Wines & Vines

April 2016 Oak Barrel Alternatives Issue

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74 WINES&VINES April 2016 GRAPEGROWING TTB LABEL APPROVALS Low per-label costs Gov't. Liaison Negotiations or Footwork Reasonable Hourly Rates TRADEMARK SEARCHES As Low as $185 Your trade names or designs are searched at the U.S. Patent Office to help establish valuable ownership or avoid costly legal liability. Over 100 years' total staff experience handling every government liaison need for industry. Phone or write for details. 200 N. Glebe Rd., Suite 321 Arlington, Virginia 22203 Phone: (703) 524-8200 Fax: 525-8451 TOLL-FREE 1-800-642-6564 Major Credit Cards Accepted www.trademarkinfo.com Since 1957 GovtLiaison_Dir08 11/29/07 2:00 PM Pag HoytShepston_Monthly09 10/31/08 4:44 PM Toll-Free: 877-552-4828 909-464-1373 • Fax: 909-464-1603 For your nearest dealer, contact: WIREVISE® Trellis & Fence Wire Anchor This trellis and fence wire anchor securely holds wires to end-posts. Insert the wire into and through the wirevise. It automatically locks onto the wire. No tools required. To tighten, just pull more wire through the vise. A release tool is available from AgFast for 12- 16 gauge wire. WinesVines WireVise AD.qxp_Layout 1 12/1/14 2:3 ously difficult to harvest fruit at precisely the desired Brix. This issue should be addressed experimentally, and that work should include harvesting fruit based on an experienced winemaker's sense of ripeness, in addition to harvesting on the basis of Brix. Furthermore, for growers who do not have the luxury of waiting until later in the season, getting to a higher sugar concentration is tan- tamount to quality. For these growers, a "vintage year" was a year when the sugar concentration reached an adequate value for winemaking at all, and chaptalization was not required. In the milder climates of southern Europe, California and other warm regions, every year is a vintage year in this regard, and growers in these ac- commodating climates can simply wait a little longer and harvest a higher crop load at the same ripeness. Indeed, longer "hang times" have become associated with desirable wine flavors for some (but not all) wine experts. Conclusions To many both inside and outside the realm of viticulture research, it may come as a sur- prise that for more than half a century, prun- ing and fruit-thinning studies have reported small or undetectable effects on fruit and wine when fruit is harvested at similar Brix. Despite this contrary research, many con- tinue to consider higher yield, however it is attained, to be a problem that dilutes the fruit and reduces wine quality (a topic to be taken up later in this book). While it is widely recognized that increased yield has one major effect in delaying ripening, the possibility that higher yield could be a means of achieving better flavors derived from lon- ger hang times (a longer ripening period) seems to go unrecognized. Mark A. Matthews is a professor and plant physiologist at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis. In his recently released book, Terroir and Other Myths of Winegrowing, Matthews applies a scientist's skepti- cism, as well as facts from the historical record, plant physiology, scientific research and a bit of economics to debunk myths that may be preventing advance- ments in viticulture and enology. STUDIES REPORT LITTLE OR NO EFFECT IN YIELD, FRUIT OR WINE ATTRIBUTES Pruning Cluster Thinning Spacing and Trellising Cabernet Sauvignon X X Chardonnay Musque Merlot X Pinot Gris X Pinot Noir X X Riesling X X X Shiraz X Seyval Blanc X Zinfandel X Most of the studies harvested fruit at the same Brix. The studies are sorted by the means employed to vary yield.

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