Treefrog

Here is a benefit of sticking with biofungicide and BT for sprays:  Treefrogs in the vineyard.

Bridlegate crosses: varied fungal resistance

Vine #3 looks like the winner.  All vines were treated the same way.  All we used for fungicide was Serenade. 

Vine #1: Row 3 'East'

 Vine #2: Row 3 'West'

 Vine #3: Row 6 'East'

 Vine #4: Row 6 'Middle'

 Vine #5: Row 6 'West'

Some successful cleft grafts

I made about 24 grafts this year in two sets of twelve.  Only 3 survived. I did the first set around mid April, and the second three weeks later.  They are about 2 months old

The above diagram of a cleft graft is the technique I used.  I wrapped the graft in parafilm, then duct tape.  After a month of rain, the duct tape was coming off and I lost a number of grafts when the wood dried out.  To hold the duct tape in place,  I wrapped yellow marker tape around the grafts.   At the time, I had 9 grafts showing some life, only 3 survived the heat of June..

Below are some photos of the successful grafts:

1. Tower Road cinerea on Red River Cinerea (5 week old graft)

 

2. Tanat on doaniana.  2 month old graft. Some of fungal problems from early May rains.

Red Symphony on doaniana.  2 month old graft.

An early May morning in the vineyard.

Mission Grape in Texas

There is an interesting and somewhat mysterious history behind the 'Mission grape' in Texas. I have been interested by this grape for years.  Today, I came across a history lesson in Vintage Texas that led to Wine Production in El Paso and the Grapevine Inventory of 1775, by Rick Hendricks, New Mexico State Historian.  The essay was probably written around 2004.

The article has a somewhat mangled description of the grape variety in use:
"The vine introduced in New Mexico was of the species Vitis vinifera, the so-called Mission grape. This European grape is assumed to have come from the Mónica, a variety common in Spain. Vitis vinifera produces a grape with a high level of sugar, but it is deficient in acid and color, a fact noted by colonial observers who commented on its characteristics. The wine produced from the Mission grape is sweet. The vine is hardy even in harsh climates and is disease resistant."

This should probably read 'The vine introduced in New Mexico by 1660 is now called 'Mission grape', a European grape.  The 'mission' grape is thought to be Mónica, a common Spanish variety. known for high levels of sugar, but deficient acid (flat taste) and color (light red).  Colonial commentators pointed out these characteristics when tasting New Mexico wine.  The wine produced from the Mission grape is sweet. The vine is hardy even in harsh climates and is disease resistant."

The Monica variety is a minor grape native to Sardinia. Made into both a dry, red wine and also a sweet, spicy red wine. 

This seems to match the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) quotes information taken from www.wine-lovers-page.com with regard to the variety 'Mission": "Earliest grape planted in 17th century in what is now the state of California, where it is currently (1997) used to make several styles of wine - 'Criolla' as table wine, 'Angelica', a very long-aged (50+ years) french Ratafia-like fortified wine and some late harvest wines aged for 20+ years that are made from sun-dried grapes. Thought to have arrived in the America's by Spanish conquistadores importation. Known to be identical with the Pais grape widely grown in Chile and thought to originate from the Monica grape of Spain and Sardinia."

Is the link between the 'Monica' and 'Mission' grape valid, though.  Compare the two brief descriptions.  Do they match? I think the link is weak.

Another clue can be found in the Hendricks article when the talks about a law forbidding harvesting of grapes until September 15: "The grapes were usually ripe near the end of July. Ideally, they were left on the vine until October so that they could attain maximum sweetness. In fact, by law they could not be harvested until 15 September."

This suggests the grapes were allowed to raisin, probably because they were of limited use as a wine grape until drying out on the vine (turning into raisins) had raised their sugar content enough for wine making.  This doesn't sound like Monica.

GRIN's 'Mission' page actually tells two stories.  Here is the other one:
"Per Hedrick (1911. The Grapes of New York. unspecified pg. 489): "The exact origin of Mission is unknown but is believed to have originated in the remote Missions of northern Mexico at a time when grape-growing was forbidden by Spain. The variety was introduced into California at a very early day and was raised by the Mission fathers, hence the name. Mission is believed by some to be a hybrid between Vinifera and Girdiana. Vigorous; canes short-jointed, dull dark brown to grayish; leaf above medium size, slightly oblong, five-lobed; stamens erect; clusters slightly shouldered, loose, distinctly compound; berries medium, round; skin thin, purplish-black with heavy bloom; flesh tender, vinous, sweet; very good; ripens with Concord in Texas; said to be imperfectly self-fertile."

Note that in this version of the story, Mission is a cross of European and a vine native to Southern California (Girdiana).  This is problematic, too.  The 'mission' vine came to California, it wasn't bred there.

What is a more reasonable place for 'Mission' to be bred?  Probably the older missions of northern Mexico. Just to confuse things a bit more, 'Carignane' seems to be another name for 'Mission'. Of this, Hedrick (1911) wrote: ""The exact origin of Mission [Carignane] is unknown but is believed to have originated in the remote Missions of northern Mexico at a time when grape-growing was forbidden by Spain."

This may be of interest to few outside of Texas, but the history and pedigree of the 'Mission' grape are important element of Texas viticultural history. To really solve this, we need a DNA marker study to identify the parentage of Mission. 

Here is my speculation on the subject (If I haven't put more than enough here already). The vines seem to be cuttings from older church vineyards in Mexico far south of New Mexico.  At these locations, Pierce's Disease (PD) if endemic.  Vines that could survive PD would be quickly popularized, and sent to new churches/missions such as the ones in New Mexico. 

Given the contemporary commercial interest in European vines, it isn't surprising that the North American heritage could easily be forgotten.  It think it telling that the breeders of the 1890 era thought Mission a cross of European and North American stocks, but more recent authors call it European.

Think about it.  How long would it take for a cutting to be shipped from Spain to New Mexico (assuming this was the route used)?  I doubt the cutting would survive since there was no way to cool it during the entire journey.  Shipment from a Mexican vineyard seems far more likely, and this would require PD tolerance.


 

French 'no spray' vineyard

The No Spray Vineyard

'Viticulture in a perilous state right now, like a house with termites in the beams,' says Pugibet. 'There isn't a chemical solution to it, and organic farming isn't the answer, because metals like copper will build up in the soil over time, and have a damaging effect on the aromatics of white wine particularly. I worry that if things carry on as they are, in 15 years winemakers will be faced with a situation where certain molecules will be banned outright and they will be left with no treatments against vine disease.'

Without pointing it out directly, the article contrasts 'corporate science' and terroir.  Without grass roots breeding programs like the one described in the article, terroir is waning.

Hat tip: John Barnett
published in Decanter China

The 4 bottle announcement

On the March the 1st, during a family get together, I decided to announce the Mills Vineyard would make 4 bottles of wine in 2015.

This came up while talking to my daughter and her teenage sons.  The conversation went something like this:

Julie: How's the vineyard doing?
Me: We made 2 tablespoons of grape juice last year, but this year is going to be different.
Grandsons: Subdued laughter. 
My wife rolled her eyes.  She has been through 8 years of attempted harvests, and 2 liters of juice is the best I've done.
Me: In fact, I think we can make 4 bottles of wine this year.

I had been doing the math and already knew the dormant spray was going to help with the frost problem, but when '4 bottles of wine this year' came out of my mouth, it was a bit of a surprise.  Earlier that week, I think making one bottle was the extent I allowed my imagination to wander.

It is surprising how setting a goal will focus the mind.  I had not given much thought to wine making.  My problem was simply getting 20 pounds of fruit harvested.  Of course, saying 'we are going to make 20 pounds of grapes carries no emotion.

Happy first day of spring!

My vineyard is just starting to come to life.  The above champini will probably be the first to break bud, perhaps in 2 days.  You can already see the green leaf shapes pushing out of the red fuzzy scales.

I've been spraying dormant oil on a 2 week schedule, with 6 selected vines getting sprayed on a 1 week schedule.  It seems to be doing a good job of delaying bud burst.  Also, it seems to be differentially impacting buds such that there is a much wider spread in 'start times'.  Combined with my late pruning (no pruning done, yet), I think my chances of getting at least a few primary buds to survive the frost season (Feb 15 to April 15) is much, much better.

Based on the forecast, there is a fair chance of a freeze here on April 3 and 4th.   The forecast is for 43 and 44, but I'm often 10 degrees cooler.

Below is a record of low temps in my vineyard.  The temps come from Opossum Hollow, about 2 miles up the river.   I've spot checked my vineyard temps, and they match very well.  Out of 8 years, there was only 1 spring without a freeze between 3/29 and 4/15.  The chances this early bud will survive are low, but a lot of other buds will be fine.  Those late buds will be the ones that produce the next generation of grape seeds here.

Our lives follow the grapes

In the Cellar: Our lives follow the grapes (March 6, 2015)

Michelle Fey, lab director, talking about how the seasons of her life and the seasons of grapes parallel and illuminate each other.

Typical 1st week of March - temp 26F and falling

As I write, the temperature in the vineyard is 26 F and falling. Sleet was expected tonight, and arrived on schedule.

Last night I noticed a hole in the greenhouse roof.  I'm glad I check on the seedlings before going to bed.

searching for a 2 liter auto-vinification system

Tonight, I've continued my search for a system/equipment combo capable of turning 2 liters of grape juice into a representative bottle of wine.

from: Showstoppers From SIMEI and Enovitis

auto-vinification tank systems: automated cap management, temperature control and the handling of lees, seeds and pomace

Automated fermentation systems have a number of advantages over manual pump overs.
1.  labor savings,
2.  automated systems can deliver precise and repeatable regimens day and night
3. respond to tank temps, Brix level, carbon dioxide evolution rate, etc.
4. Cross-contamination among tanks is avoided, (line of sight guesses about pipe connections is dangerous)

DEFRANCESCHI FERMENTERS

punchdown-vs-pumpover

"Pumpovers can extract higher amounts of tannin in a wine depending on the frequency and force. Some pump over systems are basically wine sprinklers, offering a gentler extraction and some aggressively stir up the fermentation tank. For larger fermentation tanks in commercial operations, much needed oxygen comes through a pumpover device.

Punch downs, on the other hand, are a very delicate way of stirring a wine. They keep skins from getting too extracted and little to no amount of added oxygen in the fermentation. Punch downs are typically done by hand and are more popular with non-interventionist winemaking."

other pages of interest, but no more time tonight:
https://prezi.com/kikrobseu37j/mexican-wine-chain-analysis/
http://nobleroute.com/about/

An alternative view of the Loire salons:

"Everything is getting bigger. La Dive Bouteille had a spacious new home in the troglodite caves of Caves Ackerman; Salon Les Penitantes covered two floors. The dinner after Les Vins Anonymes - arguably the smallest of the tastings - exerted such a gravitational social pull that I wondered how all the attendees would ever fit in the Collegiale Saint-Martin. (I hadn't been tempted to go to this year's dinner, because I'd heard last year's event had all the organisation of the Katrina response. But perhaps I'll go next year.)"

...

" if we agree that natural winemaking favors the inherently communal concept of terroir, rather than the more individualist, auteur-focused winemaker culture that obtains in most modernised New World regions, then we should admit that European natural wine buyers, and in turn their clientele, can learn very little from the isolated examples of one winemaker or one importer."


from Not Drinking Poison in Paris

Also see:

Church wine : Tasting in Angers (Loire)

NY Times take on Loire natural wines

from: In France, Pesticides Get in Way of Natural Wines (NY Times) 

The first of the weekend tastings, Renaissance, in Angers on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, brought together producers who make organic, pesticide-free, but not necessarily sulfite-free, wines.  ...

If the Renaissance salon was the most established of the nonpesticide tastings, Les Anonymes, a short distance away, was the most radical and uncompromising...

In Saumur, about 26 miles away, a much larger group of nearly 200 winemakers from 15 countries displayed its wares in a warren of cold, damp troglodyte caves. Called La Dive Bouteille, it has become the world’s largest annual natural wine exposition, with 3,000 visitors this year....

The article lists the three largest pesticide users as the United States, Japan and France, and suggests restricting pesticide use is gaining popularity.  Despite this:

"The pesticide and big-agriculture lobbies are strong, resisting any initiative that could affect farm yields, so there is little political will to take risks. In late January, the French agriculture minister, Stéphane Le Foll, announced that a government pledge to cut pesticide use in half by 2018 would be delayed until 2025..."

...