Fruit set & leaf pulling. Memorial day.

A healthy vineyard. The 2009 planting on the right, 2011 planting on the left. The 2011 vines are thriving, with no visible deer nibbling this year. Deer severely impacted the vineyard last year, but not at all now.

Integrated pest management is critical in cultivating outstanding wine grapes. I use fairly innocuous chemicals (copper, sulfur, phosphorous acid, and others), so the cultural practices are even more important. Leaf pulling on the east side allows the morning sun to dry the dew off the young grapes. Less moisture, less disease. Also, it is easier to catch disease earlier with direct visualization of the developing fruit. I just never would have foreseen that I would be pulling leaves as early as Memorial Day!

BB-sized petit manseng grapes.

Tiny petit verdot grapes.

Safety, shoots, & blooms

Safety third had been my catch phrase. But, eventually, I had to ponder the dangers associated with operating a vineyard. Tractors. Pesticides. PTO-driven equipment. As Mike Rowe says in his video blog, no one else is going to look out for my safety.

I visited Dick Button at Ivy Creek Vineyards to learn about vineyard safety. He discussed pesticide storage, safety during mixing/spraying/cleaning, tractor roll bars, tractor air filtration, PTO shaft clearance, and many other safety issues. He gave me a very nice pair of safety gloves, to ensure I knew what I needed in pesticide handling. This well-spent afternoon may help me live a bit longer & healthier.

Dick Button with a protective suit.

Dick recommended that I pursue Pesticide certification through Virginia Cooperative Extension. One Extension visit and several emails & phone calls later, I was on track. There is a core curriculum available through Virginia Tech, and free testing is performed at DMV (everyone loves to go to DMV!). The certification process stresses personal safety, environmental safety, and appropriate use of pesticides. We will continue to use sustainable viticultural practices, following an integrated pest management system.

Reynard Florence Vineyard is a new local vineyard and winery. Their tasting room opened a few weeks ago. I dropped by last week, and met Roe Allison in his vineyard. Roe asked me if I wanted a tasting. I said that I want to help him in his vineyard for a while. After he realized that he wasn't dreaming, we shoot-thinned rows of merlot. What a cool experience! First of all, I operate VSP compared to his Smart-Dyson. Completely different! While I try to have 3-4 shoots per foot, his bidirectional growth requires much denser growth around the cordons. We talked vines, wines, and life. After a bit of work, we sampled his wines. I particularly was impressed with his 2011 100% grenache, sampled from the barrel. He will likely blend it, but it was splendid (some bing cherry goodness). 


And yes, our vineyard keeps growing. We just had 2 inches of rain in the last two days. Nonetheless, the spray program is holding up well. As you can see, several of the vines have already reached the top wire. Shoot thinning is a constant, vigilant pursuit. Cluster thinning will ensue after fruit set. So far, so good.


And no deer problems! Not a single shoot eaten by deer. The milorganite bags are making a tremendous difference this year.
  

Petit manseng rows at left, petit verdot rows at right.

Ready or not, bloom is here. Intensive surveillance and spraying is critical right now. The Petit manseng is blooming, with Petit verdot close behind. Hopefully, a great fruit set will commence. 

Petit manseng bloom.