Véraison to Harvest Statewide Crop Development Update #1 September 6, 2019 Edited by Tim Martinson and Chris Gerling Around ... Statewide (Tim Martinson) Welcome to the first 2019 issue of Veraison to Harvest, a joint project of the statewide enology and viticulture programs, the Erie regional grape program, the Finger grape program, the Eastern New York commercial horti- culture program, and the (Suffolk CCE) grape program. I want to start by thanking the New York and Grape Foundation for supporting this publication since it started in 2007 – making this the 12th year. Each week, we will collect and process samples from key varieties of grapes in five regions of New York – Long Island, the Hudson/Cham- plain, the Finger Lakes, the region, and (new this year) Niagara County on . Special thanks go to Robin Ross of Arrowhead Springs and Larry Manning of Early ripening ‘Concord Clone 30’ was brought to the Cornell Lake Erie Research Freedom Run for collecting samples in Niagara county. and Extension Laboratory through the efforts of Hans Walter-Peterson. After spending time in quaranteen, it was planted at the Portland Lab, and is in its first The Numbers. In most of New York, numbers are running year of fruiting. well behind last year at this time (See fruit composition table, Photo by Terry Bates pp XX). Among the standard French and Geneva hybrids, son and Long Island samples have higher soluble soluble solids are running 2-5 °Brix lower and titratable solids (14-17 °Brix) than the Finger Lakes (9-12 °Brix), and acidity (TA) 3-8 g/liter higher than last year. Cold climate lower acids (12-16 g/l vs 19-24 g/l). is just starting Minnesota varieties Frontenac, La Crescent, and Marquette to ripen in the Finger Lakes. are 1.7 to 4.7 °Brix lower, and TAs are 3-10 g/L higher than 2018 at this time. Natives (Concord, , Niagara, and YAN. Also notable were low yeast assimilable nitrogen Diamond) are 2-6 °Brix lower; TAs 3-10 g/l higher. (YAN) numbers in , where only 2 of the 12 samples were above 100 ppm (150 ppm of YAN) and 5 were Vinifera cultivars as a whole are 1.2 to 5.2 °Brix lower and below 50 ppm. In Riesling, there was a definite split, with TAs 2.3 to 7 g/l higher than last year in most of the state. HV, Lake Erie, and Long Island sites showing 150-200 ppm – But Long Island is the exception – fruit composition is at or while in the Finger Lakes half of the 10 samples were under ahead of last year’s numbers. 100 ppm. This shows up in the Merlot (+1 °Brix, -0.4 g/l TA), Sauvi- In summary, it looks like Long Island (and some of the gnon blanc (+0.7 °Brix, -1.9 g/l TA) and Malbec (+2.1 °Brix, Lower ) is on track for a more typical ripen- -1.0 g/l TA). ing trajectory, while the Finger Lakes and parts west (and But it also shows up in the varieties for which we have the the Champlain region) are delayed. It could be a “low-brix, most samples. Long Island Cabernet Franc has reached 16- high acid” year for growers outside of Long Island. 16.5 °Brix, and TAs are 8-11 g/l. Compare that to the re- Finger Lakes (Don Caldwell) maining samples in other regions that range from 9.6-13.7 °Brix and acids from 14-28 g/L. From the Finger Lakes to Usually I find it fun to check in with grower-friends in Cali- western NY, Cabernet Franc seems to still be in the middle fornia or Oregon to see how much further ahead grape de- of veraison. Riesling samples show a similar trend. Hud- velopment is in their area than here. This was not one of those years. The cool spring, while preventing frost on everything

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Page 1 save maybe apricots and black walnuts, pushed bud break in the Finger Lakes back to the second and third week of May on most varieties. This late start, in turn, resulted in veraison being be- tween 4 and 11 days behind last year on the varieties we grow at the teaching vineyard. If we compare the number of days between bud break and veraison from our data in 2018 and 2019 we find a difference of 0-6 days. This is not to suggest GDDs don’t matter, but it points to the primacy of bud break in predicting when grapes start rolling into the wineries. Table 1. Number of days between bud break and veraison Finger Lakes: Gruner Veltliner in the research and teaching vineyard at Variety 2018 2019 Dresden is carrying a heavy crop. Riesling 100-101 99-100 Photo by Don Caldwell 94-95 100 Early vineyard observations indicated that there were Cabernet Franc 101-102 105-107 potentially large crops hanging. This prompted more Lemberger 95 98 grower interest in crop estimation procedures. Many Gruner Veltliner 93 99 of our grower meetings focused on crop estimation and the use of spatial data-driven maps to direct sam- Otherwise, this is the time of year when everything pling efforts for more efficient estimates. Some of our looks great. We’ve seen isolated cases of sour rot in ear- early adopters of the Specialty Crop Research Initia- ly varieties that have reached the 13-15 brix threshold, tive (SCRI) Efficient Vineyard Project were utilizing namely Marquette and Diamond, but things mostly sensors and tools to direct their management practices look clean. The tightness of many Riesling clusters I’ve with some implementing variable rate management observed in the area suggest this may not last. This is this season. the time to schedule vineyard tours, rather than in a Frequent heavy rains in the past month have provided few weeks after several hard rains, and high humid- growers relief from what looked to be a dry growing ity. This is me holding back on the negativity following season. We are looking at favorable weather for contin- last year’s chastisement, by the way. ued ripening of the crop, with the exception of a slight On most varieties we’re predicting an above-average, chance of showers on Friday, as the 7-day forecast is but not 2017-style heavy, crop. We’ve heard some rum- partly sunny and an average of 72° Fahrenheit during blings of growers having trouble finding a home for day time hours. Riesling and Vidal, while Cayuga seems to finally be To keep abreast with what is happening in the Lake back in some demand. In the area, Aurore has been Erie region, check out the Lake Erie Regional Grape picked and not much else. Elvira is scheduled for next Program Extension team’s weekly podcasts at http:// week, and at the teaching vineyard we should be pick- lergp.com/podcasts/. This week’s podcast covers berry ing Diamond for sparkling. Good luck to all. sampling techniques for capture a representative sam- Lake Erie (Jennifer Russo) ple for Brix monitoring. Harvest has begun in the Lake Erie region with some early-season hybrids and Minnesota cold-hardy vari- eties coming off the vine. The staff at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory is gearing up to pick the first grapes of the year next week to deliver Seyval blanc to Walker’s Fruit Basket in Forestville, NY. This year at our research station, the official Concord bloom date, June 20, 2019, was six days later than the historical average. Veraison in Concords was official- ly called on August 26, 2019, at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory, making veraison four days later than the historical average. We gained Lake Erie: Concord at CLEREL on September 2, 20198 some days due to the warm, dry weather between Photo by Jennifer Russo bloom and veraison. Page 2 Long Island (Alice Wise) Long Island has experienced a fairly dry season. Rain- fall has been very spotty, downpours in one vineyard and nothing in the vineyard down the road. At the Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center in Riverhead only 1.5” fell in August. Younger vines suffered some drought stress such that a few rounds of drip irrigation were necessary. The dry conditions are also reflected in the extensive develop- ment of periderm, even in varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Veraison proceeded at a slightly slower than normal pace until mid-August when ripening really acceler- Long Island: On September 4, Alice Wise hosted a vineyard tour and ated. It seemed that red varieties went from 50% ve- tasting (grapes) of 20+ different selections at the Long Island Horicultural Research and Extension Center in Riverhead raison to fully colored over a weekend. A number of Photo by Alice Wise growers remarked on this. that the East End of Long Island will only experience In the LIHREC vineyard, Itasca, a newly released cold some wind (20-25 mph) and rain (± 1”) Friday after- hardy hybrid from Minnesota, was harvested last noon-evening. Windy conditions predicted for Satur- week. The 2 year old vines were drought stressed and day will help things dry out. This is important as there the crop was light, thus judgements on fruit quality is a touch of Botrytis in susceptible varieties, especially will have to wait until next year. We expect to harvest where air drainage is not optimal. NY81, a Cayuga White x Riesling hybrid, next week. After that, Zweigelt, , Muscat Ottonel and On September 4, we hosted a LIHREC vineyard tour Auxerrois will be on the radar. and fruit tasting. Vineyard managers, winemakers and other professionals tasted 20+ different selections. Sparkling harvest started this week and will continue Those with substantial flavor included Grüner Veltlin- next week. Harvest of early varieties such as Pinot Noir er, Vermentino, Muscat Ottonel, Malvasia Bianca, Al- and Pinot Gris may depend on how fruit fares through barino, Verdejo and Zweigelt. Speaking of new variet- the upcoming tropical weather. Fortunately, it appears ies, we planted Mencía and this year. Many thanks to Double A and Amberg Grape- vines for donating these grapevines. Hudson/Champlain (Jim Meyers) “The wine of Love is music, And the feast of Love is song: And when Love sits down to the banquet, Love sits long:

Sits long and ariseth drunken, But not with the feast and the wine; He reeleth with his own heart, That great rich Vine.”

-- James Thomson

With the exception of an earlier than average bud break in the Hudson Valley, most vineyards in eastern New York have been growing at or below average pace. All Figure 1. Difference in cumulative Growing Degree Days (GDDs) and pre- of the vineyards that I track are between 150 and 400 cipitation between 2019 and 2018 as of September 5th. Each colored circle represents a farm location. Local CCE offices are represented by colored growing degree days behind where we were at this squares. date in 2018. As seen in Figure 1, the gap between 2019 Photo by Jim Meyers

Page 3 Figure 3. Comparison of 2019 and 2018 ripening at 13 vineyards in eastern New York. CV = . HV = Hudson Valley. Figure by Jim Meyers

2019 Lake Erie Concord Berry Curve (Terry Bates) Concord fruit ripening is moving along in typical fashion in the Lake Erie grape region. The 2019 ber- ry weight remains to be below the long term average and tracking similar to 2018. Stage I berry growth was slightly larger in 2019 than 2018 so the potential for berry swelling in Stage III still remains if vine wa- ter status is adequate. There is also nothing unusual about juice soluble solids accumulation in the week following veraison in Concord at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory.

Figure 2. Comparison of 2019 and historical cumulative Growing Degree Days (GDDs) in a representative vineyard from each of four sub-regions of eastern New York. Photo by Jim Meyers and 2018 increases from South to North, indicating that Champlain Valley is furthest behind. In fact, as Figure 2 shows, Champlain Valley is significantly below any of the previous five years, while Upper and Mid Hud- son Valley running slightly behind average and Lower Hudson slightly above average (but still behind 2018). How is this affecting ripening? Figure 3 compares 2018 and 2019 Brix from 13 vineyards that are included in Veraison to Harvest. With the exception of one Seyval block and one Riesling block, all are substantially low- er than last year. Unfortunately, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) September temperature outlook is below average for New York, although the longer term forecast current expects Oc- tober to be warmer than average which might help the late season cultivars.

Page 4 Are we set up for another ‘sour At least we don’t have the combination of heat and hu- midity that we had last year to contribute to the explo- rot’ year? sive growth of fruit rots that we saw in 2018. Tim Martinson Here are the basic weather metrics so far at Geneva: For many in NY – and especially the Finger Lakes – Rainfall. May was wetter this year than in 2018, but 2018 was the year of sour rot. Not only did growers August precipitation was much closer to the long-term see significant sour rot in the usual suspects (tight- average. This is good news. clustered varieties), but it also was present on typi- cally non-sensitive, loose-clustered varieties (even Concord?). And we also documented insecticide re- sistance in Drosophila fruit flies to several registered products. So will we see a repeat this year? Conditions in 2018. In our final issue ofVeraison to Harvest (#9, 2018), we speculated that the combination of saturated soils, warm nights in September (>11 days with minimum temperature of 60° F) and steady rain events contributed to unusually humid conditions in the grapevine canopy, and kept the cluster zone more humid – increasing ‘drying time’. These, of course, are explanations we came up with after the fact – and not predictions! Growing Degree Days. May was cooler than last year, but June and July were hotter. The metric that Chris Gerling (in consultation with Syracuse meteorologist Glenn Coin) came up with was the exceptional number of hours that the dewpoint ex- ceeded 70° F during the summer months. Here, cour- tesy of the Iowa Environment Mesonet (from Iowa State University) is the plot that made 2018 a standout:

Cumulative Growing Degree Days: In Geneva, at the end of August, we’re at about 2300 growing degree- The year 2018 stood out with over 500 hours during the days, about 300 behind 2018. But note that all months summer month of dewpoints above 70° F – as opposed from April on are hotter than the 2004-2013 average. to 50-200 hours in the previous 40 years. Warm, hu- I expect that trend will continue as climate change mid conditions were persistently present during 2018. keeps kicking in. Here is the same plot with this year’s data added:

This year we are at 100 hours of dewpoint >70 degrees. That seems reassuring.

Page 5 Fruit Composition Report - 9/6/2019 The first samples were collected on Tuesday, September 3, and include yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN). YAN measurements will be taken every two weeks. Next samples will be collected on Monday, September 9.

Baco Noir Ber. Region Harvest Date Description % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Wt. g. Hudson Valley 9/3/2019 Benmarl SW HV 1.09 19.2 3.14 14.0 Prev. sample ’18 Sample 9/4/2018 Southwest HV 1.20 18.3 3.28 17.1 163 Cabernet Franc Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 E. Seneca 1.13 12.1 2.61 23.4 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Cayuga 1.16 13.2 2.70 19.9 22 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Dresden 1.09 13.7 2.68 18.7 11 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Lansing 1.24 12.4 2.79 19.1 69 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Keuka 1.05 12.0 2.75 21.7 10 Hudson Valley 9/3/2019 Benmarl Southwest HV 1.25 13.7 2.96 13.4 98 Hudson Valley 9/3/2019 Canoe East Central HV 1.08 10.9 2.83 23.0 47 Lake Erie 9/3/2019 Portland 1.31 9.6 2.73 28.3 117 Long Island 9/3/2019 LI-05 1.92 16.0 3.19 10.9 91 Long Island 9/3/2019 LI-09 1.51 16.5 3.32 8.0 134 Niagara 9/3/2019 Niagara County 0.76 11.2 2.66 26.5 15 Average 9/3/2019 1.23 12.8 2.84 19.4 62 Prev Sample ‘18 Average 9/4/2018 1.30 15.2 3.07 11.7 118 Catawba Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Keuka 1.99 6.9 2.45 >30 56 Prev Sample ‘17 Sample 9/4/2018 Keuka 2.12 12.4 2.71 21.5 51 Cayuga White Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Keuka 2.27 13.8 2.59 18.0 79 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Cayuga 2.98 15.1 2.86 11.9 183 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Dresden 2.30 14.7 2.75 12.4 100 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Ithaca 3.10 13.7 2.71 16.7 89 Average 9/3/2019 2.66 14.3 2.73 14.8 113 Prev Sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 2.86 16.2 3.06 11.1 95 Chardonnay Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Cayuga 1.33 13.0 2.79 18.7 90 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Dresden 1.33 15.6 2.80 12.1 55 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Lansing 1.41 13.8 2.82 14.3 219 Long Island 9/3/2019 1.74 16.1 3.31 11.4 149 Niagara 9/3/2019 Niagara County 1.23 11.9 2.78 19.5 128 Average 9/3/2019 1.41 14.1 2.90 15.2 128 Prev sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 1.45 17.6 3.24 8.6 187

Page 6 Concord Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Keuka 2.49 9.7 2.55 20.4 58 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 W. Canandaigua 2.45 9.1 2.64 23.1 132 Lake Erie 9/3/2019 Portland 2.55 10.5 2.98 17.7 152 Average 9/3/2019 2.50 9.8 2.72 20.4 114 Prev. Sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 2.74 13.1 3.01 11.5 138 Diamond Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 TDV 2.38 13.4 2.93 9.0 76 Prev Sample Frontenac Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Lake Erie 9/3/2019 Sheridan 1.18 16.6 3.06 22.7 469 Prev Sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 1.14 20.9 3.09 17.5 334 Frontenac Gris Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Champlain Valley 9/3/2019 Champlain Valley 1.10 15.8 2.85 22.4 166 Prev Sample Gruner Veltliner Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Dresden 1.26 13.9 2.81 11.5 41 Previous Sample ‘17 Sample 9/4/2018 Dresden 1.70 19.1 3.24 6.7 89 La Crescent Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Champlain Valley 9/3/2019 Central Champlain 1.02 17.0 2.95 17.9 22 Champlain Valley 9/3/2019 Northern Champlain 0.97 15.6 2.81 18.3 99 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Geneva 1.37 18.6 2.85 16.7 82 Average 9/3/2019 1.12 17.1 2.87 17.6 68 Previous Sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 1.25 21.8 2.94 15.3 50 Lemberger Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Keuka 1.23 14.7 2.68 15.7 65 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Dresden 1.54 16.3 2.72 12.8 54 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Wayne County 1.43 15.1 2.88 17.7 203 Average 9/3/2019 1.40 15.4 2.76 15.4 107 Previous sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 1.69 18.8 3.05 10.2 108 Malbec Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm)

Long Island 9/3/2019 2.10 15.6 3.11 14.5 170 ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 LI-06 2.10 13.5 3.13 15.5 391

Page 7 Marquette Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Champlain Valley 9/3/2019 Central Champlain 1.06 14.8 2.87 20.6 73 Champlain Valley 9/3/2019 Northern Champlain 1.28 16.4 2.95 18.3 369 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Ithaca 1.02 13.9 2.75 18.4 182 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Tones 1.42 19.9 2.86 16.8 164 Lake Erie 9/3/2019 Fredonia 1.37 19.7 3.08 14.9 378 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Dresden 1.24 18.0 2.89 14.6 118 Average 9/3/2019 1.23 17.1 2.90 17.3 214 Prev Sample 8/27/2018 1.29 18.8 3.03 13.5 ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 1.28 20.9 3.05 13.1 156 Merlot Harvest Region Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Date Long Island 9/3/2019 2.02 17.3 3.30 8.4 110 Long Island 9/3/2019 1.61 16.6 3.37 8.0 135 Niagara 9/3/2019 Niagara County 1.31 15.9 2.95 14.0 22 Average 9/3/2019 1.65 16.6 3.21 10.1 89 Prev sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 1.46 15.4 3.25 9.7 248 Niagara Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Lake Erie 9/3/2019 Portland 3.58 12.3 2.91 12.3 101 Prev Sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 Portland 3.83 14.8 3.17 8.7 152 Noiret Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Lake Erie 9/3/2019 Sheridan 1.47 15.1 3.00 17.8 242 Prev Sample Pinot Noir Ber. Wt. Region Harvest Date Description % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) g. Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 W. Cayuga 1.14 14.0 2.96 15.1 107 Hudson Valley 9/3/2019 Nostrano Southwest HV 0.86 17.6 3.48 9.7 342 Hudson Valley 9/3/2019 Canoe East Central HV 1.01 14.8 3.21 15.2 375 Niagara 9/3/2019 Niagara County 1.09 15.5 2.77 16.0 73 Niagara 9/3/2019 Niagara Escarpment 1.30 14.8 2.92 16.1 259 Average 9/3/2019 1.08 15.3 3.07 14.4 231 Prev sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 1.40 17.8 3.43 8.4 138 Regent Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 TDV 1.62 19.3 3.15 10.0 63 Prev Sample

Page 8 Riesling Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 E. Seneca 1.38 12.3 2.68 21.9 152 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 CL 90 Cayuga 0.88 11.0 2.81 23.7 125 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Keuka 0.94 11.1 2.63 22.2 66 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 W. Canandaigua 1.10 9.2 2.55 26.5 135 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Dresden 1.16 12.5 2.86 19.8 109 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 E. Seneca Cl 90 1.07 12.8 2.72 21.5 49 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 E. Seneca Cl 239 1.06 12.3 2.66 21.3 39 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 E. Seneca Cl 198 1.15 12.1 2.65 20.5 59 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Wayne County 1.01 10.3 2.76 23.9 170 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Lansing 1.25 9.7 2.77 20.9 81 Hudson Valley 9/3/2019 Nostrano Southwest HV 1.26 13.7 3.09 16.5 194 Hudson Valley 9/3/2019 Canoe East Central HV 1.41 17.3 3.10 12.7 178 Lake Erie 9/3/2019 Portland 1.61 14.5 2.95 16.7 146 Long Island 9/3/2019 LI-01 1.41 14.3 3.10 12.2 168 Average 9/3/2019 1.19 12.4 2.81 20.0 119 Prev Sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 LI-01 1.46 13.6 3.09 13.6 203 Sauvignon Blanc Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Long Island 9/3/2019 1.47 17.1 3.34 10.0 190 Prev Sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 LI-02 1.44 16.4 3.21 11.9 238 Seyval Blanc Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Cayuga 2.14 17.1 2.88 12.8 172 Hudson Valley 9/3/2019 Benmarl SW HV 1.64 17.6 3.19 9.1 103 Lake Erie 9/3/2019 Portland 1.55 14.2 2.92 12.6 115 Average 9/3/2019 1.78 16.3 3.00 11.5 130 Prev Sample 8/27/2018 1.62 15.5 3.00 10.2 ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 1.65 16.4 3.12 12.2 121 St Croix Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Geneva 1.80 15.2 2.92 12.6 142 Prev Sample Traminette Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Keuka 1.34 11.3 2.47 27.2 51 Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Ithaca 1.42 10.9 2.62 27.5 62 Lake Erie 9/3/2019 Portland 1.48 12.9 2.72 21.0 138 Average 9/3/2019 1.41 11.7 2.60 25.2 83 Prev Sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 1.67 13.6 2.82 17.3 86 Vidal Blanc Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 Dresden 1.32 11.5 2.73 20.3 104 Prev Sample ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 Dresden 1.54 16.5 2.99 12.2 105

Page 9 Vignoles Region Harvest Date Description Ber. Wt. g. % Brix pH TA g/L YAN (ppm) Finger Lakes 9/3/2019 VSP Keuka 1.49 14.9 2.66 23.5 154 Lake Erie 9/3/2019 Portland 1.58 16.0 2.92 20.4 319 Average 9/3/2019 1.54 15.5 2.79 22.0 237 ‘18 Sample 9/4/2018 1.49 20.6 3.04 16.2 186

Weed control by Sheep

For the second year, Justine Vanden Heuvel’s program has been evaluating the use of sheep for vineyard floor management. So far, it appears that this is best suited to vineyard blocks in high training systems. But the photo on the right shows that although these sheep do like to eat leaaves, they apparently don’t like the grape clusters. Perhaps with appropriate netting above the cluster zone, they might be able to also do cluster zone leaf removal in VSP-trained vineyards. Photos by Justine Vanden Heuvel (left) and Steve Lerch (right)

This newsletter was made possible with support from the and Grape Foundation, Constellation Brands, and USDA Federal Formula funding through the Cornell and New York State Agricultural Experiment Stations. Veraison to Harvest is a joint publication of:

Cornell Enology Extension Program Statewide Viticulture Extension Program Long Island Grape Program - Suffolk CCE Finger Lakes Grape Program Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program Copyright 2018©

The information, including any advice or recommendations, contained herein is based upon the research and experience of Cornell Cooperative Extension person- nel. While this information constitutes the best judgement/opinion of such personnel at the time issued, neither Cornell Cooperative Extension nor any represen- tative thereof makes any representation or warrantee, express or implied, of any particular result or application of such information, or regarding any product. Users of any product are encouraged to read and follow product-labeling instructions and check with the manufacturer or supplier for updated information. Nothing contained in this information should be interpreted as an endorsement expressed or implied of any particular product.

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