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December 2016 WINES&VINES 27 GRAPEGROWING for early vine training, and another estimated a labor savings of more than 85%. As labor gets more expensive and scarce, big vines could be an answer to these challenges. A third advantage of big vines comes when replanting in an established vineyard. Tradi- tional planting material requires time and spe- cial care to get the canes up to the training wire and then adequately trained while farm- ing the rest of the vineyard of mature vines. Big vines establish on the training wire during the first growing season and do not need spe- cial care because the rootstock is already hard- ened off. By the end of the second growing season, the replant is fully established on the trellis. This is becoming even more of an im- portant issue for growers who are taking an aggressive approach to managing viruses by rogueing vines as early as possible when a virus is detected. Using big vines for replants makes rogueing virus-infected vines much more eco- nomically attractive. Big vines provide several other advantages. Workers do not need to bend over when train- ing them, since the scion is 3 feet from the ground. Since the rootstock is 3 feet long, hard- ened off and does not produce suckers, cartons are not required for protection. This also means that a newly established vineyard does not need a special weed-management program, because the vines do not need special care. Another comment I heard was that a vineyard established with big vines will be much easier to graft over to another variety because the rootstock is 3 feet high. Grafters do not have to bend over, and the scion is already at the level of the training wire. There are also higher level advantages to consider. Traditionally, when a vineyard is taken out—particularly in the northern interior and Central Valley of California—the vines are pushed out, the ground is prepared and new vines are planted within 12 months. Big vines give a grower the option of removing vines and allowing the site to remain fallow for a growing season before planting. A cover crop could be grown for a year to improve soil quality. Since big vines establish one to two years faster than traditional planting stock, a vineyard that has been fallowed a year and planted with big vines will be at the same stage of canopy develop- ment as a vineyard where the vines were re- moved and then replanted the same year with traditional planting stock. What I found interesting when listening to growers talk about using big vines was that no one mentioned any downsides—including the fact that a big vine is about twice the price of a traditional green vine planting stock. Some growers were concerned that with the graft union being so high, vines might suffer damage during machine harvesting during the early years of the vineyard, yet so far no one has reported any problems to nurseries selling big vines. Some vineyards have been established using big vines in the Monterey region, where it is very windy. Concern was expressed that big vines might suffer wind damage while young because the graft union was so high. However, this situation can be avoided by planting in August, when the winds begin to die down. When the buds break the following year, they rapidly estab- lish canes on the training wire and do not suffer wind damage. I did some research about the use of big vines in other regions of the United States. It seems they are not used in the Northeast be- cause vines there need to accommodate being hilled up to protect scions from the freezing temperatures of winter. They also are not used much in Washington state because many vine- yards are still being established with own- rooted vines. Some growers in Oregon are trying them out, but most still use traditional planting stock. Winemakers may wonder about the ef- fects of big vines on grape quality. Wide use of big vines is relatively recent, so it is too soon to have observed any effects. But given that the rootstocks and scions are the same as those of traditional planting stock, I can- not imagine there will be an effect. Big vines simply reduce the time of vineyard establish- ment by one or two years. As with any other vineyard, crop load will need to be managed properly to meet the goals of the vineyard manager and winemaker. I visited the websites of the major wine grape nurseries in California, and only one, Duarte Nursery, is advertising the sale of big vines (Ubervines). However, when I contacted Guillaume, Sunridge and Novavine, all said they are selling big vines. Novavine sales are in the tens of thousands annually, while the other nurseries are selling them on a smaller scale at the moment. Novavine is calling their big vines Super Novas. After visiting some vineyards established with big vines, talking with nursery folks and several growers and seeing the great results, I came away wondering why growers had not started using big vines sooner. There are al- ready some growers who have vowed only to use big vines from now on when planting a new vineyard. While I have grown tired of reading about how various new technologies are disrupting ways of doing business, I have to admit that big vines may be disrupting the business of vineyard establishment in Califor- nia. And it's not a bad thing. Cliff Ohmart, Ph.D., is senior scientist for SureHarvest and author of View from the Vineyard: A Practical Guide to Sustainable Wine Grape Growing. Previously he served as research/IPM director at the Lodi-Woodbridge Wine- grape Commission. He has been writing about sustain- able winegrowing issues for Wines & Vines since 1998. Three-month vines (right) and 15-month vines (left). These vines planted four years ago fully occupy the trellis and show a full crop. Nearly a full crop can be expected by the third year.