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GLENN MCGOURTY Grounded Grapegrowing Developing a New Vineyard, Part II H istorically, California replants and updates its vineyards about every 20 years. In the past 60 years, updates have been focused on modernizing growing techniques (the 1950s adaptation of trellising from head-pruning and vertical cordons), changes in cultivars (the 1970s shift to international varieties), and challenges to control pests or diseases (the 1990s failure of AxR-1 rootstock, resulting in widespread phylloxera.) In this cycle, there is a need to replace older vineyards that are losing productivity due to viruses or trunk diseases, and there is also a need for the winegrowing industry to expand existing production of some key varieties. Planting a vineyard is similar to planting a landscape in that you spend most of your time figuring out the ���hardscape,��� which includes tasks such as laying out the vineyard blocks, roads and irrigation system supply lines. We covered these issues in part I of this series (see ���Developing a New Vineyard, Part I��� in the November 2012 issue.) Now come the finishing touches: choosing varieties, clones, rootstocks and trellises. What variety and clone to plant The marketplace still wants varieties that are mostly well known and easy to move in large volume, yet there are also varieties planted that you would think are past their prime! According to the 2011 California Grape Acreage Crop Report, the new vineyard plantings for red varieties were led by Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Rubired, Petite Sirah and Malbec. For new vineyards planted to white varieties, leaders included Chardonnay, Muscat of Alex144 W in e s & V i ne s JANUARY 20 13 Highlights ��� ow inventories of bulk wine and L improved wine sales have wineries interested in planting more vineyards. ��� ew plantings still favor many of the N older varieties used for blending as well as grapes popular for varietal wines. ��� oncerns about 101-14 rootstock C and phylloxera are making growers think about using other rootstocks, and the VSP trellis system may not be as universally adaptable as growers originally thought. ��� his wave of replanting appears to T involve fewer dramatic innovations than those of the 1970s and 1990s. andria, Muscat Blanc, French Columbard, Symphony, Roussanne and Pinot Gris. We don���t yet have reliable data for 2012, but we know that more acreage was planted, and that the level of production and sales was much more intense for the nursery industry than during the previous year. Contributing factors included the lowest levels of bulk wine in about a decade, an improving economy and expanding wine sales. Most of the new plantings during the past year have been driven by large production wineries and growers. It is surprising to see that varieties not associated with high-quality wines (such as Rubired and French Columbard) are still in demand. These are still important blenders to fix wines that are popular in the marketplace but don���t always turn out the way winemakers need them to, particularly in the warmer regions of the state. The Muscat varieties also are enjoying a mini planting boom as sweet, spritzy wines have showed up in the marketplace to the delight of new wine drinkers. There are also regional expansions that make sense to local wine industries. As wine regions specialize, the next generation of vineyards becomes more focused and sophisticated in terms of clones, rootstocks and trellising. Mendocino County is still having an expansion in Chardonnay, since growers are historically very successful with that variety. New plantings of Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley, Santa Rita Hills and Santa Lucia Highlands are also no surprise. New plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon in many districts reflect strong market demand��� especially in places such as Napa and Lake counties, given their proven track records and successes. The Paso Robles area is building a name for itself with Rhone-style wines, and some expansion is happening in those varieties. The Sierra Foothills continues with Zinfandel and to a lesser extent Barbera, and other Mediterranean varieties are noteworthy in new plantings due to the successes of these varieties for both everyday and fine wines. For many growers, clonal choices are still focused on selections that are very productive for the districts focused on tonnage. In contrast, wineries and growers producing expensive fine wines are quite specific regarding the clones they want for new Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and to a lesser extent Chardonnay plantings. Syrah also was going that direction until a Syrah decline became so obvious in much of the recently introduced plant material from France. Apart from that, information about clones remains limited for many varieties. This is a shame, as there are numerous clones offered by the UC Foundation Plant Services that remain relatively untested under California grow-