Wine-Grower-News #75 March 13, 2009 (Next Newsletter in One Week!)

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1 Wine-Grower-News #75 March 13, 2009 (Next Newsletter in One Week!) Midwest Grape & Wine Industry Institute: Information in this issue includes: Bio # 4 Lisa Wasko, Iowa State University Graduate Student Economic Study of Maryland Wineries Shows Positive Impact Finally! - Moon Valley Sparkling Juice Operation Now Open for Business Split LaCrosse Trunks Show n Tell April 3-4, All Iowa Horticulture Exposition & Trade Show in Ottumwa Attention Wineries - All Electrical Installations Now Subject to Inspection in Iowa Comments from Readers Quotes of the Week Articles of Interest Neeto-Keeno WWW Stuff Bio # 4 Lisa Wasko, Iowa State University Graduate Student by Dr. Gail Nonnecke, ISU Horticulture, nonnecke@iastate.edu There are currently six graduate students at Iowa State University (ISU) in viticulture and enology. Some have full-time jobs while they are in school. The students are: Lee Trebbien Goldsmith, Paul Gospodarczyk, Joe Hannan, Dennis Portz, Randall Vos and Lisa Wasko. This is the fourth in a series of student biographies to showcase these six ISU graduate students emphasizing viticulture and enology in their degree programs. (Former profiles are in previous Wine Grower News: Lee Trebbien Goldsmith : #65, Dennis Portz: # 67, and Paul Gospodarczyk: # 72). Lisa Marie Wasko is from Des Moines, Iowa. After receiving her Bachelor of Science degree from ISU)in biology and horticulture, she continued (Above) Lisa while thinning grape clusters her education at ISU by enrolling as a graduate in ISU Research vineyard. student. Prior to graduate school, Lisa had an array of experiences working in labs and on projects including corn genetics, fern evolution, school gardens in Uganda, and viticulture. In fact, it was her experiences in viticulture under the mentoring 1

2 of her current major professor Dr. Gail Nonnecke, which encouraged her to pursue graduate school in viticulture. Lisa was selected to receive an American Society for Enology and Viticulture Eastern Section scholarship in 2008 to help offset part of her tuition costs. (Above) Lisa checking out the soils in a Michigan vineyard. Lisa is in her first year of a Master s of Science program in the Departments of Horticulture and Agronomy. Her research interests are in agroecology and sustainable viticulture, which is supported by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Specifically, she is investigating the influences of alternative weed management practices on established grape plantings, the soil environment, and weed control efficacy. New information generated by this project will benefit grape growers and the environment by providing information on sustainable, safe, low-input methods of weed control that optimizes grape production while minimizing some of the harmful effects production can have on the soil. In her free time, Lisa enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, and spending time with her friends and family. After her Master s degree, she aspires to continue her education by pursuing a Ph.D. For now, though, Lisa states that she enjoys and values her time as a graduate student in viticulture at Iowa State University. Economic Study of Maryland Wineries Shows Positive Impact An economic impact study of Maryland Wineries was just released by the Jacob France Institute at the University of Baltimore. The analysis was based on data provided by 22 of Maryland s 28 wineries as well as data from the State of Maryland Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Bureau. This impact study was based on data available in The economic impact estimates were generated using the IMPLAN model method. Key findings included: 1. Maryland s 28 wineries provided a total $40.4 million economic impact ($1.44mm/winery). 2. Maryland s 28 wineries supported 348 jobs earning $10.9 million in sales and $3.3 million in state liquor taxes. 3. Total sales of the responding wineries grew from $3.2 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 to $5.7 million in FY 2006, an increase of 75%. 4. Total visitors to the responding wineries increased from 68,372 in FY 2004 to 89,690 in FY 2006, a 33% increase for in-state visitors and 25% for out-of-state visitors. 5. A total of 293,390 people visited Maryland wineries and wine festivals spending over $20 million with 22% of these visitors from out-of-state. 6. The sale of Maryland wine generates $7.4 million in distributor, retail and restaurant activity.. When the wineries were asked to list the top three issues impeding the development of the wine industry in Maryland, their response was 2

1. Eliminate the 3-tier distribution system. 2. Direct shipping is strongly needed to serve more potential customers. 3. Restrictive alcohol and zone laws.

com/mwa/media/images/econ-report.pdf You can learn more about the Maryland wine industry here: http://www.marylandwine.com/ Finally!

3 1. Eliminate the 3-tier distribution system. 2. Direct shipping is strongly needed to serve more potential customers. 3. Restrictive alcohol and zone laws. Multiple wineries recommended more state government and university involvement in promoting the wine industry. You can access the entire 20 page study here: You can learn more about the Maryland wine industry here: Finally! - Moon Valley Sparkling Juice Operation Now Open for Business I first met Georgetta and Jeff Leak in September of 2002 during a grape harvest meeting at Summerset Winery in Indianola, Iowa. This was back when Iowan s knew very little about grape growing and most of what we knew was wrong. I remember the Leak s telling me of their plans of having a sparkling grape juice operation and a large juice grape vineyard. Everyone had big plans back then! The Leak s and I crossed paths many times since that first meeting. They were always VERY busy with Georgetta teaching and doing research at William Penn University and Jeff on the road all the time selling either welders or pressure sprayers. Over time they gradually grew their vineyard started in 2000 to approximately 10,000 plants today. The sparkling juice operation they talked to me about in 2002 is now open for business. Bit by bit, piece by piece and with a lot of hands-on work everything has now come together. I was pleasantly pleased and surprised during my last visit on Monday, Georgetta and Jeff gave me a tour of their facility as we tasted their two estate grown juices, Signature a sparkling red juice and Celebration a sparkling white juice. Both were blends of several cultivars and both tasted excellent. Instead of the typical grape flavored corn syrup based sparking juice you find in the super market, these were made of 100% pure Iowa grown grape juice. (Above) Jeff & Georgette Leak in the tasting room of their Moon Valley sparkling juice operation. (Above) Signature estate red and Celebration estate white sparkling juice enclosed with a foil wrapped pilfer proof screw cap. 3

(Above) Jeff displaying freshly poured glass sparkling juice.

machines made in France, Denmark, Germany and Italy.

(Above) Backside of bottling line and front of stainless steel

The pipes on the far wall take the juice through a heat exchanger

4 (Above) Jeff displaying freshly poured glass sparkling juice. (Above) Jeff standing in front of the bottling line composed of machines made in France, Denmark, Germany and Italy. Approximate capacity of 1,000 bottles per hour. (Above) Backside of bottling line and front of stainless steel tanks. The pipes on the far wall take the juice through a heat exchanger for pasteurization. (Left) is the pressurized Brightening tank located in a refrigerated cooler. This is where the CO2 is added to sparkle the grape juice or wine. 4

(Above) Sparkling juice facility with horizontal bladder press and crusher destemmer under the canopy.

Oh by the way, they are also a bonded winery which gives them the ability to sparkle wines for others. They will also do custom bottling of still wine and juice.

com Split LaCrosse Trunks Tom Moore, viticulture technician at Kirkwood Community College http://www.kirkwood.cc.ia.us/ sent me this picture (Right) on 3-6-09.

5 (Above) Sparkling juice facility with horizontal bladder press and crusher destemmer under the canopy. (Right) Moon Valley Vineyard Moon Valley Vineyard is now officially in the business of selling wholesale sparkling juice and custom carbonating juice for others. Oh by the way, they are also a bonded winery which gives them the ability to sparkle wines for others. They will also do custom bottling of still wine and juice. Give them a call and see what they can do for you. Jeff & Georgetta Leak Moon Valley Vineyard 2402 Burlington Road Oskaloosa, IA Ph: or moonvalley@q.com Split LaCrosse Trunks Tom Moore, viticulture technician at Kirkwood Community College sent me this picture (Right) on It shows a LaCrosse grape trunk that has split from freezing this winter in a vineyard near Cedar Rapids. Tom told me that 20-25% of the 5 year old LaCrosse vines had trunk splits (mostly on the east side of the plants). They were located in a low elevation where over 100 acres of cold air could settle. LaCrosse is cold hardy down to around -25 F. It is difficult to tell how severe the damage is. Sometimes damage like this will result in the death of the trunk immediately this spring. This will be readily apparent when no sap reaches the canes above. These plants may survive 2-4 years before succumbing. John Marshall at Great River Vineyard in Lake City, MN told me that many of (Above) Freeze damaged cracked trunk. the trunks in his vineyard split several years ago on several different cultivars. Eventually the cracks healed leaving long scars on the vines. No apparent production lost was seen. 5

I would suggest taking a wait-n-see attitude in this case and work at training lower suckers up as trunk replacements. Often, you will see more suckers form at the base of injured trunks.

Show n Tell (Left) John Marshall of Great River Vineyard & Nursery: http://www.greatrivervineyard.com/ I received a distress call from John Sunday A.M. 3-8-09.

Together, we determined that the wheel bearing was shot and we found a nearby dealership that would hopefully be able to fix it on Monday.

$\ (Above Left) 3-13-09 Kevin Smith pruning 4 th year Brianna with Randall Vos of DMACC showing a small group how to prune in the background in Kevin s vineyard located east of Carlisle, IA.$

6 I would suggest taking a wait-n-see attitude in this case and work at training lower suckers up as trunk replacements. Often, you will see more suckers form at the base of injured trunks. Deep cracks into the xylem of the plant are much harder to callus over versus shallow cracks into the outer phloem area. Show n Tell (Left) John Marshall of Great River Vineyard & Nursery: I received a distress call from John Sunday A.M He was stranded in Ankeny, IA with truck problems while driving back home from the Nebraska Grape Growers Conference. Together, we determined that the wheel bearing was shot and we found a nearby dealership that would hopefully be able to fix it on Monday. We then ran into a little bit of Karma and/or Zen at a local Chinese Buffet. The message in my fortune cookie said, It is time to help a friend in need. John s fortune cookie message said, Tomorrow you will find the item you have been searching for. \ (Above Left) Kevin Smith pruning 4 th year Brianna with Randall Vos of DMACC showing a small group how to prune in the background in Kevin s vineyard located east of Carlisle, IA. (Above Right) Kevin weighing 4 lbs. 14 oz. of Brianna prunings. Kevin serves as a board member of the Iowa Wine Growers Association. (Left) Randall Vos, (L) Viticulture Instructor at Des Moines Area Community College DMACC demonstrates proper pruning techniques on Brianna grapes at Kevin Smith s Middle River Vineyard located approximately 2 miles southeast of Carlisle, Iowa. 6

(Above) 7 th year LaCrosse grape at Kevin Smith s vineyard on a Vertical Shoot Positioned (VSP) just prior to pruning. (Above) Kevin Smith holding 4 lbs.11 oz.

7 (Above) 7 th year LaCrosse grape at Kevin Smith s vineyard on a Vertical Shoot Positioned (VSP) just prior to pruning. (Above) Kevin Smith holding 4 lbs.11 oz. of prunings from the vine on the left after it was pruned. April 3-4, All Iowa Horticulture Exposition & Trade Show in Ottumwa When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, April 3, a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 4, 2009 Where: New Bridge View Center, Ottumwa, IA : Early Bird Discounts: for pre-registrations extended to March 20 th Walk in Cost: Singles - $10, Couples - $15, Kids 13 or under Free 2-day registration: Singles - $15, Couples - $20, Students- $5 Presented by: The Iowa State Horticulture Society and Supported by ISU Extension Registration materials and further info: or call Note: This is being billed as one of Iowa s largest Horticultural events ever. Over 20 horticultural organizations are involved and there will be over 30,000 square feet of exhibitor space. Attention Wineries - All Electrical Installations Now Subject to Inspection in Iowa In the interest of public safety, Governor Culver signed House File 897 in May of 2007, which required the licensure of all electricians engaged in the business of providing electrical installations throughout the state. Since January of 2008, there have been more than 10,000 applications for licenses. As the second step of the program, all new electrical installations in the State of Iowa will be subject to inspection after March 1, Political subdivisions such as cities and counties, which had an inspection program prior to the law, will maintain their current programs. Inspections in the remaining non-inspected areas will be done by a State inspector assigned to those geographical areas. Most electrical installations must be done by licensed electricians under the employment of licensed contractors. Owners of existing, single-family homes who qualify for the homestead exemption are an exception to the licensing requirement but are still subject to the permit and inspection process. Commencing March 1st, requests for electrical permits, fee payment, and requests for inspections may be made online at iowaelectrical.gov. For those without online service, accommodations have 7

been made by providing applications that can be faxed or mailed. These are available on the website or by calling 515-725-6147.

8 been made by providing applications that can be faxed or mailed. These are available on the website or by calling Any questions you have should be directed to the Inspector Supervisor assigned to the areas indicated below. Complete information about this law and resource links can be found at this Iowa Department of Public Safety WWW site: Comments from Readers Hey Mike, (3-7-09) I couldn't agree more with your preference of good old baling twine. I used to feel otherwise,but I think bailing twine is cheaper and just as fast as tapeners, ag-ties and many other items. Not to mention, tapeners seem very prone to messing up and new workers really tend to do that a lot. I think many of the other items on the market are sold quite well and are a great success story to show how marketing can work. As far as what is cheap, fast, non-abrasive, simple to use, I'm biased toward baling twine as well. : ) Jon Millner Millner Heritage Vineyard & Winery, (In response to the baling twine article in Wine Grower News #74, ) Quotes of the Week Getting through the paperwork to license a winery is a piece of cake compared to licensing a USDA commercial food processing operation ---- Georgetta Leak, Moon Valley Vineyard 8

9 Articles of Interest 1. Screwcaps take 15% of Global Market, , Decanter.com: 2. Boost for Argentine Wine Industry, , Decanter.com (Argentine wine export tax has been cut 50% o stimulate export sales.: Neeto-Keeno WWW Stuff 1. Green Choices Eco Labels site Check out the legitimacy of the many eco labels in the marketplace here: 2. International Wine College, your e-learning opportunity in both viticulture and enology from instructors around the world: 3. Winegrape Growers of America: Post & View Classified Ads here: Past issues archived as html and pdf here: Total Circulation of 1,055+ recipients in CA, IA, IN, FL, IL, KS, MN, MO, NC, ND, NE, NY, OH, OR, SD, VA, VT, WA DC, WI, Australia, Canada & Norway Please reply with the word "unsubscribe" in the Subject Line if you wish to no longer receive this newsletter. Michael L. White, ISU Extension Viticulture Specialist 909 East 2nd St. Suite E, Indianola, IA ph: , fax: 6017 or mlwhite@iastate.edu The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Many materials can be made available in alternative formats for ADA clients. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC or call

Vendors Currently Signed up to Participate Acclaim ID Products ACI Cork USA American Awards Arrowhead Vineyards BASF BEI International, LLC Brick Packaging, LLC Calico Cottage Inc.

10 Vendors Currently Signed up to Participate Acclaim ID Products ACI Cork USA American Awards Arrowhead Vineyards BASF BEI International, LLC Brick Packaging, LLC Calico Cottage Inc. Capital City Equipment Co. Central Iowa Farm Store Criveller Group Darlington Dairy Supply Co. Decade Products, LLC Double A Vineyards, Inc. DRS Manufacturing, Inc. Euro-Machines, Inc. G.W. Kent, Inc. Grapevine Magazine Great River Vineyard & Nursery IDALS Iowa Grape Vines Iowa State University Extension Iowa Wine & Beer & Iowa Tourism Boards IowaWines.org Kaufman Container MakeMineWine MDT & Associates Midwest Grower Supply Midwest Vineyard Supply NICC VESTA Prospero Equipment Corp. Scott Laboratories, Inc. The Label Advantage, Inc. Thermo Fisher Scientific TRICOR Insurance Vinocor USA Winterhaven Vineyard & Nursery Not too late to register for the IWGA Annual Conference Registration here: 10

Wine-Grower-News #97 August 14, 2009 (Next Newsletter in One Week!)

Wine-Grower-News #97 August 14, 2009 (Next Newsletter in One Week!) Midwest Grape & Wine Industry Institute: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/wine Information in this issue includes: From VINES to WINES