Petite Pearl Brix

[Gus Meaulnes]

Planted both Marquette and Petite Pearl four year ago with last year being my first harvest. This year, Marquette clusters didn't survive a May freeze here in central Ohio. Harvested PP a year ago today at 2,797 GDD, 23 brix, 3.29 pH, and .90 TA. This year, brix has been stuck at 15 for two weeks with 3.30 pH at 2,996 GDD. Any thoughts on the low brix?

 

[RonObvious]

I'm in the same boat. Marquette ripening waaaay ahead of Petite Pearl this year. We had a very dry summer here in the Northeast. PP brix was just starting to climb from 13-14 up to 16-17 but then we finally got a good slug of rain which swelled the berries and the brix actually went back DOWN again! Coming back up now. I think it will still be a couple weeks before we harvest it. So far though, all the PP clusters look perfect, so I'm content to wait.

 

[Gus Meaulnes]

Brix got no higher than 18, but I lost nearly my entire crop to yellow jackets. Live and learn, I guess. Will harvest earlier next year no matter the brix and/or cover with bee netting.

 

[wood1954]

Next year try home made yellow jacket traps and if you have time go through the vines every day getting rid of any cracked or split or damaged grapes. I did that this year and had no problem. Also you could have a nest nearby you should try to find and destroy, and I also put liquid ant poison in canned cat food on top of some of the posts, which they take back to the nest and kill their queen and larva.

 

[tom6922]

Bee netting? I’m assuming that’s a joke. I used the traps they sell in the hardware store, which worked great. When the bait wore off in 2 weeks, I replaced it with fruit juice, which also worked great. Going to put out traps in April next year to hopefully catch some queens before they build a new nest.

 

[RonObvious]

We harvested our PP yesterday. 400 ft of vines yielded about 350 lb of must. I didn't weigh it - I'm just guesstimating. It would have been more, but we had loss due to birds this year. Fortunately, the bird damage to the PP was only modest because it enters veraison later than other varieties, so the birds didn't notice it until later, and then we netted. Small, tight clusters, all in great shape. This is such a well-behaved grape! A little bit slower to harvest because of the small cluster size, but other than that, it's a joy to work with. We crushed and sulfited it yesterday and it's resting overnight. Will innoculate later today. Measured brix in the field ranged from 19 up by the treeline (which shades the vines in early evening) to 24 in the middle of the field. Fortunately, there is more of the latter than the former, so if I'm lucky, it will average out to 22 or 23. My target is 23, so I'll chaptalize a little if necessary. Not sure about pH/TA yet, but the stems and seeds seemed ripe and frost was predicted, so I didn't see any benefit in leaving it hang any longer.

 

[dswatson]

Here in Nova Scotia, our Petite Pearl is measuring 16 Brix.. we’re going to let it hang for a while yet.

 

[montanarick]

Our here in northwest Montana were measuring 14-15 yesterday. Hopefully another week will get them up to a level where we can pick before cold weather arrives

 

[Steve Wargo]

I harvested about 20lbs of Petite Pearl last Sunday at 22 brix. The PH was near 3.0 I will harvest much more this Sunday. Lots of sunny weather this week, I am hoping for a couple more points higher with the Brix and a PH nearer 3.2. Good luck with your grapes

 

[GR!]

Bee netting? I’m assuming that’s a joke. I used the traps they sell in the hardware store, which worked great. When the bait wore off in 2 weeks, I replaced it with fruit juice, which also worked great. Going to put out traps in April next year to hopefully catch some queens before they build a new nest.

Bee netting is a thing Bee Netting - 55 gauge, 17 ft. x 300 ft.

 

[Canuckoutlander]

My Marquette vines are 8 years old here in Southern Ontario (near Woodstock) and consistently ripen around Sept 24 with 23 Brix. I use high cordon training and do a summer pruning in early August to remove excess growth and expose the bunches to some sun if possible. I have to net all my vines by the first week in August or the birds devour them shortly after veraison. My main challenge is keeping "critters" at bay----- Japanese beetles, birds, coons and possums.

The wine is typically a pleasant medium-bodied red with light tannin, bouquet and flavour profiles----somewhat like a Pinot Noir. It is always a hit when served to visitors.