Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/766392
January 2017 WINES&VINES 139 PRACTICAL WINERY & VINEYARD GRAPEGROWING tion to the crop from mid-day sun. When Babcock was farming VSP, he fine-tuned vine rows to a 210° northeast-southwest orienta- tion. "That put our fruit under the canopy as much as possible at 1:30 in the afternoon, when the fruit needs the relief from the sun the most." With PCS, east-west orientation is best to take advantage of the prevailing daily breeze, which helps with mold and powdery mildew mitigation and lowers the need for aggressive early season leaf removal. A north-south vine row planted with PCS would find the eastern side of the canopy congested as the wind would push it in that direction. There could be another downside for es- tablished vineyard managers wanting to con- vert to PCS. "If you have a static amount of fruit you can produce per vine," Babcock notes, "an amount that you cannot exceed and maintain fruit quality—for example 3 pounds per vine, or 1 pound per linear foot along the vine row—then 6-foot-wide tractor rows allow for more vines per acre, and thus more yield per acre. "Because the vines in my system are al- lowed to grow naturally, it can be impossible to get a tractor in the field with 6-foot-wide tractor rows. With my system you need 8-foot- wide tractor rows." Babcock aims for 3 tons per acre for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay—more specifically, 3.6- 3.7 pounds per vine at 1,555 vines per acre. He notes, "The distal two buds on each of two opposing canes are strategically placed in the typically weak centers of each set of opposing canes. This results in good symmetry in the fruit placement. "One issue growers normally have with overlapping canes is how to tie the canes onto the fruiting wire. Since the canes overlap, tying the end of one cane to the wire may lead to girdling of the opposing cane, certainly if the tie is very tight. This illustrates one of the benefits to the helical design at the top of the pedestals. Because the canes are held loosely in space, there is no chance for girdling." Babcock's yield per vine is the same with PCS as it was with VSP. "The system has not changed our yields, which are static, based on 1 pound per linear foot down the trellis wire. What the system is doing is lowering produc- tion cost per ton and producing better quality fruit resulting in better wine." Chenin Blanc needs to be restrained to 2.6-3 tons per acre (TPA). "It tries to set 6 TPA," Babcock says, "but if we let it keep anything over 3 TPA, it does not get ripe. If it's ripe, it's incredible. If it's not ripe, it's worthless. In fact, if it does not ripen, it has a weird green characteristic that actually re- minds me of the smell of the fungicide Lors- ban. Totally bizarre. We do not use Lorsban, so that can't be the source." Babcock does see potential for increased yields in varieties that have naturally high fruitfulness. Because PCS greatly increases the volume of space in the fruit zone, it facilitates a much larger number of indi- vidual, free-floating clusters, allowing more naturally fruitful varieties with large clus- ters to yield quality fruit that is not as plagued with bunch rot due to cluster-on- cluster contact. For example, the Sauvignon Blanc yield is 4.5-5 TPA. "The flavors in our cool climate are so intense," Babcock explains, "wine quality is not as yield-sensitive. At 4.5 TPA it still screams Sauvignon. We need more sunlight directly on this variety for attractive flavors, which is fine, we just pull more leaves." Babcock's Pinot Gris is farmed at 3.5 TPA. Potential development of total control of sunlight One might think that after the accolades Bab- cock has received for his wines and the confi- dence of seeing PCS working well for seven years, he might rest on his laurels. Far from it. He is busy visualizing a potential future aspect ROPP ALUMINUM For the application of aluminum caps (Stelvin, WAK, ROPP) on glass or PET containers Over 35 years' experience and thousands of machines — we've got your perfect application solution Contact us at: AROL North America 450 Satellite Blvd NE | Suite A Suwanee, GA 30024 | Tel: 678.318.1290 www.arol.com EURO/VA & VPA • Up to 1,500 BPM/ 90,000 BPH • Cap threading heads with 4 or 6 rollers • All Stainless heads • Adjustable bottle handling WV201701_arol_island.indd 1 11/3/2016 9:32:11 AM