Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The objective of this study was to evaluate newer cold hardy wine grape cultivars for vineyards and wineries in non-traditional production areas of northern NY. The year 2011 marked 7 years of wine grape cultivar evaluation at the Cornell University Baker Farm, in Willsboro NY. The trial screened 13 white and 12 red hybrid winegrapes to identify preferred choices for vineyard and estate winery start-up in our short-season, cold-climate production region. Several goals are now met: 5 years of fact-based comparative growth, yield and berry maturity data are compiled and being shared with growers. The trial has provided parallel Extension outreach, demonstration and skills transfer instruction to stakeholders. Cornell, the northeast NY fruit program, and local wine makers have made experimental wines from the trials 300 vines. Cumulative data and relevant heat unit accumulation will be summarized early in 2012, and disseminated via CCE-COLD-COUNTRY-VITICULTURE-L and NE NY COLD CLIMATE ORCHARDS AND VINEYARDS sites and via NENYFP (Northeast NY Fruit Program) ties to the SCRI Northern Grapes Research project. This latter project will differentiate future regional grape research, education and outreach. PARTICIPANTS: Kevin Iungerman, Extension Associate, Northeast NY Fruit Program, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, Ballston Spa, NY, 12020. Ian Merwin, Professor of Horticulture, Dept. of Horticulture, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853. Many local grape growers and wine makers in northeastern NY and New England have also been involved in the workshops and extension programs for this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project was commercial grape growers and wine makers in the northern NY and New England regions. The programs supported by this project have substantially increased the technical knowledge and proficiency of commercial producers of cold-hardy wine grape varieties in this region. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The trial assisted the NENYFP in identifying stakeholders of the Upper Hudson and Champlain Valleys and nearby, who in turn, helped co-establish our trial on lake Champlain, and the Lake Champlain Wines and Upper Hudson Valley Wine and Grape Growers Associations. As most stakeholders are new agriculturalists, our working seminars bolstered critical start-up knowledge and operational practice skills. This fostered many hours of individual, hands-on supervised instruction, repetitive practice, informal question and answer repartee and follow-up critique and discussion, all supplemented by specialized programming. Working seminars were presented on dormant pruning, vine training, and crop projection; crop quality via cane, lateral, cluster thinning; crop maturation and protection with netting, electric fencing; maturity evaluation and harvest decisions; specialized support; wine quality evaluation; early season grape IPM; cool climate wine marketing; suitable site and variety selection;crop load management for optimal maturation and winemaking; and harvest timing coordination and post-harvest protocols. Work with stakeholder practitioners fostered a functioning constituency that is partnering with the NENYFP to further identify, refine, and evaluate research and outreach needs to advance knowledge and skills transfer, including multi-state cooperation options. Colleagues from similar non-traditional grape regions collaborated with us to develop the multi-state SCRI Northern Grapes Research Proposal that was later accepted and funded by NIFA. Fifteen stakeholders have agreed to constitute the NENYFPs new Grape Advisory Group, to jointly realize the Northern Grapes Research co-PI responsibilities over 2012-2013.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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