Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/417249
74 W i n e s & V i n e s D e C e M b e r 2 0 1 4 N E W S O F G R A P E S A N D W I N E S I N E A S T E R N N O R T H A M E R I C A Northern Grapes Project Nets $2.6M USDA awards final funding for five-year, multi-state project for quality wine G eneva, N.Y.— In October 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Spe- cialty Crop Research Initiative funded a five-year project to provide grape and wine producers across the country's cold northern regions with research-based tools and practices to help them grow and vinify newly developed, cold-hardy varieties and then sell quality wines to local and regional markets. The program, known as the Northern Grapes Project, was awarded two years of funding in 2011. Because Congress did not pass the Farm Bill in 2013, there was a gap in funding for the project, which was kept afloat by funding from other grants. The USDA National Institute of Food and Agri- culture's Specialty Crops Research Initiative recently awarded an additional $2.6 million to the Northern Grapes Project, and those funds will allow researchers to complete the final two years of the multi-state project. Led by Dr. Tim Martinson, senior exten- sion associate at Cornell University, the project team currently includes research and extension personnel at 10 institutions: Cornell University, the Connecticut Ag- ricultural Experiment Station, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, North Dakota State University, South Dakota State University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Nebraska, the University of Vermont and the University of Wisconsin. Various trials During the past three growing seasons (2012-14), these researchers and exten- sion personnel have conducted field trials to look at trellis and training systems, crop loads, spray pro- grams and how the cold-hardy cultivars have responded to the extremely cold temperatures during the past winter. Ac- cording to Martinson, the preliminary data about training systems are already revealing that some cold-hardy varieties such as Mar- quette produce more fruit and ripen earlier on high trellis systems. Since grapes cost less to grow on a high trellis than a low one, that is very important information for growers in these regions. Another challenge with the cold-hardy vari- eties is managing their naturally high acidity levels. Martinson told Wines & Vines that researchers have found "reducing the crop load doesn't lower the acidity level in Fron- tenac grapes. The lower crop may increase the Brix, but that's not necessary when a full crop will come in at 24° Brix, and it doesn't affect the acid and pH levels." Trials also have been conducted in re- search wineries and laboratories to look at winemaking practices from yeast selection through managing acidity and adjusting tannins. In addition, team members de- veloped a baseline survey of the industry, conducted consumer surveys and held com- parative tasting sessions to look at the final results from research wineries. Education is a major component of the Northern Grapes Project, and in order to communicate their research results and get feedback from growers and winemak- ers across the 12-state region, the project publishes a quarterly electronic newsletter, conducts a series of webinars and holds the annual Northern Grapes Symposium. The fourth Northern Grapes Symposium will be held in conjunction with the East- ern Winery Exposition in Syracuse, N.Y. A full-day track covering all aspects of the project will take place March 18, 2015. For more information about the Northern Grapes Project and the 2014-15 schedule of webinars, visit northerngrapesproject.org. —Linda Jones McKee I N T H E N E W S p 74 W I N E M A k I N G p 7 6 Northern Grapes Project director Dr. Timothy Martinson speaks about the training system trials being evaluated during a field day at Coyote Moon Vineyards in Clayton, N.Y. winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keywords "Northern Grapes Project" CHRISLYN PARTICkA/CORNELL UNIVERSITY