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
Read more →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
Read more →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
Read more →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
Read more →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
Read more →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
Read more →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,
Read more →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
Read more →The vineyard crew collected grape samples and then tested the juice in the lab for titratable acidity, pH (strength of acid), and sugar. Generally, acids drop and sugar increases as we approach the time to harvest. We’d like to see acid below 10 grams per liter and
Read more →Last week, we harvested Brianna from Newport Lane and Tassel Ridge. The hot weather helped to bring sugar up and acids down. Most important, the flavors were outstanding. The grapes from Newport Lane were hand harvested and those from Tassel Ridge were machine harvested. Lower temperatures (relatively
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