Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/101495
GRAPEGROWING trellis type, as labor continues to become less available and more expensive. Conclusions Once again we are in a period in which our industry is enjoying a modest expansion of acreage and replacement of older vineyards that need upgrades. Many of the same varieties will be planted, hopefully with virus-free material on trellis systems that allow for more production of higher quality fruit. There is a shift toward more drought-tolerant and vigorous rootstocks. There are few new ���breakthrough��� tech- nologies in plant material, trellises, irrigation or other technologies that will radically change how winegrapes are farmed. Rather, this is a period of fine-tuning and improvement on existing local knowledge and experience. Glenn McGourty is the UC Cooperative Extension winegrowing and plant science advisor for Lake and Mendocino counties. He is the technical editor for the ���Organic Winegrowing Manual��� published by the University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources division. He also tends a 1-acre vineyard on his property along the Russian River near Ukiah, Calif. N ed H orton Milk cartons protect young vines from pests at Quivira Vineyards & Winery. You know the effort it takes to succeed in this business... ing, but it is still early to recommend these materials with confidence, since we don���t have much data about their performance over time. We will know more in about five years. Both the USDA and UC Davis are actively releasing new materials that could be very helpful in situations where nematodes are a problem. Do you have the technology? Vintegrate Winery Software The Grape to Glass Solution ���Enterprise Software Winemaking & Production Questions of trellising Many vineyards planted in the 1990s utilized vertical shoot positioned (VSP) trellises. Growers initially liked these trellises due to their ease of installation, low expense and fitness for mechanization. Over time, some problems became obvious. First, the trellis was developed for low vigor and high vine densities typical of Northern European regions with shallow soils and cool weather. Pulling shoots upward invigorated growth and allowed light penetration into the fruit zone. When used in California in vineyards planted on deeper soils with more vigorous growing conditions, canopy management and carrying a larger crop became problems. Fruit burning and poor fruit color development due to high ambient temperatures on sun-exposed fruit were two problematic issues in warmer districts. On the other hand, in cooler regions where smaller crops were desirable (such as Pinot Noir in foggy coastal areas), this type of trellis system works well. The trend now is to use trellis systems that produce more shade (VSP with cross arms that hold the foliage up but still allow it to ���flop��� on the warm side of the vine) or divided canopies that allow for more buds and fruit (either vertically or horizontally divided canopies.) Mechanization is still a major consideration in choosing a Finance (GL, AP, AR, Fixed Assets) Service Billing/Custom Crush Inventory Management Allocations, Depletions and Futures DTC Solutions (POS, Club, eComm & Events) Compliance Wholesale Orders Reporting & BI Integration Engine ���On-premise or Cloud ���Consulting and Implementation Services ���Strategic, Fully Managed IT Services info@vintegrate.com 800���487���3363 A Division of KLH Consulting, Inc. 600 Bicentennial Way Suite 300 Santa Rosa, CA 95403 SEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #302 Win es & Vin es JA N UA RY 20 13 147