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64 WINES&VINES September 2018 GRAPEGROWING WINE EAST growing season. Verrill believes that his rota- tion of spray chemistries and canopy man- agement allow him to avoid any spray at veraison, which for his Pinot Gris averages from Aug. 10 to 12. Following veraison, the final major task before harvest is the addition of bird netting. The entire vineyard is netted, tenting the vine down below the irrigation lines, where twist ties hold the netting in place. The netting was purchased about 10 years ago from Midwest Vineyard Supply of Decatur, Ill. At this point all necessary field work is completed. Within about three weeks, the Pinot Gris will be ready for harvest. When to harvest is determined both by Ver- rill and the wineries purchasing his grapes. "I've always thought of it as a partnership with the winemakers and myself," he said. He invites them to come to the vineyard throughout the season, not just at harvest. Although winemakers may have certain sugar and acid numbers in mind, Verrill makes the final decision, based upon taste. Variables that influence harvest include weather, disease, the availability of the pickers and trucking options to best fit the wineries. The Pinot Gris harvest averages about 24 tons, which is divided among Damiani and three other wineries. Da- miani's purchases have averaged 6 to 9 tons annually, but in the recent past has been as much as 13 tons. Is Pinot Gris one of the more difficult grapes he is growing? "Yes," Verrill answered with little hesitation. "It's almost as challeng- ing as Pinot Noir, with probably slightly less botrytis susceptibility." One advantage Pinot Gris has over Pinot Noir is its ability to be cropped at 4 tons and have good quality ripeness. Both Pinots have small, compact clusters, which can easily lead to botrytis without proper spray control and leaf-pulling management. Verrill stressed that early control of powdery mildew and botrytis is most important, because if they are allowed to develop, sour rot is inevitable, which can ruin the fruit quality. "Nothing works well when the fruit has sour rot," he said. These caveats aside, Verrill has managed to produce high-quality Pinot Gris for Da- miani Wine Cellars and others for almost two decades. Although some other growers in the Finger Lakes have removed their Pinot Gris because of the challenges, there is a developing market in the Finger Lakes and elsewhere for the wine as an alternative to Chardonnay, and even to Riesling, as Pinot Gris can also be made in different styles of wine. If managed well in the right site, do- mestic Pinot Gris appears to be on a path to increased interest. Ray Pompilio is a wine writer based in Ithaca, N.Y., and a regular contributor to the Wine East section of Wines & Vines. Natural Corks Champagne Corks Twinline Corks Bartops VISION Synthetic Corks G-Cap® Screw Caps Sales Representatives: Chris & Liz Stamp info@lakewoodcork.com lakewoodcork.com 4024 State Route 14 Watkins Glen, NY 14891 607-535-9252 607-535-6656 Fax PIONEER INNOVATOR PARTNER Chris Verrill grows Pinot Gris vines at his Harvest Ridge Vineyards with 4.5 feet between vines and 11.5 feet between rows to accommodate a modi- fied double-lyre trellis. RAY POMPILIO Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates Market Research for the Wine Industry Products include: · The Gomberg-Fredrikson Report: "The Executive Marketing Report of the Wine Industry" · WineData Wine Pricing Report: Competitive supplier pricing for more than 13,400 products · Distributor Market Service: Gain a competitive advantage by analyzing your position in the wholesale market www.gfawine.com • 707.940.3922 • inquiry@gfawine.com We perform extensive market research and data collection to create the wine industry's leading databases and reports