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News from Cornell's Viticulture and Enology Program
May 31, 2017

RESEARCH FOCUS

Wine Grapes for New York's North Country: The Willsboro Cold Climate Variety Trial
The introduction of cold-hardy grape cultivars in the mid 1990s made grape and wine production possible in cold-climate regions like northern New York. Anna Wallis and Tim Martinson discuss the results of a seven-year cold-hardy grape study on phenology, winter injury, yield, and fruit composition at a research vineyard near Lake Champlain.
 

FACULTY FOCUS

Five Questions for Terry Bates
As director of the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory (CLEREL), Terry Bates applies his research and extension experience to help growers improve production of juice and wine grapes in western New York.

EXTENSION FOCUS

Wayne Wilcox's Final Grape Disease Management Update
Since 1997, Wayne Wilcox, plant pathology professor at NYSAES, has provided annual summaries of grape pathogen biology, fungicide trials, resistance management, and sample spray programs to extension programs and growers throughout the East.  This final version (84 pp) is his last effort before he retires in December.  It encapsulates, in plain English, 30+ years of research by Wayne, his graduate students,and his coleagues on powdery mildew, downy mildew, black rot, botrytis, and phomopsis and other diseases. Thanks to Wayne for this major extension effort.

STUDENT FOCUS

New Cider Course for VIEN Students  
New York's cider industry is growing quickly, and to meet these demands Cornell Viticulture and Enology students can now take classes on cider production to gain practical, real world experience from orchard to fermentation.

GRAPES 101

Three Steps to Manage Grape Berry Moth
Grape Berry Moth can be a serious pest in some vineyards. In this Wine & Grapes U. blog post originally published by Penn State, Andy Muza discusses how to better manage for this pest throughout the growing season.

EFFICIENT VINEYARD PROJECT FOCUS

Efficient Vineyard is a collaboration among researchers, extension officers, and grape growers using spatial sensing technology to measure commercial vineyards at a higher resolution. Led by Terry Bates from the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program (LERGP), tools developed from this project will better inform vineyard management to improve yield, fruit quality, and production economics. In this section, we will share the latest research and news from this project.  

• Yield monitoring in bulk juice grapes (Blog - January 2017)
  Most grape producers measure vineyard production in tons per acre in each block they manage. Yet, yield can vary significantly within a vineyard block. To measure this variability, Terry Bates is currently testing electronic yield monitors on mechanical grape harvesters in western New York.

• Determining when to collect NDVI measurements to predict vine size and yield (Current Research - March 2017)
  NDVI sensors estimate canopy growth by sensing the presence or absence of active leaves. In 2016, LERGP project members found that the best time of the season to collect NDVI information was at veraison, followed by  bloom and post-bloom. This in-season data can be useful for management applications such as crop estimation or fruit thinning.

RESEARCH IN PLAIN ENGLISH

• Characterization of Wild North American Grapevine Cold Hardiness Using Differential Thermal Analys

IN THE NEWS​

• Researchers look for genetic clues to help grapes survive the cold
  Cold hardiness is a limiting factor for grape growers in northern regions like NY. To illustrate the genetic processes influencing cold hardiness, doctoral student Al Kovaleskiis using powerful imaging technologies to create 3D images of grape buds.
• Connections: How climate change is impacting the wine industry
  In this edition of WXXI radio's Connections program, host Evan Dawson and Alan Lakso, professor emeritus of horticulture, discuss the impacts of climate change  here in the Finger lakes and in other wine regions around the world.
• Is wine healthy?
  Dwayne Bershaw, lecturer in food science, clarifies the relationship between alcohol content, residual sugars, and calories among different white, rose, and red wines in this CNN Health article.
• Good Fruit Grower: Studies show no downside to trying cover crops in vineyards
  Good fruit grower magazine highlighted research by Justine Vanden Heuvel, associate professor of horticulture, show that  undervine cover crops can provide important benefits to growers, while limiting erosion and runoff.
• Cornell fund named in honor of Senator Michael Nozzolio to support viticulture, enology research
  In honor of Senator Michael Nozzolio '73, M.S. '77, an endowment fund has been established for viticulture and enology research at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station.
• Extension helps North Country grow grapes, wine community
  Grape production in northern New York and Vermont is a new and  growing industry with unique challenges. Collaboration between Cornell and University of Vermont supports this growing industry by providing research and extension to address these challenges.
• Eastern NY grape industry growing
  The Eastern New York grape and wine industry has seen a 34% increase in the number of grape-growing operations and 108 new wineries in recent years. This growth has led to unique new marketing initiatives and a new viticulture specialist position with Cornell Cooperative Extension's Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program.