President's Corner

www.virginiavineyardsassociation.com The Quarterly Newsletter of the Virginia Vineyards Association Vol. 29 No. 1 March 2013 President's Corner ... Tom Kelly, VVA President reetings All! As you know, the spring edition of the Grape GPress is typically a recap of our previous Winter Technical meeting and this issue will continue that tradi- tion. I was very impressed with the quality of content for this year’s meeting. The speakers were some of the best we’ve had and the topics were timely and pertinent as we head into a new growing season. This year’s theme was disease management and the Len Thompson of Amherst Vineyards, left, accepts the VVA 2012 Grower of the Year award topics ranged from basic seasonal disease control to from Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore during a more intensive look at pathogenic diseases such as the technical meeting in February. Pierce’s Disease and Grape Vine Yellows as well as insect control. We also included a tasting and presenta- Len Thompson of Amherst Vineyards tion of the Governor’s Case, a Viognier panel tasting, a Named VVA’s 2012 Grower of the Year presentation and tasting of the PD tolerant variety Blanc du Bois and a preview of the new online Sustainable Viticulture workbook. irginia Secretary of Agriculture volunteered at wine festivals. So the deci- and Forestry Todd Haymore pre- sion was made — start a vineyard and sell We heard industry updates from the Virginia Wine sented Len Thompson of Amherst the grapes! Board, Wine Marketing Board and Virginia Wine Council V as well as an address from Secretary of Agriculture Todd Vineyards with the 2012 Grower of the Len and Kay purchased land in Amherst Haymore. Our many thanks go out to those who work so Year award Feb. 1 during the Virginia County in 1999, planting six acres. Vineyards Association’s Annual Technical hard to garner the legal and financial support that makes Varietals include Chardonnay, Cabernet the success of our industry possible. Meeting and Trade Show at the Omni in Sauvignon, Vidal Blanc and Chambourcin. Charlottesville. As always, one of the highlights of the meeting is Award-winning grapes “Len Thompson is one of the unher- the presentation of the Grower of the Year Award. This Wines produced from grapes grown alded heroes behind the success of the year’s recipient was Len Thompson and I can think of no at Amherst Vineyards have garnered Virginia Vineyards Association,” said J. person more deserving of recognition of tireless service numerous medals, including the Best of Rock Stephens, chairman of the Virginia than he. Congratulations, Len! Show for the 2002 Rockbridge Heritage Wine Board. “For as long as I can remem- continued on page 4 from the Atlantic Seaboard Winegrowers ber he has donated freely of his time Association. to support the association and the wine industry. He helps other growers and aspir- An independent grower, Len has been ing growers while producing grapes that an extremely active member of the VVA Contents: have been utilized in wines that have won for over a decade, serving in many capaci- awards in international competitions.” ties, including two terms as vice president, VVA's 2012 Grower of the Year .......................1 two terms as treasurer, one term as secre- President’s Corner ............................................1 From Dublin to Amherst tary and a term as communications chair. Regional Reports ...........................................2-3 Len immigrated to the United States at Len and the board tackled issues such Sustainable Viticulture Program......................5 the age of 19 from Dublin, Ireland, dur- as the IRS, new VVA bylaws, and the ing an early oil shortage when jobs were move to use 100% Virginia-grown grapes Plan for Wild Turkey Management ...................5 scarce worldwide. He joined the U.S. in the Governor’s Cup competition wine. Phomopsis, Ripe Rot and Bitter Rot ................6 Navy and, after a successful career, retired Retired from the VVA board, Thompson, In Search of Virginia Viognier ..........................8 in 1999 as a lieutenant commander. During who also works for Rockbridge Vineyards, Legislative Update ............................................9 those years leading up to retirement, he continues to serve the wine industry as a and his wife, Kay, started researching what board member of the Virginia Wineries Leaning Green.................................................10 they wanted to do after Len left the Navy. Association — he is currently serving as Spray Dose Considerations ............................11 They had met a number of winery vice president. VVA Trip to Bordeaux .....................................12 and vineyard owners during their travels Calendar ..........................................................14 around the wineries in Virginia and had Regional Reports VVA BOARD Eastern Virginia Just drilling a hole in a pasture and planting 2013 a vine is not a good practice and has cost some By Pete Johns, New Kent Winery growers both money and a great deal of time. President The weather this winter in the Eastern Many growers in our region who have Tom Kelly Region of Virginia is fluctuating more than vineyards in the 8- to 15-year-old range are tkelly@rappahannockcellars. normal; one day we will have balmy sunny cane-pruning some vines. This practice helps com weather and the next day we will have snow to establish new or fresh cordons. squalls with dropping temperatures. I keep Several vineyards are also replacing dam- thinking how challenging growing grapes can aged or dead vines. We have found it is wise to Vice President be here in the Mid-Atlantic Region and espe- try and pull all the roots along with the trunks Jim Benefiel cially in Virginia. when replacing vines. This is true no matter [email protected] Our experience with similar weather condi- how old the vine; even young roots harbor dis- tions is dictating that we prune in a very con- eases. Leaving diseased roots in the vineyard servative manner this year. At our winery we can only mean trouble by infecting new vines Treasurer are leaving at least 4 buds in our rough pruning, and creating additional problems. Kay Thompson hoping that we can avoid any damage from a [email protected] late frost. Just before bud break or shortly after New Growers Needed Recent articles and lectures have pointed bud break we will come back into the vineyard Secretary and prune back to 2 buds. This practice actually out that the Virginia wine industry needs new slows plant growth slightly and often helps the growers. There will soon be a critical shortage Karl Hambsch younger vines establish better root systems. of quality Virginia-grown grapes available to [email protected] While talking with several other growers our wineries. in our region I have learned that many young One reason for this shortage is the fact that Advisor vines or new plantings did not fare well last many of the growers who sold their grapes are Dr. Tony K. Wolf year. This failure could be due to improper soil now taking up the challenge of winemaking [email protected] preparations prior to planting. and are opening their own wineries. With more than 240 wineries in Virginia and many more Prep the Soil coming forward soon, the need for additional Office Manager Deep rip plowing along the rows where growers is very apparent. the vines will be planted is a must. Loosening Katie Meeks Eastern Virginia is seeing a number of new [email protected] the soils and allowing the tap roots to go deep growers joining our ranks. We here at the New improves the health of the vines and helps to Kent Winery try to encourage all of the new ensure they start growing successfully. growers. We suggest that they attend classes Grape Press Editors/Production We also encourage new growers to dig their such as those put on by Dr. Tony Wolf with his Bob Garsson holes for the vines just prior to planting and New Growers seminars. [email protected] to place a small amount of root stimulator in We encourage new growers to read as much each hole as they plant. We also like to water Chris Garsson as they can about growing grapes in Virginia [email protected] our young vines often with a heavy dose of and most importantly we encourage them to Miracle Grow. talk to nearby growers prior to their startup. Larry Banner If established Virginia grape growers will WinemakingWinemaking Consultant make an effort to assist these new growers then VVA Mailing Address they won’t have to suffer through the same P.O. Box 91 www.winemakingconsultant.comwww.winemakingconsultant.com mistakes that we have all made. Dugspur, VA 24325 Thomas J. Payette 4 Try to remember: “All boats rise in a rising Thomas J. Payette [email protected] Over twenty-ﬁve years of winemaking in tide.” More quality growers will lead to more Virginia, Napa and East Coast Virginia wines of the highest quality, which Over twenty-ﬁve years winemaking Special thanks to: makes for a higher demand for our fruit each Jim Benefiel, Bill Freitag, Katie Multiple Governor’sexperience Cup Winner year — a true win-win for us all. Hellebush, Andrew Hodson, Pete 2011 Wine Productivity Trophy Johns, Lucie Morton, Mizuho Nita, "1999 Winemaker of the Year" Dean Triplett, Christine Vrooman, Phone : 540.672.0387 Northern Virginia Turtle Zwadio [email protected] By Dean Triplett, Greenstone Vineyard Winemaking solutions focusing on: Winery and vineyard start-ups Not to be outdone by our most recent past, Still and sparkling wines this winter’s weather pattern has been one of General winery issues the warmest on record. Fortunately, the temps Food Science Degree – Virginia Tech continued on page 3 Page 2 Grape Press Regional Reports continued from page 2 have been cold enough to keep the vines dor- the Virginia wine industry needs more fruit.

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