Around New York... Statewide (Tim Martinson). VERAISON TO HARVEST Statewide Vineyard Crop Development Update #3 September 25, 2009 Edited by Tim Martinson and Chris Gerling activity is starting to gear up with early wine varieties and opening of the Niagara and Concord harvest by major processors. Maturity continues to lag, but postveraison development (See Concord report, p. ) indicates a normal rate of ripening, when veraison date is accounted for. In a cool year such as this one, brix and titratable acidity have a different relationship with flavor development (taste those berries) than in warmer years. Mature flavors are likely to appear at lower brix and higher acidity than in warmer years. Long Island (Alice Wise and Libby Tarleton). Given that veraison was slightly later than usual, ripening has made remarkable progress over the last month. At the research vineyard, Dornfelder was harvested this week. A perennial favorite of birds, it was also starting to shrivel. Young vine (lightly cropped) Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc were also harvested. Losses to birds forced an earlier than desired harvest for the vinifera hybrids Segalin and Semebat. The research vineyard has had unprecedented losses to birds this year. The losses have come almost entirely from feeding through the nets. This is particularly disappointing with some yields already down due to issues with fruit set. Bird pressure in the industry has been variable. Every vineyard has their own unique wildlife pressures birds, deer, raccoons etc. With sparkling harvest finished, harvest of varieties such as Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Muscat Ottonel is starting. Brix vary widely and largely depend on yield. Acids range from moderate to high but flavors are good, a just reward for such a challenging season. Due to very dry weather, canopies have a little downy but are holding up nicely. Fruit rot is minimal and largely related to bird depredation. Finger Lakes (Hans Walter-Peterson) Lake Erie: Concord leaves possibly affected by spray burn or drought stress. Photo by Jodi Creasap Gee The dry weather in September this year has helped growers and winemakers feel a bit more comfortable about letting fruit hang on the vines longer in order to try to squeeze every last bit of sugar, flavors and color into the berries. The weather station at Geneva has recorded less than 0.25 of rain so far this month. This continues to keep bunch rots like Botrytis, sour rot and others from getting too much of a foothold in the vineyard. Winemakers report that fruit has been coming in clean so far. Downy mildew continues to threaten to prematurely defoliate some blocks, but fewer new infections are visible than there were the last couple of weeks. Elvira harvest will continue for another few days. Yields overall have been good, with berry size being all over the place in many cases due to the extended cool bloom period that we had this year. Early varieties like Vincent, Marachel Foch and Leon Millot are off the vines by now. Seyval Blanc has been harvested for the past several days as well. One winemaker reports that they are being harvested 9 days later than they were brought in last year, and that brix are also low. As far as vinifera varieties, some early Chardonnay and Pinot Noir have been picked for sparkling wine production. Chardonnay harvest for still wine production may start next week, along with some blocks of Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. Page 1
Hudson Valley (Steve McKay & Steve Hoying) Hudson Valley growers have consistently commented this season that the crop has been slow to ripen. Characteristic flavors have been harder to achieve, and brix levels have been lower than normal, but are beginning to come up. The warmer weather is beginning to push things along a bit, and the rain predicted this week either never developed, or was much less than predicted. No freezing weather is predicted in the next two weeks, and even though grapes are behind in development, fall conditions for ripening look good. One grower, when asked what the impact of the spring frost in May might have on his total crop, estimated about a 40% yield reduction. The effect of the freeze varied according to locations, and some vineyards suffered no loss at all. It was interesting to note the difference observed between two sites where the ripening of Seyval Blanc was recorded. In Ulster County, two sites with higher elevation, and less vigorous thinning of crop were showing readings of 13.5 brix, whereas a few miles away, at a lower elevation, where the crop load was less, readings were at 19.6 brix. Some sour rot has been observed in the Seyval. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir have been harvested as a base to make sparkling wine. The brix was 15.5, acid was 9g/l, and ph at 3.2. There are no plans to pick anything else soon. Lake Erie (Jodi Creasap Gee). Concord vineyards are slowly ripening, thanks to the couple of weeks with sunshine and little to no rain. The average Brix for the Portland vineyard samples is about 14 - the range is from 12 to 16. Processors will begin the Niagara harvest at the end of this week, and Concord harvest will begin shortly after that. One thing we have been seeing in many vineyards, and a couple of growers have brought in leaves showing some symptoms that look a little like spray burn or even drought stress primarily on the basal leaves (See photo on P. 1). Some symptoms appear to be related to a final spray and in other vineyards, they appear to be related to water stress from the wet weather during the first part of the season and the dry weather we have had in the past several weeks. In the wine grapes this week, more and more leaves are turning bright red. This is a good time to remember why leaves may turn red early in the vineyard. The simplest, and often most obvious reason is crown gall. (See photo on p. 3) When you see these red leaves, check the trunk and cordons for tumor development. If you don t see any tumors, grape leafroll virus is a possible culprit, but, so far, there have been plenty of tumors to be seen this year. Lake Erie Concord Ripening Profile Terry Bates Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory Average Concord berry weight on 9/21/2009 (99 days after bloom) at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory was 3.5 g. The berry curve is finally showing signs of a plateau after approximately three weeks of little precipitation. Juice soluble solids accumulation continues to follow the 11 year average and measured 14.4 º Brix 23 days after veraison. Fresh Berry Weight (g) Juice Soluble Solids (Brix) 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 Concord Berry Curve (Lake Erie) Average 1999-2008 2009 0.0 0 0 30 60 90 120 Days After Bloom 120 100 18 Concord Brix Accumulation (Lake Erie) 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 Average 1998-2008 9 2009 8 7 6-7 0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 Days After Veraison 80 60 40 20 % of Final Page
Larger samples are better than smaller samples. We know that. But samples with larger berries are not better than samples with smaller berries, especially if the vineyard block doesn t skew that way. We want the largest sample that can be reasonably gathered in a representative way. How do we do that? Walk the vineyard. Skip the end rows and move around enough that the entire block is being represented. End rows and panels can be influenced by drifting sprays from other blocks, dust from nearby roads, leftover Chardonnay vines planted into the Cab Franc, etc. Also, the more time you spend in the rows, the better equipped you are to notice changes of any kind. Berry sampling is the way that most of us get information about the relative ripeness of the grapes in question, and the eternal challenge is getting representative, consistent samples. We know that the numbers are not the whole story, but the numbers are a relatively objective measure that we can all talk about. Regular measurements (weekly or at some consistent interval) are also helpful as an indicator of how ripening is progressing. Here are a few tips for getting results that might mean something: Many people recommend sampling blind. The idea is not to look at the vine while picking the berries (or clusters). However, not looking should be combined with awareness of: Lake Erie: Red leaves on Noiret associated with Crown Gall tumors on trunk. Photo by Jodi Creasap Gee Preharvest Berry Sampling Chris Gerling Enology Extension Associate Vine and cluster positioning. The position of the cluster on the vine and the berry in the cluster will influence the result. In the protocol given for the Veraison to project, samplers are asked to pick 3 berries top or mid-cluster for every 1 tip berry. Mark Chien at Penn State prefers whole cluster sampling because now you ve eliminated the cluster position problem. Definitely more squishing though. Consistency is key. Try to have the same person using the same method at the same time of day. Maybe you re a little high or low compared to the real levels, but you stand As I said earlier, numbers are not the whole story. a better chance of accurately reflecting the There are other considerations that will indicate week-to-week changes. that the berries are becoming mature. Visual cues like browner stems, looser, softer berries and the Morning, after dew is dry but before lots presence of birds and bees (they re not stupid) can of hot sun is generally thought to be a pretty complement regular tasting to determine maturity. good time (it s probably more important to When tasting, take note of the condition of the be consistent than to sample at any particular skins and how they break down, the color and time, though). People generally use the hightexture of the seeds, etc. precision tool kit of gallon size sealable plastic bags and coolers with cold packs. Using sealable (zip top) bags becomes very important to the person who is squishing the samples by hand. Page
Fruit Maturation Report - 9/21/09 Samples reported here were collected on Monday, September 21,2009. Where appropriate, sample data from 2008, averaged over all sites is included. Tables from 2008 are archived at www.grapesandwine.cals.cornell.edu/extension/vtoh. php Cabernet Franc Description Berry Wt. % TA (g/ ph (g) Brix L) W Seneca Lake 1.45 18.5 3.17 11.3 E Seneca Lake 1.53 16.8 3.08 14.8 Cayuga Lake 1.43 15.7 3.11 13.7 Hudson Valley 9/21 HV Lab 1.51 16.9 3.30 11.6 Lake Erie 9/21 Fredonia 1.35 16.3 3.18 13.7 Long Island 9/21 S Side North Fork 1.31 15.7 3.23 12.9 N Side North Fork 1.45 15.7 3.25 12.8 Average 9/21 1.43 16.5 3.19 13.0 Prev Sample 9/14 1.40 15.0 3.11 15.4 08 Average 9/22/08 1.61 18.6 3.16 9.6 Catawba Cayuga Lake 2.67 12.8 3.14 8.8 Average 9/21 Prev Sample 9/14 2.60 11.7 3.02 12.9 08 Average -- -- -- -- -- Cayuga White Keuka Lake 3.17 13.9 3.10 12.1 Average 9/21 3.17 13.9 3.10 12.1 Prev Sample 9/14 2.72 14.5 3.10 12.3 08 Average 9/22/08 3.27 21.5 3.21 8.6 Chancellor No Shoot/Cluster thin 1.66 16.1 3.20 13.6 Lake Erie 9/21 Mechanical Shoot thin 1.62 17.2 3.20 13.6 Mechanical Cluster Thin 1.61 16.2 3.22 13.0 Average 9/21 1.63 16.5 3.21 13.4 Prev Sample 9/14 1.52 15.6 3.13 15.3 08 Average -- -- -- -- -- Chardonnay W Seneca - Shoot thin 1.73 17.9 3.22 11.1 W Seneca - No Shoot Thin 1.67 18.4 3.19 12.1 Cayuga Lake 1.50 16.7 3.02 15.8 HV Lab 1.74 18.7 3.45 9.0 Hudson Valley 9/21 North Hudson Valley 1.47 16.4 3.38 9.1 Long Island S Side North Fork 1.57 16.6 3.33 12.7 Average 9/21 1.61 17.5 3.27 11.6 Prev Sample 9/14 1.64 16.2 3.21 12.3 08 Average 9/22/08 1.50 20.5 3.14 9.9 Page 4
Concord Keuka Lake 3.66 13.0 3.29 8.0 Average 9/21 3.66 13.0 3.29 8.0 Prev Sample 9/14 3.59 11.8 3.17 9.5 08 Average 9/22/08 3.34 15.3 3.15 7.0 Corot Noir Shoot thin/leaf Removal 2.29 15.2 3.26 10.8 No Shoot Thin/No Leaf Rem 2.26 15.3 3.29 9.6 Average 9/21 2.27 15.3 3.28 10.2 Prev Sample 9/14 2.10 13.4 3.16 13.0 08 Average -- 3.27 21.5 3.21 8.6 Gewürztraminer Long Island 9/21 HV Lab 1.64 19.0 3.71 6.5 Average 9/21 1.64 19.0 3.71 6.5 Prev Sample 9/14 1.89 18.6 3.68 6.5 Marechal Foch DescriptionS Berry Wt. (g) % Brix ph TA (g/l) Hudson Valley 9/21 HV Lab 1.11 21.7 3.65 7.8 Average 9/21 1.11 21.7 3.65 7.8 Prev Sample 9/14 1.64 19.0 3.71 6.5 08 Average 9/22/08 1.02 24.1 3.18 12.8 Leon Millot Shoot Thin 0.94 22.2 3.13 15.0 No Shoot Thin 0.87 22.3 3.10 15.9 Average 9/21 0.90 22.3 3.12 15.4 Prev Sample 9/14 0.90 19.9 3.04 16.5 08 Average -- -- -- -- -- Merlot Hudson Valley 9/21 HV Lab 2.05 17.9 3.56 7.8 Long Island 9/21 S Side North Fork 1.83 16.5 3.42 10.8 N Side North Fork 1.81 15.1 3.33 12.0 Average 9/21 1.90 16.5 3.44 10.2 Prev Sample 9/14 1.80 15.5 3.26 11.7 08 Average 9/22/08 1.61 20.5 3.42 7.6 Page 5
Noiret W Seneca Shoot Thin 2.02 13.8 3.13 12.9 W Seneca No Shoot Thin 1.77 14.6 3.05 14.5 Hudson Valley 9/21 HV Lab 1.60 16.0 3.36 8.4 W Hudson Valley 1.73 17.2 3.33 9.0 Lake Erie 9/21 Sheridan-no treatment 1.89 15.3 3.13 14.4 Sheridan-crown gall 1.74 16.0 3.16 13.9 Average 9/21 1.79 15.5 3.19 12.2 Prev Sample 9/14 1.75 14.8 3.11 14.3 08 Average 9/22/08 1.81 16.5 2.94 13.8 Pinot Noir E Seneca Lake 1.59 18.1 3.28 10.4 Hudson Valley 9/21 HV Lab 1.83 19.1 3.35 11.1 Mid Valley 1.36 14.5 3.24 13.4 Average 9/21 1.59 17.2 3.29 11.6 Prev Sample 9/14 1.57 18.1 3.25 11.8 08 Average 9/22/08 1.25 21.0 3.24 8.9 Riesling W Seneca-Shoot thin/leaf Rem 1.51 17.1 2.98 16.2 W Seneca-No Shoot Thin/No Leaf Rem 1.41 16.9 2.97 16.9 E Seneca (1) 1.86 16.2 3.00 16.6 E Seneca -shoot thin (2) 1.70 14.7 3.02 17.7 E Seneca - no shoot thin (2) 1.70 15.1 3.01 17.6 Cayuga Lake 1.64 16.1 2.97 18.7 Hudson Valley 9/21 North Hudson Valley 2.04 16.0 3.27 9.8 Hudson Valley HV Lab 1.94 17.3 3.26 12.2 Fredonia -No Thin/No leaf rem 1.45 15.2 3.09 17.4 Lake Erie 9/21 Fredonia - No leaf rem/late hedge 1.45 13.9 3.09 17.8 Fredonia-Leaf rem/early hedge 1.32 14.8 3.09 16.7 Fredonia-No leaf rem/early hedge 1.33 15.0 3.08 17.3 Average 9/21 1.61 15.7 3.07 16.2 Prev Sample 9/14 1.46 14.0 3.01 18.7 08 Average 9/22/08 1.61 17.2 2.89 13.3 Sauvignon Blanc Long Island 9/21 S Side North Fork 1.79 17.1 3.15 15.9 Average 9/21 1.79 17.1 3.15 15.9 Prev Sample 9/21 1.70 16.1 3.05 17.9 08 Average 9/22/08 1.77 20.1 3.03 10.8 Page 6
Seyval Blanc Cayuga - Cluster thin/shoot thin 2.02 20.5 3.34 7.7 Cayuga - no Cluster/no shoot thin 1.90 19.1 3.08 8.2 Hudson Valley 9/21 HV Lab 1.76 15.9 3.31 8.9 W Hudson Valley 1.88 13.5 2.97 22.4 Average 9/21 1.89 17.3 3.18 11.8 Prev Sample 9/14 1.95 17.0 3.24 9.2 08 Average 9/22/08 2.16 21.5 3.04 9.0 Traminette Shoot Thin 1.87 14.2 2.92 17.4 No Shoot Thin 1.66 13.6 2.93 18.2 Hudson Valley 9/21 HV Lab 1.95 16.7 3.17 12.2 W Hudson Valley 1.41 15.8 3.17 11.7 No Shoot Thin (1) 2.00 13.9 3.08 15.9 Lake Erie 9/21 Shoot Thin (1) 1.96 14.6 3.08 15.7 No Shoot thin (2) 1.74 13.3 3.04 19.2 Shoot Thin (2) 1.88 13.2 3.05 18.0 Average 9/21 1.81 14.4 3.06 16.0 Prev Sample 9/14 1.81 14.5 3.08 15.7 08 Average 9/15/2008 1.95 18.9 2.92 11.7 Vignoles Finger Lakes 9/08 Shoot thin 1.79 18.5 3.13 15.6 No shoot thin 1.45 17.1 3.10 15.9 Average 9/21 1.62 17.8 3.12 15.8 Prev Sample 9/14 1.38 16.8 3.02 16.5 08 Average -- -- -- -- -- Vidal Blanc Finger Lakes 9/08 E Cayuga Lake -Shoot thin 1.54 14.4 3.11 13.1 E Cayuga Lake -No shoot thin 1.51 15.0 3.13 12.9 Average 9/21 1.53 14.7 3.12 13.0 08 Average 9/22/08 2.22 20.4 3.07 11.4 Note: Will be sampled once more at harvest. Page
harvest focus: early shoot thinning on Leon millot Tim Martinson & Justine Vanden Heuvel This past Wednesday we harvested fruit from a commercial Leon Millot block on Keuka Lake. Last spring, we had shoot-thinned one row to approximately 5 shoots per foot of row. We thinned at about 3-5 inch shoot growth, and reduced shoot number by an estimated 30%. Cluster counts at harvest indicated about 50 clusters per vine on the thinned row and 80-100 on unthinned row. Wines are being made from both thinned and unthinned rows. Fruit chemistry numbers are found in the current and past Fruit Maturity Report on page 5 of this newsletter. This newsletter was made possible through a grant from the New York Wine and Grape Foundation s Total Quality Focus program. Veraison to is a joint publication of: Cornell Enology Extension Program Statewide Viticulture Extension Program Long Island Grape Program Finger Lakes Grape Program Lake Erie al Grape Program Hudson Valley al Fruit Program Copyright 2009 Cornell University Leon Millot clusters from unthinned (L) and shoot-thinned (R) vines Photo by Tim Martinson This demonstration block is part of the Canopy Management for Hybrids project led by Justine Vanden Heuvel, supported by the New York Farm Viability Institute. Thanks to Mel Goldman of Keuka Lake Vineyards for his cooperation and interest in this project. Top: Canopy and clusters in Shoot-thinned Leon Millot. Bottom: Typical clusters in un-thinned (standard practice) rows. Photo by Tim Martinson 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 8