Category: Vineyard Info

By: Neal D. Hulkower

Two were born in Mexico and one in the US to parents from Oaxaca. Each had carved a path to success in Oregon’s wine industry and wanted to pay it forward by easing the way for those at the beginning of the winemaking process, the vineyard steward.  An association they created not that long ago has been fulfilling their vision.

The Trio of Founders 

  After obtaining a degree in Computer Systems Engineering in Chihuahua, Mexico, in 2002, Jesús Guillén came to the United States to learn English.  His father, Jesús senior, who then as now was managing the vineyards at White Rose Estate in Dayton, Oregon, put him to work. Blossoming under the guidance of mentors including White Rose’s owner Greg Sanders, consulting winemaker Mark Vlossak, who also owns St Innocent, and the late Gary Andrus, the younger Guillén quickly moved from the fields to the cellar. In 2008, he became the first Mexican head winemaker in Oregon. He also started his own brand, Guillén Family Wines.

  Mexico City native Sofía Torres McKay was working in the technology field when she met her husband, Ryan, in San Francisco in 2001.  After they married in 2005, they acquired 10-acres in the Dundee Hills American Viticultural Area and planted Cramoisi Vineyard. They bottle estate Pinot Noir, red and rosé, and Chardonnay under the Cramoisi label.

  Native Oregonian Miguel Lopez was born to immigrants from Oaxaca and raised in wine country. His resume includes positions at several wineries and a distributor.  He now dedicates his time to Red Dirt Vineyard Management and Winemaking, a venture he started with his sister, Eva Lopez, in 2018.

From Idea to Reality

  That same year, Guillén, Torres McKay, and Lopez went public with their plans to form an organization named the Asociación Hispana de la Industria del Vino en Oregon y Comunidad or AHIVOY (ahivoyoregon.org), which is Spanish for “there I go”.   Tragically, Guillén died at age 38 on November 5, 2018, after a short battle with an aggressive form of cancer.  His widow, Yuliana Cisneros-Guillén, took his place with the other founders and also maintains the family’s label.  She promotes the importance of those the group is dedicated to supporting: “AHÍVOY vineyard stewards are tending the vineyards that capture our Oregon wine region in every wine that is being produced.”

  The association adopted an ambitious and sharply focused mission statement: “AHIVOY strengthens the Oregon wine community by empowering Vineyard Stewards through education.” It collaborated with Chemeketa Community College’s Wine Studies program at the Eola campus in Salem to develop the Wine Industry Professional Training Program tailored to the constraints of full-time vineyard workers.  AHIVOY held its first public event in November 2019 to raise funds for this project and to announce that it had begun selecting members of the first cohort. The Oregon wine industry and supporters quickly rallied to the nascent organization. A major boost came from The Erath Family Foundation which covered the expenses for all students in the inaugural class.

The First Cohorts

  On January 15, 2020, a small group of vineyard stewards gathered in a Chemeketa classroom for the first time to expand their view of the wine industry.  Over the two 10-week terms, topics covered the entire process from vineyard to glass, incorporating the details of grape growing and vinification as well as tasting and marketing the final product. Along with the rest of the world, the program came to a sudden halt on March 13, one week shy of the end of the first term.

  During the forced hiatus, the now tax-exempt association, with officers, a volunteer board, and committee structure in place, continued to raise funds for a second cohort and to recruit students.  They successfully accumulated enough to fund the second cohort which started on January 13, 2021, one day after the first cohort returned to class.

On a cloudless March 3, 2021, the dream of the three founders commenced dreams coming true for eight men, the first to complete the program. The second cohort comprised of four women and six men celebrated its graduation on April 27.

Reactions, Initial Impact, and Follow On

  Jessica Sandrock, a member of the AHIVOY education committee and coordinator of programs and grants, was instrumental in designing the English-language curriculum for the program. She collected and shared feedback from students in both cohorts and their employers. “Overall, the reaction to the program has been really positive,” said Sandrock.   She added that, not surprisingly, the students overwhelmingly liked gaining more advanced technical knowledge on vineyard management.

  One wrote: “Vineyard management classes are very good. [It was c]hallenging and I learned new things that I am using at work already.” But as they got into winemaking topics, they got interested in those. One student in the first cohort is pursuing winemaking and his own label. Another valued “learning more about all of the things that go into growing grapes and making wine. I will use all of this in my work.”  Most enjoyed visiting different vineyards and wineries, learning different ways to train the vines and the work of the winery.  Three members of the second cohort really appreciated the WSET Level 1 training and certification which was added this year and will pursue the higher levels. Several plan to continue their education by taking classes to deepen their knowledge of vineyard management, to study enology, to learn English, or to get a General Educational Development (GED) certificate. The respondents unanimously plan to recommend the program to other vineyard stewards.

  Employer reaction was also strongly positive. All agreed that “the vineyard steward [is] showing increased eagerness to learn” while 80% affirmed that “the vineyard steward [is] demonstrating more versatility.”

  Jesse Lange of Lange Winery wrote “We’ve been fortunate to have two, very valued and experienced, employees participate in the AHIVOY program for each of the two years the program has been available.

  “Continuing education has a holistic [effect] on any student- one that has the potential to positively permeate many aspects of job performance. We’ve seen that [to] be the case here at Lange Estate- from the viticulture, wine-production, and even sales and marketing. Both Benjamin and Enrique have shown higher levels of enthusiasm, deeper levels of questioning, and general happiness with the opportunity to expand a knowledge base and skill set. Also, the chance to learn amongst peers allows for interactions that can [be] cohesive and collaborative- especially coming out of the pandemic. All of this is healthy indeed!  “We would definitely recommend this program to other folks in the industry- no doubt!”

  Sam Stetser of Atlas Vineyard Management sent one of his employees to the second cohort: “The great thing about AHIVOY is both myself and Roman were on board with doing it, it wouldn’t work if that wasn’t the case.” He hopes to “to transition Roman into a management role with more responsibility.”

  Sandrock said that they will track graduates and are trying formal and informal ways to keep them connected to the association as ambassadors or board members. She also stated that AHIVOY is working with Oregon State University to support graduates interested in pursuing a bachelor’s degree.  This can be an attractive option since the graduates accrued continuing education credits that can be used to place out of the 3 introductory courses at Chemeketa in its Wine Studies Program whose credits, in turn, readily transfer to OSU.  More immediate opportunities are with the OSU extension.  Discussions are underway with Prof. Patricia Skinkis, Viticulture Extension Specialist, about specific topics she can support such as pest management.

The Future

  Thus far, AHIVOY’s reach has only extended to the Willamette Valley, and mostly the north at that, but there has been outreach to Southern Oregon and The Rocks District.  But more involvement is needed to spread the word and do all of the other critical functions of the growing organization.

  Resources for the 2022 class have been secured and applications for membership in the third cohort are being accepted through November 15, 2021. Classes are scheduled from January 5 to April 27, 2022 on Wednesday from 9 am to 3 pm. In the meantime, fundraising continues to ensure classes can continue beyond next year and perhaps even expand to include larger numbers of students.

  In less than 3 years, the vision of the founding trio has taken hold, gathering widening support from an industry known for collaboration and concern for all of its members.  With momentum building, AHIVOY looks to be as successful as ¡Salud!, the organization that has been providing medical services to Oregon vineyard workers and their family for over 25 years.  While ¡Salud! maintains the health of the vineyard stewards, AHIVOY enriches their intellect and feeds their curiosity. As founder Torres McKay asserts: “The more we empower vineyard stewards through education, [the more] we will become the best wine growing community, making the best wines in the world.”

By: Judit Monis, Ph.D.

 I attended an interesting session at the 2021 Unified and Wine Symposium.  As most of the meetings and seminars during the COVID pandemic, all sessions were held virtually.  We learned from three different vineyard professionals:  Sadie Drury (North Slope Management, Washington), Tony Bugica (Atlas Vineyard Management, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma, California) and Craig Ledbetter (Vino Farms, Lodi, and California Central Coast).  The presentations focused on the changes viticulturists and their crews had to implement in their vineyards and offices to adapt to the requirements of physical distancing, isolation, and quarantine during the COVID 19 pandemic.

  On March 11 last year, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of SarsCoV-2 (the virus that causes of COVID-19) a pandemic.  At the time I was In Argentina and had to cancel most of my vineyard visits to return home on the last available flight.  Since then, most of my work has been done using Zoom, email, and phone calls.  In this article I describe how vineyard personnel, who do not have the luxury to work from home, managed their field work during the pandemic.

  Lise Asimont (the session moderator) opened the session reminding everyone that 2020 was a challenging year for vineyard operations due to labor shortages, global pandemic, and wildfires (especially throughout the United States West Coast).  In her words “this session is about making lemonade out of lemons”.  The speakers were chosen to represent growers in different viticulture regions in the Western United States to discuss how vineyard operations and labor practices adapted to the COVID 19 Pandemic.  It is expected that the information presented on the contingency planning of these professionals made will help others cope in the future.

Changes Implemented Due to the Pandemic Common to all Speakers

  Everyone concurred that the most important issue was to keep all employees safe (people first attitude). Right away internal management discussed safety and well-being of teams.  Physical distancing and mask wearing was immediately made mandatory.  Keeping employees six feet apart in the vineyard is not a difficult task, as crews can work every other planted row.  When maintaining physical distance, the workers were allowed to take their masks off which made their work easier (especially in hot days or for workers who wear glasses).  There was a large investment in cleaning, disinfecting supplies, and bottled water. 

  There was an increase of communication and frequent meetings to update and train employees on COVID 19 symptoms, how SarsCoV-2 spreads, local resources, company rules, community outreach, etc. Because of the influx of information, it was important to stop misinformation from the media.  Training included: the need for increased sanitation frequency, hand hygiene, use of sanitizer, avoiding touching each other (shaking hands, hugging, etc.) Van and food sharing was immediately stopped.  Equipment and properties were assigned to specific operators providing greater comfort on sanitation.  Affiliating a crew with a property and equipment allowed them to develop a complete understanding of the safety processes and expectations.  At the same time the amount of contact needed was reduced. Family units constituted a work group as people who live together do not present an increased transmission risk while working together

Lessons Learned from Individual Speakers

  Sadie Drury’s management purchased thermometers for each employee to perform self-temperature monitoring.   Because her company employs people living in two different states (Oregon and Washington), there was a need to be aware of health directives from both states and communicate this accordingly.  The management planned on secondary pandemic challenges, such as potential reduced labor. To circumvent this, there was a focus on cross training and determine how to reduce labor.  One strategy was to adopt a crawling canopy in the vineyard.  Therefore, shoot thinning or leaf pulling were not performed.  The strategy paid off yielding good quality fruit while utilizing a reduced number of field workers.   This allowed the company to sell the produce at a discounted price.  What made the company successful was the flexibility, change of farming practices, managing people, and communication.    With the challenge of new COVID variants there is still uncertainty and It is expected that the changes adopted by this vineyard management will continue through 2021 and beyond. 

  Tony Bugica was quick to apply his knowledge on medical procedure as his background includes pre-med and EMT training.  These skills became helpful during the pandemic.   Atlas Vineyard Management (Atlas) operations were decentralized and immediately eliminated in person meetings. Whoever could work from home did so. There was no knowledge on the use of masks and face shields but it was applied to the everyday farming activities.  Atlas developed training programs that were rolled out to the personnel to promotes a sense of community and teamwork.  Future training in larger formats include employees in their own cars like a drive-in movie.   Communication has always been a challenge for the business and the pandemic forced the staff to be out of their comfort zone of relying on in-person meetings.  Tony mentioned that he was vaccinated as he is a member of the board of “La Familia Sana”.   La Familia Sana, a grassroots organization in Northern Sonoma County with the mission of providing health and wellness through education, direct support and advocacy to Latinx and Indigenous communities.

  This group has been providing education to farmworkers about COVID prevention, vaccine safety, and how and where to get the immunized.  The plan is to develop a brochure to encourage workers to become vaccinated against the COVID virus.  Atlas hopes to organize on site group vaccinations for workers willing to get immunized.  The response to illness in the pandemic has helped the company to slow down and get away from the workaholic mentality.  They have learned that pushing people to come to work when not feeling well can spread disease.  In his words “workaholics transmit disease”. The year 2021 will bring a new way of working, for example:  meeting in trucks rather than in the office.  Fires and Pandemic have made everyone closer and stronger, more efficient, personally and in business.

  According to Tony Bugica, safety is important, no grape is worth a person’s life, so the workers were asked to slow down or even stop when there was any risk.

  Craig Ledbetter stressed that agriculture is not a one size fits all.  Communication was number one key to successful implementation of the company’s plan.  Clearly, field operations are very different from office operations.  Changes had to be implemented from day one.  They determined who could or could not work outside of the office.  The company has many individual offices.  People who had to stay in their offices could keep their windows open.  In addition, the company invested un ventilation upgrades to make sure that the air was sucked in and out and not into some other office.  Further, the contact with vendors and employees was minimized. 

  Vino Farms had to deal with positive cases, their human resources director was an absolute rock star throughout the entire process. From the start of the pandemic that the State of California appeared not to be equipped to handle contact tracing.  Vino Farms did the best they could to implement their own contact tracing. There were several positive cases but only 25% of the employees that tested positive for the virus were contacted by the state but their HR director did.  The HR staff worked around the clock, seven days a week to make sure that the employees were kept safe and informed.

  The 2020-21 season has been a difficult period of time with statewide fires, there were missed days of work especially on the Paso Robles area.  The company did their best with a reduced crew by limiting hand picking.  Some changes that were implemented will continue. The 2020 year was one of the worst years for viticulture, besides COVID, fires were a huge issue, and fruit was rejected due to smoke taint. It is Craig Ledbetter’s hope (and all of ours) that 2021 will be a recovery year.

Conclusions

  Many of you may wonder why a plant pathologist is writing about the modifications that vineyard managers needed to implement during the COVID 19 pandemic.  Firstly, I am a pathologist and have specialized in viral and other pathogen infection in plants.  Also, I have followed the pandemic with great interest, learning about viral transmission, vaccines, and ways to mitigate the disease.  For many years I have preached growers on the use of different activities to mitigate plant disease.  Most of the time, I have been told that these methods (testing prior to planting, entering clean fields prior to working in infected ones, change of workers clothing to avoid movement of mealybugs, etc.)  are expensive and labor intensive.  We heard from the speakers that “workaholics transmit disease” and that they have been compassionate and asked their workers to “slow down”.  Therefore, I think that my message to vineyard managers and nursery personnel will probably be heard and applied now that we have all gone through this pandemic together.  So, I close this article, wishing health to all vineyard workers, their families, and grapevine plantings.

Judit Monis, Ph.D. is a California-based plant health consultant, provides specialized services to help growers, vineyard managers, and nursery personnel avoid the propagation and transmission of disease caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses in their vineyard blocks.   Judit is fluent in Spanish and is available to consult in other important wine grape growing regions of the word.   Due to COVID 19 Pandemic, Judit is available to perform virtual vineyard visits.  Please visit juditmonis.com for information or contact juditmonis@yahoo.com to request a consulting session.

By: Janet van Zoeren and Tim Martinson

The VitisGen and VitisGen2 projects represent major investments in understanding grapevine genetics – and particularly in identifying markers associated with desirable traits for use in ‘marker-assisted selection’.   DNA markers identified by geneticists and breeders are now incorporated into several selections and mapping populations by grape breeding programs in California, Minnesota, New York, and Missouri.

  We asked VitisGen2 breeders to provide photos and brief descriptions of a few of their selections and mapping populations and the traits they incorporate.  Where appropriate, we have highlighted the verified presence of genes through the use of markers in blue.

USDA-ARS, Crop Diseases, Pests and Genetics Unit, San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center,Parlier, CA

Craig Ledbetter, Research Geneticist

Y308-314-08 This is a mid-season table grape selection with powdery mildew resistance, which has the Ren4 gene. It was sufficiently attractive for trialing with other advanced table grape selections.  It was the first PM resistant selection to be brought in for evaluation by the California Table Grape Commission, where there were positive comments from evaluators regarding the fruit attractiveness and productivity.  It was finally removed from variety consideration because of excessive fruit acidity.  We have continued to use this accession as a quality parent for Ren4 crosses.

Y306-196-10 This natural dry-on-vine raisin selection has all the makings of a new raisin cultivar.  The vine is extremely productive and berries begin drying down in early August.  Dry product quality is very high and berries resist powdery mildew infection because of the carried Ren4 gene.  The selection is currently under yield evaluation to examine its commercial potential.

Color Population: It is difficult to identify new red-skinned table grape selections with high quality skin color, so a 300-vine population was created from red-skinned parents that differed greatly in the quality of skin color.  The reason for creating this population is to identify a DNA marker that is linked to high quality red skin color.  All fruiting vines are being phenotyped for skin color quality, and vine DNA profiles will be examined to identify any markers linked to high quality red skin color.  Depicted in the photo are fruit clusters from two vines:  a high quality red to the left of the trunk, and low quality red to the trunk’s right.

Y511-151-12 This is the first red-skinned selection with powdery mildew resistance to be evaluated for fruit quality in advanced selection trials.  Fruitful on both spurs and canes, the selection yielded between 950 to 1400 boxes per acre, depending on applied cultural treatments.  Vitis cinerea (Ren2) is the source of this selection’s powdery mildew resistance.  The round attractive fruit ripen in mid-September and produce a 7 gram berry with 21° Brix.  Consumer evaluations have been positive, with flesh texture and sweetness being notable positive attributes.

Y514-109-12 This late-season table grape selections owes its resistance to V. romanetii, the donor of Ren4.  It is currently being evaluated for the possibility of release in collaborative trials with the California Table Grape Commission.  The white-skinned selection has achieved 1076 boxes per acre in these trials, with clusters averaging 1.3 lb. on spur-pruned vines.  Fruit of this selection are particularly clean, due in part to its vigorous canopy that protects developing berries from both sunburn and ambering.  While this selection may or may not ever become a new cultivar, its genetics have already been used for several seasons to donate its unique combination of powdery mildew resistance and fruit quality traits to new seedlings.

Cornell Grape Breeding and Genetics Program, Cornell AgriTech, Horticulture Section, Cornell School of Integrative Plant Science, Geneva, NY

Bruce Reisch, Professor

NY12.0107.01 This white wine grape selection is derived from a complex cross made in 2012, and confirmed through VitisGen marker analyses to carry both Run1 (for powdery mildew resistance) and Rpv1 (for downy mildew resistance). This particular vine was planted in 2014 as a single vine seedling, propagated in 2017, and planted in a six-vine plot in 2018. Fruit were netted and harvested in September 2020, and we expect to evaluate the first wine sample next spring.  The very long, moderately compact clusters bear fruit with mild flavors, and seem free of hybrid characteristics derived from North American species. One of its quality ancestors include ‘Muscat Hamburg’. It may have potential for high productivity.

NY10.0927.02 Another white wine grape selection bearing attractive clusters of light red fruit. As with its ‘Aromella’ ancestor, this selection has some flowery, aromatic components in the fresh fruit, likely derived from its ‘Gewürztraminer’ background.  The cross was made in 2010 and seedling vines were planted to a permanent vineyard in 2012. This selection was then propagated in 2017 and planted to a test site in 2018.  Fruit were harvested this year for sensory analysis in 2021.  According to VitisGen tests that were run on the seedling vines, this selection carries Run1 and Rpv1, as described above, but also carries Ren2 powdery mildew resistance from Vitis cinerea.

NY15.0416.01 This blue grape selection was created expressly for the interest in a juice grape with high levels of powdery mildew and downy mildew resistance. Another goal of the cross was to have relatively early ripening compared to ‘Concord’. The juice grape parent was a very early ripening selection created in the 1950s by the Experiment Station breeding program.  It was a hybrid of an early ripening blue labrusca grape with Concord.  The other parent donated resistance genes (Run1 and Rpv1) to the cross, and possibly Ren3 as well.  This cross was made in 2015 and vines were planted to a seedling vineyard in 2017.  Fruit were first observed in 2019 and the vine has already been propagated.  Small juice samples were made in 2020 from two harvest dates in September.  The flavor of the fresh fruit is quite similar to ‘Concord’.

4427075 This is a new wine selection in the Cornell-Geneva grape breeding program. Marker assisted selection results indicated the presence of two genes for powdery mildew resistance (Run1 and Ren2), and one for downy mildew resistance (Rpv1). The cross was made in 2014, and though we have no wine results yet, the flavors of the fresh fruit reflect a lack of wild grape off-flavors, and presence of pleasing fruity flavors. Fruit ripen mid-season.

4427025 This red wine grape also come from a cross made in 2014, so wine hasn’t yet been tested.  With large clusters that are not overly compact, the vine appears to have good yield potential.  In 2019, the vine had nearly no black rot in a planting with a great deal of black rot. Resistance to powdery and downy mildews are also excellent; DNA results indicate the presence of Run1, Rpv1 and Ren2.

4405008 During meetings with growers early in 2015, it was suggested that juice grapes with flavor profiles similar to current industry standards (Concord and Niagara) but harboring strong levels of disease resistance would be a desirable goal.  So, in June 2015 and 2016, a number of crosses were made with this goal in mind. There were several outstanding examples among the seedlings that began fruiting in 2018 and 2019.  Here is one such selection grown under fungicide-free conditions in 2019, with ripe fruit on September 19.  This young vine comes from a cross made in 2016 and is precocious and productive. Time will tell if these will be worthy of release; we have yet to determine juice suitability (though they do taste great!), winter hardiness, and stability across years and sites.  But several seedlings show promise.

NY06.0514.06 This promising red wine grape selection, with excellent powdery and downy mildew resistance from the use of Run1, Rpv1 and Ren2, is already going out to trials with NE1720 University cooperators and others.  Though the cross was made prior to the start of the VitisGen projects, this selection was tested for presence of resistance genes using VitisGen resources.  The fruit have excellent resistance to bunch rot, and fruit and foliage have moderate resistance to black rot. The buds are moderately winter hardy, with expected temperature of 50% bud kill in mid-winter measured to be -15 °F.  Wine descriptors are as follows: fruity with notes of blackberry, plum, cherry; slightly herbaceous, with green pepper noted; good body and medium tannin; also, some have detected chocolate notes.

University of Minnesota, Grape Breeding and Enology Program, Department of Horticultural Science, St Paul, MN

Matthew Clark, Assistant Professor

E0012-01 This selection is from a population of La Crescent x Seyval blanc. This selection has relatively large berry size and large clusters (169.83 g/l), and at harvest has 24.2° Brix, 2.91 ph, 12.17 g total acidity.  In the past we have harvested on 9/24/18. This vine has a low incidence of powdery mildew, which may be inherited from Seyval blanc (Ren3 resistance allele). There is downy mildew on the leaves, which is typical of its parent La Crescent. The clusters had no incidence of black rot, a common problem in the vineyard in 2019. The flavor and aroma profile includes honey, lemon, kiwi, pear, and gooseberry.

GE9408-01 Descended from Vitis riparia, ‘Carmine’, ‘Mandan’, and Landot noir 4511, this selection is from a cross of MN1094 x Seyval blanc. As a descendant of ‘Seyval’, our marker tests indicated that it also carries the Ren3resistance allele for powdery mildew. This grape produced a small (68.6 g), compact cluster but is interesting for its appeal in the wine, specifically the low titratable acidity (7.1 g/l) and moderate soluble solids (24.5 °Brix).  The wine was described as cherry, smoke, leather, berry, and with some tannin.

GE0733-01 This selection is a seedless table grape that is highly aromatic and has many tropical flavors. The parentage is unknown and will require DNA testing to confirm the possible parents. Most likely this selection is derived from Elmer Swenson’s breeding line and does carry the proper alleles at the SDI locus for seedlessness.  The leaves of this selection have no incidence of powdery mildew. The yellow berries are 2.3 g each, and clusters are 92.33 g.  Due to polar vortex in 2014 and 2019, this vine has not produced much fruit in USDA Zone 4. Primary clusters are large, but secondary buds or latent buds reliably produce smaller clusters. This is an earlier variety with harvest around the second week of September, 21.8 °Brix and total acidity of 6.69 g/l.

VB9276-01 Wine described with muscat with floral notes including lilac and tropical fruits like banana. This selection is a cross of VB 86-4 and Frontenac. Selected for white wine, this selection has relatively low titratable acidity compared to other cold hardy hybrids at 7.11 g/l. The berries are smaller like ‘Frontenac’ and the bunches are loose like that parent as well. This selection is susceptible to black rot and powdery mildew. It is marginally hardy in our Zone 4 conditions.

GE9913-01 This selection is an offspring of the above (VB9276-01) crossed with ‘La Crescent’. Unfortunately it demonstrates severe susceptibility of leaves to downy mildew. However, the fruit appear to be immune, which is the same in ‘La Crescent’. Despite having muscat ancestors, this selection is more neutral in its flavor profile, not demonstrating hybrid or muscat characteristics. This wine is described like Sauvignon blanc. It is grassy, green fruit, with aromas of peach and citrus. This selection is not suitable for Zone 4 conditions without additional winter protection. It may also benefit from a longer, warmer growing season further south.

Fine Mapping Family MN 1264 x MN 1246 We developed this population of nearly 1000 individuals in order to fine map important traits that were previously mapped in our GE1025 population (Teh et al. 2017, Clark et al. 2018).  We are currently evaluating this population for resistance to powdery mildew, foliar phylloxera, and the presence of leaf trichomes. This planting was established in 2019 at the Horticultural Research Center and should produce its first fruit for evaluation in 2020. We hope to use this population to improve our understanding of fruit color, bunch architecture, flower sex, and fruit quality traits such as hybrid flavors.

  Funding for VitisGen2 is provided by a Specialty Crop Research Initiative Competitive Grant, Award No. 2017- 51181-26829, of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Follow us on Twitter for project updates and webinar announcements @VitisGen

Email Tim Martinson at tem2@cornell.edu with any questions or comments about the program or webpage.

By: Cheryl Gray

  While admirably beautiful in their natural habitat, wildlife can wreak havoc in vineyards, unwittingly destroying a harvest not intended for them. Imagine a roost of more than a million pesky birds, and you have an immediate visual of an economically damaging enemy.   

Experts say that birds, rabbits and deer are among the most troublesome culprits. In response, vineyards worldwide have deployed a range of deterrents to protect their grapes, turning to manufacturers with innovative products designed to solve a potential challenge.

Oh Deer   

  One of the leading providers of wildlife deterrence is Pennsylvania-based Trident Corporation, in business since 1984. Its fencing and accessories are used not only in vineyards but also in national parks, public gardens and animal rescue projects. Trident services winery and vineyard clients across the United States, including Texas, California, South Dakota and South Carolina. Among its primary fencing products is one to deter deer. Cody Parks, Trident’s Marketing Specialist, touts the company as the largest distributor of deer fence systems in the U.S.  He tells The Grapevine Magazine why deer are so troublesome to vineyards. 

  “Deer seem to be one of the largest pests for any sort of outdoor growing operation, primarily because deer can wreak havoc on young plants. They love to eat young trees and plants as soon as they start to bud. This could stop the plant from growing and prevent it from producing a yield. It could potentially kill the plant entirely depending [on] how much of it was eaten. Even full-grown plants aren’t safe. Deer will rub their antlers on trees to remove the velvet which will remove the bark and expose the sensitive area of a tree,” says Parks.

  “We offer a range of fences in various sizes, strengths and materials. The fences are polypropylene plastic or varying degrees of metal from steel hex to welded wire to fixed knot. We also offer a few different post and gate options. Our most popular fencing for wineries/vineyards is the extra-strength poly fence. It is an effective deterrent and is cheap to cover large expanses of land. As far as other wildlife, we do offer certain fencing that helps protect against rodents.” 

  Parks says that Trident has earned its top spot in the industry by introducing innovative products. “One product we introduced into the market is the poly fence with reinforced bottom edge. The reinforced bottom edge makes it more secure when staking the fencing to the ground,” he says. “We are in a very niche market for our products, and the majority of places that sell this type of [deer] fencing source it from us. However, we do offer a tiered price list for some businesses, and all of our inventory is at an on-site warehouse.”  

The bird is the word

  Birds present a different type of worry for grape growers. Bouchaine Vineyards, located in the Carneros region of Napa Valley, California, is noted for its environmentally friendly approach to pest control. Bouchaine was the first Fish Friendly Certified vineyard in Napa Valley. It also holds Napa Green Land and Winery Certifications. 

  Bouchaine Vineyards features an integrated pest management program that includes bird boxes and raptor perches stationed throughout the vineyards. The bird boxes attract bluebirds that feed on pest populations, along with owls and hawks that control gopher damage. Chris Kajani, winemaker and general manager for Bouchaine Vineyards, explains how her company uses another grape defense method to protect crops from pesky birds.   

  “Our vineyard is surrounded by telephone wires which pesky birds sit on and then swoop down to snack on grapes all day. To mitigate this bird damage, we have daily site visits from our falconer from véraison through harvest. Blackbirds and starlings are terrified of falcons and will fly off when one is released. Our falconer will fly her birds multiple times a day if the bird pressure is high. We also provide demonstrations to guests who are interested in falconry throughout the year.” 

  While some vineyards rely on Mother Nature to handle their wildlife challenges, others turn to technology options. Sutton Agricultural Enterprises provides answers. Headquartered in Salinas, California, the company counts among its clients vineyards in Salinas Valley and throughout the country.  

  Sutton Agricultural began under another company name in 1956. It became a pioneer in bird deterrence, initially through sales of pyrotechnic devices. John Sutton bought the company in 1973 and continues as operations manager to this day. He says the most common bird pests include European starlings, horned larks, house finches, crows and Old World sparrows. According to Sutton, vineyards are an irresistible dining spot. 

  “One of the disadvantages of vineyards is their proximity to rural areas, rolling hills, open habitat. Put yourself in their shoes (or little tiny feet). You live near a vineyard, maybe in a grassy field or wooded area. Late in the year, when there’s very little natural vegetation to eat, a human comes out to the vineyard with a little thing that looks like a flashlight, holds it up, and smiles. This is the signal well known to birds. The time has come to feast,” Sutton says. 

  Those in the industry, he says, will recognize that “flashlight” as a refractometer and his description of how birds spot an inviting vineyard as a bit of well-known industry humor. However, there is nothing funny about birds swooping down and damaging grape crops. That’s where Sutton’s company comes in, armed with an arsenal of equipment for vineyards to scare off unwanted, winged dinner guests safely. Those tools include visual, sonic and physical deterrents. Its most popular products include exclusion netting, propane cannons, pyrotechnics and a variety of visual items.  

  “We have been the exclusive U.S. importer and distributor of Zon propane cannons and Zink bird-scaring pyrotechnics for more than 50 years. These two brands are leaders in their fields and have consistently provided the best propane cannons and pyrotechnics available on the market,” says Sutton.

  Pyrotechnics and cannons are designed to frighten and disorient birds and other wildlife. A sonic blast, for example, can be as loud as an ambulance siren or a jackhammer.  

  In addition to natural defenses, netting, fences and technology, there are even more options. Michigan-based Avian Enterprises, LLC, offers vineyard pest control solutions through a variety of bird repellants. The company’s trio of products – Avian Control Bird Repellent, Avian Migrate Goose and Bird Repellent and Avian Fog Force TR Bird Repellent – are manufactured in Michigan. 

  Avian Control Bird Repellent spray works by triggering an adverse but non-toxic reaction whenever birds get too close to vineyards. It stimulates the bird’s trigeminal nerve to create an unpleasant sensation, making vineyard grapes far less appealing. Growers use either a hand-held sprayer or an air blast sprayer to distribute the product on their grapes. It is usually applied once a week during bird season and through veraison.  

  “Avian Control Bird Repellent is one of the only liquid bio-pesticides on the market that is EPA registered for fruits and vegetables, including wine grapes,” says Avian Enterprises’ president, Jon Stone. “What distinguishes it from any competition is the enhanced efficacy provided by the combination of the active ingredient, Methyl Anthranilate, and the proprietary inert ingredients. When formulated together, [they] allow for greater effectiveness by having a more potent initial repellency and by exhibiting a much slower biodegradation rate. The end result is a much more effective and longer-lasting repellency on crops, including wine grapes. Methyl anthranilate occurs naturally and is found in bergamot, black locust, gardenia, jasmine, lemon, mandarin oranges and strawberries. MA is completely biodegradable, as are all of the ingredients in the Avian Control formula.   

  “Our winery/vineyard customers are located in every state that grows wine grapes,” Stone says, “predominantly California, Oregon, New York, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, North Carolina, Virginia, Minnesota, Michigan and Ohio. Most of our wine grape customers initially contact us after speaking to one or more of their friends or colleagues in the wine grape or vineyard industry who currently spray Avian Control Bird Repellent on their grapes during the growing season and have excellent results. Avian Control Bird Repellent has become the best alternative to netting.”

  Wildlife pest deterrents are as numerous as the pests themselves, four-legged or fowl. No matter the vineyard location, whether overlooking the San Francisco Bay or on a more rural terrain, pest control is an essential element to protecting grape crops year-round and critical to gaining maximum grape yields during harvest. Companies specializing in these services keep a lookout for cutting-edge methods to keep pace with the ever-growing demand.