Wines & Vines

132 WINES&VINES Collector's Edition VINTAGE 2018 sporadic, spotty and heavy rains during the monsoon season at har- vest with consequential rot issues. Atypical rainfall continued immedi- ately post-harvest in many loca- tions. The rain timing impacted bunch-rot incidence and severity at some sites, but overall most grow- ers reported very low seasonal dis- ease pressure and good to excellent conditions at harvest. Ver- tebrate pests such as deer, gophers and raccoons substantially hin- dered operations and reduced yields, especially in the case of smaller plantings. Leafhopper infes- tations were ubiquitous statewide, although growers have a workable action threshold in most cases. Continued drought and lack of ir- rigation capacity and water quality may induce growers to reduce acreage. Labor shortages in the wineries, especially at harvest, continue to be a major challenge. Mechanical harvesting appears inevitable, with adoption by some growers with as few as 10-15 acres. Most technology and inno- vation adoption occurred in the winery, with some new processing equipment and must additives/ad- justments to enhance quality and increase juice yield. Many New Mexico growers prefer own-rooted vinifera due to market demand and threat of winter cold, although growers south of Albu- querque utilize grafted vines. Mal- bec, the Cabernets, Tempranillo, Pinot Noir and Montepulciano re- main popular reds. Various Mus- cats, Riesling, Vignoles, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc are popular whites. Hybrid varieties dominate plantings in the Four Corners region and selected sites statewide, including Chambourcin, Baco Noir, Vignoles, Leon Millot, Cayuga and St. Vincent. A few growers have had success with Vitis aestivalis, Cynthiana/Norton. OHIO Todd Steiner Enology program manager Ohio State University Maria Smith Outreach specialist Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center Library The 2018 vintage proved to be both interesting and challenging. Due to hot and very humid summer conditions, disease pressure was high from June through harvest. This provided the need for up-to- date and timely spray programs in between rains. Overall, it was a decent vintage in terms of both white and red wine quality, with good winemaking practices poten- tially producing some really nice wines from this vintage. The 2018 harvest observed an over- all warmer season with a higher amount of growing degree days. High late-season rains made it chal- lenging to hang fruit longer to achieve proper maturity and to eval- uate the potential for berry break- down and sour rot with approaching rains. In all, we did not receive the higher amounts of torrid rain that some other states indicated, with adequate maturity being obtained. There were comments of sour rot being problematic throughout the state, which made cluster sorting, chilling of the grapes and sulfur di- oxide use important. Higher levels of downy and black rot were observed during the growing season. Weed pressure and growth was also a concern during this time. The devel- opment of sour rot and berry shrivel- ing was problematic during harvest. Many growers received slightly lower yields due to some winter damage in both 2017 and 2018, along with some berry shriveling and rot. However, demand was still high, especially for high-quality fruit from good producing vineyards. Adoption of intelligent sprayers was critical in targeting spray applications for dis- ease control in those vineyards using this technology. Labor short- ages in the vineyard have been an issue for keeping up with the high disease pressure and quick harvest decisions based on upcoming rains being predicted. TEXAS Mesilla Valley AVA, Escondido Valley AVA, Texas Davis Mountains AVA and Texas High Plains AVA Frances Pontasch Program specialist Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Regarding quality, we estimate 12,000 tons of overall yield, varied by area of the state growing vinif- era and those growing hybrids. The vinifera yields were low due to drought combined with hot tem- peratures. The hybrids produced a bumper crop due to plentiful rain- fall when rainfall was needed, but also absent when needed — dur- ing cluster formation and fruit set. The Blanc du Bois was expected to be large — but not a bumper crop — which resulted in a short- age of tank space for the variety. The overall quality is excellent: ber- ries reached optimum ripeness with good balance between sugar, acids, phenols and aromas. The entire growing season in the vinifera-growing AVAs of West Texas and the High Plains was dry with short rainfall events. The re- gions of the state growing hybrids experienced a cold dormant sea- son, perfect spring and very dry, hot summer. Disease and pest pressure was overall very low. Labor continues to be short, espe- cially skilled labor. Mechanical har- vesters have increased significantly. Water stress in drought areas was also a challenge. And injury due to phenoxy herbicide drift continues to be an issue. Despite these obsta- cles, overall grape quality has greatly improved. Hill Country AVA Brianna Hoge Viticulture program specialist — Hill Country Texas A&M Viticulture and Fruit Lab Despite the drought, yields in the area were fairly normal. Berries were smaller in many vineyards, but overall yield was good. Quality was also good despite the weather. Brix took longer to de- velop than usual in some varieties. This year, the Hill Country started with a wet spring that quickly switched to high temperature, drought conditions. There were moderate issues with disease and pest pressure. While many foliar fungal diseases were less of an issue due to the lack of rainfall, black rot was severe in the Hill Country. Early spring rains caught many growers off guard, so treat- ment was delayed. Later in the season, symptoms of Pierce's dis- ease and cotton root rot were more pronounced due to water stress. Major issues continue to be drought and the labor shortage. There was more mechanical harvesting per- formed this year than previously. Texoma AVA Michael Cook Viticulture program specialist — North Texas Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Overall, the 2018 harvest occurred earlier than average and had slightly reduced yields. However, wet chemistry targets were in ex- cellent range and overall quality parameters were very high. The ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° Labor shortages in the wineries, especially at harvest, con- tinue to be a major challenge. Mechanical harvesting ap- pears inevitable with adoption by some growers with as few as 10-15 acres. Gill Giese Extension viticulture specialist New Mexico State University

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