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WineEast Grapegrowing Grapevine Tunnel Experiment Cabernet Sauvignon Petit Verdot Viognier Inside Inside Outside Inside Outside July 23 Verasion date Outside Aug. 1 July 23 Aug. 1 July 19 July 30 No. of sprays 5 8 5 8 5 8 Harvest date Sept. 26 Oct. 4 Sept. 26 Oct. 4 Sept. 19 Sept. 27 pH 3.51 3.45 3.34 Brix* 22�� 18�� 23�� 19�� 22�� 17�� TA 6.5 g/L 7.3 g/L 5.9 g/K 7.2 g/L 6.8 g/L 8.1 g/L Number of plants 15 11 15 10 10 6 Harvested Weight Per Plant** 11.76 5.43 11.83 5.16 12.10 3.19 *Brix reading taken on day of inside harvest. Bird damage too high to give accurate account on outside harvest date. **Harvested fruit weights for inside plants, based on combined weight of the research plot and the commercial plot at Cramers location. As indicated above, we wanted the vines to become firmly established as quickly as possible, so we chose to do very little pruning or vine training during the first two years of growth. In retrospect this was not necessary for the inside plants. In future plantings I would begin the process of pruning and training to get the VSP system established earlier. We have adopted a double Guyot vinetraining system. Based on our observations, it is reasonable to expect full crops off inside plants that are well-balanced vines in the third year from planting. Search Online for PEST CONTROL Vineyard Suppliers Vineyard Equipment Vineyard Services Vineyard Supplies ONLINE SEARCH W W W. W I N E S A N D V I N E S B U Y E R S G U I D E . C O M 64 W in e s & V i ne s M AR C H 20 13 In parallel to this experiment where inside and outside plants were compared, Ralph and Keith Cramer, the Haygrove Tunnel distributors in Mount Joy, Pa., installed a 230-foot tunnel on their property under our supervision in 2010. Four rows of vines were planted in the tunnel���two of Cabernet Sauvignon and two of Petit Verdot���with a plant density at the same 1,500 plants per acre as at the Tamanend site. The tunnel at the Cramers��� property was planted because we determined that the experimental plot at Tamanend was too small to accurately extrapolate the data to full-scale production. The Cramers��� location is about 10 miles from our vineyard site and is similar in climate and aspect to our experimental plot at Tamanend Winery. The production data presented in the table above is from the Cramers��� tunnel. In reviewing the data, it is apparent that significantly higher yields were obtained for these grapes than is typical for high-quality grapes grown on VSP in Pennsylvania. If the vines are capable of producing grapes at these rates, the question is: What is the quality of the wine that can be made from them? To the extent that tunnel-produced wine quality is at a higher level than that of wine produced conventionally, then that difference is the measure of the increased value a tunnel will provide and gives justification for a grapegrower to invest in a tunnel. Wine quality Grapes grown on a small research plot receive the TLC of handgrown conditions, with the result that the fruit at harvest looks fantastic. The Cramer tunnel in Mount Joy is similar to the experience a commercial grower would encounter. In September 2012, we received grapes from that tunnel for fermentation at our winery, and I was amazed at how clean the fruit was. The uniformity of the crop was as good as could be expected, and the ripeness of the fruit flavors was excellent. The fruit chemistries were at ideal Brix levels of 24��, with picture-perfect total acidities and pH. Most importantly, the seeds were fully mature and ranged in color from medium brown to chocolate brown. Fermentations were done with DV10 and were unremarkable. Malolactic fermentation was inoculated at 8�� Brix with MBR 31. After