Some vineyard pictures

[robie]

My My! Vineyards still look beautiful and magical, even in the dead of winter.
Great photos!

 

[tonyt]

Beautiful pictures Rick. It snowed one time here in SE Texas a long time ago, I think John Kennedy was in office but it could have been Eisenhower.

 

[TxBrew]

When you have a strong frost/freeze Rich do you usually lose branches? Do you often lose entire vines?

 

[grapeman]

As long as you are growing vines rated for your lowest temps, you don't lose but a few buds now and again. Everybody seems to say they have a special microclimate and push things to the next zone or two. Then when the cold snaps hit, you lose buds, sometimes canes and even sometimes trunks, Rarely will a vine die as the roots are below ground. When things get out of hand is the year following a freeze to the ground. The vine overcompensates and pushes bull canes and is more susceptible to freeze the following year. A few of those in a row can lead to vine death.

 

[Deezil]

Is there any downside to picking a grape vine that handles temps colder than someone would experience normally?

Say having a grape vine that's good to -25, when the vineyard normally only sees temps that dont get below, say -15 for example's sake.

 

[grapeman]

Not as long as you like the grape. It depends more on the amount of time needed to ripen it. Many of the varieties that take the cold also ripen sooner, so you will need to pick at the appropriate time as it gets to the proper juice parameters.

 

[vinividivici]

Not as long as you like the grape. It depends more on the amount of time needed to ripen it. Many of the varieties that take the cold also ripen sooner, so you will need to pick at the appropriate time as it gets to the proper juice parameters.

Rich, is there an optimal Brix target for Marquette? Or do you just keep sampling until the Brix doesn't go any higher?

Bob

 

[grapeman]

Marquette is great between 26 and 28 brix. Check the pH and TA. You want the TA down to about 10g/L if you can get it that low. pH around 3.2-3.3