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I think you mentioned that this is the first year they produced, perhaps they had too much crop for the size of the vine? I'm not sure about your area, but over here in Ontario we didn't get much heat or dry weather until September which delayed ripening.

I picked my Petite Pearl before the Marquette this year, at 22 brix (measured after crushing) When I tested some samples before picking I got 24 brix, if I had got 22 when sampling I might have left them another week

Some of the smaller commercial vineyards around here (~5 acres) put netting on everything. The bigger vineyards will sometime net just a few rows bordering their hedgerows, and use noise makers (imagine sounds of birds dying horrible deaths) + sparkly ribbons elsewhere

The morning fog made for some nice views of my little vineyard this morning

I'm sitting on 15 brix for my Marquette here in Ontario. Verona is only at 13. I've not had much experience forecasting harvest dates, but is 1brix/week gain a reasonable guess? If so I'm looking at picking in mid October 😅

Verona requires a long growing season. Crimson Pearl is hardier and has a shorter season than Petite Pearl & Verona

Nova Scotia Tidal Bay blends inspired me to plant L'Acadie, Muscat Osecola and Siegerrebe here in Ontario, am hoping for to harvest enough to blend next year.

It's going to be highs in the low 60s here all week. I sprayed the Frontenac and Marquette yesterday morning, the rest of what I grow doesn't seem to be affected by anthracnose or black rot (so far) so I'll just give them a regular sulphur spray later.

We’ve had some extremely wet weather and now that it’s done I’m wondering if it’s too late to spray at this bud stage. These Frontenac vines had some issue with anthracnose last year

Ah, yeah I see @Vern 's post about this. Tom Ploucher's website has something to try for next year: `One promising solution being explored is the application of calcium foliar nutrients, immediately pre-bloom and during berry development and maturation, to toughen the berry skins`

@ChuckD did you see any berry splitting with your Verona? I had a fair bit of it + sour rot, especially on vines where water drainage isn’t as good (bottom of my rows close to a marsh)

Glad to hear this, I'm planning to do similar, but with more Verona than anything. This year I've only got small quantities so I'll be blending with Frontenac Blanc too and making a rose

I spotted two here in Southeastern Ontario last week. I’ve never seen flocks of them, but we usually have a pair that spends a couple of weeks in our back field during early spring. We have had huge flocks of Canada Geese for the past two weeks

I'd try contacting VineTech. They have some info on it here: Root Stock Characteristics - VineTech Canada but I'd just reach out and ask as they're pretty knowledgable.

Local Riesling with spicy peppers and seafood

Veraison of my Marquette is happening here in Ontario

It’s our anniversary so we celebrated with a 10 year old bottle of local Pinot. It held up well, still had lots of red fruit, and had some nice cranberry notes which I haven’t gotten from other vintages.

This is the first Chambourcin wine that I’ve had. It’s pretty difficult to find in this part of Ontario, Potter Settlement is the only producer I know of. In the background you can see the blue tubes of my little vineyard where I recently added some Crimson Pearl and L’Acadie vines

I recently purchased this book: Identification Guide of Grapevines Grown in a Cold Climate, for these varieties here are their identification notes: