephen Beals andCindi Rosse won theraffle prizes of a wineand sundries basketand limousine tour.

Winestock NY 2012was sponsored by theNY Wine Industry Asso-ciation, Waterloo Con-tainer, labelgallery, Re-becca Reisinger Insur-ance, Lyons NationalBank, Crop ProductionServices, Stork Insur-ance, Empire Tractor,Honeoye Falls MarketPlace and S&S Limou-sines. Tickets includeda collectable wine glass.

Wine lovers unite for Third AnnualWinestock

Tina Hazlitt, Saw Mill Creek Vineyards in Hector, NY and Lawrence Doolittle, Fron-tenac Point Vineyard — Estate Winery on Cayuga Lake take a breather at the checkin booth after the first of visitors to the Third Annual Winestock NY 2012 sponsoredby the New York Wine Industry Association and hosted at the Three Brothers Winer-ies & Estates on Seneca Lake.

SAN FRANCISCO —Wine Institute, the pub-lic policy advocacygroup representingnearly 1,000 Californiawineries, announcedthe election of KathleenHeitz Myers of HeitzWine Cellars in St. He-lena as its board chair-man for 2012-13.

The election was heldin June at Wine Insti-tute’s 78th AnnualMeeting of Members atLake Tahoe where otherboard officers electedincluded Chris Fehrn-strom of ConstellationWines U.S. in SanFrancisco, first vicechairman; CarolynWente of Wente FamilyEstates in Livermore,second vice chairman;Greg Coleman of E. & J.Gallo Winery inModesto, treasurer; andMargie Healy of KorbelChampagne Cellars inGuerneville, secretary.Robert P. (Bobby) Kochremains president andCEO of Wine Institute.

“I am honored to sup-port the Wine Insti-tute’s work on state,federal and internation-al public policy. We willcontinue to focus ondefeating tax increase

proposals, expandingd i r e c t - t o - c o n s u m e rshipping, enhancingour wine exports, andpromoting the adoptionof sustainable wine-growing practices,” saidHeitz Myers. “As vint-

ners and grapegrowers,we have a long-termcommitment to Califor-nia with deep roots inmany communities. Werecognize the impor-tance of communicatingto the public that the

wine industry generates330,000 jobs and near-ly $62 billion in eco-nomic impact to Cali-fornia annually.”

Heitz Myers has beenpresident of Heitz WineCellars since 1998. As

the second generationto lead the family busi-ness, she has contin-ued to advance the win-ery’s international rep-utation. She is a dedi-cated advocate for Cali-fornia wines and is

highly regarded for herleadership as past pres-ident of the Napa ValleyVintners, past chair ofAuction Napa Valley,member of the LandTrust of Napa CountyAdvisory Council andpast president of theNapa Valley Expositionboard of directors.

The Wine Institutemembership also electednew district and at-largedirectors and alternates.District directors andtheir alternates wereelected on a one mem-ber, one vote basis ineach district, followingnominations by regionalwinery associations.

The Wine Institute’smembers accountingfor 95 percent of Cali-fornia wine productionand 85 percent of U.S.wine production. Basedin San Francisco, withoffices in Sacramento,Washington, D.C., sixregions across the U.S.and 15 foreign coun-tries, the Wine Instituteis guided by 80 vintnerswho are members andalternates of an activeboard of directors. Theboard elects the chair-man and officers on anannual basis.

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Wine Institute elects officers and Board Directors

Kathleen Heitz Myers of Heitz Wine Cellars in St. Helena, CA, was elected chairwoman of the Board ofDirectors of the Wine Institute for 2012-13. The election was held in June at Wine Institute’s 78th AnnualMeeting of Members at Lake Tahoe.

WOOSTER, OHIO —In an effort to boostOhio’s wine industry,researchers with OhioState University Exten-sion and the Ohio Agri-cultural Research andDevelopment Center(OARDC) are determin-ing what new winegrape varieties cansurvive and thrive inOhio’s climate.

Since 2008, the teamhas studied more than40 wine grape vari-eties, especially high-quality, high-value Eu-ropean types. Most arerelatively new to Ohio,such as Arneis,Carmenere, Gamaynoir, Gruner Veltliner,Pinotage, Regent, San-giovese, and Teroldego,to list a few, said ImedDami, a state viticul-ture specialist withOSU Extension.

The questions re-searchers are lookingto answer include howthe grapes will perform

in Ohio vineyards andcellars; can they sur-vive and thrive throughharsh Ohio winters;and is planting themworth it for Ohio winegrape growers, Damisaid.

Although it is still tooearly in the trials tomake any definitiverecommendations onwhat varieties performbest and in which loca-tion, researchers areseeing some promisingindications, said Dami,who also has an ap-pointment withOARDC.

“Some varieties arepromising, however, weare still in the processof evaluation,” he said.“It typically takes eightto 10 years for a vari-ety evaluation trial tocome to fruition forconclusive results,considering it takesfour years for the grapevines to establish andmature.

“We then collect dataon growth, yields, coldhardiness, fruit qualityof the grapes and makewine from them. Lastyear, we had the firstcrop and made winefrom some of the vari-

eties, and we observedsome encouraging re-sults from some vari-eties.”

Researchers conductthe grape and wine tri-als in the researchvineyards at OARDC’sWooster campus, theOSU South Centers in

Piketon, and OARDC’sAshtabula AgriculturalResearch Station innortheast Ohio nearLake Erie.

One of the goals ofthe trial is to increasethe diversity of Ohio

wine grapes to provideincreased choices forOhio wineries to createmore diverse andunique wine productsto meet growing con-sumer interest, Damisaid.

“We have several va-rieties in Ohio that are

doing well, but con-sumers are alwayslooking for somethingnew and different,” hesaid. “And wine pro-ducers in Ohio, in re-sponse to consumerdemand, want to offermore varieties, espe-cially more red winevarieties.”

This as Ohio’s wineindustry has seen sig-nificant growth in re-cent years. In fact, thenumber of Ohio winer-ies has nearly doubledsince 1997. During thelast 10 years, Ohio’swine industry hasgrown significantly,said David T. Daniels,director of the OhioDepartment of Agricul-ture.

According to a 2008Economic Impact re-port, Ohio’s grape andwine industry gener-ates more than $580million in economic ac-tivity that supports lo-cal communities whileproducing a superioragricultural product.The Ohio grape andwine industry also em-ploys more than 4,100people, providing apayroll of $124.2 mil-lion, he said.

“Ohio’s wine industryis now the fourth-largest in the easternUnited States and isknown nationally andinternationally for ex-cellence,” Daniels saidin a statement. “Thegrape and wine indus-try is deeply tied intothe state’s agricultureindustry and plays asignificant role in our

history and our cur-rent economic suc-cess.”

That success hascontributed to the sig-nificant growth of Ohiowineries, said GaryGao, an Extension spe-cialist and associateprofessor of small fruitcrops at the OSUSouth Centers in Pike-ton. That’s also led to ashortage of Ohio-grownwine grapes, becausethere aren’t enoughproducers to meet thegrowing demand, hesaid.

“One of the reasonsis that we used to haveabout 70 wineries sev-eral years ago,” Gaosaid. “We’ve since hada tremendous increasein the numbers ofwineries, and all thosenew wineries needgrape juice as a start-ing product for wine.

“But it’s quite chal-lenging to grow winegrapes, especially,vinifera grapes in Ohio,because they aren’t ascold-hardy but pro-duce high-qualitywines. That’s part ofwhat we are trying toresearch to improve.”

Other Ohio State re-searchers working inthe program includeTodd Steiner, an enolo-gy (wine-making) spe-cialist; Dave Scurlock,a viticulture outreachspecialist; Greg Johns,manager at OARDC-AARS; and specialistsMike Ellis (grape dis-eases), Doug Doohan(weeds) and Roger N.Williams (insects).

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by Sally ColbyThe first year Rich and Debbie Fras-

er had enough wine grapes to harvest,they knew they’d need a little help.But they really only needed a littlehelp — not enough to hire pickers.Their solution? Invite family andfriends to help harvest. The Frasersprovided basic instructions and plen-ty of food, and the grapes were har-vested on time. While the Frasers’Wycombe Vineyards in Furlong, PAhas grown since that first harvest,they still rely on volunteers.

“People sign up through our websitethroughout the year,” said Rich, “andwhen we get closer to harvest dateswe send e-mails through ConstantContact. Dates are set for Saturday,with Sunday as a rain date. We askpeople to RSVP so we know how manypickers we’ll have.”

Although harvest dates are depend-ent on conditions throughout the sea-son, Rich can predict with pretty goodaccuracy when the grapes will beready, although this year might be es-pecially challenging.

“We had a warm winter and a recordwarm March,” said Rich. “The whitegrapes — Chardonnays and Pinots —bud out first and are usually ready topick in September. The red grapesdon’t bud out until late April or earlyMay, so they aren’t ready until some-time in October. This year, since it’sbeen dry so far, everything has beenpushed up a little bit. Red grapes canhang longer, but white grapes canonly get so ripe before we lose sun-light and ripening days.”

In an average year, it takes be-tween 10 and 30 people to harvestgrapes from the 6,500 vines — a six-mile walk one way. Fraser says thehardest part is knowing when toalert people about picking dates. “It’shard to gauge how many people willshow up, so if we don’t get all of thegrapes on the weekend, we’ll pickthem during the week. We don’t haveto get them all in one day, but if welet them go for an extra week or so,we’re going to start backing up onthe others. Then there’s constantpressure with deer and birds.”

As harvest approaches, everyone on

the list receives an e-mail about howmany people are needed for harvest,and are asked to RSVP so that bothlabor and food can be planned. Evencloser to harvest, Fraser announceswhen the harvest is likely to be. “We’llpin the picking dates down, then if itlooks like it’s going to rain, we sendan e-mail to cancel until Sunday orthe following weekend.” The e-mail in-cludes information about appropriateclothing, suggests sunblock and ad-vises women to avoid using perfumebecause it attracts yellow jackets. TheFrasers encourage people to bring afriend, and say that about a dozenpeople have become regulars who re-turn every year.

Prior to pickers arriving, bins areset out in the vineyard. Pickers arriveat around 10 a.m., and before head-ing to the vineyard, Rich providespicking and safety orientation. “Themost common injury is cuts,” he said.“People are talking, having a goodtime, and might reach behind a clus-ter to cut the stem. If they aren’twatching, they can clip a finger. Theother thing is yellow jackets that areafter the sugar and the grapes. Wewant to make sure that if anyone isallergic, they know what to do. We tellpeople that before they put their handbehind a cluster to cut it, tap thecluster with the front of their hand.Any yellow jackets will fly to the nextcluster. They won’t sting unless youcome around the backside of the clus-ter and trap them.” Debbie is busythroughout the day dispensing water,and has a first aid kit for minor cutsand stings.

Pickers are instructed to leave any-thing that looks deteriorated. “Gener-ally, if about 85 percent or more of thecluster is good, pick it,” said Rich,adding that a lot of grapes were lost torot last year. “Pinot has a very thinskin and you can’t knock the badgrapes out. With others, you can holdthe cluster in your hand and knockthe bad grapes out.” Fraser explainedthat the word ‘pinot’ is French forpinecone — the grape clusters are sotight it looks like a pinecone. “Even ina good year, the grapes are so closetogether that when you pick them, the

skins break and juice runs all over. Ifthey’re split, there’s vinegar, and thenthe fruit flies are everywhere.”

Several people are assigned to pick-up duty, collect the filled bins regu-larly and take them directly to thedestemmer/crusher on the premises.Rich says that people enjoy learningabout the destemming and crushingprocess. He encourages people totaste the juice when it comes off thecrusher. “If you like Chardonnay orCabernet or whatever, remember theflavor of that grape,” he said. “Thatflavor should be in that wine. MostAmericans don’t know what thesegrapes taste like — Chardonnay hasan apple/pear flavor on the vine;Cabernet will have a strawberry orcherry flavor.”

Rich explains that if the grapes arefor white wine, the slurry goes direct-ly into a press. “For red wine, thegrapes are fermented on the skinsand go directly into tank. We mix themust with 50 ppm sulfite to kills thebacteria on the vines. It stuns thewild yeast. The sulfite isn’t quitestrong enough to kill it, but we wantto make sure the wild yeast is

knocked down so when we put thewine yeast in, there’s no competition.After 24 hours, we put the wine yeastin and it does its thing.”

White grapes aren’t fermented onthe skins, so they go into a separatebin, then sulfite is added. Those arepressed right away, and the juicegoes in the tank without skins. Fras-er says that the winemaker may de-cide to soak on the skins for a fewdays, which can produce more flavor,and the skins get softer whenpressed. This yields more juice, butthere’s a chance of more astringencyfrom the skins.

Lunch is served at around noon,and picking is finished up by 3 p.m.After each picking day, there’s a thor-ough clean up to prepare for nexttime. Picking goes on for about threeor four weekends, since varietiesripen at different rates.

“Timing is everything,” said Rich ashe talked about harvest. “Every daythe grapes are out there, we’re losingthem to critters.”

For more information on WycombeVineyards, visit www.wycombevine-yards.com

Wycombe Vineyard ~ Picking with family and friends

Before heading to the vineyard, Rich provides picking and safety orientation to thegroup of volunteers.

Photos by Mark Margraff, courtesy of Wycombe Vineyards The harvesting at Wycombe Vineyards is done by family and friends.

Patty Skinkis, OregonState University

IntroductionAn individual grape in-

florescence (flower clus-ter) contains hundredsof flowers. However, notall of those flowers willset fruit and develop intoberries. On average, 50percent of flowers withinan inflorescence set fruitand become berries. Anygreater percentage offruit set can lead to morecompact, tight clustersthat can be more proneto fungal infections, par-ticularly in those regionsthat have higher risk ofbotrytis and other rots.Fruit set that low (lessthan 30 percent fruit set)can lead to clusters withfew berries, and/or clus-ters with significant

berry variability. Thisphenomenon is oftencalled “hens and chicks”where large and smallclusters exist within acluster.Defining Poor Fruit Set

There are a number ofdifferent ways that poorfruit set can be defined.There can be loss of theentire inflorescence(flower cluster), termedinflorescence necrosisand loss of individualflowers within an inflo-rescence, or flowernecrosis. Some flowersmay abscise beforebloom, and still othersmay abort prior tobloom. Finally, there canbe flowers that set andform small shot berries

that never ripen and mayabscise before harvest.In some cases, theseshot berries are retained.If you see a significantlack of fruit set, youshould document anddescribe your observa-tions, as this may be in-dicative of a potentialcausal factor.

A Pinot Noir cluster atharvest exhibits signs ofpoor fruit set includingfew berries per clusterand small green (shot)berries.

Potential Causes ofPoor Fruit Set

When poor fruit set isobserved, it can usuallybe associated with fac-tors that influence thedevelopment of flowerparts between bud breakand bloom. Developmentof flower parts beginsshortly after bud breakand takes approximatelysix to eight weeks. Theconditions during bloomcan be a critical factor inhow many flowers per in-florescence set fruit. Be-cause nearly 50 percentof the flowers may notset fruit in a cluster, it isnormal to have someflower abscission. It isbest to wait until approx-

imately 10 to 12 days af-ter full bloom to observeflower clusters for fruitset estimates.

• Vine nutrition. Research to date indi-

cates that vine nutritionhas an impact on budfruitfulness (number offlower clusters in a budand on a shoot) devel-oped during the previousgrowing season as wellas floral differentiationin the current seasonprior to bloom. Carbon(C) and nitrogen (N) sta-tus of vines have beenimplicated as potentialcauses of poor fruit setand inflorescence necro-sis. Micronutrient defi-ciencies of boron (B) andzinc (Zn) can result inpoor fruit set as theyplay a role in early sea-son shoot growth, and inthe case of boron, pollentube generation which isrequired for fertilization.Water stress prior tobloom has also been as-sociated with poor fruitset, and this can be re-lated to the lack of shootgrowth and nutrient up-take prior to bloom. Theinfluence of vine C and Nis more complex and notcompletely understoodwith regard to floweringand fruit set. However,too high or too low vine Ncan lead to poor fruit setor inflorescence necro-sis. The relationship maynot be solely in total con-centrations of N in vinetissues, but rather theC:N status of the vine.This is directly related tovine vigor status.

• Vine vigor status.Vines with high vigortend to have higher N intheir tissues, makingC:N lower. Conversely,weak vines have lower Nand higher C, leading toa higher C:N ratio. In ei-ther case, having an un-balanced C:N status ofthe vine can lead to poorflower development andfruit set. This also re-lates to competing sinksin the vine: shoots vs.clusters. In overly vigor-

ous vines, shoot tips canout-compete clusters forresources pre-bloom andcan lead to reducedflower development andpoor fruit set. Converse-ly, a weak vine will havefewer resources in storedcarbon and nitrogen,leading to weak growth.The stronger sink in theweak vine (shoots) willpull resources from theflowers leading to poorfruit set. Therefore, it isbest to achieve good fruitset by managing vinesfor vine balance betweenvegetative and reproduc-tive growth. The goal is amoderately vigorousvine, not a weak or over-ly-vigorous vine.

• Weather. Overcast, cool, and wet

weather can reduce fruitset; however, the mecha-nism differs between thetimes when the weatheroccurs for differentprocesses (floral initia-tion, development,bloom, and fruit set).Cold and overcastweather prior to bloomcan lead to problems infloral development.These environmentalfactors are likely linkedto vine C and N status,particularly if growth isstunted during the earlystages of the growingseason. If the weather iscold at the time of bloom,the progression of bloommay be delayed and re-sult in reduced set. Fi-nally, rain during bloomcan physically inhibitpollination and fertiliza-tion by dilution of thestigmatic surface whichis to receive pollen fromthe flower’s anthers.

• Damaging Events.Anything that is drasti-cally damaging to thevine’s canopy can lead toproblems with poor fruitset. These events may in-clude early fall frost,winter damage, hail, orother methods of vinedefoliation (herbicide, in-sect feeding, etc). Duringfall, the vine is redirect-ing nutrients from itsleaves to store as re-serves in the trunk androots. If a severe fall frostis experienced well be-fore leaf-fall, there canbe a significant disrup-tion of this nutrient stor-age that will leave thevine in a weaker statethe following spring.Similarly, any event thatcan significantly defoli-ate a vine late in thegrowing season or in ear-

ly spring can lead to poorflower development andreduced fruit set by wayof reduced carbon as-similation and storage.

• Plant material. A few cultivars and

clones of Vitis viniferacan normally have poorfruit set. The underlyingcause is not certain. Insome rare instances,self-pollination incom-patibility may be an is-sue. Wild and seedlingVitis muscadinia vinesare often dioecious (haveeither only male or fe-male flowers). Therefore,male vines would haveflowers, but would lackfruit. Some of the oldermuscadine cultivarshave only female flowers,requiring either a monoe-cious vine or a male vineto be planted nearby.

Documenting PoorFruit Set

If you observe poorfruit set in your vine-yards, it is best to keep arecord of the situation. Ifyou are not currently do-ing some estimate offruit set, it is wise to be-gin the practice to devel-op a baseline of informa-tion for a given block. Tobegin observing fruit set,monitor clusters within10 to 12 days after fullbloom. Remember, near-ly 50 percent of the flow-ers may not set fruit, sothey can be found fallingfrom the clusters before,during, or after fruit set.Consider taking someobservational notes andphotos at fruit set forrough estimates. Also,fruit set can be estimat-ed through clusterweight data. Records ofberries/cluster andberry weight are certain-ly good to have in yourrecords, but this re-quires significant sam-pling across blocks andis very time consumingand not practical on aproduction scale. If youobserve inflorescencenecrosis and/or signifi-cant flower necrosis,make note of the blockand flag the vines for fu-ture investigation.Record weather datafrom bud break tobloom. Consult yourvineyard nutritionalanalysis records andpruning weights to de-termine any changesover time in vine vigor asindicated by yields andpruning weights.

Causes of poor fruit set in grapes

A Pinot Noir cluster at har-vest exhibits signs of poorfruit set including fewberries per cluster andsmall green (shot) berries.

Flowers may abort prior tobloom, and the flowersshown here are separatingat the top (cap). These aretermed “star flowers” andwill abort.

Very poor fruit set is visi-ble as shown here 12days after full bloom.

Photos by Patty Skinkis,Oregon State University. Grapes 12

by Andy Allen - ViticultureExtension Associate

Part 1 ~ Non-Chemi-cal Controls

There are many chal-lenges to successfulwinegrape production inthe Midwest, but perhapsthe greatest of these chal-lenges, one whichplagues longtime growersand neophytes alike, isvineyard disease manage-ment. There are severalreasons for this; one isthat there are so manydiseases affecting grapes,and a large percentage ofthem appear to be activehere. Another reason forwhy vineyard diseasesare so problematic in theMidwest is that the cli-mate is just right forthem. During the growingseason we have hot daysand warm nights, highrelative humidity, andfrequent periods of highrainfall. This provides anideal environment for dis-ease organisms to infectand reproduce, resultingin high disease pressurein our vineyards. Manag-ing these diseases re-quires 1) knowing theones with which you aredealing, 2) knowing whatchemical materials andcultural methods providesome measure of control,and 3) designing an effec-tive control strategy us-ing these materials andmethods.

The Relationship of Vine, Pathogen,

and ClimateWhen discussing plant

diseases pathologists re-fer to the “Disease Trian-gle” (Fig. 1). The triangleillustrates the conditionsrequired for a plant dis-ease to occur. It basicallyrepresents that infectionoccurs when a suscepti-ble host (in this case agrapevine or grape berry)comes into contact withan effective pathogen un-

der environmental condi-tions that are favorablefor the pathogen’s growthand reproduction. Im-plied in this is that dis-ease can then be reducedor prevented by interfer-ing with one of the threefactors involved. We wantto grow the grapevines, sotaking them out of theequation is out of thequestion. But we can se-lect grapevine cultivarsthat offer some resistanceto a particular pathogen.We cannot change theweather patterns or over-all climate of the area,but we can affect the en-vironment immediatelysurrounding the vine orwithin the canopythrough vineyard andcanopy managementpractices. Finally, we canaffect the pathogen itselfby reducing the amountof inoculum or killing alarge percentage of (or theentire) pathogen popula-tion through chemicalmeans (for pathogenswith known chemicalcontrols).

Non-chemical Disease Control

There are several vine-yard management prac-tices that can help reducethe amount of diseasepressure in the vineyard.Some of these take placebefore the vines are everplanted. One is selectinga vineyard site with fullexposure to sunlightthroughout the day andthat permits good airflowthrough the vineyard.These two site factors af-fect the Favorable Condi-tions corner of the Dis-ease Triangle by provid-ing an environment with-in the vineyard that isless conducive to diseasedevelopment by promot-ing more rapid drying notonly of wet grapevine fo-liage and fruit but also ofgroundcover vegetation,

thus reducing humiditywithin the vineyard. An-other preplanting prac-tice that can help reducedisease pressure is culti-var selection. As previ-ously mentioned, this af-fects the Susceptible Hostportion of the Triangle.No cultivar is totally im-mune to any and all dis-eases and under highenough disease pressure

even Norton/Cynthiana,which has high levels ofresistance to most of thecommon fungal diseases,can become infected.However, by choosingcultivars that offer someresistance, the incidenceof disease can be reducedor the severity lessened.Good site and resistantcultivar selection are pas-sive methods of diseasemanagement that giveyou a good starting point

in your disease manage-ment program withoutadded expense in thatthey are there working inyour favor night and daywithout any further inputfrom you.

Other non-chemicalpractices that impactdisease are active meth-ods in that you have toprovide some labor in-put. Two of these impact

the Effective Pathogenportion of the DiseaseTriangle by removingthe amount of inoculumavailable to cause infec-tion. The first practice iseliminating alternatehosts for grapevine dis-eases from around orwithin the vineyard.This can be accom-plished by removingwild grapevines fromwoods in the near vicin-ity of the vineyard. Wild

vines can be overwinter-ing sites for many fungaland perhaps viralpathogens and can serveas sources of disease in-oculum in the vineyard.But wild vines are notthe only potential alter-nate hosts.

Some viruses that af-fect grapevines, such astomato ringspot virus,also infect numerousother plant species, someof which may be in thevineyard, such as thecommon dandelion. Forthose in warmer regionswhere Pierce’s Disease(PD) is a problem, Xylellafastidiosa, the bacteriathat causes PD, also hasa large list of alternatehosts, including suchcommon species as oak,sycamore, wild blackber-ry, and Bermudagrass.In the same mannerpracticing good vineyardsanitation by removingdead or diseased portionsof the vine, whether it ismummified berries/clus-ters or infected wood onthe vine, can reduce theamount of disease inocu-lum in the vineyard. Pho-mopsis is one of the mostcommon diseases we seein vineyards in this re-gion. It can be found inmany vineyards on thelower two to three intern-

odes of canes. Sincethese are the portions ofthe canes retained forfruiting spurs, where in-fected spurs must be re-tained for fruiting thedisease inoculum is keptalso. Phomopsis alsooverwinters on deadwood. Removing deadspurs or other deadwood, especially on oldervines where it tends toaccumulate, can help re-duce the amount of in-oculum that will be avail-able to cause new infec-tions in the coming sea-son. Likewise with blackrot and mummifiedberries or clusters stillhanging in the canopy af-ter harvest. These are theprimary sources of over-wintering inoculum inthe vineyard. Simplypruning them off anddropping them to theground will reduce boththe amount of sporesthat are released the fol-lowing spring and thelength of time in whichthey are released.Canopy ManagementFinally, using good

canopy managementpractices such as shootthinning, shoot position-ing, and fruiting zone leafremoval can create a less

Integrated Disease ManagementDeveloping an Integrated Disease Control

Program for Your Vineyard

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Management 11

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favorable microclimatewithin the canopy for dis-ease development by al-lowing more sunlight andair movement into thecanopy. Vigorous vineshave dense canopies withless sun exposure, higherhumidity and reduced airflow within the canopy(Allen, 2011) compared tomore open canopies. Thisresults in the surfaces ofinterior leaves and fruitdrying off more slowly af-ter rains and dews thanthose in more opencanopies, which can leadto a more favorable envi-ronment for disease de-velopment, particularlyfruit rots. Good fruit zoneexposure can also helpreduce the incidence andseverity of powderymildew on clusters ofsusceptible varieties.

Thinning out non-countshoots reduces the num-ber of shoots and theirassociated leaf area, thusdecreasing the thicknessof the canopy.

Proper shoot position-ing according to trellissystem (vertically uprightfor Vertical Shoot Posi-tioned trellises, verticallydownward for High Cor-don and Geneva DoubleCurtain trellises) movesthe remaining shoots andassociated leaf area awayfrom the fruiting zone,preventing the formationof a thick shell of foliagethat blocks light and airmovement and interfereswith spray penetrationand deposition within theinterior of the canopy andon the clusters. But of allthe canopy managementpractices, fruiting zoneleaf removal gives thegreatest benefit for dis-ease management in thatit opens a window around

the clusters to allow moresunlight penetration andair movement in the fruit-ing zone. It also increasesthe ability of appliedsprays to penetrate intothe interior of the canopyand provide better cover-age and protection of thefruit. In the 1985 Califor-nia study of canopy man-agement practices andBotrytis bunch rot(Gubler, et. al. 1987),fruiting zone leaf removalby itself greatly reducedthe incidence and severi-ty of Botrytis bunch rot inChenin blanc wine-grapes. In a similar studyin 1992 in a couple ofcommercial Missourivineyards on the effectsof leaf removal on bunchrot development (English,et. al., 1993) leaf removalnot only by itself drasti-

cally reduced both the in-cidence and severity ofbunch rot in unsprayedSeyval blanc vines, butalso greatly improved thelevel of control achievedin sprayed vines com-pared to vines whereleaves had not beenremoved.

Source: The MidwestGrower, Spring/Sum-mer 2012, University ofMissouri

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Management from 10

Nearly half of the 55unusual winegrape vari-eties in a plot at the UCKearney AgriculturalResearch and ExtensionCenter in Parlier dis-played enough promis-ing characteristics toprompt a cooperatingvintner to make 25small lots of wine.

The research at Kear-ney is designed to ex-pand the wine indus-try’s options in the SanJoaquin Valley, current-ly California’s top grapegrowing district in termsof production, but low-est in terms of price.

“Most of the popularwine varietals — merlot,cabernet sauvignon,chardonnay — are attheir best in somewhatcooler climates. So weare looking for grapesthat make superior fruitin warm climates,” saidMatthew Fidelibus, UCCooperative Extensionspecialist in the Depart-ment of Viticulture andEnology at UC Davis.

Fidelibus is supervis-ing the production atKearney of winegrapevarieties that were col-lected from countriessuch as Spain, Greeceand Italy, where the cli-mate mimics the valley’shot days and warmevenings. In the re-search plot, the vinesexhibit a wide range ofvigor, productivity andfruit quality.

While Fidelibus isgathering data on eachvariety’s yield potential,

cluster architecture,amenability to mecha-nization and other viti-cultural characteristics,winemaker Constella-tion Brands is monitor-ing the winegrapes’ po-tential to produce dis-tinctive, flavorful Cali-fornia wines.

“We need a break-through variety,” saidOren Kaye, a researchand development wine-maker at ConstellationBrands. “Many of thewines we producedshowed significantpromise.”

Currently, 80 percent

of California wine ismade from fewer than10 types of winegrapes,with the most popularwhite being chardonnayand the most popularred cabernet sauvignon.

Kaye says the marketis ripe for somethingnew, perhaps fianio, a

white wine with a fresh,young style evoking fla-vors of melon and grape-fruit, or the stylisticallyunique marselan noir, ared wine with brightcherry flavor that pops.

“Millennials own to-morrow,” Kaye said.“They are more accept-

ing of things that arenew, as long as it isgood. At a restaurant,they think nothing ofpulling out a smartphone to look up awine they haven’theard of before.”

Source: University ofCalifornia

ConclusionWhile we cannot con-

trol weather conditions,we can do our best tomanage vineyards for ahealthy, balanced state.When this is achieved,even poor years willcause only a minor prob-lem with flowering andfruit set. Where there areconsiderable problemswith over- or under-vig-orous vines and/or poorfruit set, the problems invegetative and reproduc-tive balance can be diffi-cult to bring back intoequilibrium and maytake more than one sea-son to achieve.

For more information,visit: www.extension.org/pages/33106/causes-of-poor-fruit-set-in-grapes

Source: www.exten-sion.org

Grapes from 9

Vintner creates new wines from unusual grape varieties

by Ed Hellman, TexasAgriLife Extension

Harvesting wine grapesat optimal fruit maturity,or ripeness, presentsmany challenges, not theleast of which is accurateassessment of fruitripening. Much of thedifficulty with discus-sions of grape ripeness isthat there is often an im-plied standard, but in re-ality, ripeness is subjec-tive. There are two issuesto address: 1) how do wedefine grape maturity,and 2) how is maturitymeasured.

What is Grape Maturity?

Numerous winegraperipeness indices havebeen investigated and afew analytical laborato-ries are attempting toquantify grape ripenessthrough complex chemi-cal analyses of flavor andaroma constituents, phe-nolics, color compounds,sugars, acids, and pH.But there will never be asingle set of numbersthat defines ripeness for aparticular grape varietyunder all circumstancesand for all purposes.Ripeness is defined bythe individual and is pri-marily a function of the

intended use for thegrapes. Often, an individ-ual’s definition ofripeness is also influ-enced by what is “typical”for that variety in his orher growing region. Somebenchmark of ripeness isachieved in one or moreseasons and all subse-quent crops are com-pared to that benchmark.

Winemakers commonlyhave a target for graperipeness they would likethe fruit to achieve for thewine they plan to pro-duce. That target canvary, even within thesame grape variety, de-pending on the type orstyle of wine that will bemade. For example, onewinery may prefer to pro-duce a wine emphasizingred fruit characteristicswhile another winerywould prefer riper blackfruit characteristics.Grape ripening is a con-tinuous process and theprogression of aroma andflavor characteristics forred grapes is shown inFigure 1. Timing of har-vest, therefore, is a mat-ter of determining thatpoint along the ripeningcontinuum that best fits

Fruit Maturity Evaluation of Wine Grapes for Harvest Planning

Figure 1. Evolution of flavorants in Cabernet Sauvignon (from Bisson, 2001).

Maturity 14

the winemaker’s objective for the wine.Measuring Ripeness

The ability to harvest grapes at thedesired fruit ripeness is dependentupon one’s current knowledge of theprogression in fruit maturity occurringin the vineyard. Weather conditions willcause seasonal differences in the rateand characteristics of grape ripening.Varieties and even blocks of the samevariety are likely to have different pat-terns of ripening. The only way to knowwhere the fruit is on the ripening con-tinuum is to collect samples of the fruitperiodically and assess ripeness.

Fruit maturity of grapes is commonlymonitored by periodically measuring sol-uble solids content of ripening berrieswith a handheld refractometer. But sug-ar content is not necessarily related toaccumulation of flavor and aroma com-pounds. Tasting fruit for a subjective as-sessment of flavor development typicallyaugments the quantitative measure ofsugar content. Such simple techniquescan be very useful indicators of grapematurity, but only if the sample tested isappropriate. Too often however, conclu-sions about grape ripening status aredrawn from very small, nonrandom and

unrepresentative fruit samples. The keyto a good estimate of fruit maturity is tocollect berry samples that are truly rep-resentative of the vineyard block to beharvested.

Fruit samples should be taken weeklybeginning about three weeks beforeharvest is anticipated. More frequentsampling should be done as the antici-pated harvest date becomes closer, par-ticularly if there are changes in theweather that could affect ripening orcondition of the fruit.

Sample Preparation and AnalysisAccurate assessment of fruit ripeness

also depends on proper sample prepa-ration and analytical procedures. Fruitsamples should be processed quickly,preferably within a few hours of collec-tion, and processing procedures shouldsimulate winery conditions as closely aspossible. The fruit can be crushed andpressed by hand, taking care to crusheach berry thoroughly. Large samplesare more easily crushed with a smallroller-crusher and pressed with a smallbench-top press. Crushing should beaccomplished without breaking theseeds. The crushed fruit can be hand-

squeezed tightly through cheesecloth toobtain both the free run and thepressed juice. Fruit constituents are notevenly distributed in the pulp of theberry so a thorough pressing or squeez-ing is necessary with all of the juicecombined. A common mistake is to useonly the free run juice for analysis,which tends to have higher sugar andtitratable acidity, lower pH, and lowerpotassium than fully expressed juice.Juice yields from commercial process-ing can be approximated by pressinghard enough to obtain approximately300 ml of juice per pound of fruit. Thiscorresponds to about 160 gallons/ton.

Red winegrape samples are best pre-pared by crushing, de-stemming, andmacerating the skins for 1-2 hours atroom temperature before pressing. Ripered grapes rapidly release the antho-cyanin pigments from the skin uponcrushing and pressing.

Juice samples should be temporarilystored in sealed, full containers and al-lowed to settle to remove suspendedsolids. Refrigeration aids settling anddelays enzymatic browning. Browningcan be reduced by the addition of 25mg/liter each of sulfur dioxide andascorbic acid (vitamin C), which alsohelps maintain sample freshness forsensory evaluation. Pectolytic enzymescan be added to enhance juice clarity, ifnecessary. A sensory evaluation of aro-mas and flavors should also be con-ducted. Samples can be held refrigerat-ed in full containers for up to 1-2 weeksfor comparison with later samples.

Soluble solids are measured as de-grees Brix using either a refractometeror a hydrometer. Refractometers shouldbe calibrated following the manufactur-

er’s instructions. Accurate hydrometersare calibrated to narrow ranges of 5 to10 degrees and are subdivided to 0.1degree units. Inexpensive hydrometerstypically have a large range such as 0-30 degrees and have other scales suchas ‘potential alcohol’. These hydrome-ters are not very accurate. Both hy-drometer and refractometer readingsare usually calibrated at 20ºC (68ºF) soif the juice sample is at a different tem-perature, a correction must be made.

Laboratory procedures for determiningsoluble solids, titratable acidity, andjuice pH are found in several books. Theaccuracy of a chemical analysis is highlydependent upon following appropriateprocedures and maintaining properlycalibrated equipment. Common errorswith refractometer measurements in-clude failing to calibrate with distilledwater and not making the necessarytemperature corrections. Titratable acid-ity measurements can be inaccurate be-cause of careless pipetting of the sample,failure to neutralize the acidity in the wa-ter before adding the juice sample, over-titration, and failure to calibrate the pHmeter properly. Common errors in pHmeasurement include failure to stan-dardize the pH meter, disregarding tem-perature correction, and the use of wornor insensitive electrodes.

Sensory evaluation should be con-ducted on the juice sample collected us-ing the processing procedures describedabove. Crushing and pressing extractsaroma, flavor, and color from the grapeskins. The juice sample should be eval-uated for both intensity and quality ofaroma and flavor, acidity and taste bal-ance, and color.

Source: www.extension.org

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Maturity from 13

A pH meter with calibration solutions.Photo by Ed Hellman, Texas AgriLife

Extension

Digital refractometer.Photo by Lane Greer, Oklahoma State

University

Viticulture Field DayUniversity of Missouri, Columbia, MO

June 5, 2012

Discussion at the vineyard tour included demonstra-tions of wildlife control.

Photos by Kathy LaScala

Dr. Reid Smeda, Weed Research Scientist, University ofMissouri – Columbia, did a presentation on “Weeds inGrapes: What’s Out There and What to Do About It”.

Approximately 65 people from Missouri,Arkansas and Kansas attended theViticulture Field Day presented by theMissouri Grape Growers Associationand the ICCVE.

Phillip and Jason Gerke. Jason is the President of the Missouri GrapeGrowers Association.

Dr. Turner Sutton, Apple-Grape Pathologist, NC StateUniversity, presented “Summer Bunch Rot Managementin a Strange Season”.

Attendees were able to tour Les Bourgeois Vineyards in the afternoon to learn about integrated wildlife damagemanagement.

Attendees had a chance to talk with Dr. Reid Smeda afterhis presentation.

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by Sally Colby“We’ve had bird prob-

lems for a long time,”said Jerry Forest, ownerof Buckingham ValleyVineyards. “It’s one ofthe most serious prob-lems we have in thevineyard. Our biggestproblem birds are star-lings and robins. Therobins never leave —they are here year-round, and have two orthree broods a year.”

Forest, who sharedhis experience with birdcontrol at the recentEastern Winery Exposi-tion, noted that birdsare an especially chal-lenging problem insmaller, isolated vine-yards adjacent to wood-ed areas. In addition tothe year-round birdsForest deals with, anearby park is haven to3 million resident star-lings that seem to knowjust when the grapesare juicy.

Forest explained thatthere are several waysto control birds:acoustical, visual,physical and repellents.“The effectiveness ofany of these isn’t con-sistent,” he said, “butthey all help.”

Visuals such asscarecrows, windmills,reflective strips andstrobe lights may be ef-fective for a while, butnothing works all thetime. Forest noted that

the advantage of visu-als is that they appealto visitors. “They seethese things and thinkyou’re doing something‘green,’” he said. “Itlooks good, and neigh-bors love it because it’squiet.”

Forest uses a propanecanon that’s pro-grammed to work fromdawn to dusk. “Youhave to move themaround to make themeffective,” he said.“Neighbors don’t likethem much, but youcan use it in ag securi-ty zone. Do anythingyou can to protect yourbusiness.”

Although the canonworks fairly well, Forestsays that physical ex-clusion — in the form ofnetting — has workedwell for him. “Netting isthe best single way toguarantee protection,”he said. “We love net-ting but it can be ex-pensive in materials,and in putting it on andtaking it off. Nettingcan interfere withspraying, so you haveto have everything donebefore the netting goeson.” And despite hisbest efforts to ensureno entry points forbirds, Forest says thatthe birds can some-times still get in. Healso noted that if deerare present in the vine-yard, antlers can be-

come caught in nettingand create huge tears.Forest uses over-the-top netting that meas-ures 14-feet wide andallows it to drop to theground, which makes ithard for birds to get un-derneath.

Some growers usekestrel breeding boxesto encourage predatorybirds that will go afterstarlings and robins.Other growers have hadsuccess with soundsystems that aremounted from polesand operate with solarcells. Forest noted thatsystems that includepredator sounds aremore likely to be effec-tive, especially if thespeakers are moved todifferent parts of thevineyard throughoutthe season to keep thebirds confused.

“These can be pro-grammed with hun-dreds of sounds — potsand pans, chainsaws,screaming owls,” saidForest. “The drawbackis that these systemsare expensive, but ifthey work, they’reworth it.”

Forest encourages alot of noise in his vine-yard, and invites em-ployees and friends tobring ATVs and bikes toride around in the vine-yard. “The birds don’tlike it and will eventu-ally leave,” he said. “Wealso have an aggressiveshooting program, andencourage the local po-lice to come to practiceshooting.”

Jeff White of Glen

Manor Vineyard in Vir-ginia says that he start-ed to see numerousbirds in the mid 1990s.

“I used mylar tape,distress calls and someother things,” he said.“Everything worked fora while, but then didn’t

work. Scare eye bal-loons work for a while,but tend to lose air andrequire time to refill.”White constructedhawk perches using pvcpiping, but says he has-n’t seen any hawkshunting birds.

“Our mission is toripen berries sufficien-cy to make a great wine,so we don’t want to pickgrapes before they’reripe,” said White. “Atthis point, bird nettingis the way to go — ithelps me sleep atnight.” With four full-time employees, Whitehas the labor it takes toput the nets on. “Whatyou have to keep inmind is that birds aretrying to find an easysource of food, so thegoal is to get them to

find it somewhere else.After veraison, there is-n’t too much work, sothe nets go on.”

With Glen Manor’sproximity to theShenandoah NationalPark, birds are a grow-ing problem every year.As the vineyard hasgrown, White has es-sentially increased thebirds’ food source froma 2-acre vineyard to a14.5-acre vineyard. Healso found that birdsare hanging around inthe vineyard longer inthe season. “They usedto be gone after verai-son,” he said, “but inlate October, they’restill there.”

Bird netting is a cost-ly investment, so prop-

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Minimizing damage from birds and other unauthorized vineyard visitors

Damage 18

er storage is important.“Nets have to be storedto keep mice out,” saidWhite. “The drape-overnetting comes insideand is stored in largecanvas bags in thebarn.” White says thathe stored some nets ina walk-in cooler, butfound that the nets al-ready had mice inthem. He now usesmothballs to deter micein stored netting.White’s side netting isrolled up and connect-ed to trellises, and willbe kept outside year-round. White noted thatit’s important from thestart to not allow a res-ident population ofbirds know that grapesare present. “I put updeer fence the first yearto train them away fromthe vineyard,” he said.“Same with the birdnetting.”

Despite the care hetakes when putting net-ting on, taking it offand during storage,White says that ripsand tears are in-evitable. “Raccoons caneat through it,” he said.“I use string to tie netsback together.” Whitesays that it’s important

to check nets daily be-cause birds can enterfrom underneath. Heuses clips to secure thenetting on all sides toprevent birds from en-tering from any direc-tion. Although nettingcan interfere with aspray program, Whitesays that by veraison,which is when he putsup netting, he’s fin-ished with spraying.

Dr. Peter Oldak,whose Jewell TowneVineyards are sur-rounded by forestedland in New Hampshire,has found that plantingrows closest to thewoods with whitegrapes — the most at-tractive grapes to birds— is the key to delayingentrance of birds to thevineyard. He has alsohad success withBirdGard. “When it’sactive and squawking,we have hawks lookingfor the injured bird,” hesaid. “Customers ontour love to hear mi-crochip chirping away.”

Oldak noted that hisvineyard is in an areathat receives a lot ofhurricane rain in fall,which coincides withfall migrations. He’s

aware of this activityand can be prepared tomonitor bird presencebefore they become aproblem.

In addition to dealingwith birds, Oldak re-mains aware of othervineyard predators.“Know what is gettinginto your vineyard,” hesaid. “Look for foot-prints, teeth marks anduse a game camera. Be-ing able to identifywhat’s coming in helps

determine what the pre-vention plan should be.”

For large animalssuch as deer andmoose, fencing is themost effective first de-fense. Vertical fencingworks well, but angledfencing is better be-cause deer don’t knowhow to handle the an-gle. Deer fencing re-quires maintenance andmust be installed cor-rectly for maximum ef-fectiveness. Oldak saysthat while electric fenc-ing can be effective incontrolling deer, it hasto be properly groundedand free of vegetationthat can cause shorts inthe circuit.

Oldak has had somesuccess with chemicals,but noted that such de-terrents require repeatapplications. He saysthat while odor fromperfumed soaps andhuman hair is margin-ally effective, coyote

urine works well tokeep large animals outof vineyards. Dogs arealso a good deterrent,so Oldak encouragesemployees to bring dogsto work. “Dogs scentmark,” he said. “It’s aneffective method ofkeeping deer away.”

Another solution isguns, which may re-quire a permit to usefor ag land protection.Oldak joined the localfish and game club, puta notice up invitingdeer hunters and got apositive response fromhunters willing to pur-sue problem deer.

For vineyards with thenets, Oldak says rac-coons can be a problem.“They get under netsand tear them,” he said.“One of the patternsyou see with raccoons isa lot of eaten grapes be-hind the trellis. Theystrip a cluster, eat the

pulp and leave theskins.” Althoughgroundhogs don’t causea problem with grapes,they burrow and injurevines. “It’s the samewith opossums,” hesaid, “and skunks alsoburrow in the sod orgrass looking for grubs.They can really mess upa mid-row area. Rabbitsare also a big problem— they like to nibble atyoung vines.” Oldaksuggests grow tubes orcages to prevent smallrodent damage.

Oldak says that if avineyard is close to astream or river, snap-ping turtles come to thevineyard to lay eggs. “Ifyou’re putting in newvineyard, they disturbthe new vines, thenthey come back and layeggs,” he said. “The so-lution is to pick themup and take them fora drive.”

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Plugs/Cuttings575 Greenhouse Supplies580 Groundcover605 Heating610 Help Wanted680 Irrigation700 Lawn & Garden805 Miscellaneous820 Nurseries840 Nursery Supplies855 Orchard Supplies910 Plants950 Real Estate For Sale955 Real Estate Wanted

1035 Seeds & Nursery1040 Services Offered1130 Tractors1135 Tractors, Par ts &

Fish

Financial Services

Fish

Financial Services

Nursery Stock

Fruits & Berries

Nursery Stock

Fruits & Berries

ZETTS FISH FARM & HATCHERIESLarge Selection of Game Fish

Pond Equipment & Supplies, Aquatic Plants

Truck, Air, U.P.S. Parcel Post DeliverySEND FOR COMPLETE CATALOG

P.O. BOX 239, DRIFTING, PA 16834

PHONE: 814-345-5357

www.zettsfish.com

LIVE GAME FISHOldest Fish Hatchery

Estab. 1900

Koi

Specializing in Edible Landscaping.Blueberries, Blackberries, Raspberries,

Grapes, and Fruit Trees.TN: 931-467-3600 • Fax 931-467-3062

email [email protected]

®

Refrigeration Refrigeration

AMERICAN WHOLESALE CO.NEW/USED WALK-IN-COOLER ~ FREEZER BOXES ~

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Phone: (216) 426-8882 • www.awrco.com

October/November IssueADVERTISING DEADLINEThursday, September 27th

For as little as $9.25 - place a classified ad inWine & Grape Grower

Call Peg at 1-800-836-2888or 518-673-0111

or email [email protected]

Announcements

CHECK YOUR AD - ADVER-TISERS should check theirads. Lee Publications, Inc.shall not be liable for typo-graphical, or errors in publica-tion except to the extent of thecost of the first months inser-tion of the ad, and shall alsonot be liable for damages dueto failure to publish an ad.Adjustment for errors is limit-ed to the cost of that portion ofthe ad wherein the erroroccurred. Report any errorsto Peg Patrei at 518-673-3237 ext. 111 or 800-836-2888.

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ADVERTISERSGet the best response fromyour advertisements byincluding the condition, age,price and best calling hours.Also we always recommendinsertion for at least 2 timesfor maximum benefits. CallPeg at 1-800-836-2888

YARD SIGNS: 16x24 full colorwith stakes, double sided.Stakes included. Only $15.00each. Call your sales repre-sentive or Beth at Lee Publi-cations 518-673-0101 [email protected]. Pleaseallow 7 to 10 business dayswhen ordering.

NEED BUSINESS CARDS?Full color glossy, heavy stock.250 ($45.00); 500 ($60.00);1,000 ($75.00). Call yoursales representative or LeePublications 518-673-0101Beth [email protected]

Bird Control

BIRD REPELLERSGREAT EAGLE

(44” Wingspan) $99.95

BLACK EAGLE(26” Wingspan) $59.95

BLACKHAWK(13” Wingspan) $29.95

OLOF’STRAVELMAPS7037 WYANDOTTE ST. E.WINDSOR, ON N8S 1R1

CANADA519-944-9196

Fax: 519-944-8331Email: [email protected]

Website: www.olofmaps.comASK FOR MORE INFORMATION

BuildingMaterials/Supplies

INDUSTRIAL INSULATION.New, 6 inches thick, 6 feetwide and various linked rolls.Best offer. 315-651-0248

Collectibles

WANTED TO BUY: Old Gritnewspapers (not the Gritmagazine). 518-568-5115

Farm Equipment

1987 WEED BADGER Model2550 SST, 3pt. hitch, workswell, $2,800. 740-310-1606

Fencing

R & R FENCING LLC• Equine• Livestock• Post Driving• Pasture & Paddock

DesignBRIAN ROSS

585-599-34899479 Alleghany Rd

Corfu NY 1403615 Years of Professional

Fencing Installations“Quality You Can Trust”

Fish

FISH HATCHERYFalconwood

FarmsLive Fish for Ponds

& Restaurants845-832-6086

For Sale

• Hi-Top Work Rubbers#1300 - $17.00/pr

• 10” Closure Boots#1400 - $22.00/pr

• 17” Knee Boots#1500 - $26.00/pr

Napless Distributors(888)) 223-8608

www.NaplesDistributors.com

Sizes S, M, L, XL,2X, & 3X

TINGLEY

Generators

NOBODY beats ourprices on VoltmasterPTO Alternators, Sizes12kw-75kw. EnginesSets and PortablesAvailable.MOELLER SALES1-800-346-2348

ONAN PTO Generator model25.0UT-3S 25KW singlephase factory trailer EC$1,400. Ladysmith, VA 22546.804-867-7664

Heating

Jewelers

Beautiful Custom DesignedGold or Silver Masonic Rings.Made by a Brother for a Broth-er. Jonathan’s Jewelry, 417BEast Main Street, North Wilks-boro, NC 28659. Phone 336-667-0144

Lawn & Garden

2003 KUBOTA BX 15003 cylinder diesel. Excellentcondition. 1075 hours. 54”mower, mid & rear PTO, 3 pthitch, 4WD, bucket loader &box scraper. $7,995 OBO.518-392-2349 [email protected] forphotos.

Orchard Equipment

FOR SALE: New Hy-Loorchard heaters, $70.00 each.434-263-5392

(800) 836-2888PO Box 121, 6113 State Hwy. 5

Palatine Bridge, NY 13428

Fax: (518) 673-2381E-mail: [email protected]

Rentals

Tasting Room Supplies

Vineyard EquipmentRentals

Tasting Room Supplies

Vineyard Equipment

Waterwell Drilling Waterwell Drilling

FORESTRY CUTTER FOR RENT

• Blaze Wildlife Trails • Trim Tree Lines• Clean Up Old Orchards

• Reclaim Grown Up Meadows(For Rent or Custom Hire)

Call Lamar 315-246-1154

WholesaleWe Ship Nationwide

Orange,, VAA 22960

1-888-917-5192 • 540-672-4900 Visit www.ridgeviewnh.com

Ridgeview New Holland, Inc.Ridgeview New Holland, Inc.

Loftness 8 Ft.Heavy Duty FlailMower, Ideal for

Orchards-Vineyards,Very Good Condition

$995

2nd & 3rd Generation Certified Drillers

E-mail announcements ofyour regional event(s) to:[email protected]. Wemust receive your informa-tion, plus a contact phonenumber, prior to the dead-line that’s noted under theAnnouncements heading atthe beginning of these Clas-sifieds.

*****AUG 6

2012 International ColdClimate Wine CompetitionAll entries must be submit-ted online by 4:30 pm CDTon Mon., Aug. 6, 2012. Pre-registered entries mustarrive by 4:30 pm on Fri.,Aug. 10.. Contact GaryGardner, 612-624-3606 or e-mail [email protected] Internet athttp://mngrapegrowers.com/competition.

AUG 8Advanced Wine Analysis

WorkshopWSU Tri-Cities, Richland.$100. Registration request-ed. Contact Debbie Schwen-son, 509-372-7224 or [email protected].

AUG 9Michigan Grape and WineIndustry Council Meeting

Kellogg Hotel & ConferenceCenter, East Lansing, MI.1:30-4 pm. On Internet atwww.michiganwines.com

AUG 15Wine Fault Protection

WSU Tri-Cities, Richland.Wine Fault Protection - Acid-ity, Phenolics (White WinePhenolics), Color (Pink,Brown) - Instructors: Dr.Jim Harbertson, Dr. RichardLarsen, Dr. Thomas Henick-Kling. On Internet atwww.wawgg.org.

AUG 16International Cold Climate

Wine CompetitionUniversity of MN ContinuingEducation Conference Cen-ter. On Internet atwww.mngrapegrowers.com/competition.

Calendarof Events

4 EASY WAYS TO PLACE AWINE & GRAPE GROWER

CLASSIFIED AD1. PHONE IT IN

Just give Peggy acall at 1-800-836-2888

FAX IT INFor you MasterCard, Visa, American

Express or Discover customers... Fill out the form attached

completely and fax to Peggy at(518) 673-2381

2.

MAIL IT INFill out the attached form,

calculate the cost, enclose your checkor credit card information and mail to:

Wine & Grape Grower ClassifiedsPO Box 121,

Palatine Bridge, NY 13428

3.$13.45

$14.35

$9.25 $9.55

$14.95

$14.05

$13.15

$12.25

$11.35

$10.45$10.15

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Cost for each Issue:$9.25 for the first 14 words,30¢ each additional word.

(Phone #’s count as one word)# of issues to run______ Total Cost $________

Real Estate For Sale

HUNTING/CAMP-ING PROPERTY

Southwestern VirginiaBland County62+/- ACRES

ATV Trails, SpringsDeer, Turkey, Grouse

Adjoins National Forest$90,000

Several PurchaseOptions Available. Call

540-255-9112

ORGANIC DAIRY FARM/CREAMERY, 318 acres. 8miles from Cooperstown,NY.Two 3 bedroom homes, 100cow freestall, Double 6 milk-ing parlor. Many outbuildingfor young stock, hay & equip-ment. New cheese room,aging facility & solar electricsystem. 200 acres fenced forgrazing. $998,500. 607-286-9362

Services Offered

CANVAS PRINTS: All sizes.Mounted or Unmounted. Justbring in or send us your photoat Lee Publications. Call 518-673-0101 [email protected]

Services Offered

WEDDING INVITATIONSprinted and designed by LeePublications: 100 (4.5x6) Invi-tations including envelopeswith 100 RSVP postcards.Only $150.00 +tax. We canalso do smaller and largeramounts. Call for pricing anddesigns 518-673-0101, orb s n y d e r @ l e e p u b . c o mAlso Save the Dates • ShowerInvitations • Baby Announce-ments and more.

Sprayers

Parts, Sales & Service for Durand-Wayland

& MyersArendtsville Garage

135A Main St. • Arendtsville, PA 17303

717-677-7416

Vegetable Supplies

FOR SALE: NEST/STACKROPAK HARVESTING LUGS.Herb Barber & Sons, 800-388-5384 or 716-326-4692, email:[email protected] w w. h e r b - b a r b e r - s o n s .com/ropak.htm

Winery Equipment

ALL EQUIPMENT NEEDEDfor a boutique winery fromcrush to the store shelf.Includes crusher, press,tanks, bottler, filter, pumps,labeler and more. 1500 gal.storage for ferment or storage.Idaho - 208-599-0074

FOR SALE: Stainless SteelTanks, 2-1,550 gallon coolingjacketed tanks, $2.50/gallon.1-2,300 gallon storage tank,1-Double tank 1,000gal. &1,500gal., 1-3,500 gallontank- $1 per gallon. Call Fredat 607-868-4884

The newest publicationin the Lee Publications, Inc. family of

agricultural papersWine and Grape Grower will offer fea-

tures, news and information on growinggrapes, and making and selling wines.

As readers of Country Folks andCountry Folks Grower you know thevalue of our publications as you run andimprove your business.

If your current business or futureplans include grapes or wine you cannow have a publication with thosesame benefits for that branch of yourbusiness.

Subscribe today and don’t miss asingle issue.

If you have friends or family whowould be interested please feel free toshare with them also.

If your business provides products or services for the grape growers and wine makers, pleasecontact us for information on marketing opportunities to this important segment of agriculture.

You can reach us at P.O. Box 121, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428 or call 800-218-55866 • Fax 518-673-23811 •• Email: [email protected]

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The NEWSPAPER for the wine and grape industryJanuary 2012 www.wineandgrapegrower.com Volume 1 Number 1

Breaux Vineyards Ltd.

prunes now for shape,

quality and production

~ Page 10

Newport Vineyards:Record harvest, grand

expansion plans~ Page 2

GROWERGROWERWine& Grape

For Adve

rtisin

g Inform

ation

800-218-5586 or

[email protected]

by Dr. Bruce Reisch,Cornell GrapevineBreeding & GeneticsProgram

In 2003, Cornell Uni-versity released a redwine grape known as‘GR 7’. The name stoodfor “Geneva Red” as itwas one of a series ofred wine grapes (GR1 toGR8) from the GenevaExperiment Station tobe extensively testedduring the 1960s and1970s. Since it was tar-

geted primarily forblending wine produc-tion at the time of itsrelease, it was simplygiven the official name‘GR 7’, as it had beenknown until that time.

Since its release,members of the grapeand wine industry haveasked for a more mar-ketable name to be ap-plied to ‘GR 7’ becausethe name ‘GR 7’ causesconfusion among con-sumers not accustomed

to abbreviated names,and since even withblends, wineries oftenlist the names of vari-eties used on the backof the label. In responseto the requests we’vereceived, we have there-fore decided to simplyre-name ‘GR 7’ officiallyas ’Geneva Red’. TheUnited States Tax andTrade Bureau has al-ready approved thisname for use on winelabels.

Vineyard Row Mulcher

TROOP EQUIPMENT 610-593-6731

- Any size rows.- Easily changed from row mulching

to broadcast mulching.- Two rows at one time.- Spreads any material quickly

from your tractor seat.- Heavy duty / long lasting.

Check out this and other mulchers at

www.whatcommfg.comSee us at Empire Farm Days Booth 543

& Ag Progress Days West 6th street

GR7 officially renamed to‘Geneva Red’

CASHMERE, WA — In July, theWashington Wine Industry Foundationhanded off the 12th Annual Wine Cup®to Team Champoux in 100 degree heatat the Meadow Springs Country Club,raising over $34,000 and marking an-other successful fundraiser for the or-ganization despite the swelteringweather. The team included Jeff Cham-poux, Jason Champoux, Jeremy Cham-poux and Joe Prior.

Second place low gross team wasWashington Trust Bank while thirdplace was Walla Walla Valley. Lowestteam net was an individual team com-prised of Brian Ash, Kim O’Brian, MarioCarofanello and Garry Anderson. Sec-ond place low net went to Oak Traditionwhile third went to Andrews Vineyard.

Additional winners included SeanTudor from Tudor Vineyards and LisaMcKinlay from Coventry Vale Winerywith longest drive. Closest to pin win-ners were Kelvin Soldat from Chan-dler Reach Winery and Vicki Gordonfrom Gordon Estate, while BobGamache from Gamache Vintners andKim O’Brien from International PaperCo. took home the longest putt award.

Doug Rowell of McKinley Springs Win-ery was this year’s winner of the put-ting contest.

The Wine Cup® is a yearly fundrais-er for the Washington Wine IndustryFoundation to help support efforts to-ward education, scholarship and re-search. This year marked the 12thyear the Foundation has served thewine industry.

Recently, WWIF started the process ofsetting new goals, revising a five-year vi-sion for the organization and its role inthe wine industry. So far, WWIF hasmade huge strides in developing pro-grams, organizing industry educationopportunities and securing funds for re-search pursuits, paying special atten-tion to the health and longevity of thewine industry.

In 12 years, WWIF has connectedindustry needs including programslike the Vinewise®, Winerywise™, riskmanagement education programs anda Clean Plant Campaign totaling over$3 million.

For more information or to con-tribute, visit www.washingtonwine-foundation.org.

Nitrogen Gas Generatorfor Wineries

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UKIAH, CA — Mendo-cino Wine Co. (MWC) an-nounced the appoint-ment of John Girty asvice president of nationalsales.

Girty, with more than25 years in the wine in-dustry, comes to MWCfrom Shannon RidgeWine Co. and will reportdirectly to MWC PresidentGary Glass. In his newrole, Girty is charged withexpanding the nationaldistribution of MWC’sbrands, including Par-ducci Wine Cellars andPaul Dolan Vineyards.

“John’s experience andtrack record in all tradechannels will be instru-mental to Mendocino WineCompany’s continuedgrowth and broader mar-ket penetration,” saidGlass. “Adding a pro likeJohn to the sales team iscrucial for leveraging thecritical acclaim that ourrecently launched Parduc-ci Small Lot Blend line hasgarnered, along withMWC’s other brands.”

“I’m proud to join theThornhill family, Gary andthe entire sales team here

at Mendocino Wine Com-pany as the company con-tinues to grow, and I lookforward to contributing toits success.” said Girty.

For the past five years,Girty was the vice presi-dent of sales and market-ing at Shannon RidgeWine Company, where hecreated the sales team andset up the company’s na-tional distribution net-work. Prior to that, hespent 13 years with Ste.Michelle Wine Estates,first as a district managerin the New York and NewJersey region and then asdivision manager for thewest, where he oversawsales in four westernstates, led his team to nu-merous awards and salesrecords. Girty is a gradu-ate of the University ofPittsburgh.

About Mendocino Wine Co.

Formed in 2004, theMendocino Wine Co.(MWC) owns and operatesParducci Wine Cellars,Mendocino’s oldest win-ery, as well as Paul DolanVineyards, Sketchbookand Wines That Rock,among others. The Thorn-hill family continues thetradition of making award-winning wines using sus-tainable wine growing andland use practices. Par-ducci Wine Cellars isAmerica’s greenest winery,twice (2007, 2009) receiv-ing the Governor’s Envi-ronmental and Economic

Leadership Award, Cali-fornia’s highest environ-mental honor.

w w w . m e n d o c i -nowineco.com

Mendocino Wine Co. names newhead of national sales

John Girty

Grape growers and wineries showdedication despite hot weather