Winter's damage comes to light in vineyards

Extensive bud kill over the winter has diminished the number of canes that will bear fruit this year. In addition, many established vine trunks were split by the freezing weather, causing the loss of the whole plant.

Tim Martinson, viticulture specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension's Finger Lakes Grape Program, is conducting a survey with area growers. They are being asked to detail the extent of the loss in their own vineyards.

In addition, the program is visiting 150 sites and sampling several vineyard rows at each to get a firsthand look at the extent of the damage.

Tim says they are finding only one bunch of fruit per shoot rather than the normal two. This indicates that growth is from secondary buds, after the primary bud was killed over the winter.

Especially hard-hit were vineyards along the northeast section of Seneca Lake. Tim has developed a hypothesis to explain the winter damage -- although he says that he does not have hard evidence to document it.

According to Tim, the cold air coming down from Canada did not pass over Lake Ontario before reaching the Finger Lakes. He feels that the warming effect of the Great Lake, in combination with the warming effect of the Finger Lakes, is what moderates temperatures along the east side of Seneca Lake.

Last January, the frigid weather came in from the northeast, hitting the northeast side of Seneca Lake the hardest.

According to Sayre Fulkerson, owner and winemaker at Fulkerson's Winery and Juice Plant in Dundee, it is not unusual to have up to 20 percent of a vineyard not producing grapes at any one time. Some vines may have only "renewal" canes. Such canes replace older, damaged ones on an established plant. These canes do not bear fruit while getting established.

If a whole vine must be replaced, it will not be ready to support grape clusters for three to four years.

Rob Thomas, owner and winemaker at Shalestone Vineyards in Lodi, says that losing several vines along vineyard rows creates challenges. The same distance must be covered when working the whole vineyard, even though it may yield only half, or less, the amount of fruit.

Rob's vineyards were hit especially hard, he says. The cold air settled near the lake, where his vineyards are located, and was trapped there by a blanket of warm air that rose from the lake.

Gene Pierce, president of Glenora Wine Cellars in Dundee, is familiar with the winter weather on the other side of the lake. Their sister winery, Knapp Vineyards, also sustained winter damage.

Pierce says they do all the good viticulture practices, including "hilling up," or covering the base of the vines, for winter protection.

"It did not matter if the vines were 18 years old or 3 years old, it was just too cold," Gene says. To ensure that they will have enough fruit for winemaking this fall, Knapp Vineyards is in the process of applying for a commercial license.

The new license will allow the winery to source grapes from outside New York, if needed, which their farm winery license will not. The cost for the commercial license is $1,275, compared with $125 for a farm winery license.

"We try to do everything we can to source our grapes from New York," Gene says. "We need to keep a presence on the shelves."

I think a comment of Rob's reflects how many growers feel about growing grapes in the Finger Lakes.

"The winter damage is humbling," Rob says. "It is a trade-off I am willing to accept. This is our way of life. It keeps you on your toes."

Jeff Richards' wine column appears Saturdays