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64 WINES&VINES June 2016 GRAPEGROWING WINE EAST Basic Hoe comes with a Hillup and a Takeaway Blade. Additional attachments include .3 Tooth Cultivator, Undercutter Blade, Rotary head, " NEW " Rolling Cultivator and "Vine Auger". The Green Hoe Company, Inc. 6645 West Main Road, Portland, NY 14769 PHONE (716) 792-9433 FAX (716) 792-9434 WWW.GREENHOECOMPANY.COM GREEN GRAPE HOE from the fruiting wire up to the second catch wires, which has a tendency to open up the canopy and allow good spray coverage, air circulation and light penetration. The system sounds like the California sprawl—and it is in fact similar. Vines also are cluster thinned to no more than 3.5 tons per acre. Summary The availability of PD-resistant wine grapes that produce high-quality vinifera wines is a game changer for all wineries and winegrowers in the Pierce's disease-prone regions of the eastern United States. We can finally grow and produce wines that are competitive. The cli- mate in the northern tier of the Southeast pro- vides Alabama with a long growing season, and the ability to ripen wine grapes will never be a problem. There is no need for cold-tolerant varieties or worries about cold damage, which growers face in northern states. This project in north Alabama and the ad- vancement in PD-resistant vinifera wine grapes is possible because of the dedication and financial support of numerous groups in California, espe- cially the growers and wineries that taxed them- selves to make this project possible. UC Davis has a long history of groundbreaking scientific work in viticulture, and this project is no exception. The fact that Dr. Andy Walker reached out to both Texas and Alabama to involve growers in those states in this important project demonstrates his inclusiveness and dedication to scientific ad- vancement in viticulture. We can't thank every- one at UC Davis enough. Randal Wilson is the winemaker for Southern Oak Wines produced at White Oak Vineyards in Alabama. Together with his wife and business partner, Dana, he runs the winery operation and farm. D r. Elina Coneva, professor and exten- sion specialist at Auburn University's College of Agriculture, first planted a test plot of Dr. Andrew Walker's Pierce's disease (PD)-resistant grapevines in 2010. That planting at the Chilton Research and Extension Center (CREC) near Clan- ton, Ala., is small but very significant. It included three of Walker's 87.5% resistant grapes: 30 of the 501-12 vines (50% Syrah), 32 of the 502-01 (50% Chardonnay), and 34 of the 502-10 (a red grape, 50% Chardon- nay). An additional 30 of the 502-20 (Char- donnay) vines were planted in 2016. The research vineyard is a randomized complete block design with six blocks and five vines per block. The vines, planted at 7 feet x 12 feet, are primarily on VSP trellis, and some are on the Watson trellis system. Coneva told Wines & Vines that the PD-resistant vines "were doing great. We haven't lost a vine in six years, and all results of tests for PD have been nega- tive." She commented that the vines are very vigorous at that site, and the yields "have surpassed the suggested crop lev- els for viniferas." Coneva and James A. Pitts presented a paper at the 2014 American Society for Horticultural Science annual conference that described the findings from harvest 2013. According to that report, the early maturing 502-10 (red Chardonnay) had the fewest clusters per vine with 33, but an average cluster weight of 210 grams. The later maturing 501-12 (Syrah) produced the largest crop of 17 pounds per vine, had the largest number of clusters per vine (89) and the sweetest berries with soluble solids content of 24.2%. According to Coneva, in 2015 the lowest yield was 21 pounds per vine and the high- est was 24 pounds per vine. She described the harvest as "abundant" and, most importantly, reported that the grapes were clean of diseases. Coneva summed up the project: "There's a huge interest in these PD-resistant vinifera grapes around the Southeast, and the need for information is great." The project is scheduled to continue through 2019. —Linda Jones McKee HARVEST DATA Selection Ripening Brix TA pH 502-10 Early 17.0° 1.4 3.0 502-01 Mid 19.8° 0.5 3.4 501-12 Late 21.1° 1.6 3.2 Brix, titratable acidity (grams of tartaric acid per 100ml) and pH were studied for the varieties har- vested from the CREC research vineyard in 2015. AUBURN UNIVERSITY TESTS WALKER'S PD-RESISTANT VINES