VINE GROWTH CAPACITY AND HORIZONTALLY DIVIDED VINES

VINE GROWTH CAPACITY AND HORIZONTALLY DIVIDED VINES

JUNE 3, 2019.  BY STAN GRANT. The climate of most of California is well suited to grape growing, with consistent warm, dry weather and ample sunlight hours during most of the growing season.  In addition, many California soils have the capacity to capture, store, and...
VARIETY FOCUS: OPTIMIZING MERLOT

VARIETY FOCUS: OPTIMIZING MERLOT

OCTOBER 8, 2018. BY STAN GRANT. Beginning in the late 1980’s, Merlot became a major fixture in the California wine grape industry largely because it lends itself to smooth, fruity, darkly colored, and approachable red wines. Merlot is truly an international...

TO HEDGE OR NOT TO HEDGE?

Hedging is a summer pruning method involving the removal the distal or apical ends of shoots.  In some parts of the world hedging is called topping or tipping.  Like all pruning methods, hedging depresses vine growth vigor and capacity.   It does so by reducing the...

FRUIT SET FACTORS

MONDAY, MAY 20, 2016.  BY STAN GRANT, VITICULTURIST. Fruit set is the process in which flowers become fruit and potential fruit size is determined.  It occurs after pollen is released from male flower parts (anthers), lands on receptive female flower parts (stigmas),...

Bunch Rot Part I: Botrytis cinerea

Many species of microorganisms may infect grape berries, including fungi and bacteria. Several species of these fungi, including Botrytis cinerea, Aspergillus niger, A. carbonarius, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. herbarum, Penicillium spp., Rhizopus arrizhus, and...

Erratic Budbreak and Variable Shoot Emergence

Erratic budbreak and variable shoot emergence was more common this year than most. At one point in some vineyards, early emerging shoots had elongating clusters and 7 or 8 unfolded leaves while late emerging shoots appeared as tiny green leaf tips between bud scales....