# Willsboro NY Cold Hardy Grape Variety Trial



## grapeman

I thought I would start a separate topic on the Willsboro Farm Cold Hardy Variety Trial. This is at the Willsboro Farm as part of Cornell University's Research Farms. It is located on Lake Champlain in NYS. 


Four years ago 12 each of 25 cold hardy varieties were planted to test the relative cold hardiness of new grape selections from Cornell, University of Minnesota and Elmer Swensens selections against some older varieties. They have been progressing well and are beginning their fourth growing season on the farm. I will try to document the progress of them as the season goes along. These are all trained the same way which may or may not be the best way for a particular variety, but are done that way to provide less variables in the equation. The vines are currently from early bud swell to one-inch shoots, depending on variety.


Just a few pictures for now.










Beginning of the growing season






The vines are pruned to 3 or 4 canes- about 40-60 buds total and trained to an Umbrella Kniffen system.








As the season progresses I will continue to post pictures of their development. I will be at the site twice a week caring for the vineyard so I can post pictures of different stages of development. I will give general information, but won't disclose too many specifics of data collection since this is a research plot. I know some of you will ask about the stones on the plastic. It helps hold the platic down from the wind, but in general they are just placed there for mowing purposes.


How's the view?*Edited by: appleman *


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## NorthernWinos

What a beautiful place....must be fun to go to work there and enjoy the view.

Is that black plastic or landscape fabric???? 
Both would collect the heat and prevent weeds.

I have thought of putting landscape fabric down under the rows of more cold hardy vines then top dressing with a few inches of crushed rock.....thought it might attract the heat and help with keeping the weeds down and conserve moisture.

How far apart are the vines spaced????

I bet it is windy right off the lake like that...probably helps dry the vines and prevent diseases like mildews.

Will be watching this thread...Thanks for sharing.


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## grapeman

It is just thin black plastic poly. It was originally laid down to prevent weeds the first year or two. This is the 4th year and it is still fairly good shape. 


The site is very breezy and it dries quickly. It makes it hard for data collection with a notebook, etc. The pages are always flipping on me. That reminds me to get a clipboard out for tomorrow to bring with me.


The vines are 8 feet apart and the rows are 10 feet apart. All varieties are treated the same and there are four replications at random. That makes it a bit harder for vine identification. Thats why I nailed tags to the posts- each post separates a panel. Look at the south post and that is the variety for the panel. 


Most varieties still have all the original vines. A couple died the year of planting and weren't replaced. I may see about replacing them with some I have started. The Petite Amie were started from tissue culture and were slow to start. A few are still cut back to two buds this year. Other than that, they are all doing better than many expected for this far north.


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## grapeman

About two weeks has gone by since the last pictures. I thought I would post a few to show some progress. The vines are starting to put out shoots at a good speed and will really get going when it warms up again. 


Here is a shot of the vineyard as you go in the gate of the deer fence.










One shot to the east showing I believe Marquette.








And then one to the west- some of the Adirondacks in the background near town- little hills. I think this was a LaCrescent vine.





*Edited by: appleman *


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## NorthernWinos

Are these all very young vines...or....are they renewal shoots????

Do you do renewal shoots on your one vines???

How often would you replace the main trunk...if ever????


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## grapeman

These vines are going into their fourth year. There are two main trunks on most of the vines and we try to leave just two canes each , which are changed every year for the current years grapes. As I'm doing work with buds, you try to leave some in the "renewal zone", just a bit lower than the region that bears the grapes. These develop shoots this year turning into canes next which are then selected at pruning to become the current year's bearing canes. We started counting shoots today as the vines get active enough to do accurately. We count the total nodes left after pruning, the live primary buds forming shoots, the dead buds and the base buds. This gives us an idea of mortality during the winter of primary buds. Most varieties are most fruitful from the primary buds, but will often have some fruit on the secondaries.


You probably thin there isn't enough vine hear to bear a good sized crop, but on most of the vines there is between 60 and 80 shoots developing, not counting secondary and tertiary buds. One vine can only ripen so much fruit, so the number needs limiting- and I'm sure we will need to thin most of the clusters after a while.


The main trunk is replaced if for some reason it dies or becomes diseased or injured- like developing crown gall.


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## AlFulchino

just found this very interesting topic....any updates coming?


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## grapeman

I suppose I should get some more pictures here. It just takes a while to post them all. I got a few more last week. We also trained, and thinned last Friday. We used volunteer help for some help and things looked a bit rough today. I will thin a bit more when things straighten out a bit. I haven't posted pictures in a while - they surely have made a lot of progress since then. Al this is where the many varieties I have made wine from last year came. We have 25 varieties planted with 12 vines each- 4 panels of three vines planted at random.


This is a joint effort sponsored by many parties to give the local folks an idea of what varieties to plant in the northeast. You aren't that much farther away than a lot of participants. Maybe you could come over this fall and help harvest. Volunteers get to split up the grapes that aren't slated for research batches of wine. PM me if you are interested in details.


I am the person hired to tend to the vineyard and collect data during the growing season. Very fullfilling and rewarding job. I get the benefit of working with personnel from Cornell's grape program and Extension personnel from time to time.


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## AlFulchino

pm on the way!


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## grapeman

Time 
for just a bit of an update. The growing season is well under way in Northern NY and it has been a wet one. We have had twice the normal rainfall each month for June, July and now have exceeded the monthly average for August in the first week! Keeping disease at bay has been a challenge without excessive amounts of spray material. So far the grapes look pretty good- mostly clean, and with a large yield.


I noted veraison yesterday in four of the red varieties, with the Mn 1200 being the fartherst along, followed by Marquette(Mn 1211). I did manage to get a few pictures between rainstorms yesterday. I finished shoot thinning so the nets can be applied soon. I am not sure if the turkeys can fly over the deer fence, but if the flocks get in there, they could have a field day! One flock alone Tuesday had 5 hens in it with their broods of little chicken size turkeys-between 40 and 50.




Here is a view of the vineyard










Here is a Marquette vine- hard to see the grapes, but it loaded.
















A sister seedling to Marquette- Mn 1200












Need to include a white grape here- NY 76.844.24 (unnamed variety from Cornell)





*Edited by: appleman *


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## AlFulchino

wow fantastic...i have a similar verasion experience going on w Marquette ( started last week) and saw some frontenac and others changing color this week as well..i am assuming all your vines are what 3 years? are you hedging these? the vines look very close to the trellis...and if you are is it increasing the laterals ....alos how often do you run thru your vineyard to prune?


my clusters vary in size because as this is my second year i removed a lot of shoots w nice clusters...so what remained were in some cases still great and in some cases smaller than normal size


Your vineyard looks very clean ..nice job..do you have any phomopsis at all? I do but am happy with everything else...ie PM/DM/rot etc


my biggest issue right now is some yellowing of leaves because my ground is saturated..got *another* inch yesterday and supposed to me showering again today


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## NorthernWinos

How nice to see them with some color....


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## grapeman

Al these are the vines at Willsboro. They are trained to umbrella kniffen, see previous pictures showing that.They aren't hedged, but they have been skirted to keep them off the ground. All vines are four years old now there(except a couple replacements). They have been shoot thinned and skirted for the last time since nets will soon be going on. It is hard to see from the pictures, but most clusters are exposed to at least points of light part of the day.


Yep we got the inch of rain also yesterday and it is threatening again right now with thunder getting fairly close........... I think I may need to shut down. and have an early lunch.


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## AlFulchino

thanks for the info....the reason i asked if they were hedged is because they seem to be less thick than most of mine..si i wondered if i am doing something wrong....all summer its all i have been able to do to keep light into the grapes..as an example i have had to prune 3-4 times this year to keep growth out of the tractor row and from making too much shade...cordons left to grow into the next vine can reach as much as 12 feet or so from their own trunk.......now as leaves fall off i get help naturally thru the excess rain i am getting more sunlight into the vine....i am hopeful for a dry week next week....


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## grapeman

Yes the vines in at least the one picture look thinner. It didn't come that way naturally with most vines. As they get heavier crops being a bit older, they get into abetter balance. More grapes = less vigorous shoot growth. Too many grapes gives a stunted vine, so it is a constant battle. I have shoot thinned and skirted three times this year. That is also part of the reason for being a bit thinner. I want the vines going into the nets with most of the clusters getting a bit of light. As far as some vines reaching twelve feet- Is that all? I removed a few yesterday growing on top that went almost to the panel past the neighboring panel. Some were close to 20 feet long. I don't keep those- too bullish.


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## AlFulchino

thanks for the feedback 


as far as the twelve feet....well i am running six cordons that wll be reduced to 4 later on....also i did let some clusters hang...i really appreciate the info that the vine will get in better balance once i increase cluster amounts*Edited by: Al Fulchino *


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## bilbo-in-maine

As usual, wonderful photos Rich.
Is it just my eyes, or are those vines actually showing NO Japanese Beetle damage?!?! What is the spray program again?


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## grapeman

There are a few Japanese Beetles again Bill. I will likely spray tomorrow so I can have the adequate time to covering for the volunteers- assuming I can get a few hours with no rain. Another inch and a half today at home- almost 6 inches in the first 8 days of August. It will include Sevin. I have only appled Sevin 3 times all season- once for Grape Flea Beetles, once for rose chafers and once for Japanese Beetles. The research farm as a whole grows a lot of organics, so I observe IPM very strictly. How are things in Maine?


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## NorthernWinos

I better get trimming to get more sunshine into some of those vines.....

Anxious to see some color start out there on those clusters.....Other than white mold and Baking Soda spray.

I never keep track of when things ripen....Seems just take care of fruits and veggies when they are ready each year.....


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## bilbo-in-maine

Well, things in Maine are like things in upstate NY and in NH, safe to say. We had about all the same episodes of rain that you did. Yesterday morning we woke to five and a half inches in the rain gauge after two days of rain, along with local stream flooding and road washouts from a relentless all-night downpour. The vineyard is lush, but the clusters are progressing very slowly with no heat and little sun for weeks. There is not sign of veraison on anything here, even my older table grapes high up on an arbor. 

Five years ago a winemaker who had a small vineyard here in southern Maine told me that it would be foolish to put in a vineyard, that you just can't make winemaking work here. He had had several years of frustrating, non-productive experience, although he had been growing Cab Franc and several other varieties typically grown in slightly warmer regions. I really wanted to prove him wrong, and until last summer I thought I was succeeding, but this summer went the wrong way for me early on and I'll be surprised to see much of a harvest this year. I'll try to keep you all posted.
Bill


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## AlFulchino

"...... but this summer went the wrong way for me early on and I'll be surprised to see much of a harvest this year..."


I am with ya on this....i sprayed my vines today and can see that if things dont change fast as in this week...i could lose up to 400+ vines...but are your vines yellowing at all? I the vines are still nice and green then you are in decent enough shape to come out of this ok if the weather changes for you.....also verasion may be coming soon for you afterall mine just started a week and a half ago on *some* vines


We'll be praying for you.....its a tough row


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## grapeman

Sorry I have been missing today. I left early this AM to spray at Willsboro. Got it done since no rain for today and actually sunny. I left small tractor tracks in the alleys, but got it done. Came home and decided I might as well do mine since I saw a bit of botrytis yesterday. Left a few ruts there.


Then another unexpected result of all the rain. My 17 year old and a friend looked up magic mushrooms online. He sampled some this afternoon and is currently in the emergency room until at least midnight. We called 911 at about 5:00 when he became hyperactive and totally non-coherent. Cindy went to the hospital and I remained home to check to see if I could find the mushrooms and destroy them. I found then- but fat chance getting rid of them. There are literally tens of thousands of them growing on the pine floor in the plantation next to the house. I took some sample to the hospital and told them what I could. I will go back about midnight and see if he will come home tonight or if they will keep him overnight. 
Dang this rainy weather. More results from it than one can anticipate.!


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## NorthernWinos

Appleman....That is really serious stuff those kids eating the mushrooms....Hope they are okay...Keep us Posted.

Not a good experiment.


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## AlFulchino

ditto...our prayers are with you and yours...that puts my losing several hundred vines to pale in comparison


please let us know how things stand


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## Waldo

Hope he does ok appleman..will have him in our prayers


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## grapeman

We brought him home this AM late. He saw a Crisis Counselor before coming home and was deemed just a curious teen. They can't seem to impress on him those mushrooms are poisonous and the hallucinations are a result of that poison. He won't tell us he will never take them again. The doctors said another couple of them and it could have killed him. What can I do when they are growing wild everywhere with all this rain? There are some more sprouted overnight where I had removed them last evening behind the house. Rain, Rain, Go Away.


Thanks guys for caring. 
P.S.- Flood watches up again with another few inches on the way- one is within thunder hearing range with building black skies. At least I go the grapes sprayed yesterday before this.


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## NorthernWinos

Thank God that you were home and noticed his mental confusion and got him to the hospital....Glad he will be okay....hopefully a lesson learned.

Are you still locking the boys out of the wine rooms?????


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## bilbo-in-maine

That's an amazing (and scary) story Rich, and you are to be commended on doing the right things at the right time. The incident gives your family something to talk about for years to come too!




We all have our little sagas...


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## grapeman

Here are a few new pictures from the Willsboro vineyard trial. I'm checking to see if they download better in Chrome.

NY 76.844.34








Assorted Grapes











LaCrescent and St. Pepin









*Edited by: appleman *


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## NorthernWinos

Awesome looking grapes......Looks like good yields too.


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## Wade E

Those clusters look gorgeous! How good did they download Rich!


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## AlFulchino

great pictures...good crops......thanks for shraing


in the sixth picture from the top...right hand area of the picture...on the leaves...is that foliar phyloxera....and if so,what do they do about it....?


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## grapeman

NW they are starting to taste pretty good as well as looking good. 


Wade the pictures downloaded fine with no glitches, but instead of having the picture show if editing, it puts the code in instead. That makes it pretty hard to mark up the pictures unless I name them all before uploading.


Al, yes that is foliar phylloxera on them. The LaCrosse are the worst. We haven't done anything for it yet. Generally they don't affect the grape vines too badly, however if I get them that bad here, I will be taking appropriate steps. I may talk to Wayne Wilcox to see if he would recommend to spray them this coming year. He is set to be coming up this coming year for a presentation some time.


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## Joanie

WOW!!! What a fine crop!!! That's just beautiful!
*Edited by: Joan *


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## AlFulchino

Rich...help me understand it...doesnt the foliar phyloxera still result in a root version?


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## grapeman

Yes it does Al. The big thing is that these hybrids are able to resist the phylloxera effects on the roots. It can affect them a bit, but in general the root version doesn't do much damage. That is why the vinifera vines were crossed with American varieties, to inherit the resistance the American vines have to the effects of the root phylloxera. I haven't seen any at home this year to speak of, but had just a bit in the LaCrosse last year. At Willsboro in general, most of the varieties from the Midwest(Minnesota and Elmer Swenson) are the worst affected, yet they are still very vigorous.


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## jobe05

Good looking grapes there Richard.

I don't think that there is a place that could produce better grapes than New York. I'm surprised that business hasn't taken off more up there. It has boomed down here......... go figure!


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## Joanie

Well, when I made a couple of trips down Seneca Lake to Watkins Glen this summer there were at least 4 new wineries since last summer!

http://senecalakewine.com/jc/content/view/25/49/

These should hold you for a few glasses, Jobe! =)


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## grapeman

New York in general has a very fast growing wine industry. Upstate lags behind the Finger Lakes, but we are working on that one vine at a time!


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## Wade E

Ct. has I think 4 new 1's this year that are on the trail and a few that arent even listed yet. Its booming over here and we even have a new LHBS starting this Sat. a mile from where I work and the funny thing is, I used to work 1 door away from him a few years back and when he was out i used to Tow Motor his shipments into our building until he'd come back. i spoke to him through email 2 days ago and will be helping him with his Grand Opening and will bring in some wine for customers to try. Small world.


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## farmer

Foliar Phyloxera,is that what you call it?, I have seen it on my two year old Frontenac I was wondering what it was. GuessI learned something today.


Those are some great looking grapes . We visited a winery/vineyard just south of the Twin Cities over the weekend, their clusters looked pretty bad conpared to those in your pictures.


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## grapeman

Today we harvested the Edelweiss, Louise Swenson, St Croix and St Pepin Grapes. I t was warm and sunny all day after a coolish start. Once we got organized it went quickly and we all had a good time. They averaged between 15 and 20 pounds per vine with the greatest amount coming from the Louise Swenson and St Pepin. Like a dummy I didn't take pictures so I can't post any today. I will try to remember next time when we will be harvesting a greater number of vines.


After picking today, we went to the office building and had a wine sampling and evaluation session of 6 whites and Marquette made from grapes from Willsboro last year. The general consensus was that they were mostly very good on their own. The real fun came when we started blending combinations, building on the strong points of each. A few grapes that hadn't drawn a lot of attention have several vintners attention now. Amazing what a little mixing can do for these wines. One has a nice body and middle, one has a good finish and one is all forward and fruity- put them all together and you have a great eye popping wine.


The fun continues Saturday.


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## Wade E

Sounds like a good time, keep us posted on these.


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## grapeman

I wanted to let you all know that we finished up harvest of the vineyard at Willsboro today Saturday October 4. The grapes had all matured about all we could espect for the year, and the cool wet weather had set in. That caused a few botrytis spots to show up and some varieties were getting very soft and juicy. We therefore decided to take all the remaining grapes off today. I got some pictures and will post some soon. 


Here is a pdf file of Veraison to Harvest #5 for 2008. This is a weekly newsletter put out by Cornell covering harvest and little articles from around the state concerning vineyards and wineries. This week they had a short article on our vineyard. Check it out.
http://blogs.cce.cornell.edu/grapes/files/2008/10/veraison-to-harvest-2008-_5.pdf


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## AlFulchino

Thanks for letting us know Rich....i will skip next wednesday then if they are all done....my mom was released from the hospital today.....i look forward to seeing your pictures and any stats and insights you have - AL


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## Waldo

Looking forward to your pictures appleman. Was your harvesting by machine or hand


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## grapeman

The harvest I refer to here is hand harvested by volunteer help at thee Willsboro Cold Hardy Trial Vineyard. I had the pleasure of being the one with the duties of maintaining the vineyard this year and collecting a TON of data. Each vine was tracked form first budswell to harvest. We have information on each vine when budburst first occured, blossom, veraison and harvest with many incremental steps in between. Each harvested vine was recorded with total weight number of clusters harvested and berry weight(avg). There was also a final test of each vine for brix, pH, berry weight and TA.


It has been a very busy and rewarding side job.


Next up- my main harvest begins tomorrow!


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## Wade E

Must have been a lot of work weighing each individual cluster and checking each stat on each vine! All very rewarding in the end though and Im sure you have learned quite a bit over the last (2 years?) with this.


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## JWMINNESOTA

Appleman that must be one heck of a learning experience to be so involved in this trial, sure it will pay off for you in your vineyard!


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## grapeman

Wade we weigh each vine and divide by the number of clusters to give average cluster weight. The average berry weight comes from randomized berry collection of 100 grapes and averaging those. It would be impossible time wise to weigh each cluster. There were from about 50 clusters per vine to over 150 clusters per vine depending on variety. During the bud progression series, I set up my pocket pc to use the excel spreadsheet I created for tracking the progress. Each week had it's own worksheet. I needed to collect on paper some times because the sun would be too bright to see the screen.


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## Wade E

Still a lot of rewarding work any way you look at it.


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## grapeman

Here are a few pictures taken at the last harvest. A few pictures showing some of the harvested grapes in bags to be weighed. The ones in tubs are going to Geneva to be made into wine at Cornell.


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## Wade E

Looks like a few grapes were picked!


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## NorthernWinos

Now the fun begins....


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## AlFulchino

fascinating stuff Rich..i so wish i didnt have to miss that experience....tell me something...now that the grapes are harvested...what is the intention regarding final sprayings for this year? thanks in advance - al


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## grapeman

I asked about that myself yesterday. We will discuss it and decide if any is needed. The vines are much cleaner than years past.


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## AlFulchino

great ..i wouldlove to know what their plans are so i can model my own after theirs


i was thinking dithane once more right after leaf drop which is onsetting


or based on what you say Cornell does..maybe an so/dithane this week


or maybe both...so/dithane now and in two weeks dithane only


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## grapeman

In reality Al, I will decide if anything is needed on these. To me they look clean enough not to worry. How do yours look? if they are clean, they really don't need anything. If you have disease let me know what you have and I might find something you could use on it



. 


PS. I have no plans to spray any additional sprays at my place this fall. Just a waste of money if there is nothing to control.*Edited by: appleman *


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## AlFulchino

well to be honest i dont see any issues w the leaves....i was thinking of maybe trying to control the spores not seen...on leaves and on wood


tonite may be a frost...so the point may be moot?????


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## NorthernWinos

We have been hearing that you should spray your dandelions after a frost....

Do you think we could spray 24D after the leaves fall off of the grapes??? He would still keep some distance.

Jim has been spraying a form of 24D this summer on the lawn farthest from the grapes...It is not suppose to drift and so far the grapes haven't been affected....I am out there like a hawk...



Watching the wind directions and hoping for a rain soon after his applications....The Dandelions, Sweet and Red Clovers are starting to show stress from his spraying....


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## grapeman

I have been entering harvest data from the 2008 harvest and have got a treasure trove of information. Besides harvest totals by vine, we also took the number of clusters per vine and as part of the lab testing, got berry size , brix, TA and pH. We are still waiting for the final lab samples submitted to the lab at Cornell. Once I get them, they will also be entered in the multipage Excel document I created for tracking the vines from beginning of the year to harvest. 


I also calculated the average weight of the clusters per vine per variety. That along with the number of clusters per vine will help determine retained buds this coming pruning season. We also will take pruning weights and percentage survival of buds into consideration.


In case anyone is interested the harvest weights were figured on a tons per acre basis and varied by variety. The range was from just under 4 tons per acre on the Prairie Star to a high of just under 10 tons per acre on the NY 76.0844.24 (white grape from Cornell). The Prairie Star suffered a large loss of canes due to high winds during a brittle stage of the young developing canes. 


After I have finished tabulating all the data and submit it, I will try to give a summary in the future to those interested. It may be a while before I have permission but I believe in sharing the research data to those it may give assistance to.


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## NorthernWinos

Prairie Star was the looser????


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## AlFulchino

i am interested in the info, as you are able to make available...thank you - AL


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## grapeman

Northern Winos said:


> Prairie Star was the looser????




I wouldn't necessarily call it a loser NW. It is known to have a brittle cane problem at early stages of growth. This past spring while it was most vulnerable, we had incessant winds for a week to ten days. Some of the vines were hit so hard with canes breaking off that there were only a very few left on the vine. They looked quite pathetic. As such there were only a few clusters if any left on the vines most affected. There was actually more grapes on them as a whole than I expected. What was there was quite nice. Great clusters, great flavor and good lab numbers. A couple vines lost very few canes and they had a good yield. Cluster size was about 125 grams. Yield without the worst vines was about 15 pounds per vine. Brix- 19.3, pH 3.58, TA 9.5, berry weight 2.01 grams.


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## NorthernWinos

The Edelweiss are also pretty brittle, those I grow on a panel and lay down in the winter due to their tenderness....If I try to bend a wild vine they can break off.

Had thought of growing the Prairie Star on a panel also when I first read about it's brittleness, but so far just don't touch them much and they seem to be okay....we get more than our share of winds here.


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## AlFulchino

i only have 25 vines of prairie star...i also notices the ease with which they new shoots snapped off in the wind...here is a thought that i am contemplating using IF i keep them.......use a net to supplement the trellis...as the canes or spurs grow during the season you can weave them in and prevent any severe snap-loss of the new growth....i have had no issue w the woody parts of the plant...just the new growth


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## grapeman

That might help Al. It sounds doable.


I can't really take any remedial action to reduce this other than some possibilities of training. If I reduce the incidence, then I can't report on the phenomenon. It may not be a concern in any other year since it could be a one time condition being met. I will monitor them further.


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## AlFulchino

you are right..if you utilize a remedy people will wonder down the road why Prairie Star has a different trellis...but essentially the cat is out of the bag and you have written on it.

Just like one in ten years may be brutally cold for some of your other vines...last years winds and dry weather in the spring provided the perfect storm for that variety....point being that the remedy is now reported for this vine..( you can even call it the Fulchino Trellis System for Prairie Star or similar vines if you like hahahahah

Second Point being that if a vineyard owner or home owner finds this variety useful in one or more aspects of their wine making, then they have a solution to stave off that one in ten bad year. Even just a couple of extra wires on the trellis would do it...every six inches apart.


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## grapeman

Here are a few pictures from Willsboro. We held the annual pruning on Saturday. I took a couple before pictures and one of the group, but don't have an after picture. I will get one later this week when I am down there.


 


 













Here is what one shoot can develop into as a very vigorous cane. It measure 16 feet and has over 150 feet of shoot extension total and weighed almost 4 pounds(more than a normal full vine).







Here are a couple residents of the farm


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## grapeman

It has been a relatively cool spring this year and the vines are just a bit behind normal, but growing well. Here are a few pictures of a month and a half after we initially pruned them. We pruned them this year (converted over) to Top Wire Cordon-cane pruned from an Umbrella Kniffen. The trunks arent classic straight. We just tell people we like the knarly twisted look. Most vines converted fairly well with just a few needing a lot of improvement. We are trying to get a more open canopy and lower yields to try and improve the juice numbers.
 
Last fall we sent 11 varieties of grapes to the winery at Cornell for a comparison, base wine to be made. They made all of them to the same standard procedure and yeast- EC-1118. It certainly was not the best choice of yeast IMHO. We had an initial tasting last evening of those 11 wines. The whites were but a fraction of their potential. They need a better yeast than the neutral 1118. Flavors and aromas were very muted. Even the LaCrescent was very shallow and lacked it's classic aroma. None of the wines were sweetened any to help bring out the fruit. I had brought a few bottles of finished wine for comparison.  What a difference the yeast, cold stabilization and slight sweetening made. I will try to give more details later in another post.


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## Waldo

Beautiful.....Absolutely Beautiful !!!!


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## AlFulchino

Hi Rich...all looking good....tell me more about what yeast selections you think are better and for what grapes..thanks


lastly..if those are twisted and gnarled i better not show you some of mine...i believe you would label them 'what the hell is that!"


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## rrawhide

Rich


All I can say is 'WOW' - you do know how to have some fun - - - 


still pushing dirt on my new plot - - -


more pictures later


rrawhide


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## grapeman

The year progresses cool and cloudy. Days like yesterday and today have been rare so take advantage of them. Bloom is just beginning almost a week late. A few pictures for you all.


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## bilbo-in-maine

There they are - little flowers. I guess there is hope for coastal Maine then, too


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## Travisty

B-E-A-Utiful!


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## rrawhide

lookin' good Rich


Keep up the great work!!







rrawhide


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## hannabarn

Absolutly beautiful, Rich. I can't wait to come and see them up close in person!


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## bilbo-in-maine

Rich - What's going on at Willsboro about now?


----------



## grapeman

bilbo-in-maine said:


> Rich - What's going on at Willsboro about now?




Work! Ha Ha Ha!


I have been shoot and cluster thinning recently. I don't like to do it too soon and make the vines go too vegetative. Late July to mid August here seems to work good. I have been dropping about 10-20 pounds per vine on some of them and still leaving a big crop. 


The vines are just beginning veraison(for all you French folks and Verasion for the rest of you). Only the earliest varieties so far. They are running about 10 days behind normal this year.


When the grapes get more color to them to show, I will get some more pictures. It won't be long and we will apply the netting. We are going to try 4 foot VineSide netting this year even though they are TWC. I'm hoping I may be able to keep doing some skirting after the nets are on that way.


How's the weather over thre in Maine?


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## bilbo-in-maine

appleman said:


> Work!Ha Ha Ha!
> 
> I have been shoot and cluster thinning recently. I don't like to do it too soon and make the vines go too vegetative. Late July to mid August here seems to work good. I have been dropping about 10-20 pounds per vine on some of them and still leaving a big crop.
> 
> The vines are just beginning veraison(for all you French folks and Verasion for the rest of you). Only the earliest varieties so far. They are running about 10 days behind normal this year.
> 
> When the grapes get more color to them to show, I will get some more pictures.  It won't be long and we will apply the netting. We are going to try 4 foot VineSide netting this year even though they are TWC. I'm hoping I may be able to keep doing some skirting after the nets are on that way.
> 
> How's the weather over thre in Maine?



Funny you should ask. The weather is the chief culprit in this year's miserable crop. We took a big hit at blossom time with a lot of rot that set in, mainly on the St. Croix and St. Pepin (what's up with the saints?!) At this point there is no evidence of veraison on anything. Berry development seems to be stagnant, with little increase in size in weeks.

Keep us posted on development progress there at Willsboro. It is always good to hear about what happens there. It will be great to see your pics.


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## AlFulchino

yep...keep us posted.....pics especially!


----------



## grapeman

Bill the grapes are in the lag phase where they do little growing midseason. Here the grapes never seemed to be at that stage this year. They were so late starting that they have just been growing fast all year. Some of the clusters I dropped today were probably over half a pound apiece. You cut a shoot with three of those suckers on them and I would just cry every cut I made!


----------



## bilbo-in-maine

Rich - Lag season it is, but still no signs of color change by mid-August? I know, it is what happens when summer is curtailed by 2/3. Perhaps autumn will be pushed back some also this year, but I have a feeling that the crop will be unsatisfactory for wine making, at least here. Again, I look forward to your reports from Willsboro. That's a great program.


----------



## grapeman

Bill, more change today even over yesterday. I was thinning again today. You should have summer by tomorrow. It has been hot here today and will be getting even hotter the next few days. The downside of that is it is going to be too nice this weekend. I have my first NE SARE Tour this weekend at my vineyard. I had a small response to notices and since they are predicting great weather, it is like rats abandoning a sinking ship! Everybody I asked preferences for date said weekends were better since they work during the week, but now they won't even come on a great day! I feel pretty blue right now....... I have been working my tail off to get ready for this thing- which is for everyone elses benefit, and now nobody wants to come................. This is more cutting edge research than is being currently done at the universities and it's free to attendees!


----------



## bilbo-in-maine

Rich - I'm sorry to hear that. This is indeed a fine time of the year. You would think that, with the increased interest generally in organic growing, and your topic, sustainable growing methods, a beautiful weekend would be a magnet drawing people. You did say it is to be at your own vineyard, and not at Willsboro, right? What have you had to do to prepare for the "non-event." 
Heck, I'll drive for 8 hours to attend if you need warm bodies. Well, actually I speak too quickly. I am on duty this weekend helping my wife in her bee yard. And... there's work in my own vineyard, mowing, firewood stacking, work on the house, a visit to my aged mother, and on and on. I hope you get even a few people to make your work worth it.


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## AlFulchino

yes...we are interested in the research.....we count too!


----------



## grapeman

I will be posting the procedures used for my research and results obtained when I have them at or shortly after harvest. This is not an organic plot, jst using canopy management techniques along with particular training systems to minimize amounts of spray used, conserve the soil and improve the quality of the juice obtained. It is definitely at my home vineyard. The level of research at home exceeds the extent of the original intent for Willsboro. We are working on expanding the scope of that original intent.


Stay tuned.


----------



## AlFulchino

i am interested in all that you are doing...and very interested in..."using canopy management techniques along with particular training systems to minimize amounts of spray used,..."


----------



## grapeman

Well I got that meeting over and accomplished. It was sunny, no wind and 90 degrees! There was only 11 people who showed up. I guess they all wanted to do a beautiful weekend full of activities. It was a good well behaved crowd and only got a bit rowdy after pumped full of free wine! Well at least I think they all enjoyed it!


----------



## AlFulchino

i am sure they did....and remember..its not always quantity that counts...you may have met one person that you have really impacted, that would not have had a question answered if there had been a hundred people.


----------



## OilnH2O

I wish I was no. 12





Sometimes a group that small will get far more out of it - "knowledge transfer" -- than a much larger group! Especially if it was just you giving the tour. Was it a mixed bag of growers and hobbiests? Look forward to your "report!"


----------



## grapeman

Actually I did a recount, and there were 13 of them. Most of them were actual growers, but we are all small, being a new industry in the area. I was the only speaker at this one, although my technical advisor was there and added comments here and there. It opened a few eyes to the possibilities that exist from this work. Some of the results are quite striking and a bit unexpected by all.


----------



## grapeman

I haven't reported on this in a while now. We had our annual Tour of the Willsboro Baker Farm yesterday and I got some pictures, but not many. I didn't take any at the vineyard- sorry. I will try to get some tomorrow to show the progress it is making this year. 

We had about 60 brave souls show up for the tour in the almost 100 degree heat with growing humidity. Our research farm is about 350 acres total and a number of research projects are being conducted here at any one time. 

It includes lysimeter plots where we have 16 individual plots. These are used for a number of studies including soil studies, water studies, leaching of nutrient studies and so on. Here is a link to the type of system we have here.



http://www.llansadwrn-wx.co.uk/graphics/lysf2.jpg

Talks were given by the Cornell Soil Scientist in charge of the research using them. That was followed by the University of Vermont researcher talking about Sunflower research being done to make fuel and what is being done to help power farms using their own crops. 

We then moved down to Biomass research plots where the researcher talked about his project with a number of grasses grown for fuel. 






A picture of the group near the biomass trial (one of two) The taller green grass is Switchgrass and is about 4 feet tall and will almost double in size before harvest. 





The group was moved around by trailers and wagons. To show how humid and hazy it was, Lake Champlain is in this picture between the two big trees. You can't even see the Green Mountains 30 miles away. The vineyard is located to the left of those old barns. 






This picture shows organic small grains trials where wheat is grown along with some soybeans. The wheat is grown for researching best varieties for the Northeast for local bakers. 






We then moved over to the vineyard where Kevin Iungerman from Cornell Extension's Northeast Fruit Program told of the history of the trial and what research we are conducting there. After two hours in the sun, we hastily retreated to the shade of a huge maple tree at the office for a small wine tasting. I had brought a half dozen samples to pour. It was so hot and everyone was in such a hurry to leave that I never even poured the last two. I started with the whites hoping to get them in the mood for it, but it was just too hot for much interest.


----------



## ibglowin

Wow, thanks for the report and update Rich! You guys are certainly having the heat wave these days (please feel free to keep it all to yourself!) ......

BTW, that Kevin sure has purty legs!


----------



## grapeman

I figured somebody would think that - should have know it would be you. That is Heather from UVM. She is the one with Sunflowers and wheat trials. I didn't put in a picture of Kevin......... his legs aren't that pretty


----------



## Runningwolf

Awesome! I was wondering about Heather also. She didn't ask about me did she? Oh Crap she doesn't even know I exist!


----------



## grapeman

Heather really is an example of being "Outstanding in her field". Be nice now guys. She is a good example of a down to earth person - part of her work is taking soil samples.


----------



## Runningwolf

appleman said:


> Heather really is an example of being "Outstanding in her field". Be nice now guys. She is a good example of a down to earth person - part of her work is taking soil samples.








Thanks Rich your absolutely right, did I tell you I was feeling a littlesoily today?


----------



## Waldo

I don't know Heather either but she probably knows me


----------



## grapeman

I don't have pictures since I didn't bring the camera today, but the Marquette and Mn1200 have hit veraison, 17 days ahead of last year. The grapes are beautiful and large with more clusters than I want to keep. I got rid of the grass and weeds under the rest of the vines today and sprayed Roundup on the ones I did it to the other day. I like to let the grass and weeds grow a couple days to begin regrowth before spraying- it is more effective. The few I had sprayed last week are looking great-nice and clean under them now. 


Next up, I need to cluster thin to around 3.5-4 tons per acre on half and about 5 tons per acre on the other half. That is to demonstrate to visiting growers the effectiveness of thinning on the crop quality.


----------



## AlFulchino

i look forward to teh cluster thinning results~shoudl be an interesting yr vis-a-vis sugar and acid numbers if the weather holds out~!


----------



## Wade E

Keep up the good records on this my friend as like Al Im very interested on how this works just to know!


----------



## AlFulchino

what is the current berry diameter on the varieties you said was in verasion


----------



## grapeman

Just a few pictures of the grapes at Willsboro showing they are in veraison.

Here are a couple pictures of Marquette.









Some Sabrevois





And a white- Prairie Star


----------



## Runningwolf

Nice pictures. I think you are a few weeks ahead of us here.


----------



## ibglowin

Beautiful!

Are the grapes ripening ahead of normal schedule?


----------



## grapeman

The grapes are 3 to 4 weeks ahead of last year and about two weeks ahead of normal for here. Hopefully they will have lots of time to fully ripen this year and reduce the acids. Last year was a bear to work with the grapes, but that is part of the fun! 



We have gotten over 30 percent more growing degree days this year than last. The date last year that we hit our current GDD coincided with the beginning of veraison- over three weeks later. This can be a useful tool for predicting various stages of the grapes cycle. Yet another reason for good record keeping, including weather data. Some day we should set up software for predicting certain stages such as bloom, veraison and harvest by the number of growing degree days. I could do it, but I just don't have the time. It could also be a useful tool for when spraying would be needed taking into account the gdds for insects to reach a spray threshold such as with the grape berry moth. NY IPM has such a system for insects and diseases, but it is in danger of cancellation because of budgets.


----------



## ibglowin

Yep, It wouldn't be half as fun if it was easy. Totally understand that one!


----------



## AlFulchino

so rich...with being so far along...have the people up there stopped spraying until after harvest?


----------



## grapeman

Al the grapes are ahead, but not to the point of imminent harvest. Actually I sprayed today since we had almost 3 inches of rain in the last two days. I included sprays for PM,DM and botrytis. Netting will go on in about 2 weeks and we may need another spray then. At this time of year I switch over to as many almost organic sprays as possible. This one included ProPhyt, which is phosphoric acid.


What does you spray program look like at this point?


----------



## AlFulchino

well, its been pretty much stretched out this year because we have had maybe two inches of rain in the last four months....so everything has been at the maximum intervals....i have not sprayed any insecticides on my vines this year ( true of each year thus far)...only fungicides....so manzate, captan...pristine and elite....the vines have had a very good history..but this year is pretty spectacular and i hesitate to say that because i am not bragging, i have no control over this..i am VERY thankful because the two previosu yrs it was 17 inches in 30 days...its just been a california type year down here...incredible heat all year from the get go in april...my vineyard floor today was 118 degrees....and the first (lower) fruiting zone in the 100 and the upper 95

since my last spray was last week..i am thinking of maybe one more next week and thats it until after harvest...depending on what brix numbers i read next week


----------



## grapeman

It was like a sauna when I got home today from Willsboro. We got 1.78 inches of rain at my place overnight and it was around 92 this afternoon with about that in relative humidity. I didn't measure the vineyard, but when I walked out in the vineyard it just about took your breath away. Since Monday we have got as much rain as all of last month- and that was only two days!


----------



## grapeman

Things have moved along well this year at the vineyard and we are approaching harvest. I picked the ES 6-16-30 yesterday which is an unnamed Elmer Swenson variety. I also got samples from all 25 varieties and ran the samples today with the meters. Here are the results. A lot of them are close to harvest and will be picked this weekend.



<TABLE style="WIDTH: 326pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=434 xtr>
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<COL style="WIDTH: 68pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 3291" width=90>
<COL style="WIDTH: 59pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 2852" width=78>
<COL style="WIDTH: 63pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 3072" width=84>
<COL style="WIDTH: 59pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 2889" width=79>
<T>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; WIDTH: 77pt; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl72 height=17 width=103>*Variety*</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; WIDTH: 68pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 width=90>Brix</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; WIDTH: 59pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 width=78>pH</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; WIDTH: 63pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 width=84>TA</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; WIDTH: 59pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 width=79>Berry Weight</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Marquette</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>23.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.08</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>10.9</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.42</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Frontenac Gris</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>23.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.18</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>15.4</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.27</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl76 height=17>Mn 1200</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl77 xum>21.8</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl78 xum>3.08</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl77 xum>7.9</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : yellow; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl69 xum="1.14">1.14</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>LaCrescent</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>23.6</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.30</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>12.5</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.43</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl76 height=17>Leon Millot</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl77 xum>22.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl78 xum>3.47</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl77 xum="8.7">8.7</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : yellow; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl69 xum>1.30</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Foch</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>20.6</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.32</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>10.4</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.50</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Frontenac</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>21.6</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.31</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>16.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.33</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>St. Pepin</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>20.2</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.30</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>8.6</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>2.19</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl76 height=17>ES 6-16-30</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl77 xum="19.4">19.4</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl78 xum>3.40</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl77 xum>8.1</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : #ff8080; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl71 xum>2.27</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Sabrevois</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum="18.6">18.6</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.51</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>9.9</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>2.21</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Prairie Star</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum="18.6">18.6</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.55</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>9.6</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum="2.51">2.51</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Louise Swenson</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>17.2</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.27</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>5.2</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>2.68</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Baco</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>19.8</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.36</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>15.1</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.38</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl76 height=17>Petite Amie</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl77 xum>19.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl78 xum>3.26</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl77 xum>6.4</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : yellow; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl69 xum>2.19</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl79 height=17>Edelweiss</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl80 xum>16.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl81 xum>3.41</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl80 xum="4.9">4.9</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : #ff8080; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl70 xum>3.17</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Vignoles</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum="18.4">18.4</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.03</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum="19.6">19.6</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.48</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl76 height=17>St. Croix</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl77 xum>19.2</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl78 xum>3.27</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl77 xum>7.1</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : yellow; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl69 xum>1.79</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Lacrosse</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>18.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.05</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum="10.2">10.2</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.82</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Landot</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>17.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.18</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>13.1</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.71</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>GR7</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>19.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.18</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>12.5</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.76</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Cayuga White</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>16.5</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.17</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>9.6</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>3.31</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>NY 76.844.24</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>18.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.07</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>11.8</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.78</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl73 height=17>Noiret</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>15.4</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl75 xum>3.15</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : white; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl74 xum>13.8</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>1.93</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl66 height=17>Niagara</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl68 xum>13.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>3.16</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl68 xum="9.3">9.3</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>3.09</TD></TR>
<TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl66 height=17 xtr="Not Ravat ">Not Ravat</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl68 xum>13.0</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum>3.10</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl68 xum>12.5</TD>
<TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; : transparent; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" =xl67 xum="2.43">2.43</TD></TR></T></TABLE>


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## ibglowin

Looks like the "planets" are alining! Can't wait to see the final numbers.


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## AlFulchino

interesting stuff Rich....


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## grapeman

The ES 6-16-30 (some call it Adalmiina) needed picking because it gets to a point and just turns to mush and it was almost there. In the tank after pressing it tested a hair under 20 brix, pH 3.33 and TA was 6.1 so it goes to show that even though you try to get accurate samples, you seldom hit it right on the nose.


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## ibglowin

So tell me more about this grape "Not Ravat"!

Looks like Ravat but its Not ????????


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## grapeman

Mike it was supposed to be Ravat 34 - a white grape, but it is the biggest, blackest inkiest grape you have ever seen. So it is "Not Ravat". We still have no clue as to what it is, but it is a late grape, yields well, is pretty cold tolerant and has more tannins than any other hybrid we have seen to date. I have found you treat it like a rose or even a white to get acceptable color extraction. It makes elderberries look like they forgot to color the wine.


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## R Ziegler

Your "Not Ravat" sounds interesting. Even though you haven't any idea as to what it actually is - do you have any info on how much cold it actually will take?
Rich, if you have time can you post a picture of it? 


Do you have flavor / aroma info you can post?


Obscure grape varietals peak my interest - I'd like to plant some Castel 19637, but my yard is nowhere near the place it could survive in MN. Maybe some day......


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## robie

Rich,
Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate this on-going topic. I know I (and likely many of us) have no idea how much knowledge and effort it takes to grow that little grape in order to produce a quality glass of wine. 

Thanks again.


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## grapeman

R Zeigler- we have no real idea of the true cold hardiness of it. The spring of 2009 it got to -17F at the vineyard. There was just a bit of bud damage, but not bad. I truly believe it needs a warmish site with long days to mature well since it seems to mature later than the other varieties. We will get a better idea how well it ripens this year since it has been so warm. I will try to get pictures (although I already have some opn the computer somewhere). I will give you an update in a couple weeks. It develops a nice mellow well rounded flavor profile with some cherry and chocolate. The biggest problem is it won't do skin ferments well because of the tannins and excessive color (it really will turn your teeth black-ask my sister!).


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## grapeman

Today we continued picking grapes at Willboro and had a good turnout of volunteers. The process is slower than normal picking because all clusters are counted and all grapes are weighed by vine,repetition and row number.
In spite of thinning shoots and clusters to adjust to a target yield of 5 tons per acre, it was such a good growing year that some are coming in almost double that. For instance I just entered all the Marquette grapes in. Overall the yield was ovr 8 tons per acre at a per vine yield of 30 pounds per vine. The first rep had an average yield over 35 pounds per vine. I repeat Al, you can get more grapes than this year as the vines mature and you get a bit more rain.


I have pictures to post, but that will need to wait until I have crushed and pressed the days harvest that I brought home for making project wine for.


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## ibglowin

Wow! 

You guys up North are having an incredible harvest! 

And they say farming is tough and you can't make any $$$$$ .......


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## Runningwolf

Along Lake Erie the small vineyards are concerned about being able to sell their grapes with such a heavy surplus of grapes. They said the sugars are great and if you can't make a good wine this year, you just can't make good wine period! They are comparing this year to 2007, which was excellent all the way around.


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## AlFulchino

thanks for the postings Rich

Dan, glad to hear they are having a good harvest....tell them guys to bank the wine so they have more to sell when they have a lean yr


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## grapeman

Our little research vineyard made it into this week's Veraison to Harvest Newletter in NY. At the risk of causing any heart attacks after seeing me instead of that manly Al Fulchino, here is a link to it. 


http://www.cals.cornell.edu/cals/grapesandwine/veraison-to-harvest/upload/Veraison-to-Harvest-2010-4.pdf


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## AlFulchino

where is your t shirt man!  thats the secret  great info!


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## Wade E

Good reading. Lots of #'s there to get an idea of what is typical of some varietals.


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## grapeman

The numbers continue to go up until harvest. This is a weekly newsletter that goes from Veraison to Harvest - hence the name. It is good to check progress of varieties around our large and varied state.


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## grapeman

Today we harvested the remaining 6 varieties of grapes. I don't have the figures right now, but we had some incredible yields in all 25 varieties this year. Most averaged 7.5 tons per acre or more- some around 10 tons per acre. They also had the best harvest numbers we have ever had. I brought home about 250 pounds of Noiret grapes. You can tell I was tired when I ran them through the crusher. I got done and looked in the Brute- full of stems- huh? How could that be? I then realized I hadn't put the destemmining cage back in before crushing! Now I had to hand scoop the grapes back in to seperate the stems out!












Now I can concentrate on my own grape harvest. Yeah- no more 35-40 hours a week on this project- It's all- well mostly- my time!


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## ibglowin

Sounds good Rich!

So whats the verdict on hail damage to your crop?


----------



## R Ziegler

Good luck on the home front for all the work you have to continue there.


Not to bother you to much during this crazy time of the year, but any new info/pics of your "Not Ravat".


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## grapeman

No further info on that variety. Even in this great year, it only got up to 14 brix. I have harvest info but no time to post now. I will add it sometime soon.


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## OilnH2O

Great info in the pdf file on the cold-hardy work. That's a lot of effort -- you've mentioned it over the last several years, but you must feel pretty good about the results! Congrats.

Dave


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