Wines & Vines

6 Wines&Vines March 2015 A member of Wine Communications Group Inc. Advertising Vice President & Director of sales Jacques Brix jbrix@winesandvines.com (707) 473-0244 West Lydia Hall lydia@winesandvines.com (415) 453-9700 x 103 midwest Hooper Jones hooperhja@aol.com (847) 486-1021 northeast Marsha Tabb marshatabb@comcast.net (215) 794-3442 East Laura Lemos laura@boja.com (973) 822-9274 international Dave Bayard dave@bayard.com (973) 822-9275 advertising manager Christina Ballinger ads@winesandvines.com dIGITAL EdITIoN All print subscribers now get digital access to Wines & Vines. You can: • DOWNLOAD pages or full issues • BROWSE current and archived issues • WATCH videos • ACCESS via desktop, tablet or smartphone • SEARCH by keyword or table of contents • NAVIGATE by topic or page thumbnail • QuESTIONS? Contact customer ser- vice at custserv@winesandvines.com or (866) 453-9701 Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. PDT. CONNeCT WITH US CoNTRIbUToRS Glenn McGourty, the long-time winegrowing advisor for Lake and Mendocino counties in California, summarizes his best advice and that of the University of California Cooperative Extension regarding weed management in vineyards. In his Grounded Grapegrowing col- umn on page 26, McGourty stresses that it is wise for most growers to encourage some year-round vegetation between their rows, but it is still important to clear the under-vine strip each growing season. Maintaining a clean vineyard floor can help control invasive plant species that compete with grapevines for water and nutrients, and it eliminates potential habitats of rodents and insects. Jane Firstenfeld, Wines & Vines' contributing editor, focuses on news reporting and wine packaging. In her article "Think Ink," start- ing on page 38 of this issue, Firstenfeld explains the new formula- tions of ink that can be used on labels, bottles and capsules to add interest to wine packaging. Some inks change color when exposed to heat or cold, others with humidity and still others based on the angle of view. Dr. Justine Vanden Heuvel, an assistant professor of viticulture at Cornell University, reports on the early stages of research into an alternative to hedging for vigorous vines in eastern vineyards. Her report on page 61 in the Wine East section demonstrates success so far in using palissage, a technique borrowed from Alsace, France, in which shoot tips that grow above the top wire are simply wound around the wire, not cut off. Question for March: What vineyard equipment is most valuable? peter Martini Vineyard manager Anthony Road Winery penn Yan, N.Y. There are many tools I find invaluable in the vineyard, but if I had to choose one it would be our Collard leaf-removal system. Pneumatic leaf removal allows us to improve fruit quality and decrease disease pressure in one efficient pass. Scott osborn president and co-owner Fox Run Vineyards penn Yan, N.Y. Aside from the people who work in the vineyards taking care of each vine, I would say our climate-controlled tractor. It is the tool everything else is tied to. Without it, we would not be able to give our winemaking team the quantity and quality fruit they need to make our exceptional wines. david parrish owner/winemaker parrish Family Vineyard paso Robles, Calif. The pruning shear. The way you prune your vineyard determines the quantity and quality of your next grape crop. oN THE CoVER A harvester equipped with two Clemens pre-pruner machines takes center stage in our March 2015 cover image. For this Vine- yard Equipment & Technology Issue, Wines & Vines spotlights tractor-mounted vine trimmers (page 29) and the achievements of the Pierce's Disease/Glassy- Winged Sharpshooter Board (page 45).

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