The Wines of Virginia

The Wines of Virginia

Grape Radio has an interview with Michael Shaps, Jim Law, Tony Wolf and Toby Beard. Their topic: "The Wines of Virginia." Click on the link below.

The Wines of Virginia

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VINEYARD MANAGEMENT - FIELD EXPERIENCE

Vineyard Management Field Experience
June 6, 2009

After a few weeks off, our classes resumed on June 6th. Again we were at DuCard Vineyards in Etlan, VA for our Vineyard management class. This was our third class in a series of classes that will take us through to harvest. Our instructor and host was Scott Elliff, owner of DuCard Vineyards.

In this class, students adopt a row of vines for the entire growing season and are responsible for managing and maintaining an assigned section of a working vineyard. Students learn the techniques for caring for healthy vines and they learn the critical decisions a vineyard manager must make to maintain healthy vines.

Our class last met in May. Our task then was shoot thinning and trunk cleaning. This week, our task was combing and shoot positioning. At DuCard, the trellis system used is the Geneva Double Curtain (GDC). One advantage of using the GDC is an increased yield of grapes. This system can handle high vigor. However, both combing and shoot positioning are critical tasks for a successful GDC system.

In a perfect world, shoots would grow either up or down parallel to the trunk, depending on the trellising system used. In the real world, shoots grow up, down and sideways. They attach to the cordon wire, to each other, and to grape clusters with their tendrils. Shoot positioning helps to control this lateral and horizontal growth. It also helps maintain good sunlight penetration. Combing is the term used for positioning the shoots downward.

Here are some pictures from class.

Look at the pictures from last class to see how much the vines have grown.

Next week is Canopy Management class. Until then...

Cheers!

Greg