Around New York... Statewide (Tim Martinson). Veraison to Harvest Statewide Vineyard Crop Development Update #5 September 27, 2013 Edited by Tim Martinson and Chris Gerling Sample numbers (see Fruit Maturation Table, p. 4-6) are starting to drop as some varieties (Niagara, Cayuga White, Seyval blanc, Vignoles) are harvested. Concords are reaching benchmarks (see Bates, p. 3), and harvest is about to begin in earnest. We harvested our Marquette training trial yesterday in Clayton, NY (see photos p. 7), and Frontenac will be harvested next Monday and Tuesday. Sunny weather and moderate temperatures in the 60s allowed continued ripening, but at a somewhat slower pace as grapes near maturity. Sugar levels increased by 0.5 to 1.5 Brix, and titratable acidity dropped by 0.5 to 1.0 g/l. Riesling blocks are approaching the benchmark TA of 10 g/l, and many reds are in the 6 to 8 g/l range. Next week should see a lot of harvest activity. At harvest, brix are running about 3 below 2012 for most varieties. Finger Lakes (Hans Walter-Peterson). The pace of harvest has picked up in recent days. NiBy now, most wineries and processors have started to bring in some grapes. Most blocks of Seyval blanc, Cayuga White and Vignoles have been picked by now. Growers with Pinot gris and Chardonnay have been busy this week as well, and I expect that we ll begin seeing some Pinot noir and possibly even Lemberger starting to get harvested sometime next week. Predictions and estimates of heavier than normal crops in labrusca varieties are bearing out this year. While our two Concord samples taken last week were at 14 Brix, a lot of other Concord vineyards are lagging behind that in sugar development. Constellation has decided to hit pause on their Concord harvest next week, in hopes of getting riper fruit with an extra week of hang time. The dry, sunny weather that is predicted for the next several days should help the situation to an extent, but when crops are as large as many of them are this year, significant sugar accumulation may still be a struggle given where we are in the season. Last weekend s rain dropped anywhere from ½ - 1 of rain around the Finger Lakes. Even with this rain, we are still well below our average accumulation for September, which is some good news in a season that has certainly been less than ideal. This rain was both a bit of a blessing and a curse, depending on your situation. In some spots with shallow soils and/or large canopies, we were actually starting to see Niagara on Seneca Lake. National Grape Cooperative opened Niagara harvest on Sept 23. These grapes on southwest Seneca Lake were harvested on the 25th by a coop member. A large Niagara crop is expected. Photo by Tim Martinson some drought symptoms showing up on vines, so in these cases the shot of rain was helpful. For those working hard to fight bunch rots, of course, it doesn t really help matters much. Clusters with good exposure should have been able to dry relatively quickly, which would help to minimize the impact of this rain event on disease development. The forecast for the coming week looks good overall, with just a chance of some rain next Monday. Long Island (Alice Wise and Libby Tarleton). Harvest continues in Long Island vineyards in absolutely perfect weather sunny and dry. Blocks of Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc have been picked. The weather has allowed harvest to proceed at a more leisurely pace. This is harvest as it should be every year. Bird pressure thus far has been moderate. While there are a few hot spots, migratory populations appear to be smaller than in previous years. In the research vineyard, Grüner Veltliner was picked at ~22 Brix and 5 g/l TA. Albariño was harvested as the flavors were terrific, 22 Brix and 10 g/l TA. Our preference is to harvest that variety with a bit more acidity. Chardonnay was also picked this week. The numbers are still being crunched but cluster size seems average to above average for clones on 3309 and 101-14. Cluster size was noticeably smaller on own-rooted vines. Chardonnay fruit was taking on that slightly golden, translucent character of ripe fruit. Page 1
While no two years are the same, fruit quality is reminiscent of 2010, a stellar year. The big difference we are barely at 3000 GDD while 2010 was a famously hot year with an amazing 3762 GDD by the end of October. The dry conditions are undoubtedly playing a role in the early harvest. Hudson Valley (Steve Hoying). We are definitely behind last year s early season and the weather has cooperated so that we can delay picking with almost every variety if the winemaker so desires. This past week has been picture perfect with moderate daytime temperatures and relatively cool nights. High s this week reached 70 degrees F only twice and low of 38 degrees F on Tuesday. The ¼ inch of rain this week fell at night and did not disrupt a thing! Wineries are busy and harvest continues smoothly here in the Hudson Valley with a wide range of grape varieties being harvested depending on the winemakers needs. Long days in the winery are common since so many varieties are ready. Here at the Hudson Valley lab we concentrating on harvesting Seyval blanc, Traminette, and even Merlot. Cabernet franc has reached 20 brix. Noiret and Riesling are still testing here at 17.7. The long range forecast for the coming week predicts warming temperatures his in the 70 s with clear sunny days. Finally a great harvest season! Lake Erie (Luke Haggerty). This is a great time of year to look for nutrient deficiencies and foliar disorders in the vineyard. Now that harvest is moving into full swing you have a chance to get a good look at your entire vineyard as you harvest. Potassium and magnesium are two of the more noticeable deficiencies found on leafs. Magnesium deficiency show chlorosis or yellowing in leafs while the area close to the main Page 2 veins stays green (Fig.1, top). Magnesium deficiency most often occurs in soils that have a ph below 5.5 where potassium becomes more available. Potassium plays an important role in many regulatory plant biochemical functions including carbohydrate or sugar production. Sever potassium deficiency will show necrotic or dead leaf tissue and have scorched appearance (Figure 1, bottom). Potassium deficiency can occur in soils that are high in calcium and magnesium and where potassium is less exchangeable. Other nutrient deficiencies and or foliar to be on the lookout for are nitrogen deficiency and nitrogen spray burn, acidic soil damage, iron deficiency, crown gall, spray damage, and symptoms of drought. If you see symptoms and would like soil or petiole samples taken, bring samples into the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory (CLEREL) at 6592 West Main Road Portland, NY 14769. The cost per sample is $30.00 for petiole sample (bring in 50 petioles) and $17.00 for soil samples. If you have questions about taking petiole and or soil samples or if you would like to set up a site visit where I can assist in taking samples please get ahold of me. Call me at (716) 792-2800 Ext. 204 or email me at llh85@ cornell.edu. Figure 1. Magnesium deficiency (top) and Potassium deficiency (bottom) are most visible on Concords and other grapes at this time in the season. Photos by Terry Bates
2013 Lake Erie Concord Update Terry Bates Concord Harvest in the Lake Erie Region is just about to start. Fruit in the phenology block at CLEREL in Portland, NY reached 16 Brix this week. Since we are over 100 days past bloom, Concord berry weight has started to plateau and the berries will likely shrink or swell at this point depending on environmental conditions and vine water status. Across the region, Concord juice soluble solids ranged from 14.2-16.7 with a mean of 15.4 Brix depending on the distance from Lake Erie and elevation. Leafroll on red varieties. At this time of year, Grapevine leafroll virus symptoms are most visible - particularly on red varieties. Leafroll disease is caused by leafroll viruses, delays ripening (by 4 to 5 brix), and reduces yield by up to 30%. This is a good time to mark vines for possible removal. Photo by Tim Martinson Concord juice soluble solids from phenology vines at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory in Portland, NY (top) and from experiment vines at nine commercial sites across the Lake Erie region (bottom). Long Island Project Visit (Wayne Wilcox and Megan Hall) For many growers, Botrytis has been less of a battle this season than in years past. Susceptible varieties such as Chardonnay, however, are still showing some signs of the disease. Megan Hall, a graduate student with Wayne Wilcox, visited Long Island September 21st to collected botrytis-infected clusters as part of her work on management of bunch rots. She collected Chardonnay clusters from ten different vineyards. Over the next few months, she will isolate the Botrytis fungus from the samples, and test the individual strains that she recovers for resistance to the major Botrytis fungicides used in the industry. This effort will give the grower community a look into the effectiveness of the current fungicides that are being used to treat bunch rots and monitor whether resistant botrytis strains may be developing. As always, Megan enjoyed her visit to Long Island and noted that the growers she had the pleasure of meeting were generous with both their time and in their donation of clusters for research. Photo by Alice Wise Page 3
Fruit Maturation Report - 9/27/2012 Samples reported here were collected on Monday, September 23. Where appropriate, sample data from 2012, averaged over all sites is included. Tables from 2012 are archived at http://grapesandwine.cals.cornell.edu/cals/grapesandwine/ veraison-to-harvest/2012.cfm. We are again reporting berry weight, brix, titratable acidity and ph, and yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN), as part of a joint project with Anna Katharine Mansfield and Lailiang Cheng. Graduate student Mark Nisbit is running the YAN assays as part of his Ph D project, and other students from the Enology lab are running samples. - TEM Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 E. Seneca 1.78 19.6 2.99 7.8 39 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 W. Seneca 1.48 20.1 3.10 8.1 57 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 Cayuga 1.74 18.9 3.24 6.4 85 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 W. Seneca 1.48 18.9 3.21 7.4 75 Hudson Valley 9/23/2013 HVL 1.42 18.8 3.32 9.3 132 Lake Erie 9/23/2013 Portland 1.56 16.9 3.34 8.3 187 Long Island 9/23/2013 LI-05 1.98 20.1 3.43 6.8 81 Long Island 9/23/2013 LI-07 1.37 20.8 3.30 6.4 57 Average 9/23/2013 1.60 19.3 3.24 7.6 89 Prev Sample 9/16/2013 1.60 18.2 3.05 7.9 69 12 Average 9/24/2012 1.67 21.2 3.32 6.4 69 Catawba Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 Keuka 2.25 15.0 2.83 14.4 142 Prev Sample 9/16/2013 Keuka 2.13 13.4 2.77 16.7 134 12 Sample 9/24/2012 Keuka 2.52 18.8 2.94 8.9 70 Cayuga White Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 Keuka 2.98 16.6 2.98 11.4 219 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 Cayuga HARVEST Average 9/23/2013 - - - - - Prev Sample 9/16/2013 2.82 18.5 3.05 9.0 170 12 at Harvest 9/5/2012 HARVEST 2.52 18.8 3.18 8.7 284 Chardonnay Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 Cayuga 1.64 18.7 3.07 9.6 196 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 W. Seneca 1.56 19.8 3.15 8.8 122 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 W. Seneca 1.60 18.2 3.18 7.6 156 Long Island 9/23/2013 LI-03 1.63 20.7 3.44 7.2 216 Average 9/23/2013 1.61 19.4 3.21 8.3 172 Prev. Sample 9/16/2013 1.58 18.0 3.20 8.3 146 12 at Harvest 9/17/2012 HARVEST 1.48 20.7 3.60 6.1 245 Concord Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 Keuka 2.81 14.6 3.20 8.1 174 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 W. Canandaigua 3.00 15.4 3.16 7.9 128 Lake Erie 9/23/2013 Portland 3.37 16.6 3.22 10.3 392 Average 9/23/2013 3.06 15.5 3.19 8.8 231 Prev Sample 9/16/2013 3.17 14.9 3.15 9.3 134 12 Sample 9/24/2012 3.20 17.0 3.37 6.4 220 Page 4
Lemberger Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 Keuka 1.85 21.7 3.03 6.8 53 Prev Sample 9/16/2013 Keuka 1.76 20.7 3.00 7.5 29 12 Sample 9/24/2012 Keuka 1.79 23.6 3.20 7.2 40 Malbec Long Island Prev Sample 9/23/2013 9/16/2013 LI-06 LI-06 2.47 2.40 20.4 19.1 3.52 3.33 7.6 9.0 166 146 12 Sample 9/24/2012 North Fork S 2.40 19.6 3.54 9.0 234 Merlot Hudson Valley 9/23/2013 HVL 1.20 19.6 3.41 7.9 157 Long Island 9/23/2013 LI-04 1.99 20.7 3.59 5.0 97 Long Island 9/23/2013 LI-08 1.73 19.7 3.49 6.0 130 Average 9/23/2013 1.64 20.0 3.50 6.3 128 Prev. Sample 9/16/2013 1.67 19.6 3.48 6.0 89 12 Average 9/24/2012 1.97 20.0 3.60 5.1 102 Niagara Lake Erie 9/23/2013 Portland 4.01 14.8 3.28 6.8 335 Prev Sample 9/16/2013 Portland 3.23 15.3 3.37 7.7 153 12 at Harvest 9/5/2012 HARVEST 2012 3.84 16.6 3.26 7.2 205 Noiret Hudson Valley 9/23/2013 HVL 1.80 18.0 3.35 8.8 243 Lake Erie 9/23/2013 Fredonia 1.95 17.5 3.21 12.0 342 Average 9/23/2013 1.88 17.8 3.28 10.4 293 Prev Sample 9/16/2013 1.79 16.9 3.20 10.0 164 12 Sample 9/24/2012 1.74 19.2 3.37 7.5 147 Pinot Noir Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 E. Seneca 1.58 20.6 3.13 8.0 94 Prev Sample 9/16/2013 E. Seneca 1.45 19.6 3.18 6.7 50 12at Harvest 9/10/2012 HARVEST2012 1.46 20.9 3.52 6.4 222 Concord grapes from Keuka Lake picked for the fresh market Photo by Hans Walter-Peterson Page 5
Riesling Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 E. Seneca 1.42 17.5 2.96 10.1 77 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 E. Seneca 1.55 18.6 2.93 9.1 34 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 W. Seneca 1.23 18.5 2.98 9.7 24 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 E. Seneca 1.44 18.3 2.98 10.0 113 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 CL 90 Cayuga 1.51 17.1 2.97 10.9 99 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 Keuka 1.32 17.5 2.96 9.8 58 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 W. Seneca 1.45 18.9 2.95 10.1 122 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 W. Seneca 1.44 17.5 2.98 10.0 111 Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 W. Canandaigua 1.50 15.0 3.09 12.2 279 Hudson Valley 9/23/2013 HVL 1.49 15.7 3.34 11.6 136 Lake Erie 9/23/2013 Fredonia 1.69 15.3 3.11 8.6 142 Long Island 9/23/2013 LI-01 HARVEST Average 9/23/2013 1.46 17.3 3.02 10.2 109 Prev Sample 9/16/2013 1.44 16.7 2.98 10.2 85 12 Sample 9/24/2012 1.66 19.5 3.07 7.5 76 Sauvignon Blanc Long Island 9/16/2013 HARVESTED Final Sample 9/9/2013 HARVESTED 1.23 22.1 3.23 8.1 141 12 at Harvest 9/10/2012 HARVESTED 1.70 20.2 3.40 7.5 141 Seyval Blanc Finger Lakes 9/16/2013 Harvested Final Sample 9/9/2013 HARVESTED 1.77 19.9 3.22 6.4 126 12 at Harvest 9/10/2012 HARVESTED 1.71 19.4 3.39 6.3 194 Traminette Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 Keuka 1.92 20.9 2.88 9.1 89 Hudson Valley 9/23/2013 HVL 1.74 18.9 3.21 8.7 100 Lake Erie 9/23/2013 Fredonia 2.00 8.6 85 Average 9/23/2013 1.89 19.9 3.05 8.8 91 Prev Sample 9/16/2013 1.87 18.1 3.06 9.1 79 12 Sample 9/24/2012 1.91 21.7 3.14 7.1 91 Vignoles Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 VSP Keuka HARVEST Finger Lakes 9/23/2013 W. Seneca 1.73 23.5 3.17 11.6 185 Average 9/23/2013 W. Seneca 1.73 23.5 3.17 11.6 185 Prev Sample 9/16/2013 1.76 22.8 3.01 13.1 173 12 at Harvest 9/10/2012 HARVESTED 1.32 24.5 3.27 8.8 163 Page 6
Marquette Training Study Harvested Thursday, September 26 we harvested our Marquette training studay at Coyote Moon Vineyards in Clayton, New York. This study compares two high training systems (top wire cordon [TWC] and umbrella kniffen [UK]) and one mid-wire training system (vertical shoot positioning [VSP]). We are looking at how the training system affects yield and quality (fruit composition). Photos at right: Top: Trays from one vine of each of the treatments top wire cordon (L), VSP (middle) and umbrella kniffen (right). Middle: Representative clusters from top wire (l), VSP (middle), and umbrella (right). Bottom: Circled clusters from VSP system shown next to top wire cordon vine. Bottom line: Clusters from the VSP -trained vines were smaller on average, and yields appear to be lower than either the TWC or UK -trained vines. Photo at left: Thanks to Sue Gwise, consumer horticulture educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County (kneeling in front), who recruited volunteer Master Gardeners Carol Wardwell, Jackie Isler, and Eugene Mancini (standing) to help us harvest 72 vines. Coyote Moon Vineyard also supplied two persons. We appreciated the help! Photos by Tim Martinson This newsletter was made possible with support from the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, the J. M. Kaplan Fund, and USDA Federal Formula funding through the Cornell and New York State Agricultural Experiment Stations. 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 Eastern New York Fruit and Vegetable Program Copyright 2013 Cornell University 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 regarding 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. Page 7