VASCM: Pre-Harvest 'Vine Talk' for Your Reading Pleasure

[Mary Lindsay, Muns Vineyard]

Hello, everyone:

Following is a Vine Talk column by Prudy Foxx speaking to the imminent 
harvest, with tips on checking for nutrient deficiency; canopy 
management; addressing botrytis - very timely for our meeting tomorrow 
on this subject. Thank you very much to Prudy for doing this. Enjoy 
reading it below.

You can find a collection of Prudy's Vine Talks from prior newsletters 
on the VASCM website at www.vascm.org. Look under the 'Vine Talk: 
Seasons' tab on the left side of the home page. There you will find a 
couple dozen (more!) Vine Talks going back several years, organized 
seasonally. This is an excellent resource to refer to. And this column 
will join all the others as soon as we can get it posted.

We haven't been able to print and send a newsletter to include this, so 
we are sending it by email. We would like to start relying on email 
communication  (which is considerably easier for our volunteer 
organization) instead of the very time consuming printed newsletter. If 
you prefer printed notices and newsletter (irregularly published as it 
has been), please let us know and we will send them to you in the mail.

Have an excellent harvest! And hope to see you at tomorrow's meeting.

The VASCM Board
- Mary Lindsay
- Rachel Ormes
- June Salsbury
- Bruce Manildi




*//*

*/Vine Talk./**/Harvest 2013. /*

Welcome to another outstanding vintage from the Santa Cruz Mountains as 
well as most of California.Mother Nature has so far delivered a near 
perfect season for the development of wine grapes destined for ultra 
premium wine production.

The dry winter emerged into a Spring full of even temperatures and 
little moisture.While of concern to the water table and soil profile 
surrounding the roots, the above ground climate provided ideal 
conditions for a near perfect set.This year more than most distinguished 
the symptoms of nutrient deficiency in the fruit clusters from weather 
related problems created at set in other years.If you noted symptoms 
like small and large berries on a single cluster or all small berries 
with no seed or an empty rachis with the berries all shattered off you 
are most likely witnessing the effects of micronutrient deficiency in 
your vineyard.These symptoms can also be caused by virus but we can 
pretty much eliminate the weather as a factor in 2013.

If you suspect the nutrient status of your vines may be off it is not 
too late to take petiole samples.Take the samples from the most recently 
matured leaf on canes in question.You will need 75 to 100 petioles (the 
stem between the leaf blade and the cane) to get a good sample for the 
lab to work with.Maintain them in a cool environment and transport or 
mail immediately to lab for delivery the next day. Perry Labs and Soil 
Control Lab, both in Watsonville, provide local analysis service.There 
are other reliable labs that require shipping. There are fewer standards 
to compare with this time of year but an ultra low number will signal an 
issue.The nitrogen readings are less reliable due to mobility but the 
other important elements will show a trend at least.

Most corrections to deficiencies will benefit the vines for next year 
and cannot be expected to resolve major issues this close to harvest.Do 
plan to immediately apply necessary amendments post harvest so that the 
vines can prepare for 2014.

Canopy management is the other big issue for this time of year. Any 
significant leaf removal or canopy adjustment should have been done 
immediately post set.That being said, it is still important to check 
your vineyards for overcrowded clusters and areas where leaves and canes 
completely obscure the light.As DeVinci said, "Wine is sunlight in a 
glass".While it is extremely important to protect grape skins 
(especially delicate varieties like Pinot Noir) from sunburn, it is of 
equal value to allow some light into the canopy and onto the clusters to 
allow for flavor development and proper fruit maturation.This will also 
enhance disease management.Airflow and stippled light within the canopy 
allows the clusters to dry out after morning dew or a fog event.You 
don't want dark hidden areas within the vines that never see the light 
of day.This is essential to protect against botrytis.This disease is the 
most common threat to the vines post veraison, especially in coastal or 
fog prone areas.Prolonged exposure to wet on an unprotected or unmanaged 
canopy can lead to a botrytis outbreak.The risk increases as the brix 
rise and the grape skins stretch thin.

If you see any indication of botrytis in the vineyard (gray fuzzy mold) 
it is important to aggressively separate clusters, step up canopy 
management (without overly exposing fruit) and possibly add another spray.

There are many effective sprays on the market, both organic and 
conventional.Actinovate, Regalia, Serenade, and Oxidate all can be 
effective organic options. All of these products have their limitations 
and all of them will need to be re-applied after any rain event.Oxidate 
can eliminate the good microorganisms within the canopy along with the 
bad guys so use with care.

Elevate is probably the best conventional spray as it has no pre harvest 
interval though I can't imagine spraying anything really close to 
harvest.Other options for prevention to be used prior to or immediately 
following threat of an outbreak include Scala, Vanguard and a host of 
others.Be sure to check re-entry and harvest intervals before 
applying.Avoid spraying any of these products close to the harvest date 
as they can potentially have a negative effect on fermentation.

Remember, in all things grape, prevention is the best cure.It is never 
as good to go back and fix a problem as it is to keep it from 
happening.Any botrytis or mildew in a vineyard will effect fruit and 
consequently wine quality not to mention ruin your peace of mind and 
negatively impact a beautiful summer day.Keep ahead of disease issues in 
your vineyard.

It is always a challenge for growers to recover their investment each 
year.It is no secret that this is an elusive endeavor.Value of the 
grapes is based on many factors including:quality of product, price per 
bottle, grower/producer relationship, ease of communication and 
transport, and payment schedule.Quality is key.Fruit in excellent 
condition with balanced nutrient status, with minimal disease/damage 
issues and no spray residue is much easier to work with on the 
winemaking side.This leads to wine with a higher probability of market 
success.Work with your winemaker to clarify fruit quality factors that 
influence fermentation.

Sharpen your harvest tools and wash the baskets and bins.The big days 
are upon us.Review last year's wines to see if you might make some 
harvest changes.Walk the rows with your winemaker.Taste the fruit.Every 
vineyard shows its own unique flavors and nothing compares to putting 
the fruit to your own lips.

Most of all enjoy this magical season when all the efforts of the year 
come together.The story is in the fruit.Enjoy it!

Buena suerte.

Prudy Foxx

Foxx Viticulture

Santa CruzMountains




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