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February 20, 2017

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Pruning and Other Pre-Season Tasks

We had a number of mild days in January that were perfect for some of the off-season tasks. My grandsons, Charlie and Teddy, spent several sunny afternoons helping me remove the grow tubes from the vines planted in 2016. Both boys are eager to work in the vineyard with me and do a great job as my field buddies. I doubled the size of the vineyard last year by adding 100 new vines—mostly Cabernet, Syrah and Viognier—which called for the protective cover of Blue-X grow tubes. The boys and I worked up a little assembly-line concept that split the work into separate tasks, and the three of us made short work of grow tube removal and disposal. Following that bit of cleanup, I took up my pruning tasks in preparation for the growing season. It's my second year pruning, tying and training the vines, and my comfort level with the decision-making process has increased. I tackled the vinifera first, pruning the cordons to about 30 inches and the shoots back to two buds. Some of the growth,...

Five Rows Of Trellis Completed

I completed five rows of trellis installation this past weekend, and I'm pleased to say the planning, research and prototyping paid off handsomely. With absolutely no experience to draw on, I read all I could find on trellis construction. Double A Vineyards has several good articles on the topic, and I gleaned additional product information from the Orchard Valley Supply website before finalizing my design. It all came together Sunday afternoon when I finished stringing wire on five of my eight rows. Here is how I did it, and what I learned from the exercise: End Posts— I used 7-in. diameter, 8-ft. treated posts from Tractor Supply for end posts, placed in a 12-in. diameter hole 24 inches deep. The posts lean away from the row about 15-degrees off vertical and are set in tamped dirt and dry concrete. What I Learned: The first four posts were not set in concrete. That was a bad idea, although I am satisfied they will hold with the end anchors. The posts with ...

The 2020 Growing Season

It's a Mystery In 2019, there were 136 days from bud break until harvest for the Syrah, and 129 days from bud break to harvest for the Cabernet Sauvignon. This year, there were 156 days from bud break until harvest for Syrah, while the Cab got a later start by about 14 days. Both varieties were picked on the same date this year, Both 2019 and 2020 had similar growing seasons with heavy rains in May followed by two dry months, a typical (3.5 in. of rain) in August. Rainfall in May this year was substantially more than in 2019, but a rainy August is beginning to look like the norm, making harvest plans difficult. In spite of the similar weather and a longer growing season, the grapes in 2019 achieved higher sugar than this year. The 2019 Syrah was picked at 22 degrees Brix while this year all I could get was 19 degrees Brix. On the other hand, the Cabernet Sauvignon was picked at 19.2 degrees Brix, versus 18.5 degrees in 2019. I'm not sure what to make of these differences whe...

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