From Our Vineyard

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

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

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,

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

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

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

Harvest began on Tuesday, August 4 with about one ton of Brianna being picked by hand from Newport Lane Vineyard. The hot weather drove sugars up dramatically in the grapes in that one vineyard. Sugar in the other vineyards where Brianna is planted remained below our target

The vineyard team will spray fungicide at Maple Woods, Meadowcreek, and Newport Lane. In spite of the hot and dry weather, it is humid enough that fungus grows easily. Most of our sprays include appropriate insecticide in order to prevent critters from having our vines for lunch.

The vineyard staff has been watching the well-established vines to make sure they are getting enough moisture. For the most part, they have well-established root systems so that irrigation is not necessary immediately. Younger vines that are 3–5 years old may not yet have fully established root

Veraison is that much-anticipated event each year when the red grapes start to change from milky green to red/purple and the white grapes change from a milky green to a translucent amber. All grapes become softer to the touch. The acid in the grapes starts to decline