Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/112023
WineEast Vinifera grapes grown in the East make wines with considerably more acid than in the West, while western wines are usually higher in pH, alcohol, fermentable sugars and perceived tannins. While winemakers must approach the making of wines in each locale quite differently���and in some ways from opposite directions���all winemakers have the same goal: to make a balanced, good-tasting, high-quality wine. With all of the environmental challenges to growing grapes, my plant physiology background suggested that the highest quality fruit should be produced in a growth chamber where the parameters could be controlled. A more practical solution landed on my doorstep several years ago, when the U.S. representative of Haygrove Inc., the producer of the Haygrove High Tunnel, came to me for assistance. As a result of that meeting, we jointly embarked on a research program to investigate first the utility of using the Haygrove tunnel system for growing high-quality grapes���and then, if it could be shown that tunnel-grown grapes produce equal or better wines, to determine the economic return on investment for using high tunnels. Tunnels have been used for agricultural purposes for a very long time. Historically, there had been a lack of consistent design criteria to take financial advantage of the farming side of the equation until Haygrove developed their method of tunnel crop production in England in the 1990s. The company began to export to growers in other countries in 2001, and today there are more than 2 million acres of agricultural products grown under tunnels worldwide, with the largest acreage of tunnels being in China. Perennial and annual crops from strawberries and herbs to espaliered cherries can be commercially grown under tunnels. The Haygrove tunnel system is a threeseason greenhouse-type structure. Before the growing season begins, special luminescent polythene plastic is stretched over the steel hoop frame to create the tunnel that forms an in/out barrier. Doors can be installed on the ends of the tunnel to trap heat in the tunnel to protect against frost, or the tunnel can be left open. When frost is no longer an issue, the tunnel sides can be rolled up to vent the heat from the tunnel or rolled down to prevent rain coming in sideways. Tunnels range in size from 18- to 30-feet wide, be- Research Plot Layout Covered Area N Viognier Alternate Cabernet/Petit Verdot Petit Verdot Cabernet Sauvignon 18 feet 86 feet 86 feet tween 10- and 18-feet tall (to accommodate commercial field-scale tractors) and are a minimum of 200 feet in length. The experiment In 2010 we planted 67 vines in four rows on a small plot of land behind Tamanend Winery in Lancaster, Pa. Approximately 66% of the plants were under the tunnel, with the balance outside the tunnel. The tunnel has an east-west orientation, which was in line with the prevailing winds. This orientation funneled winds through the tunnel, thereby reducing stress on the sidewalls. I chose Entave clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Viognier, which have proven effective in producing some of the best wines in the East. The Research Plot Layout (left) is not to scale. The tunnel is a single bay 24 feet wide by 60 feet long, and there are four rows of vines inset 24 inches from the pole line. Inter-row distance, as well as interplant, was laid out at 60 inches. The first row was planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, the second row was Petit Verdot, the third row was inter-planted alternately with Cabernet and Petit Verdot, and the fourth row was planted to Viognier. The inter-planting was chosen to distinguish any edge effect of the plants on the outside rows. The plant density for this plot is approximately 1,500 vines per acre. Water was delivered through a dripirrigation line controlled by a home-style digital controller. The amount of water applied to the vines during the growing season was calculated to be the amount needed for ideal growing conditions. The outside plants were placed on the irrigation system for the first season to help them get established. After the vines had been planted, we measured incident radiation at noon both ���Paper or Plantra ��� �� The choice is yours! Cover with a carton or Jump Start the whole planting! New Vine or Orchard Tree Checklist Mini-greenhouse blocks wind without blocking optimal sunlight Uniform growth and full height reduce training trips Multi-year weed spray protection Jump Start Grow Tubes P P P Paper Cartons NO NO NO Learn more at www.PLANTRA.com to Jump Start your new planting 800-951-3806 ��2013 Plantra, Inc. Win es & Vines M A RC H 20 13 61