Veraison to HarVest...Hardy Grapes Part 2: Microbial Outsourcing Chris Gerling When working with...

Veraison to HarVestStatewide Vineyard Crop Development Update #4

September 25, 2015Edited by Tim Martinson and Chris Gerling

Around New York...Statewide (Tim Martinson)

The region returned to more seasonable weather last week – with highs in the 70s and lows in the 40s and 50s – but still overwhelmingly sunny. In a word, it was great weather for ripening grapes. Overall (see Fruit Composition Table, pp. 6-9), soluble solids increased by 1 to 2 °brix in most varieties, and acids dropped by about 1 g/liter on average. Among our sampled vineyards, Cayuga white, Niagara, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot noir, most of the Marquette, Frontenac, and La Crescent and Zweigelt were harvested (or will be off our list next week). Looking back to the 2014 samples taken at the same time last year, the numbers look a lot like our samples from last week – so it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that overall we are running about a week ahead of 2014.

Among the late varieties, acids are a lot lower than last year – and in the ‘harvestable range’ (although flavor development might be a different story). TAs of Cabernet Franc are in the 5.5-8.0 g/l range, and two-thirds of the Riesling blocks are below 10 g/l, with the average titratable acidity 2.6 g/l lower than last year at this time.

Also in this issue, two articles focus on cold-hardy grapes. Chris Gerling's second installment on de-acidification (p. 4) covers microbial methods (eg. malolactic fermentation) and Anna Wallis (p.5) gives an update on the Willsboro planting at Lake Champlain. Finally, see photos (p. 10) of ‘loose-clustered’ vignoles clones under testing by USDA and the statewide viticulture extension program.

Lake Erie (Luke Haggerty)For most of the region’s processors, Monday Septem-ber 21 marked the start of the Concord harvest. An-

other week of sunny days has helped push sugar lev-els of most Concord blocks into a harvestable range. Early reports from growers are mixed. Areas that ex-perienced freeze damage and are relying on second-ary shoots are finding a lighter crop with lower sugar. Other areas are harvesting an average crop with com-ing in at 15 to 16 °brix.

The Niagara harvest finished early this week and ahead of schedule. The impact of winter damaged was noticed in the very light crop this season. Niagara yield at the Fredonia lab averaged 3.5 tons/acre and slightly higher at the Portland CLEREL vineyard at 5.5 tons/acre.

Grape Berry Moth (GBM) continues to be a problem for many Lake Erie Region grape growers. Through-out the season Andy Muza, Penn State extension edu-cator for Erie County PA, examines grape clusters for GBM eggs on eight high-risk sites. Like last year, Andy has been finding an alarming amount of eggs. The ear-ly September survey looked at 25 clusters per site and the results were; 0%, 8%, 8%, 16%, and 44% of clusters examined had GBM eggs. The percentages have de-creased from earlier counts, but is does not take many GBM to cause significant damage.

Inflatable ‘Air Dancer’, most commonly seen at gas stations, made an appearance in this Seneca Lake vineyard to scare away birds.

Photo by Tim Martinson

Long Island (Alice Wise)The stars are in alignment for Long Island. For the third consecutive year, harvest weather has been primarily sunny and dry. There was a day and a half of much-needed intermittent rain mid-month followed by a few foggy mornings. Since then, about 10 days, it has been bone dry. The forecast holds no promise for anything other than a sprin-kle next week. Row middles are crispy, lawns are parched and trees are thirsty. Despite the cos-metic challenges, this has been ideal weather for grape ripening.Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc were harvest-ed this week as was fruit for rosé. We finished Chardonnay harvest in the research vineyard. The berries had that wonderful, golden translu-cent quality and seeds were fully brown. Growers and winemakers agree that harvest this year has been a real pleasure. Fruit quality is excellent and yields are good. Vines in low spots where winter injury occurred have experienced a slight reduc-tion in crop. There is a touch of botrytis here and there in susceptible varieties, a consequence of the mid-month moisture. Amazing to see how a few foggy mornings jump started botrytis infections. In most blocks, the infections are minor/clean and thus the fruit has not required field cleaning or sorting. Vineyard managers have their fingers crossed for continued good weather for the ripening of Mer-lot and other Bordeaux reds.

Finger Lakes (Hans Walter-Peterson)The weather for much of harvest this year contin-ues to be almost ideal for both vines and growers alike. Multiple sunny, warm days interspersed with a rainy day now and then have helped to keep the crop maturing nicely while disease pres-sure has remained relatively low for the most part. So far, much of the picking has been done when growers and winemakers wanted to, not when they had to. That’s probably as good a cri-terion as any for what makes a “good year” in the Finger Lakes.Most of the Niagara crop in the Finger Lakes has been picked, and Constellation also brought in some early Catawba loads over the past week. Now the focus for many growers turns to Con-cord harvest for Constellation, National Grape Cooperative, Royal Wine Company and others. The final loads of Cayuga White and Seyval were coming off this week, and some Vignoles blocks have also been harvested this week. From the sounds of it, lots of Chardonnay is start-ing to come to crush pads this week and next, as well as Pinot noir, Pinot gris and Gewürztramin-er. We have also been seeing some early Riesling starting to come off, most likely as a way to retain some acidity in the final wines due to the unusu-ally low acids in many cases this year. At the Teaching & Demonstration Vineyard, we harvested our Zweigelt and the tiny amount of Chenin Blanc we had this year, both of which needed a little bit of “triage” to remove some bunch rot due to their tight clusters. Students from Finger Lakes Community College harvested some early Cabernet Franc for rosé production as well.The forecast for the next several days looks quite similar to what we’ve had over the past couple weeks – warm and sunny, with some rain com-ing along to keep the vines going for a few more weeks. Temperatures will cool down next week as well, so ripening should slow a bit and keep harvest going at a manageable pace.

Long Island: Ken Johnson and Amanda Gardner, CCE-Suf-folk County, collect data from an early leafing trial at Bedell Cellars, Cutchogue, Sept. 23, 2015.

Photo by Steve Carlson

Hudson and Champlain Valleys (Jim O’Connell and Anna Wallis)Champlain Valley. Fall weather arrived right on time this week in the Champlain Valley, just in time for the first day of the season. Cooler day-time and nighttime temperatures began on Sun-day 9/20 with highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the 40’s. In parts of the Adirondacks, away from the water-mediated climate of Lake Champlain, a few frost warnings were even issued as early morning temperatures dropped to 40°F.This weekend was a beautiful weekend for harvest at more advanced sites. The grapes at Willsboro were harvested this past Friday 9/18. Brix levels are at acceptable levels in many places around the region. Samples of Frontenac gris, Frontenac, La crosse, Marquette, and St. Pepin were all above 20°Brix. Maturity has slowed a bit with the cool weather, so it is possible to leave grapes hanging a little longer waiting acidity to drop. Wildlife continues to be one of the biggest culprit of grape losses. Birds (possibly wild turkeys) and deer have devastated several young plantings al-most overnight. Hudson Valley. Cooler, fall like temperatures were the norm for this past week in the Hudson Valley. Average day time temp was 69F, while the average night time temp was 51F. This cooler weather has slowed things down for Hudson Valley growers, allowing them time to catch up on harvest. The Seyval blanc harvest continues through parts of the valley. Baco noir and Niagara are being har-vested this week. Riesling, and Cabernet sauvignon are maturing, and have another two to three weeks before they are ready. Growers are still waiting on De Chaunac. Although ready in terms of high brix, the acid levels remain at undesirable levels. This week I was called out to a vineyard where the grower suspects infestation by spotted wing Drosophila (SWD). In addition to collecting fruit samples to check for eggs and/or larvae, I also live captured adult drosophilids using an attachment to a hand vacuum. These will be examined under a stereoscopic microscope to see if they are actually SWD.

2015 Lake Erie Concord Update: Terry Bates

September 23, 2015. Concord fresh berry weight and juice soluble solids continues to progress at a normal rate with influences from weekly weather conditions. Two weeks ago, heavy precipitation caused an above aver-age increase in fresh berry weight and slower soluble solids accumulation. This past week, warm and dry conditions have had the op-posite effect with a decrease in average fresh berry weight and increased soluble solids ac-cumulation.

Acid Reduction Trials in Cold- Hardy Grapes

Part 2: Microbial Outsourcing

Chris Gerling

When working with northern grapes, acid is a con-stant companion. Even at peak maturity, the titratable acidity (TA) of many cold-hardy cultivars can be well above 10 g/L. Cold hardy grapes tend to be high in both tartaric and malic acids, but malic acid is the less “preferable” acid if winemakers were given a choice. In cases where there is simply too much acid, biologi-cal and chemical tools are available. Last week I wrote about favoring malic acid removal in chemical deacidi-fication. This week I will discuss our microbiological approach to reducing acidity.Malolactic fermentation (MLF), the bacterial conver-sion of malic acid to lactic acid, is not a new tool in winemaking. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have prob-ably lived in every wine cellar throughout history, and MLF has been intentionally employed as a winemak-ing tool for at least a century. The natural habitat of LAB is the oak barrel, and malolactic fermentation is associated with wines that visit barrels, i.e., reds and Chardonnay. MLF is somewhat comparable to digital photo editing, where rough edges are smoothed and harsh angles soft-ened. There may be some loss of clarity or focus from the original product, but this trade-off is usually worth-while because the modified version is more pleasant and approachable as a complete package. In other words, you get more "likes" when you share them. Aromatic wines and LAB have not traditionally been viewed as good for each other, however, since aromatic wines are all about focus, clarity and fruit, while malo-lactic fermentation can dull these attributes. You don’t put the Barbara Walters lens filter over a picture of a Keuka vineyard in fall.Be that as it may, before the Photoshop tutorial you may recall that we still have an acid problem, and that malic acid would be a great candidate for removal. If a wine could undergo MLF and still retain the fresh-ness and fruit-forward character that we expect from

an aromatic wine, we would be on to something. Coin-oculation, where MLF happens during alcoholic fer-mentation (LAB are added 24 hours after the yeast), is a promising strategy here, especially when the right strains are used, because the sensory impact of MLF tends to be less pronounced. Coinoculation also offers a few technical advantages over the traditional alcohol-ic-then-MLF sequence, since the medium is warmer, contains more nutrients and has lower alcohol. With an aromatic variety like La Crescent, our aim is to remove the acid and keep the fruit-forward charac-ter. We will be comparing these wines with treatments where ML happens following alcoholic fermentation and those where no MLF takes place and the acid is adjusted chemically. To give the biological deacidifi-cation an extra boost, we have also chosen yeast strains that can metabolize some malic acid. You should demand that we do acid reduction trials every fall. Whenever we plan these experiments, we inevitably get plenty of heat and sunshine. I would rec-ommend an endowment for just this type of research. On a more serious note, new high-acid cultivars are being planted at a rapid pace in places that very recent-ly were regarded as climactically unsuitable for vine-yards. We also know that every season is different, and you can never predict when a medium-acid grape will become a high-acid grape due to necessities of harvest. For the most part, I think wine benefits from a healthy amount of acid to provide life and structure. And when the TA gets a little out of range, it’s good to know there are both chemical and microbiological tools to bring it back. Step 1: Plan an acid trial for next year.

Fermentation trials with two different yeast strains at the Vinification and Brewing Laboratory at the NYS Agricultur-al Experiment Station in Geneva. Note that the fermentation lots in the back row are more active (‘bubbly’) than the ones in the front row.

Photo by Luann Preston-Wilsey

With the work of five people, grapes were harvested, data collected, and bird netting removed in approximate-ly 1 day. A big thank you to the East-ern NY Commercial Horticulture team members who helped to get this work done: Lindsey Pashow, Jesse Strzock, Annie Mills, and Amy Ivy.Acknowledgement. This trial is part of the Northern Grapes Project, funded by the USDA’s Specialty Crops Research Initiative Program of the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, Project #2011-51181-30850, and the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

Project UPdate...Harvest at Willsboro researcH Farm

Anna Wallis

Grapes were harvested at the Willsboro Research Farm in Northeastern NY last Friday, September 18. Due to the hot, dry weather, maturity indices were extremely advanced this season. In previous seasons, grapes have been harvested as late as the 2nd week in October, or as early as the 2nd week in September. In addition, the grape planting at Willsboro is on an exceptional site. Excellent air drainage, sunlight ex-posure, and proximity to Lake Champlain provide slightly milder temperatures and optimum matu-rity conditions. The maturity of the crop here tends to be slightly more advanced than other vineyards in the region.The variety trial at the Willsboro Farm is in a tran-sition period. Of the original 25 varieties planted in this variety trial, only 4 varieties remain: Mar-quette, La Crescent, Frontenac, and Frontenac gris. This means we have downsized significantly from 300 vines to 48. The site will be planted to a new variety trial including advanced selections from various cold climate grape breeding programs in the future. The remaining varieties were selected as representatives for the region for continued enol-ogy research. The harvest will be used in enology trials by Anna Katharine Mansfield and Chris Ger-ling at the NY State Agricultural Experiment Sta-tion in Geneva.

Cumulative Harvest Data (yield summary)

Variety Clusters per Vine

Avg Yield per Vine kg (lb)

Total yield (kg)

Marquette 52.7 4.9 (10.8) 112.1La Crescent 49.3 4.8 (10.5) 57.7Frontenac 66.5 8.5 (18.7) 93.9Frontenac gris 65.8 8.9 (19.6) 107.3

Harvest crew at Willsboro. Left to right: Anna Wallis, Annie Wills, Jesse Strzock, and Lindsay Pashow. Amy Ivy not pictured.

Photo by Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program

Harvest at Willsboro cold-hardy grape variety trial, on the western shore of Lake Champlain. In its eighth growing season, the trial is in transition. Only four of the origi-nal 25 varieties (Marquette, La Crescent, Frontenac, and Frontenac Gris) remain. A new selection of cultivars will be planted in 2016.

Photo by Anna Wallis

Fruit composition report - 9/25/2015Samples reported here were collected on Monday, September 21.Where appropriate, sample data from 2014, averaged over all sites is included. Tables from 2014 are archived at http://grapesandwine.cals.cornell.edu/newsletters/veraison-harvest. We are again reporting berry weight, brix, titratable acidity and pH, and yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN). Cabernet Franc

Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 E. Seneca 1.52 20.8 3.17 7.9 48Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 W. Seneca 1.26 20.0 3.11 7.8 26Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Cayuga 1.40 20.9 3.29 6.9 60Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Dresden/3309 1.43 22.7 3.44 5.5 38Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Wayne County 1.06 18.2 3.08 8.7 108Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Geneva 1.76 19.4 3.26 8.8 105

Hudson Valley 9/21/2015 HVRL Vineyard Highland 1.49 18.8 3.44 6.8 119Long Island 9/21/2015 LI-05 2.16 20.4 3.62 5.6 80Long Island 9/21/2015 LI-09 1.50 20.2 3.69 5.4 84

Average 9/21/2015 1.51 20.2 3.34 7.0 74Prev. Sample 9/14/2015 1.45 18.3 3.22 8.0 53‘14 Average 9/23/2014 1.70 18.7 3.13 8.4 39

CatawbaRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Keuka 2.83 15.9 2.92 12.2 111Prev Sample 9/14/2015 Keuka 2.83 14.3 2.92 10.7 100‘14 Sample 9/23/2014 Keuka 2.50 14.7 2.70 22.3 83

Cayuga WhiteRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Keuka HARVEST Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Cayuga 3.02 18.3 3.29 7.8 291Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Dresden 2.91 20.2 3.35 7.1 183

Average 9/21/2015 2.96 19.3 3.32 7.4 237Prev Sample 9/14/2015 3.02 18.7 3.25 8.5 175‘14 at Harvest 9/23/2014 2.78 17.4 2.92 13.1 138

ChardonnayRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Cayuga 1.58 20.5 3.14 8.4 99Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 W. Seneca 1.66 20.8 3.23 7.4 83Long Island 9/21/2015 LI-03 1.89 20.8 3.59 6.5 143

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Dresden 1.53 22.4 3.32 5.6 50Average 9/21/2015 1.66 21.1 3.32 7.0 94

Prev. Sample 9/14/2015 1.64 19.2 3.21 8.4 85‘14 Average 9/23/2014 1.63 18.9 3.05 9.4 80

ConcordRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Keuka 3.58 15.3 3.28 7.5 150Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 W. Canandaigua 3.65 15.7 3.36 7.3 153

Lake Erie 9/21/2015 Portland 3.91 15.6 3.15 10.8 161Lake Erie 9/21/2015 Fredonia 4.19 16.1 3.06 10.9 194Average 9/21/2015 3.83 15.7 3.21 9.1 165

Prev Sample 9/14/2015 3.68 14.0 3.14 10.5 197‘14 Sample 9/23/2014 3.54 14.7 3.03 10.7 135

Corot NoirRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Dresden 2.51 18.0 3.32 6.7 99Prev Sample 9/14/2015 Dresden 2.35 16.9 3.22 7.5 113’14 Sample 9/23/2014 Teaching Vyd 2.17 17.3 3.10 9.2 65

FrontenacRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Champlain Valley 9/21/2015 Willsboro 1.38 22.9 3.02 15.1 278Thousand Islands 9/21/2015 Clayton 1.36 23.1 3.15 17.8 617Thousand Islands 9/21/2015 Clayton 1.54 20.1 2.98 22.9 366Thousand Islands 9/21/2015 Clayton HARVEST

Average 9/21/2015 1.43 23.0 3.09 16.4 448Prev Sample 9/14/2015 1.18 20.2 3.03 16.9

* 2nd crop sample not included in average, late due to spring frost

Frontenac GrisRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Champlain Valley 9/21/2015 Willsboro 1.26 24.6 3.01 13.5 281Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Trumansburg HARVEST

Average 9/21/2015 1.26 24.6 3.01 13.5 281Prev Sample 9/14/2015 1.07 22.5 3.03 15.1

Gruner VeltlinerRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/14/2015 Dresden HARVESTFinal Sample 9/8/2015 Dresden 1.76 19.2 3.23 5.7‘14 at Harvest 9/16/2014 Teaching Vyd 1.63 18.0 3.20 6.8 139

La CrescentRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Geneva HARVESTThousand Islands 9/21/2015 Clayton 1.40 21.7 2.97 19.8 213Champlain Valley 9/21/2015 Willsboro 1.65 21.3 3.02 15.8 85

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Trumansburg HARVESTAverage 9/21/2015 1.52 21.5 3.00 17.8 149

Prev. Average 9/14/2015 1.30 21.4 3.07 16.3

LembergerRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Keuka 1.56 22.3 3.08 8.6 62Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Dresden 1.87 21.9 3.31 7.0 115

Average 9/21/2015 1.72 22.1 3.20 7.8 88Prev. Average 9/14/2015 1.78 20.4 3.13 8.6 81

‘14 Sample 9/23/2014 1.99 20.4 3.08 8.7 97

MarquetteRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Champlain Valley 9/21/2015 Willsboro 1.73 24.6 2.94 13.5 162Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Dresden/0wn HARVESTFinger Lakes 9/21/2015 Dresden/3309 HARVESTFinger Lakes 9/21/2015 Keuka HARVESTFinger Lakes 9/21/2015 Trumansburg HARVEST

Lake Erie 9/21/2015 HARVESTThousand Islands 9/21/2015 Clayton 1.28 24.2 3.14 14.2 428Thousand Islands 9/21/2015 Clayton 1.45 22.7 2.96 18.3 305Thousand Islands 9/21/2015 Clayton 1.24 20.1 2.92 10.6 90

Average 9/21/2015 1.26 22.2 3.03 12.4 259Prev. Average 9/14/2015 1.35 21.3 3.06 13.7 ‘14 at Harvest 9/2/2014 Harvest 2014 1.09 22.7 2.98 12.9

* 2nd crop sample not included in average, late due to spring frost

MalbecRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Long Island 9/21/2015 LI-06 2.62 21.0 3.55 6.8 104Prev Sample 9/14/2015 LI-06 2.55 19.4 3.45 6.8 114’14 Sample 9/23/2014 LI-06 2.73 20.8 3.29 7.4 64

MerlotRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Hudson Valley 9/21/2015 HVRL Highland 1.60 19.4 3.60 7.1 166Long Island 9/21/2015 LI-04 1.94 20.9 3.74 5.5 86Long Island 9/21/2015 LI-10 1.63 20.4 3.68 5.0 125

Average 9/21/2015 1.72 20.2 3.67 5.8 126Prev Sample 9/14/2015 1.72 19.8 3.56 5.8 85‘14 Average 9/23/2014 1.95 19.9 3.38 5.7 69

NiagaraRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)Lake Erie 9/21/2015 Portland 3.53 16.0 3.29 7.7 110Lake Erie 9/21/2015 Fredonia HARVESTAverage 9/21/2015 3.53 16.0 3.29 7.7 110

Prev Sample 9/14/2015 4.07 15.2 3.18 8.3 114‘14 Sample 9/23/2014 Portland 4.40 15.1 3.21 6.6 172

NoiretRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Wayne County 1.71 17.4 3.11 10.5 219Hudson Valley 9/21/2015 HVRL Highland 1.80 19.0 3.14 10.0 135

Average 9/21/2015 1.76 18.2 3.13 10.2 177Prev Sample 9/14/2015 1.73 17.7 3.13 10.1 156‘14 Sample 9/23/2014 1.88 18.0 3.17 9.9 159

Pinot NoirRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 E. Seneca 1.28 21.9 3.29 7.3 93Prev Sample 9/14/2015 E. Seneca 1.38 19.8 3.30 7.6 90‘14 Sample 9/23/2014 E. Seneca 1.39 20.5 3.12 8.9 88

RieslingRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 E. Seneca 1.71 18.5 2.94 9.4 50Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 W. Seneca 1.56 17.5 2.92 10.2 38Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 E. Seneca 1.73 18.5 3.12 10.1 156Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 CL 90 Cayuga 1.72 18.8 3.03 9.6 93Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Keuka 1.27 18.6 3.02 10.1 73Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 W. Seneca 1.65 18.3 3.04 9.8 121Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 W. Canandaigua 1.52 17.8 2.99 11.4 85Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Dresden 1.48 19.2 3.08 8.0 40Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 E. Seneca/Cl90 1.51 20.5 2.97 8.3 24Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 E. Seneca/Cl239 1.44 20.9 3.01 8.1 21Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 E. Seneca/Cl198 1.46 19.9 3.08 7.7 26Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Wayne County 1.36 16.8 2.92 11.3 162Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Geneva 1.76 17.4 3.10 9.9 122

Hudson Valley 9/21/2015 HVRL Highland 1.61 18.4 3.20 7.3 78Long Island 9/21/2015 LI-01 1.52 17.5 3.26 7.3 89

Average 9/21/2015 1.55 18.6 3.05 9.2 79Prev. Sample 9/14/2015 1.52 17.3 3.01 10.5 80‘14 Sample 9/23/2014 1.59 17.5 2.96 11.6 87

Sauvignon BlancRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Long Island HARVESTFinal Sample 9/14/2015 LI-02 1.43 20.0 3.29 6.7 65’14 Sample 9/16/2014 LI-02 1.44 19.5 3.16 7.5 63

Seyval BlancRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/8/2015 Cayuga HARVESTLake Erie 9/8/2015 Fredonia HARVEST

Final Sample 8/31/2015 1.63 14.9 2.98 12.1 ‘14 at Harvest 9/9/2014 1.82 18.2 3.04 9.0 148

St CroixRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/15/2015 Geneva HARVESTFinal Sample 9/8/2015 Geneva 2.03 18.9 3.23 9.3

TraminetteRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Keuka 2.02 18.0 2.95 12.1 362Hudson Valley 9/21/2015 HVRL Highland 2.20 22.9 3.23 7.4 62


Vidal Blanc Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 Dresden 2.16 20.2 3.19 8.6 77Prev Sample 9/14/2015 Dresden 2.07 18.2 3.09 9.3 80’14 Sample 9/23/2014 Teaching Vyd 2.05 19.0 3.08 10.5 61

VignolesRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 VSP Keuka 1.63 21.4 3.02 16.2 260Finger Lakes 9/21/2015 W. Seneca 1.72 22.7 3.11 15.5 178


ZweigeltRegion Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Finger Lakes HARVESTFinal Sample 9/14/2015 Dresden 1.87 19.6 3.18 6.3 113’14 at Harvest 9/16/2014 Teaching Vyd 1.82 17.0 3.17 7.3 149

Tuesday, September 22. Clouds and fog rose over Seneca Lake as cooler temperatures moved into the region ‒ a com-mon sight during grape harvest season in the Finger Lakes

Photo by Tim Martinson

loose clustered vignoles clones

Tim Martinson and Gan-Yuan Zhong

Vignoles is a unique cultivar that makes wines – including late-harvest wines – of exceptional quality and distinction. But let’s face it – it has its drawbacks. Most are related to its thin skin and tight clusters that can lead to extreme levels of Botrytis fruit rot and sour rot.

USDA-ARS Grape Genetics Research Unit (GGRU) in Gene-va is developing new Vignoles selections with loose clusters and improved resistance to botrytis. The project was initiated several years ago by Amanda Garris, then a geneticist with GGRU, who produced several thousands of Vignoles clones by subjecting them to gamma ray irradiation. The hope was that some of these clones would turn out to have looser clus-ters, and thereby be less prone to rapid increases in Botrytis and sour rot severity. These clones were planted in a block at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory (CLEREL) in Portland, NY and evaluated for cluster compact-ness over 3 years by then GGRU geneticist Peter Cousins.

A selection of 18 of these clones was planted at the McCarthy farm in Geneva two years ago under the current project leader of GGRU geneticist Gan-Yuan Zhong. A replicated trial of 10 of the 18 clones was planted this year at CLEREL in Portland to do more detailed analysis of their cluster architecture and propensity to develop Botrytis and other fruit rots. These vines, in their second season, have a limited number of clusters, which we plan to use to make preliminary evaluations of cluster compactness. The figure illustrates the diversity of cluster types that we are seeing this year.

If evaluations prove successful, sometime in the future growers might be able to have a Vignoles clone that makes excellent wine and is much less susceptible to fruit rots.

This clonal evaluation trial is a cooperative project of USDA ARS and Cornell's statewide viticulture extension program, funded in part by Federal Capacity Funds.

This newsletter was made possible with support from the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program, Inc. and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Cornell University.

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 Regional Horticulture Program

Copyright 2015 © 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 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.

Photos by Tim Martinson

Veraison to HarVest...Hardy Grapes Part 2: Microbial Outsourcing Chris Gerling When working with...

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Transcript of Veraison to HarVest...Hardy Grapes Part 2: Microbial Outsourcing Chris Gerling When working with...