From Our Vineyard
The vineyard crew is making good progress cleaning out long canes and dead wood in the Edelweiss and Sabrevois at Tassel Ridge. They hope the weather will allow them to finish this week. They will mechanically prune the rest of the vineyards next. Most people I talk to are ready for warmer weather. But, it […]
Category : From Our Vineyard &Newsletter Articles
This week, we will continue to clean out the canes we have cut with the mechanical pruner in our Edelweiss and Sabrevois at Tassel Ridge. We have about 20 acres or 11,000 vines of these grape varieties so this project is taking some time. So far, we’ve gotten the nine acres of Marquette long pruned […]
Category : From Our Vineyard &Newsletter Articles
Our vineyard crew is finishing up pruning of our Marquette at Meadowcreek. Actually, we pruned last week using our V-Mech system and then we need to go back on foot and pull out all of the canes that are tangled up and don’t fall to the ground by themselves. With about nine acres of Marquette, this […]
Category : From Our Vineyard
Every year, starting in late February to early March, we prune all of our 38,000± grapevines. We select the time based on when the weather is reasonable and the vineyard floor is not too soft, but it is always near the end of winter. We prune in two steps: long pruning first, and then, beginning […]
Category : From Our Vineyard
We started with hand work in the H-Braces at the ends of each row. We pruned Marquette. The ground was too soggy for our V-Mech mechanical pruner until the end of last week when we were able to get it out. We rough pruned all of the Marquette and now have to go back and […]
Category : From Our Vineyard
About ten years ago, we planted about 60 vines each of two different grape varieties developed by the Geneva Research Station in Upstate New York and also about 60 Cabernet Franc, the most cold hardy vinifera or temperate climate grape variety out there. The New York varieties survived and produced fruit, however it was always […]
Category : From Our Vineyard &Newsletter Articles
Now that the first hard frosts have sent the vines into dormancy, the vineyard team is starting to spray herbicides to kill weeds and grass that grow under the vines and compete for moisture and nutrients. This is one thing we can do now that will increase grape production next year. They are also fertilizing […]
Category : From Our Vineyard &Newsletter Articles
Cooler weather and shorter days are telling the vines that it is time to shut down for the winter. The sap in the vines is headed down into the root system and soon all of the leaves will turn brown and a good wind will blow them all to the ground. That doesn’t mean that […]
Category : From Our Vineyard &Newsletter Articles
We harvested Frontenac today and now only have Steuben to harvest. The Steuben isn’t ready yet and we just have to wait for sugar and acid levels to reach our targets. In the meantime, we will start some post-harvest maintenance tasks like cleaning up the vineyard sheds, making repairs to the trellis, and spraying fungicide. […]
Category : From Our Vineyard &Newsletter Articles
We are totally engaged in harvesting grapes. The Brianna was ready first, followed by Edelweiss, and then St. Pepin. These were all grapes for making white wines. Last week, we harvested our first red grape of the season, Sabrevois. This was followed by LaCrosse, another white, and then Marquette, a red. Finally, last weekend we […]
Category : From Our Vineyard &Newsletter Articles
