2018 in the vineyard

[Stressbaby]

A couple of pics from our harvest. Year 2, got 60# Frontenac, 80# Chardonel, 60# Traminette.

 

[BigH]

A couple of pics from our harvest. Year 2, got 60# Frontenac, 80# Chardonel, 60# Traminette.

Hey, we have the same crusher, although my crank operator doesn't always show up for work.

Do you find that you have to pick out a lot of stems as the must slides down the hopper? Some varieties eject the stems cleanly out the end, but several produce a lot of small chunks that make it through the grates and down the hopper. I try to pick out as many as I can, but that slows everything down. Still trying to figure out how important it is to sit there and pick them out.

H

 

[Stressbaby]

Hey, we have the same crusher, although my crank operator doesn't always show up for work.

Do you find that you have to pick out a lot of stems as the must slides down the hopper? Some varieties eject the stems cleanly out the end, but several produce a lot of small chunks that make it through the grates and down the hopper. I try to pick out as many as I can, but that slows everything down. Still trying to figure out how important it is to sit there and pick them out.

H

I got a few stems but it was easy to pick them out. I made rosé from the Frontenac so I didn't ferment on the stems, it got pressed right away.

 

[Boatboy24]

Hey, we have the same crusher, although my crank operator doesn't always show up for work.

Do you find that you have to pick out a lot of stems as the must slides down the hopper? Some varieties eject the stems cleanly out the end, but several produce a lot of small chunks that make it through the grates and down the hopper. I try to pick out as many as I can, but that slows everything down. Still trying to figure out how important it is to sit there and pick them out.

H

I have the same c/d as well. I don't bother picking stems out during crush, but I to grab 'em during punchdowns.

 

[keverman]

Marquette harvest was Sept. 3 (2871 GDD in Huron, Ohio) We came in at 24 Brix, 3.4 pH and 9.0 TA. We hand crushed using a 1" grate over a bucket, aiming to get a fair amount of whole berries. Ended up with 118 lbs. from our 16 third year vines.

 

[Stressbaby]

Marquette harvest was Sept. 3 (2871 GDD in Huron, Ohio) We came in at 24 Brix, 3.4 pH and 9.0 TA. We hand crushed using a 1" grate over a bucket, aiming to get a fair amount of whole berries. Ended up with 118 lbs. from our 16 third year vines.

Where do you guys get your GDD numbers? I looked online but only found GDD for standard ag crops.

 

[keverman]

From what I understand, GDD is a heat accumulation number for a specific area, usually by zip code, so not really crop specific. That number is a predictor of horticultural events, like disease outbreaks, insect emergence, bloom time, ripening, etc. I'm in Ohio and my numbers come from The Ohio State University site "OSU GDD". They have an interactive historical calendar.

 

[bumblebeetuna]

There are also a few different apps that track GDD, Growing Degree Days by iNet Solutions Grouphttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/growing-degree-days/id386655475?mt=8

 

[BigH]

Where do you guys get your GDD numbers?

I get mine from https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/us/tools-apps/growing-tools/gdu/ . I like that tool because it gives me an easy comparison with last year. I choose Mar 1 as the start date.

The GDD equation for a single day is (Tmax + Tmin) / 2 - Tbase where Tbase is crop specific, Tmin is the low temperature of the day, and Tmax is the high (but is not allowed to exceed 86). I think most grape researchers and breeders use the same base as corn, which is 50 degrees F.

In rough terms, the equation works out to the average temperature for the day minus the base temp below which the crop will not grow. The 86 rule is there because heat beyond 86 doesn't help corn much. I don't know if that is true for grapes, but since most GDD tools are geared towards corn, I just go with it.

Whatever tool you use to calculate GDD, try to stick with it so you can compare across years.

H