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60 WINES&VINES June 2017 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS WINE EAST - B E C O PA D - Y E A S T & E N Z Y M E S - C R U S H PA D E Q U I P M E N T - S T E R I L E F I LT R AT I O N - W I N E R Y H O S E - O A K A LT E R N AT I V E S EASTERN WINE LABS Serving the Analytical needs of East Coast Wineries WWW.EASTERNWINELABS.COM Ph 609-859-4302 Cell 609-668-2854 chemist@easternwinelabs.com AOAC Member EasternWineLab_Mar09.qxp 1/22/09 9:47 AM Page 1 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 Extension and Outreach, told Wines & Vines that Iowa had little snow and above-average temperatures— especially in late February. "I wor- ried about bud break being early, especially late February into March. But it got cold again in March. Pros- pects are great; everything's per- fect. But we have the probability of frost to May 15," White reported the third week of April. "So far, so good," stated Brad Beam, enology specialist with the Illinois Grape Growers and Vint- ner's Association. "We've had no spring frosts, but the next week or so will be telling, and Northern Illinois can have frost until around Mother's Day (mid-May)." Mid-Atlantic: Dr. Tim Martin- son, senior extension associate at Cornell University, reported that bud hardiness monitoring revealed minimal levels of dead buds. While March was cold, grapevines in New York had not deacclimated at that time. "The last frost day is about May 10," Martinson said. "When we get past May 6 or 8, then usu- ally we're OK." According to Bryan Hed, re- search technologist at the Lake Erie Grape Research and Exten- sion Center in North East, Pa., winter in Pennsylvania was "real mild," with below-average snow- fall. "Temperatures were mild throughout the winter," Hed stated. "I wouldn't consider this a winter. Everything looks good, but I'm concerned about spring frosts, as the last frost can be May 20." He also noted that it has taken two years for Pennsylvania vine- yards to get past the damage they suffered from the extreme cold in January 2014 and February 2015. "Growers didn't realize they had crown gall until those two winters brought it out. Vines with crown gall hung on and gave a crop. We waited to pull them out and limped along. Now growers are finishing replanting. It's taken two years to get past the damage and renewal process from those winters." Dr. Gary Pavlis, professor and agricultural agent at Rutgers Uni- versity, told Wines & Vines in late April, "Right now everything is great and looks good. Even after a mild winter, most grapes haven't opened up yet." Pavlis said the end date for possible frosts was "at the first full moon in May," which took place on May 10 this year. South: During the Virginia Vineyards Association winter meet- ing held Feb. 23-25, the cherry trees were blooming in Charlot- tesville. "We get concerned in Feb- ruary when we have 75° and 80° F days. If it then gets really cold, it could kill the vines," noted Jennifer McCloud, owner of Chrysalis Vine- yards in Middleburg, Va. Fortu- nately, the grapevines in the state were not as far along as the cherry trees and seem to have suffered minimal damage, even when tem- peratures dropped into the low 20s at night for several weeks in March. North Carolina had an unsea- sonably warm winter. Joseph Geller, viticulture instructor at Surry Community College in Dob- son, N.C., reported. "But then we had a cold early spring. There was some light frost early in April, but that didn't hurt anyone, and the early varieties like Merlot and Chardonnay weren't damaged." Fritz Westover, viticulture con- sultant and owner of Westover Vineyard Advising, consults with vineyards across the south. He stated that Georgia also had a mild winter, and bud break was two weeks early. There was no freeze damage in northern Georgia, where most of the wine grapes are grown, but south Georgia had some frost damage. Western edge of the eastern region: Dr. Stephen Menke, as- sociate professor of enology at Colorado State University, com- mented that while winter in the state was fairly mild, "We had no fall damage, no winter damage, and we'll see what happens the next few weeks. You never know." —Linda Jones McKee " Growers didn't realize they had crown gall until those two win- ters brought it out." —Bryan Hed, Lake Erie Grape Research and Extension Center