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 a late harvest which is not the best for us because we have Multicolor Asian Lady Beetles that we want to keep out of our wine. The Cabernet Franc would get killed off at the ground each year and some vines survived only because all of the energy went down into the roots annually. None of the Cabernet Franc vines ever produced any fruit. We decided to remove these vines and replace them with a new hardy variety from Minnesota. The vineyard team is getting these vines pulled this week.
We need to finish spraying pre-emergent weed killer at Tassel Ridge Winery and also finish fertilizing the vines. Then, we need to get the shops, trucks, and tractors cleaned and put away for the winter.
