Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/131907
cover story Weather Monitoring Systems Data loggers provide much more detail C COMPANY PHONEWEBSITE Advanced Viticulture Inc. Davis Instruments Onset Computer Corp. Spectrum Technologies Inc. (707) 838-3805 advancedvit.com (510) 732-9229 davisnet.com (508) 759-9500 onsetcomp.com (800) 248-8873 specmeters.com For more on weather monitoring systems, see Wines & Vines' 2013 Buyer's Guide in print or online at winesandvinesbuyersguide.com. o Dinn, director of winemaking at Hogue Cellars in Prosser, Wash., hotter here, I was out there yesterday; it was 104ºF, this is a hot site,'" Pogue says. "But when you add up just the heat units, that's also a function of how warm your low temperature is." What the numbers indicate (counterintuitively) is that higher elevations aren't always cooler, especially in areas such as the Yakima and Walla Walla valleys. The Yakima follows a deep, narrow course as it flows east, past the northern base of the Horse Heaven Hills and around Red Mountain to enter the Columbia River at Richland, Wash. More dramatically, the Walla Walla River descends from the Blue Mountains and joins the Columbia north of the stunning Wallula Gap. While the valleys themselves doesn't grow grapes, but if he did he would definitely install data loggers to help him understand what's happening in the vineyard. "We're just seeing the beginning of that type of data collection, and I think in 10 years you'll see that'll be standard as the cost of these data loggers goes down and people's familiarity with what they can do goes up," he says. In addition to research Kevin Pogue of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., has done in Washington state, are broad, the exit points are effectively bottlenecks that limit air drainage. These "are fairly broad basins that have fairly narrow exits," Pogue says. "It forces cold air to pool in those valleys. Farmers in both valleys have known that for a long time." But the pooling of cold air also suppresses the accumulation of growing degree days because air temperatures have to warm up—a hurdle that vineyards above the pool of cold air don't face. "You get morning low temperatures that are pretty cold," Pogue says. "It takes longer for those areas to warm up in the mornings, and (while) they might eventually reach a higher temperature than some of the higher elevations, it Dinn has been following the use of data loggers in California, where grow- BreAK tHroUGH tHe PowderY MILdew BArrIer PM has l ft the buildeing ers are using them to assess water requirements (see "Conserving Water with Vineyard Sensors" at winesandvines.com). "It's just a great way to characterize what's going on in the vineyard in a much, much more detailed way than we've ever had before," Dinn says. P.M. Get M-Powered kevin pogue Students install data loggers to obtain information about the terroir of the Columbia Basin. Only Mettle® 125 ME fungicide from Isagro USA contains the powerful and proven active ingredient tetraconazole for superior powdery mildew control in grape. With strong preventive and post-infection performance, Mettle quickly attacks and controls powdery mildew longer improving fruit quality and yield, with no effect on beneficials. Mettle provides optimized systemic movement and vapor action throughout the plant, protecting both existing and newly emerging plant growth, including developing grape bunches. Mettle is formulated in a high quality microemulsion (ME) providing excellent spray coverage and retention characteristics. And its tank mix flexible. www.isagro-usa.com ©2013 Isagro USA. All Rights Reserved. Always read and follow label directions. Mettle is a registered trademark of Isagro USA. Win es & V i n es JU NE 20 13 31