Finger Lakes vines hurt by harsh winter

Many area vinifera grape growers are reporting abnormally high bud kill on their vines. Without enough flowering buds later this spring, the crop from less winter-hardy vinifera grapes will be significantly reduced.

John Santos, vineyard manager at Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards in Hector, says that bud kill to the primary buds on their vinifera vines ranged from 65 to 95 percent.

Primary buds provide the best and fullest fruit, according to John. If the primary bud is killed, the next source of fruit production for a vine comes from its secondary buds.

Even if all of the secondary buds survive, the grape clusters that they produce are smaller.

The high bud kill on vinifera vines has forced most vinifera grape growers to alter their winter pruning practices. Some vineyards are being left untouched until bud break this spring. The normal procedure is to prune a percentage of the canes over the winter. "This was not a normal year," says Marti Macinski, co-owner of Standing Stone Vineyards in Lodi. "We have not had bottom-cold temperatures like this since 1994."

Standing Stone will assess vine growth during bud break this spring before deciding what to prune. Lots of nonflowering growth will be picked off by hand at that time.

This summer promises to be very labor-intensive in the vineyards. In normal growing years, canes are frequently trained to grow upward using vertical shoot positioning. As new foliage appears, it generates nourishment for the grapes -- and allows the maximum amount of sunlight to reach the fruit for ripening.

Because of the lack of winter pruning at Standing Stone this year, new growth will be generated at random points. Grape clusters, normally hanging in a relatively narrow band near the bottom of the canes, will be found growing all over the place. This will present additional challenges for disease control and harvesting.

Owners of new wineries may face challenges in their efforts to secure vinifera grapes this fall. Don Kilcoyne, who recently opened Catharine Valley Winery in Burdett, has not found bud kill on his native Catawba grapes used to make the popular Lost Irishman wine. He is, however, already looking to Long Island growers for red vinifera grapes.

Fred Frank, president of Dr. Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars in Hammondsport, says that their less winter-hardy grape varieties, such as gewurztraminer, pinot gris and pinot noir, suffered primary bud kill of about 80 percent.

Fortunately, their chardonnay and Riesling vines have fared much better with only about 50 percent bud mortality, a rate he attributes to the hardiness of Clone 90, their variety of Riesling vines that have endured several harsh winters over the past 45 years.

They will begin pruning those vines in mid-March. "We don't want to be in a position at bud break with nothing done," Fred says.

No matter how vineyards are being managed going into this growing season, one thing seems to be echoed by all. David Peterson of Swedish Hill Vineyards in Romulus, says to expect about 50 percent of a normal crop this year. The demand for vinifera grapes in the Finger Lakes should be at a premium by this fall.

Jeff Richards' wine column appears Saturdays