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Notes From The North The quarterly newsletter of the Minnesota Grape Growers Association Volume 35, Number 2 Summer 2009 Summer 2009 find details at our main site www.mngrapes.org by Tom Martell or www.iccwc.org. I hope this newsletter finds you in complete Other activities that have been occurring to carry control of your Camelot with vines pruned and out MGGA’s mission include: sprayed right on schedule, ample rains, and, pea- Board member Kori Knudsen has led a series of sized berries fattening by the day. On the other Strategic Planning Committee sessions to help the hand, if your vineyards are beginning to look like board identify priorities for resource allocation. unkempt jungles, you’re a bit behind in spraying Board member Don Slinger and MGGA member Rudy due to persistent winds, etal, --yet, if you still have Jungwirth conducted a successful viticulture education pea-sized berries—you are probably nearer to average program. Despite the pounding rain, more than 50 in terms of the amount of control you actually wield. people attended, the Summer in the Vineyard event Nevertheless, it is such a satisfying avocation! held this past June. Evidently there were spots in the upper Midwest Board member Cyndi Ross has coordinated a summer where winter took a toll on cold hardy vines. There are networking and education opportunity — the Annual substantial vineyards of 2 to 3 year old vines where MGGA Picnic on July 11th at the vineyards of MGGA virtually all the plants restarted only from the ground. members Mike & Katie Dickerman. There are reports of older vines showing substantial winter damage, as well. The University has ventured The 2010 Cold Climate Conference Committee is to selected vineyards to inspect the damage and we planning the 6th Annual Cold Climate Grape & Wine will ask Peter Hemstad to overview his findings at the Conference scheduled for February 11-13, 2010. Annual Meeting in January, 2010. Board member Cyndi Ross is recruiting volunteers to Your MGGA Board of Directors has been occupied with staff the MGGA booth at the Minnesota State Fair launching the inaugural International Cold Climate to inform the public about Minnesota’s grape and wine Wine Competition scheduled for August 24-25, 2009. industry. See the notice herein and remember: MGGA MGGA member and AWS certified wine judge Gordon State Fair booth volunteers go straight to Heaven! Rouse, MGGA Marketing & Promotions Committee I hope you have your fall grape marketing completed and Chair, Paula Soholt and MGGA board member, Mark that you are savoring the joy of summer vineyard duties Wedge have worked tirelessly on this project. We as this 2009 growing season approaches the midway expect a first rate competition for commercial wineries point. It all passes too quickly to suit Deb & me. to demonstrate their cold climate wine skills. You can Enjoy the summer. In this Issue: Tom • From the Vineyard ......................................................................... 2 • Fermentation Workshop ............................................................... 2 •— SAVE THE DATES —• • Inaugural International Cold Climate Wine Competition ........... 3 • Summary MN Vineyard Survey ‘07 ............................................... 4 • Summary Vineyard/Winery Study ................................................ 5 STATE FAIR Aug. 27 - Sept. 7, 2009 • WineHaven Awarded Patent ......................................................... 7 • — • • Beaujolais & Carbonic Maceration............................................... 8 International Cold Climate Wine Competition • MGGA State Fair Booth ............................................................... 10 • MGGA 2009 Picnic-July 11 .......................................................... 10 Entry Deadline: August 17, 2009 • 2009 Viticulture Tour ....................................................................11 • Blackhills Area Growers Assn. ................................................... 12 • — • • Thanks Mike [White] .................................................................... 13 6th Annual Cold Climate Grape & Wine Conf. • 6th Annual Cold Climate Conference Scheduled ..................... 14 • MGGA BOD Minutes .................................................................... 14 February 11-13, 2010 • Summer in the Vineyard Recap .................................................. 15 2 Summer 2009 FROM THE VINEYARD Fermentation Workshop by John Marshall, Great River Vineyard August 18, 2009 Spring has come and is nearly gone already. The cold University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum injury that I anticipated here at GRV was not nearly as Chanhassen, MN bad as expected. When I arose one chilly winter morning Pre-Registration Required last January I noted the thermometer on my deck reading Information available at: –39 F. I believed it erroneous, but the thermometer on http://winegrapes.cfans.umn.edu/ my truck read exactly the same. I had great concern as Or to what I might see this spring. However, the disasters Contact Nick Smith at [email protected] I had expected did not develop. less like last spring. This gives us enough time to get Although there was some injury at our small vineyard our spring work completed enabling us to do the jobs down by the highway (where everyone can see it) the completely instead of rushing from one pressing job to injury up on the main vineyard was minor. Even the the next. Wordens that have been devastated in past at –25 F, are showing a good crop with some lost buds, but not It has also been dry. In our area, southeast of St. Paul, many. We pruned our Bluebells long leaving 4 bud spurs it is less droughty than in the Twin Cities and north and on our high wire instead of 2 buds to compensate for west of there. The Twin Cities reportedly endured the expected dead buds. There were virtually none and my third driest May on record whereas Iowa, once again, son Donovan has just gotten done going through again, is getting regular deluges to complicate their viticultural shortening up the spurs so we don’t let them overbear this world. summer. King of the North, Valiant, Frontenac, F. Gris, Although dry weather makes us all very uncomfortable, Sabrevois all came through with flying colors. Truthfully, and watering young vines becomes a chore that seems this was rather unexpected! Many of these varieties are to go on forever, it keeps disease pressure low. We known to suffer injury at this level. can spray with the least concentration of chemicals I think the answer is in the location of the upper vineyard recommended and we can stretch intervals between which is located on a gradual but definite rise from my sprays a few days, as rain is scarce, humidity low, lower vineyard down by the house near Highway 61. It sunlight normally abundant and morning dew generally appears that the coldest air settled to the ground and then light to non-existent. These are the conditions that slipped down the rise until it came up against the highway make disease control easy. Downy Mildew, Black Rot which rises several feel above the lower vineyard site and Anthracnose require water to propagate and when forming a trap for the coldest air. In fact, you can see it is dry they tend to control themselves. Even Powdery where the vines (Bluebell and Somerset Seedless) on the mildew, which needs less water than the others to higher edge of this vineyard and away from the highway develop need some water, and for us, PM has always came through essentially unscathed whereas the vines been at the bottom of our “Big Four” disease list. nearer the highway are mostly killed to the ground. We If we see conditions like Iowa growers have been have begun training new trunks here this summer. experiencing in recent years, copious rain, high humidity, It amazes me that the difference in temperature could be reduced sunlight, heavy dews that last late into the day that pronounced. My thermometers read –39 F. but in and difficulty finding dry days in which to spray, we will the higher vineyard back from the highway my Worden long for these dry and droughty days. If it didn’t get cold row survived although it is unable to take temperatures here in the winter we might think we live in California. 12-15 F. warmer. For me it underscores two things. First, If your mailing label still says 2008, that I need a weather station back in the main vineyard and two, to select a vineyard site that is not too low nor it’s time to renew for 2009. has barriers that will create a dam for cold air. Please visit our newly revamped website today www.mngrapes.org Otherwise the spring was cool and slow again. More or Volume 35, Number 2 3 Inaugural International Cold Climate Wine Competition Underway Registration Deadline August 17, 2009 While there are winemakers to dozens of wine showcase their competitions around the United skill and imagination in transforming these States, there is no competition devoted to the varieties to superior wines in a rapidly growing promotion of quality wines made exclusively new industry.” says Luby. from cold hardy grape cultivars, such were the The ICCWC extends the invitation to commercial findings of the feasibility study launched by the wineries producing wines from cold hardy grape MGGA Board of Directors. cultivars to participate in this inaugural competition to be held This study has lead to the formation of a wonderful partnership on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota on between the MGGA, the Minnesota State Fair and the University August 25, 2009.*

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