Wines & Vines

64 Wines&Vines March 2015 GraPeGrowinG wine east Learn more at www.PLANTRA.com to Jump Start your new planting 800-951-3806 ©2013 Plantra, Inc. "Paper or Plantra®" The choice is yours! Cover with a carton or Jump Start the whole planting! New Vine or Orchard Tree Checklist Jump Start Grow Tubes Paper Cartons Mini-greenhouse blocks wind without blocking optimal sunlight P NO Uniform growth and full height reduce training trips P NO Multi-year weed spray protection P NO PO Box 191, Gambee Road, Geneva, NY 14456 Phone: 315-759-2118 Toll free: 888-234-6752 Fax: 315-789-1848 Email: cjennings@vancemetal.com Website: www.vancemetal.com Quality Rugged 12 gauge, Custom & Stock Stainless Tanks Catwalk Systems • Pump Over Carts • Custom Hoppers, Chutes & Bins Eastern Winery Expo BOOTH #525 Yield data was taken from two consecutive four-vine panels within each replicate, allow- ing for two buffer vines on each side of the replication. Fruit was harvested Sept. 15, 2013, and yield data was recorded. Brix, pH and TA were analyzed. Fermentations were completed in duplicate in the Cornell student winery, and wines were bottled using 750ml containers without fining or filtration. A duo-trio constant reference test was per- formed with the assistance of two sensory pan- els. A total of 108 participants (students who were enrolled in the Introduction to Wines and Vines class at Cornell) were asked to choose between two experimental wines to decide which was most similar to an unknown refer- ence sample. This preliminary trial suggested little effect of palissage on fruit or wine composition. Yield components were not affected, although TA was 0.3 g/L higher in the palissage treatment compared to the control (hedged). Sensory evaluation of the wines did not produce a sig- nificant difference among treatments. My major interest in palissage is in its po- tential ability to reduce production costs by reducing vegetative growth of the vine. Multi- ple-year trials at multiple sites are needed to fully elucidate the potential for palissage as a canopy-management tool. I was recently awarded a grant by the New York Farm Viability Institute to further investigate palissage in vi- nifera vineyards. From our experience with this technique, we estimate the cost of palissage at approximately $50-$100 per acre and savings from the elimination of hedging and the reduc- tion/elimination of leaf removal to be $260- $500 per acre. Other potential results based on our experiences may include increased spray penetration resulting in reduced fruit losses to disease, particularly in tight-clustered cultivars. Fully replicated trials will be conducted in the Finger Lakes and on Long Island, N.Y., during the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons. Growers interesting in undertaking side-by-side compari- sons of hedging and palissage on vinifera vines should contact me at jev32@cornell.edu. WE Dr. Justine Vanden Heuvel is an associate professor of viticulture at Cornell University, with a split appointment between teaching and research. Her research program focuses on how environmental variables and vineyard- management practices impact wine composition. Long shoot tips that would normally be hedged are tucked horizontally along the top of the canopy.

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