VERAISON TO HARVEST Statewide Vineyard Crop Development Update #1 August 31, 2012 Edited by Tim Martinson, Chris Gerling, and Chrislyn Particka

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1 About This Newsletter... VERAISON TO HARVEST Statewide Vineyard Crop Development Update #1 August 31, 2012 Edited by Tim Martinson, Chris Gerling, and Chrislyn Particka This issue begins the sixth season of Veraison to Harvest (and none too soon). V to H is made possible by the combined efforts of the Lake Erie, Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, and Long Island grape extension programs and also our statewide viticulture and enology extension groups. Each week we collect grape samples from across New York and post the data in this newsletter. We also include updates from each region, as well as progress reports from ongoing projects and articles covering topics of seasonal interest. For the last few years we have been posting a berry growth curve based on Concord in Lake Erie, but with the Concord harvest staggeringly imminent, the curve could be truncated this year. Veraison to Harvest would not be possible without funding support from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation and Cornell s federal formula funds granting program. Issues of V to H should be available every Friday until the end of harvest. Geneva Red grape was released in 2003 under the name GR7 from the Cornell University breeding program. This summer, in response to requests from grape and wine producers for a more marketable name, it was renamed Geneva Red. It is mostly used in blends with other varieties. Photo by Hans Walter-Peterson Tim Martinson & Chris Gerling, Co-editors Around New York... Statewide (Chris Gerling). I ve never jumped out of an airplane, but I imagine it compares to the harvest season in the following way: while there are any number of things you can and should do to prepare, it s impossible through the aircraft cabin munching on our 6.3 peanuts when all of the sudden we were surrounded by blue, the tiny snack bag replaced by a backpack with strings hanging out. That is to say: in most parts of the state, the grapes are ahead this year. We re Lab, so this newsletter could more accurately be called Harvest to Harvest was warm and dry, and amazingly so on Long Island, but in 2012 the unprecedented heat looks to be primarily upstate. Concord harvest is set to start in Lake Erie this Labor Day weekend, roughly a month ahead of usual. The Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes both have Chardonnay pushing 20 degrees brix and Finger Lakes Vignoles is at 22. While wineries across the state search frantically for the turbo thrusters on their bottling lines, most acids remain high, most grapes remain intact, and most vineyards seem prepared for a spectacular- if early- harvest. See you on the ground. Long Island (Alice Wise and Libby Tarleton). On Long Island, all of the whites are through véraison and most reds, minus the later ripening varieties including Cabernet starting to pick Pinot Noir for sparkling. The major event on Long Island, which happens every year, is bird control. As many of you know, one thing that continues to They descend on vineyards in late August through October (some years even earlier), feasting on any berry that is close to the net. Over the years the birds have adjusted to our traditional netting, so we have had to adjust that as well. For the past seven years, we have been looking at many different types of nets, formally and informally, in the research vineyard here on Long Island as well as with industry partners. Our conclusion is that for our training system (VSP), side netting is the ideal way to go. Not only does it come in variations that have lock stitch (stitching that stitching, allowing them access to the fruit), it also lets us continue to manage the upper portions of our canopy in terms of disease control. This comes in very handy when nets go on as early as July.

2 Finger Lakes (Hans Walter-Peterson) The growing season of 2012 in the Finger Lakes has been the third in a row with higher than normal heat accumulation. As of August 30, the region has accumulated almost as many growing degree days as we normally do by the end of October, and growers have started to pick some varieties 2-3 weeks earlier than they normally would. Thanks in large part to the dry weather this year, most vineyards have had little in the way of disease development so far. This may cause growers and wineries to decide to let fruit hang longer in order to achieve better ripeness, particularly in some red varieties. We saw similar conditions to these in 2010, which many considered one of the best the Finger Lakes has about 2012 until the fruit is off the vines. Harvest got started in the Finger Lakes the week of August to take in Aurore and Elvira. In one of several indications as to the impact of the season on ripeness, they have also started to harvest some Concords this week where crop levels were reduced due to frost damage this spring, resulting in fruit with higher sugar and lower acidity already, or maturity is just advanced. A couple of places have also started picking Cayuga White in order to avoid the development of the fruit gets riper (>19-20 brix). More places will likely be joining them very soon. Pinot noir and Chardonnay for sparkling wines were also be picked this week, and it is entirely possible that we will see some Chardonnay picked for still wines in the next week or so as well. As long as the fruit remains clean, however, it is likely that many will try to take advantage of this year s conditions and let many varieties hang for a while longer. Hudson Valley (Steven McKay & Steve Hoying). Harvest has started here in the Hudson Valley with the season apparently being a full two weeks ahead of normal. The weather has been great with warm sunny days and cooler nights, and the forecast is for more of the same for the next week, with the possible exception of a short visit by the rem- levels appear to be exceptional for this time of year where primaries set. There are a number of sites where early frost eliminated primaries and only secondary clusters remain. These blocks appear to be on more of a normal chronologi- for some varieties. So far the season has had mostly usual production problems (other than the spring frosts) with close to normal rainfall, normal insect and disease pressure, perhaps elevated bird pressure, and some hail and sunburn. We have seen some rot in Vignoles and Seyval and closer examination showed that they were teeming with drosophila. Since we had been trapping Spotted Wing Drosophila in the block since the middle of August, we were concerned that this rot could have been caused by SWD feeding. This is respiratory horns on the surface of sound berries as well as maggot moving about, in, and on grape clusters. So the debate rages on of the potential effect of this new pest on our grapes. The other invasive insect that we have been con- area vineyards but are unclear as to their impact. Lake Erie (Jodi Creasap Gee). As with the rest of New York and the northeastern US, the Lake Erie Region started the growing season at the end of March with an early budbreak in many varieties, especially Concord. Temperatures in the region then dropped below 28 F multiple times before the growing season really got started. Some regions suffered hard freezes anywhere from 5 to 15+ times, leaving primary and many secondary buds toasted and fruitless. Tertiary buds took over, but, of course, are without a crop, and those primary and secondary buds that did survive have small, scraggly clusters. Overall, the region is expecting about half of an average Concord crop. The good news is that there should be no problems getting the fruit ripe this season, AND vines are set up for a prodigious 2013 crop. The bad news is 2012 ends with a smaller-thanaverage crop. Plus, some vineyards have powdery mildew problems on the clusters, due to the excellent powdery mildew weather this season hot and humid with no rain. The Lake Erie Region never quite reached drought status, but, rather, hovered around abnormally dry, according to NOAA. The Niagara County vineyards, however, suffered slightly less freeze injury, as they were behind the Lake Erie vineyards in terms of budbreak. They did suffer drought conditions, though, until the recent late-season rains. For the Lake Erie and Niagara County regions, the reduced crop and excellent growing season have processors starting Concord harvest as early as next week. However, many hybrids, such as Marquette, Seyval, and Edelweiss, have already been harvested, and those that are still hanging continue to ripen at a furious pace.

3 Fruit Maturation Report - 8/31/2012 Samples reported here were collected on Monday and Tuesday, August 27 and 28, Where appropriate, sample data from 2011 averaged over all sites is included. Tables from 2011 are archived at veraison-to-harvest/2011.cfm We are again reporting berry weight, brix, titratable acidity and ph, and yeast assimilable nitrogen (), as part of a joint project with other students and staff from the Enology lab are running samples. Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes 8/29/12 W Seneca Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Cayuga Lake Erie 8/29/12 Portland Long Island 8/29/12 North Fork Long Island 8/29/12 North Fork Hudson Valley 8/29/12 HVL Average Average 8/29/ Catawba Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Keuka Sample 8/29/2011 W Cayuga Cayuga White Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Keuka Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Cayuga Average Average 8/30/ Chardonnay Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Cayuga Finger Lakes 8/29/12 W Seneca Long Island 8/29/12 North Fork S Hudson Valley 8/29/12 HVL Hudson Valley 8/29/12 W HV Average Average 8/29/ Concord Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Keuka Lake Erie 8/29/12 Portland Average Sample 8/30/

4 Lemberger Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Keuka Sample 8/29/ Malbec Long Island 8/29/12 North Fork S Sample Merlot Long Island 8/29/12 North Fork Long Island 8/29/12 North Fork Hudson Valley 8/29/12 HVL Average Sample Niagara Lake Erie 8/29/12 Portland Sample 8/30/2011 Portland Noiret Lake Erie 8/29/12 Ripley Hudson Valley 8/29/12 HVL Hudson Valley 8/29/12 W HV Average Sample 8/30/2011 Ripley Pinot Noir 231 Finger Lakes 8/29/12 E Seneca Hudson Valley 8/29/12 HVL Hudson Valley 8/29/12 W HV Average Sample 8/29/2011 E Seneca

5 Riesling Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix ph TA g/l Finger Lakes 8/29/12 W Seneca Finger Lakes 8/29/12 E Seneca Finger Lakes 8/29/12 W Seneca Finger Lakes 8/29/12 E Seneca Finger Lakes 8/29/12 E Seneca Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Cayuga Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Keuka Hudson Valley 8/29/12 HVL Lake Erie 8/29/12 Fredonia Long Island 8/29/12 North Fork N Average Sample 8/30/ Sauvignon Blanc Long Island 8/29/12 North Fork N Prev Sample Seyval Blanc Hudson Valley 8/29/12 HVL Hudson Valley 8/29/12 W HV Average Sample 8/29/2011 W Cayuga Traminette Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Keuka Lake Erie 8/29/12 Fredonia Hudson Valley 8/29/12 HVL Hudson Valley 8/29/12 W HV Average Sample 8/30/ Vignoles Finger Lakes 8/29/12 W Seneca Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Keuka Finger Lakes 8/29/12 Keuka Average Sample 8/29/

6 Similar to the rest of New York, Lake Erie vineyards experienced cant freeze damage in April. The warm spring temperatures were veraison 69 days later on August 8th. Actual bloom and veraison dates at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory in Portland, NY were close to predicted on June 2nd and August 8th, respectively. LAKE ERIE CONCORD RIPENING PROFILE Terry Bates Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory 2012 Concord berry weight and juice soluble solids: The Concord fresh berry weight is just slightly above average this season and is most likely due to the lower crop size. Soluble solids accumulation has also been accelerated this season with the low crop size, early bloom and version dates, and exceptionally favorable weather since veraison. Concord harvest will start in many vineyards the week of Labor Day. This newsletter was made possible through a grant Total Quality Focus program. Veraison to Harvest is a joint publication of: Cornell Enology Extension Program Statewide Viticulture Extension Program Long Island Grape Program Finger Lakes Grape Program Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Hudson Valley Regional Fruit Program Copyright 2012 Cornell University A Pinot noir vineyard at Whitecliff Vineyards in Gardiner, NY, with the Shawangunk Mountains in the background. Photo by Stephen Hoying The information, including any advice or recommendations, con-tained herein is based upon the research and experience of Cornell Cooperative Extension personnel. While this information constitutes the best judgement/opinion of such personnel at the time issued, neither Cornell Cooperative Extension nor any representative thereof makes any representation or warrantee, express or implied, of any particular result or application of such information, or re-garding any product. Users of any product are encouraged to read and follow product-labeling instructions and check with the manu-facturer or supplier for updated information. Nothing contained in this information should be interpreted as an endorsement expressed or implied of any particular product.