The NEWSPAPER for the wine and grape industryJune/July 2012 www.wineandgrapegrower.com Volume 1 Number 4

In This Issue

Patience pays off atLeonard Oakes Estate

Winery Page 18

GROWERGROWERWine& Grape

Classifieds~ Page 20-21

Tasting Rooms Section~ Page 8

Silenus Vintners~ Page 2

by Kelly GatesIt took Silenus Vintners of

Napa, CA, many years and sev-eral different owners to evolveinto the custom crush compa-ny that it is today. According toGeneral Manager ScottMeadows, when the propertywas initially purchased it was awalnut orchard that was thenconverted into a vineyard.

The 20-acre vineyard wasplanted with cabernet sauvi-gnon and pinot noir grapes,with the harvest being sold toRobert Mondavi Winery,Inglenook and Clos Du Val.Eventually, a winery was builton the land, marking thebeginning of several decadesof wine production at theproperty.

“Today, we use our excesswine making capacity to makewines for custom crush clientsthroughout the region,”explained Meadows. “The tast-ing room that was once just forthe winery’s brand has beenrebuilt as a collective tastingroom. It has become a placewhere small boutique wineriescan have their wines made,sampled and sold.”

Silenus Vintners grows anassortment of its own grapeson 10 acres — cabernet sauvi-gnon, petit verdot and caber-net franc are among them. Thecompany processes around160 tons per year for its housebrand. An additional 320-340tons are processed for clients,most of whom contract pro-duction of 300 to 500 casesannually.

Having such a wide array ofclients translates to a multi-tude of different blends. “Froma production standpoint, theexchange of ideas makes thejob very exciting for our crew,”said Meadows. “Each clienthas a unique winemakingstyle, which allows us to learneven more about the many dif-ferent ways that wine can bemade.”

The hands-on research anddevelopment opportunities arepriceless. It is quite challeng-ing, however, to coordinatesuch a massive influx of grapesfrom multiple sources eachyear.

This job falls to SilenusVintners’ Wine Maker, BradleySmith. Smith is charged withthe task of continually commu-nicating with the 21 growerswho have their grapes turnedinto wine at the Napa facility.He must precisely coordinatethe harvests of each vineyardto ensure that the processingtanks are available when thegrapes begin arriving eachSeptember.

“Brad is in constant contactwith the growers to determinewhen they plan to harvest and

when we should expect toreceive their grapes,” Meadowstold Grower Wine & Grape. “Healso tracks which tanks are inuse, since each batch takesaround a week to 10 days toprocess. Typically, each tankgets used twice, so he has tomake sure they are used, emp-tied and ready for the nextround before it comes in.”

Silenus Vintners has a vari-ety of different fermenters inhouse. They range in size fromtwo-ton tanks to 18 to 20 tontanks, with most clients inneed of five to six ton fer-menters.

The inbound grapes are firstde-stemmed before being runthrough an auger that movesthem into the fermentationtanks. The company has astandard processing fee forreds and another for whitewine varieties. Clients alsohave the option of adding cus-

tom steps upon request.“All of our clients provide

their own yeast and barrels.Because there are so many tochoose from, the slightest dif-ference from one to the nextcan significantly change theoverall finished product,” saidMeadows. “We do standardpumpovers twice daily, butsome want us to do this evenmore often. And sometimes, aclient prefers that we use ashaker table and not just thede-stemmer.”

While the company has anextensive amount of equip-ment, it does not have anonsite bottling plant. Instead,clients have their wines bottledby a mobile bottling truck.

The semi pulls up to the pro-cessing facility and a hose isconnected to the finished winesstored inside. The wine is thenpumped to the truck where it isbottled, corked, foiled, labeled

and packaged into cases.Much of the wine is kept at

Silenus Vintners and soldthrough the collective tastingroom. Unlike most similaroperations, this collaborativeoffering allows customers tosample a large selection ofwines at once.

“Someone might only be ableto try a Cabernet Sauvignon ortwo at other wineries, but here,they can sample many differ-ent brands at one place,” henoted. “And each one has a

completely different flavor pro-file due to the winemakers’ dif-ferent styles and the differentparts of the valley where thegrapes are grown.”

On average, there are about40 different wines available forsipping at the tasting room.For many clients, it’s the onlyoutlet for sales of their bou-tique brands.

As for Silenus Vintners, itsells plenty of wines throughthe tasting room — pinot noir,chardonnay, cabernet sauvi-gnon, zinfandel, sauvignonblanc and merlot are amongthe many. The winery alsoships overseas, selling througha closely tied distributorship inChina.

“In 2010, Silenus Vintnerswas purchased by an investorin China, a woman in her early40s who had established her-self as a successful real estatedeveloper in Asia,” saidMeadows. “She has a great lovefor wine and decided to diversi-fy by buying this business andopening a distributorship ofher own in China. Now, weexport a portion of our wine forsale there.”

With 21 clients ordering cus-tom crush services annually, atasting room that attractslocals and tourists year round— open seven days a week —and an ever-growing overseasmarket, Silenus Vintners hascreated a unique niche as aproducer and purveyor ofunique boutique wines. It isthis niche that will undoubted-ly enable the company to thrivefor many more years to come.

Silenus Vintners’ custom crush business is booming

Ramon Chavez, at left, and vineyard manager Bill Munk supervisethe cabernet sauvignon grape harvest.

Photo courtesy of Silenus Vintners

Celebrating the first crush lot of the harvest are, from left, General Manager Scott Meadows,Matthiasson Wines winemaker Steve Matthiasson, an unidentified worker, administrative assistantMay Hua, Cellar Master Marcos Reyes, cellar workers Rich Miller and Bobby Gonzalez, and facilitywinemaker Bradley Smith.

Photo courtesy of Silenus Vintners

Winemaker Bradley Smith is surrounded by barrels in SilenusVintners’ wine cellar.

Photo by Bruce Button

by Kelly GatesGeorg Marti, co-owner

of New Ulm, MN-basedMorgan Creek Vineyards,has always had an affini-ty for fermentation. Hisfamily owns the AugustSchell Brewing Company,one of America’s oldestbreweries. Marti evenworked for the familyowned and operated beerbusiness for a number ofyears.

But over time, Georg,along with his wife,Paula, were drawn in adifferent direction.According to Paula, thecouple was inspired toestablish a vineyard backin 1993, shortly afterpurchasing a 10-acreparcel of land in NewUlm, MN and eventuallybuilding Minnesota’s onlyunderground winery, aneco-friendly facility forproduction, tasting, andgiftshop.

“In the early 1990s,there were very few vine-yards in Minnesota andeven in 1998, when weofficially opened our win-ery, we were one of onlyfive in the entire state,”she told Wine & GrapeGrower. “Initially, we did-

n’t know that we wouldend up growing grapeshere. We just knew thatwe wanted to take onsome sort of growingendeavor.”

A family friend suggest-ed grapes as an option.He had traveled through-out Europe and lived inGermany for a stint,noticing the abundanceof small-acreage vine-yards that dotted thelandscape there.

Paula’s desire to learnmore about produce thatgrew well in the southcentral Minnesota regionalso prompted her to con-tact local experts foradvice.

“One of the professorsat Mankato StateUniversity, Don Gordon,had written books ongrowing fruit in theMidwest and he was alsoa columnist in theMankato Free Press asthe go-to person for any-thing related to farmingand horticulture,”explained Paula. “I calledand asked him whatmight grow well here andhe suggested that wecontact the MinnesotaGrape Grower’s

Association [MGGA].After talking to [MGGA],we dove in feet first, allthe way up to our necks.”

Indeed, Georg andPaula submersed them-selves in the association.They became membersand began attendingmeetings. They also wentto seminars and confer-ences. Eventually, Georgserved on the Board ofDirectors and Paula tookon the role as the editorof the Minnesota GrapeGrowers Annual Report,a title she held for fiveyears. Later, she becamesecretary of the newlyorganized MinnesotaFarm WineryAssociation.

While gathering,recording and reportingthe annual grape produc-tion results of growersthroughout the GopherState, Paula had theopportunity to assesswhich varietals fairedwell and which did not.

“We then decided tojump in and plant adiversity of vines so wecould determine whatwould do well in ourunique location,” shesaid. “We planted mostlyvinifera and a fewhybrids.”

The types of grapesplanted at Morgan CreekVineyards were deter-mined by the types ofwines that the Martisenjoyed drinking.Eventually, when coldhardy varieties wereproven viable for theregion, Frontenac,LaCresent, andMarquette were added.

The winery now pro-duces a long list of whiteand red wines including,Seyval, Riesling,Gewurztraminer, SaintPepin, Zeitgeist,Relativity, Vignoles,Morgan Creek Myst,Sweet E, Black Ice,Puck’s Pride, Saint JohnReserve, Redtail Ridge,Nova, Colure, Fox Runand Saint Wenceslaus.These range from dry andsemi-dry to semi-sweet,sweet and sweet dessertwines.

Managing the array ofgrape vines planted thereis a laborious process.Being a small acreagevineyard and an organicone at that, nearly every-thing is done by hand,said Paula.

“We plant one-yearrooted vines with two-bud stalks by hand ingrow tubes and water thenew vines for the first

couple of months. Afterthat, we leave them aloneto grow,” she explained.“All we do is implementweed control and vinemaintenance, ensuringthat they grow upwardonto our two-wire trellis-ing system.”

Copper sulfate andherbal tea sprays areused as organic herbicideand weed control applica-tions. A small herd ofsheep act as nature’spruners, effectively main-taining a clearance nearthe ground while leavingthe cordons safely intact.

By the end of the firstgrowing season, newlyplanted vines at MorganCreek Vineyards havetypically reached the sec-ond wire of the trellis. Asthose are grown on tomaturity over the nextfew years, older vineswith ready-to-pick clus-ters of grapes are har-vested.

“Our grapes are har-vested by hand. Eachvariety is picked at a dif-ferent time by a crew ofaround 10 people,” notedPaula. “The harvestedgrapes are brought to thecrush floor in our barnand combined with thesame varieties of grapesfrom contracted localgrowers before beingprocessed.”

Contracting with othergrowers encourages morevineyards to be estab-lished in the region andenables the winery to effi-ciently make an assort-ment of red and whitewines. The winery barncrush floor is equippedwith a crusher-destem-mer, and two, three-quar-

ter ton presses.The crusher-destem-

mer is fed freshly pickedgrapes producing anabundant amount ofmust. When making redwines, the must is filteredthrough a series of hosesand into the fermentationtanks to add depth ofcolor and flavor. Forwhite wines, the must ispumped into the three-quarter ton press andlayered with rice hulls,then pressed to desiredextractions.

Eventually, all theseeds, stems and skins inthe must extracted fromMorgan Creek Vineyards’winemaking equipment isput into a compost pilethat is used to naturallyfertilize the grapes whenneeded.

“All of our fermentationtanks are Italian made,variable lid, and stainlesssteel. We make avery small amount ofoak-infused wine, but formost of that, we use anoak additive like staves,chips or sawdust,” saidPaula. “Our bottling lineincludes an eight-spigotfiller and an Italian cork-er, which is the best pieceof equipment we have. Itmakes corking so quickand easy.”

A labeler is used toapply Morgan CreekVineyards’ labels beforecapsules are shrink-wrapped by employees.At times, custom labelsare made for weddingparties and local organi-zations, like New UlmTurner Hall, a German-based social group thatrecently commissionedits own private label

wines from the company.Because of its serene

setting and the naturaldraw of the onsite tastingroom and related facili-ties, Morgan CreekVineyards hosts a num-ber of private and publicevents.

Maifest takes placethere each spring to cele-brate the return of thegrowing season. Thisyear, guests received freegarden hats with a pur-chase. The vineyard’swood oven was fired up toprepare gourmet appetiz-ers and Swiss Raclette,Pizzette and other spe-cialty cheeses were avail-able for tasting alongwith wine by the glass orbottle — each priced sep-arately.

The winery also hosts apoetry festival, food tast-ing events, jazz nights,wine tastings and din-ners. And, it has a fullystocked gift shop filledwith its own wines, wineaccessories and gifts.

“We’re approaching our15th year now and it’sedifying to see how muchwe’ve grown during allthis time,” said Paula. “Inthe future, we hope toincrease our organic wineproduction with helpfrom the Midwest Organicand SustainableEducation Service[MOSES], we hope tobecome more involvedwith the organic and bio-dynamic aspects of grow-ing. Not only for our-selves, but to help findand train growers whoalso want to make thetransition to organic andsustainable growingoperations.”

Vineyards owner took the leap from brewer to winemaker

The Great Annual Grape Stomp was voted SouthernMinnesota’s Best Event. The annual stomp drawsmore than 3,000 visitors.

The Marti family, from left to right, are Ben, assistant wine maker; Paula, owner andgeneral manager; Georg, owner and wine maker; and Adam, regional sales director.

Photo courtesy of Morgan Creek Winery

“We are pleased to finally put to anend the nearly decade-long debate overdirect shipment of wine,” AttorneyGeneral Jeffrey S. Chiesa said. “NewJersey residents will now have anotherconvenient way to purchase the excel-lent wines offered by our many fineGarden State wineries, as well aswineries throughout the country.”

As you know, on Jan. 17, 2012,Governor Chris Christie signed S-3172,legislation which permits direct ship-ping of wine to New Jersey residentsfrom small wineries only, defined asthose wineries that produce 250,000gallons or less of wine per year. Thishistoric legislation enables the state’swine industry to expand and continueto produce award-winning wines, fur-ther enhancing New Jersey’s nationalimage as a major wine growing state.

The direct shipping legislation alsoprovides New Jersey wine consumersaccess to many more wines from New

Jersey and around the nation, whichare not available on the shelves of NewJersey wine retailers. And, the legisla-tion stimulates agri-tourism, pre-serves farmland, and creates jobs. Asprovided in the legislation, S-3172takes effect on the first day of thefourth month after enactment, whichwas May 1.

“This is truly an historic day that wasa long time coming. We can now begina period that will allow our wineries toreach a broader audience and exposeour award-winning wines to consumersthroughout the state and country,”said Ollie Tomasello, Chairman of theGarden State Wine GrowersAssociation and owner of Plagido’sWinery in Hammonton.

• As of May 1, any New Jersey winerycan ship up to 12 cases per year to anystate resident 21 years of age or older.

• Any New Jersey winery, if it choos-es to do so, may apply for a direct ship-

ping license in any of the 38 otherdirect shipping permissible states.License permitting, New Jersey winer-ies may also directly ship up to 12cases per year to an out-of-state resi-dent 21 years of age or older.

• Applications and instructions areavailable with the New Jersey Divisionof Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC)and the Division of Taxation for an out-of-state small winery to directly ship upto 12 cases per year to a New Jersey

resident 21 years of age or older.This is a major turning point for New

Jersey’s wineries and consumers,which could never have been accom-plished without the efforts of thou-sands of UnCorkNJ supporters, who lettheir elected representatives know dailyof their commitment to passing the leg-islation. UnCorkNJ thanks all of itssupporters for their efforts.

Visit www.uncorknj.com for moreinformation.

Tasting room Manager Scott Turnnidge, behind the counter, chatswith guests at the tasting bar in Silenus’s tasting room.

Cover photo courtesy of Silenus Vintners

The Bi-Monthly Newspaper for all segments for the Wine and Grape industrywww.wineandgrapegrower.com

(518) 673-3237 • Fax # (518) 673-2381Wine & Grape Grower is published monthly by Lee Publications, P.O. Box 121, 6113 St. Hwy. 5,Palatine Bridge, NY 13428.Periodical postage paid at Palatine Bridge, NY 13428.Subscription Price: $12 per year. Digital Subscription: $12 for 2 years. Canada $55 per year.POSTMASTER: Send address change to Wine & Grape Grower, P.O. Box 121, Subscription Dept.,Palatine Bridge, NY 13428-0121.Publisher, President........................................Frederick W. LeeVice-President Production ..........................Mark W. Lee, ext. 132..........................mlee@leepub.comVice-President & General Manager ..........Bruce Button, ext. 104 .....................bbutton@leepub.comComptroller ................................................Robert Moyer, ext. 148.....................bmoyer@leepub.comProduction Coordinator ............................Jessica Mackay, ext. 137..................jmackay@leepub.comEditor ......................................................Joan Kark-Wren, ext. 141...............jkarkwren@leepub.comPage Composition ..................................Michelle Gressler, ext. 138 .................aswartz@leepub.comClassified Ad Manager ..............................Peggy Patrei, ext. 111 ..................classified@leepub.comPalatine Bridge, Main Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518-673-3237Accounting/Billing Office . . . . . . . . 518-673-2269. . . . . . . . . . . amoyer@leepub.comSubscriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518-673-2448 . . . . . subscriptions@leepub.comWebsite: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.leepub.comSend all correspondence to:PO Box 121, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428Fax (518) 673-2699Editorial Email: jkarkwren@leepub.comAdvertising Email: jmackay@leepub.com

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We cannot GUARANTEE the return of photographs. Publisher not responsible for typographicalerrors. Size, style of type and locations of advertisements are left to the discretion of the publisher.The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. We will notknowingly accept or publish advertising which is fraudulent or misleading in nature. The publisherreserves the sole right to edit, revise or reject any and all advertising with or without cause beingassigned which in his judgement is unwholesome or contrary to the interest of this publication. Weassume no financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisement, but if at fault, will reprintthat portion of the ad in which the error appears.

by Eric Stafne, Mississippi StateUniversity

Safety procedures while working inthe vineyard are primarily linked tocommon sense. One period where safe-ty becomes an elevated concern is dur-ing pruning. Vines can be pruned man-ually or mechanically, but prudent safe-ty measures should be used regardlessof the method. When pruning manually,follow a few easy tips to prevent injury:

• Provide (or attend) a pruning safe-ty training.

• Wear eye protection at all times.• Wear leather (or other) appropriate

gloves.• Keep pruning equipment (pruning

shears, loppers, saws, etc.) sharp andclean.

• Conduct post-pruning mainte-nance on equipment to keep it inworking order.

• Visually identify non-vine materialsuch as fingers, wires, and postsbefore making a cut.

• Keep fingers away from cuttingsource and the material to be pruned.

• If appropriate, sterilize equip-ment after pruning disease-infectedmaterial.

• Pruning done in the dormant sea-son, when the weather can be cold and

damp, can lead to a potential forhypothermia. Be sure to dress appro-priately for any weather condition.

• Summer pruning during hot, dryconditions may lead to heat exhaus-tion or heat stroke. Take water breaksand rest in the shade.

• Have an emergency plan in place incase an incident occurs. Crew leadersshould be familiar with first aid proce-dures and perhaps be required to havea first aid certification.

• Be familiar with and meet staterequirements for placement of bath-room accommodations with adequatehand-washing facilities.

Source: www.extension.org

Vineyard pruning safety

Identify non-vine material before makinga cut.

PALATINE BRIDGE, NY — LeePublications announces the additionof Kathy LaScala to its sales and mar-keting team. In her role as DigitalMedia Manager, Kathy will focus ondigital product development for thefamily of Country Folks publications,which serve a variety of agriculturemarkets. In addition, Kathy will be apart of the sales team, providing agri-culture focused companies a platformof regional and national opportunitiesto extend multi-channel communica-tion and marketing efforts.

Prior to joining Lee Publications,Kathy was a national accounts manag-er at Vance Publishing. She bringsextensive experience in sales, strategicpositioning, marketing and projectdevelopment to the team.

A native New Yorker, Kathy earnedher bachelor’s degree in animal sci-ence, with a focus on dairy, fromCornell University.

Please join Lee Publications in wel-coming Kathy to the Country Folksteam!

Lee Publications produces Country

Folks, Country Folks Grower, CountryFolks Mane Stream, Wine & GrapeGrower and Small Farm Quarterly,along with a line of publications reach-ing the construction and quarry market.

Kathy La Scala joins Lee Publications

Kathy LaScala joins Lee Publications.

Direct shipping now a reality in New Jersey

RICHMOND, VA — Anewly released eco-nomic impact studyshows that Virginia’sburgeoning wine in-dustry contributes$747 million annuallyto Virginia’s economy,an increase of 106 per-cent over the figuresfrom the last economicimpact study conduct-ed in 2005. All majoreconomic drivers ex-amined in the compre-hensive study showedsignificant double-digitpercentage growth.

“The Virginia wineindustry has seentremendous growthover last few years,”said Gov. Bob McDon-nell. “From beautifulnew wineries startingup to more and moreretail outlets andrestaurants adding ourwines to their shelves

and menus, the growthhas been very evidenteven to the casual ob-server. However, thisstudy clearly quantifiesthat growth with em-pirical data and showsthe significant econom-ic impact that the in-dustry is having acrossthe Commonwealth. Icongratulate our win-ery owners and grapegrowers for theseachievements, and Ilook forward to work-ing with them as wecontinue our efforts tomake Virginia the pre-eminent East Coastdestination for wineand winery tourism.”

The 2010 EconomicImpact Study of Wineand Wine Grapes onthe Commonwealth ofVirginia, which wascompleted by Frank,Rimmerman & Co., a

nationally recognizedaccounting and con-sulting firm that spe-cializes in wine indus-try studies, was com-missioned by the Vir-ginia Wine Board(VWB) and completedin January 2011. The2005 economic impactstudy showed that theVirginia wine industryemployed just over3,100 people and con-tributed more than$360 million to the Vir-ginia economy on anannual basis. Thestudy reflected the im-pact of approximately130 wineries in 2005.

In comparing the fig-ures from 2005 and2010, the full economicimpact of wine and winegrapes on the Virginiaeconomy has more thandoubled, from $362 mil-lion to $747 million, a106 percent increase.The number of wineriesincreased from 129 in2005 to 193 in 2010, a49 percent increase.The number of full-timeequivalent jobs atwineries and vineyardsrose from 3,162 to

4,753, a 50 percent in-crease, and wages fromjobs at wineries andvineyards increasedfrom $84 million to$156 million, an 86 per-cent increase, duringthe same time period.

The report showedsignificant growth dur-ing the five-year periodexamined in the num-ber of grape growersand grape bearingacreage as well as tax-es generated for stateand local governments.For example, the num-ber of grape growersclimbed from 262 to386, a 47 percent riseover the same period.The number of grapebearing acres in-creased from 2000 in2005 to 2,700 in 2010,a 35 percent climb.The amount of taxespaid to the state and tolocal governmentsgrew from $21 millionto $43 million, a 105percent increase.

The study also high-lights the significantimpact that tourism ishaving on the Virginiawine industry, with the

number of wine-relatedtourists visiting Vir-ginia increasing from 1million in 2005 to 1.62million in 2010, a 62percent increase. Ex-penditures related towinery tourism are updramatically as well,with $57 million in2005 versus $131 mil-lion in 2010, a 130percent increase.

“The Virginia wineindustry is one of thefastest growing seg-ments of Virginia’s di-verse agricultural in-dustry,” said Todd P.Haymore, Secretary ofAgriculture andForestry. “Most of theinvestments made,jobs created, taxesgenerated, and tourismdriven expendituresaround the wine indus-try are in rural areas,where they are makinga big impact on localeconomies. This is es-pecially good news forthose regions, and thestudy shows what pow-erful economic driversagriculture andtourism, two of Vir-ginia’s largest indus-

tries, can be for theoverall economy.”

Raising the profile ofVirginia wines andwine tourism are keycomponents of the gov-ernor’s economic de-velopment and jobscreation initiatives.The governor has pro-moted Virginia winesat the Virginia Execu-tive Mansion andthroughout Virginia,on domestic businessrecruitment visits andon international tradeand marketing mis-sions to India, Israeland countries in Eu-rope and Asia. FirstLady Maureen McDon-nell has also incorpo-rated wine and winetourism promotionsinto her First Lady Ini-tiative Team Effort orFLITE.

Sales of Virginia winereached a record highin fiscal year 2011 withmore than 462,000cases, or more than5.5 million bottles,sold. This volumemarks a sales increaseof more than 11 per-cent over the previousfiscal year. Virginiacurrently ranks fifth inthe number of wineriesin the nation with 210.Virginia is also the na-tion’s fifth largest winegrape producer.

The 2010 EconomicImpact Study of Wineand Wine Grapes on theCommonwealth of Vir-ginia study delves fur-ther into all the afore-mentioned areas andother key economicdrivers. The study alsohighlights the supportby state and regionalorganizations, includ-ing the VWB, VirginiaWineries Association,

After seven years of hardwork petitioning the Alcoholand Tobacco Tax and TradeBureau, Steve J. DeBaker ofTrout Springs Winery hasgained federal recognitionfor Northeastern Wisconsingrape-growers and wineries.

On April 23, the WisconsinLedge became the 203rdAmerican Viticultural Arearecognized by the federal gov-ernment, setting aside justunder a quarter of a million

acres to be recognized as aunique grape growing region.

Wisconsin ranks 16th inthe nation as wineries perstate, with approximately 85to 90 bonded wineries now inexistence. As the 12th largestAVA in the nation, The Wis-consin Ledge boasts just un-der 400 acres of wine grapesplanted within the vineyardsof the region and 15 bondedwineries will share this newappellation of origin.

Based on the geomorphicland mass known as the Ni-agara Escarpment, The Wis-consin Ledge is a unique re-gion where terrior is experi-enced through the karst,and dolomite bedrock, andspecific tills known to be thedeposits of the glaciers thatformed this region millionsof years ago. Based on cli-matological data taken fromthe last 125 years, DeBakerproved that the average cu-

mulative temperatures with-in the region were on aver-age 7-20 degrees warmerthan 60 miles in any direc-tion. These warmer temper-atures translate into longergrowing seasons, allowinglonger hang times for grapesto ripen. This can extendthe growing season as muchas 45 days longer than sur-rounding areas, and give aunique advantage to pro-ducing riper fruit, higher

brix, and lower acidity onFrench-American hybridgrapes; the predominantplanting in this region.

With the birth of this newAVA status, wineries likeTrout Springs will continue toproduce award-winningwines, which compete consis-tently on the national level,garnering medals, and atten-tion to one of the newest, andpromising grape-growing re-gions in the United States.

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Wisconsin Ledge earns designation as an AVA

Study: Virginia wine industry’s economic impact has doubled

Virginia 6

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ENFIELD, CT — FarmCredit East’s WineryBenchmarks programwill hold its annualmeeting in the FingerLakes Region on Aug. 8.The focus at this year’smeeting will be a betterunderstanding of theinteraction between theretail and wholesalesides of the business.

Farm Credit East isexcited to announce the2012 Winery Bench-marks guest speakerwill be Nicolas Quillé.Quillé has studiedwinemaking in variouslocations throughoutthe world, including Di-jon, Burgundy andReims, Champagne andwill share his expertisein marketing wine andhis knowledge of the

various wine grapes hehas worked with, in-cluding Pinot Noir andCabernet Sauvignon.Today he works prima-rily with Riesling as theWinemaker and GeneralManager of Pacific RimWinery in Washington.

“The Farm CreditEast Winery Bench-marks program is aunique way to measureone’s business againstindustry peers” saidGregg McConnell, di-rector of the bench-mark program. “Partici-pants receive in-depthfinancial and opera-tional analyses of theirbusiness, interact withother successful wineryowners, take part in di-alogue to better under-stand the industry and

gain constructive feed-back from an experi-enced Farm Credit Eastconsultant.”

Data collection forthis year’s program iscurrently underway.Results will be com-piled in July and indi-vidual benchmark re-ports will be provided toeach of this year’s par-ticipants just in timefor the annual meeting.For more informationon the Farm CreditEast Winery Bench-marks program contactGregg McConnell at800-929-7102 or visitthe following link:www.farmcrediteast.com / w i n e r y b e n c h -marks.aspx

In addition, FarmCredit East is the

largest lender to thewine and grape industryin the Northeast, lend-ing more than $90.7million to wineries andgrape growers acrossNew England, New Yorkand New Jersey.

Farm Credit East’s annual WineryBenchmarks program kicks off

ciation, and Virginia Vineyards As-sociation. In addition, the studynoted the significant support fromVirginia state government over thelast few years, including mentionsof the winery and vineyard estab-lishment/expansion tax credit pro-gram created by McDonnell and ap-proved by the Virginia General As-sembly in 2011 and the increase ofappropriations into the Virginia

Wine Promotion Fund for wine-re-lated research, education and mar-keting. McDonnell requested thefunding increase and the GeneralAssembly approved it in 2010.

For the full 2010 Economic ImpactStudy of Wine and Wine Grapes onthe Commonwealth of Virginia, visitthe Virginia Wine Marketing Office’swebsite at www.virginiawine.org/ orcall 804-344-8200.

Virginia from 5

by William Nail, The Connecticut AgriculturalExperiment Station

Goals of mature vine trainingThe goals of training mature vines are to com-

plement the pruning strategies employed. Theprincipal goal is to expose as much leaf surfacearea, and usually fruit, to as much sunlight aspossible. Well-exposed leaves are photosyntheti-cally active, resulting in increased fruit qualityand vine health. Shaded leaves do not contributesignificantly to whole-vine photosynthesis, andmay even become a carbon drain on the vine.Fruit exposed to sunlight increases berry metab-olism during the ripening process through acombination of increased temperature and, espe-cially with red cultivars, direct sunlight effects.

The exact practices employed to achieve thesegoals will depend on the training system beingused. The examples used are designed for thetwo simplest and most common training sys-tems, vertical shoot positioning (VSP) and thehigh wire Hudson River Umbrella (HRU). Theprinciples can be adapted to other training sys-tems, such as those described in Sunlight IntoWine (Smart and Robinson, 1991). The principlesare applicable to both spur-pruned (cordon) andcane-pruned vines in most training systems.Growers can adapt these principles to their owngrowing situations, depending on practical mat-ters such as local environmental conditions,available labor or mechanization, and desiredyield and fruit quality.

Mature vines grow very rapidly early in the grow-ing season. If certain management activities arenot completed on time, they can become unman-ageable within a week, so attention must be paidto vine phenology. If growth gets out of hand, it cancost the grower more money in management andmay lead to over-crowding, disease infection, etc.

Practices common to both training systemsThese may need to be adapted to your local

conditions, and are listed in approximatechronological order:

1. Thin shoots to four to five fruitful shoots perlinear foot of row. Selectively remove non-fruitfulshoots before fruitful shoots. This is best if donebefore bloom when inflorescences are visible andthe shoot is short (less than 6 inches in length).If the shoots are too long, they can not be re-moved as easily and may result in problems withshoot removal.

2. Remove all young shoots from the trunk —those growing between the base of the vine andabout four to six inches below the fruit zone.This is easily done by rubbing gloved hands upand down the trunk(s). Renewal shoots at thebase and in the fruit zone may be reserved, de-pending on your management practices.

3. Thin fruit post-fruit set if the crop is too largeto maintain desired fruit quality or vine balance.Selective removal of distal clusters is usuallypreferable, as they develop slightly later than basalclusters. In some cases, removal of the distal clus-ter may be preferred to position fruit so clustersare not touching (avoid disease development).

4. Train shoots up (for VSP) or down (for HRU).Multiple passes are usually necessary to achieveproper season-long shoot positioning. For VSP,shoots are tucked in or tied to trellis catch wires.Depending on the trellis, shoots are eithertucked under or tied to permanently placedwires, or catch wires are moved into position inthe trellis as the shoots grow. Downward posi-tioned shoots are “combed” into place on bothsides of the canopy. In both situations, shootsshould be vertical and not allowed to grow hori-zontally along the vine row.

5. Remove leaves in the fruit zone if desired.This exposes fruit to sunlight, which can be ben-eficial to fruit quality, especially in cool growingareas. Leaf removal also allows fruit to dry earli-

er in the day if moisture is a concern, and allowsfor better spray penetration for disease and insectcontrol. This should be done after fruit set. Thelater leaf removal is done, the greater the possi-bility of sun scald damage on fruit, and the ef-fects on fruit ripening and composition diminish.

6. Both vertical and lateral hedging are fre-quently employed on VSP and related systems toprevent leaf and fruit shading and reduce be-tween-row crowding. Top hedging, especially ifdone earlier in the season, tends to result in in-creased lateral shoot growth. Lateral shootgrowth can be undesirable as it increases canopydensity. Reducing vine vigor, if possible, helps tomitigate or reduce the need for hedging. If morethan two passes of hedging are normally re-quired during a season, you should try to de-crease vine vigor in subsequent seasons. Re-moval of lateral shoots on the main shoot can beconducted; this is done to avoid shading and tohelp prevent the development of secondary clus-ters. Depending on the training system, lateralsmay be beneficial if maintained on the vine, asthey provide younger leaves that are more effi-cient in photosynthesis. Assessment of whetherto remove laterals depends on your vineyardmanagement budget as this can be an expensiveoperation if done with manual labor.

7. Remove late developing or excess clusters, ifappropriate to your growing situation, to improveripening and fruit quality. If done post-veraison,it should be done as soon afterward as possibleto allow the vine to direct all its resources to theretained fruit. Doing the thinning at veraisonalso helps you determine which fruit is laggingbehind as the color development is behind aswell as berry size and softening (e.g., green clus-ters among clusters that are further along in col-oring). Note that installation of bird nettinglargely inhibits late-season training, so all train-ing should be done prior to netting.

Source: www.extension.org

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Mature vine training

LANCASTER, PA —Exhibit space is sellingbriskly for the EasternWinery Exposition(EWE) March 6-7, 2013at the Lancaster CountyConvention Center and

Lancaster Marriott atPenn Square. The tradeshow floor space hasexpanded by 25 percentto 242 booths totalcompared to 181 for2012 — which sold out

five weeks in advance.At this writing there

are 73 companiessigned up to exhibit atEWE in 2013, withover 50 percent of thetrade show floor al-ready sold out 10months in advance.Exhibitors includevineyard and winerysuppliers and majorequipment suppliersProspero and Criveller.Seven companies whoexhibited in 2012 haveincreased their exhibitspace for 2013.

An updated list of2013 exhibitors isavailable online atwww.easternwineryex-position.com. To re-serve space for the2013 show, contactshow manager BobMignarri at 401-885-8788, ext. 11, or e-mail

him at bob@eastern-wineryexposition.com.

About Eastern Winery Exposition The Eastern Winery

Exposition is an east-ern-focused wine in-dustry trade show andconference designed toprovide the eastern U.S.and Canadian wineriesand vineyards with aneasily accessible, low-cost professional meet-ing with a large numberof winery and vineyardsuppliers. Wines &Vines is the primaryshow sponsor. A strongseminar program, ex-hibit hall featuring sup-pliers relevant to the re-gion’s business of winemaking, networkingevents and state associ-ation participation areall integral componentsof EWE.

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by Mark Chien, Pennsyl-vania State University

The two managementareas that can most af-fect the outcome ofgrape quality in a grow-ing season are propercanopy and fruit zonemanagement. This arti-cle focuses on canopymanagement: what itis, how it’s done, andwhen it makes econom-ic sense.

Canopy and yieldmanagement begin be-fore vineyard estab-lishment. The conceptof vine size and bal-ance are important toachieving a manage-able canopy and fruitzone. The grower istrying to balance thevegetative and repro-ductive processes ofthe vine, and the firststeps are choosing thecorrect site, correctc u l t i v a r / r o o t s t o c k ,and the correct vinespacing.

On a site with deep,fertile soils with highwater holding capacity,it is likely a large vinewill emerge with lots offoliage and fruit, whichmeets the needs of larg-er production vine-yards. In winegrapeproduction, a small- tomoderate-sized vine ispreferred, where energyis used less on produc-ing leaves and more onripening fruit. In anyproduction scenario, abalanced vine is re-quired to produce opti-mum fruit quality thata given site will sup-port, and will define thewine style and pricepoint objectives.

What is canopy management?

Vines have to be man-aged according to thetargeted style and pricepoint of the wine beingproduced. In the best ofall worlds, the resultingvines are in perfect bal-ance and very little in-tervention or manipula-tion must be done, butthis is the rarely thecase. Canopy manage-ment is necessary in in-verse proportion to thequalities of the vineyardsite — poorer sites usu-ally require more inter-vention. In the absence

of natural canopy andcrop balance, the grow-er must apply viticul-tural practices to guidethe vine and fruit intobalance, with the resultbeing perfectly maturefruit for wine making.Winegrape growershave two key objectives:

To produce optimalmature fruit for winemaking

To acclimate vinesfully to maximum coldhardiness (especially incold-winter wine grow-ing regions)

In practice, canopymanagement involves:

• pruning• shoot thinning• sucker and water-

sprout removal• shoot positioning• leaf and lateral

removal• hedging and any

other practice that ma-nipulates shoots andleaves

Good canopy manage-ment begins with care-ful and proper vinetraining with specialconsiderations given tocanopy architecture,such as overall canopyheight and fruit wireheight. These dimen-sions will have great im-plications for the per-formance of canopy andfruit. The choice oftraining and trellis sys-tem, e.g. cane or cor-don, VSP or high wire,single or divided sys-tems, will impactcanopy design, perform-ance and management.

PruningPruning sets the tone

for canopy and crop lev-els. Pruning severitywill affect just aboutevery parameter of thecanopy during thegrowing season fromshoot number andlength, to distributionof shoots and clusterswithin the canopy.Pruning is the first at-tempt in the season tobalance the vine’s fo-liage with the crop size.

Shoot thinningAs shoots begin to

grow, suckering andshoot thinning allowthe grower to adjustshoot numbers toachieve optimal distri-bution, density and leaf

area to ripen the ex-pected crop. It improvescanopy configurationby limiting shoot densi-ty and is the first effortafter bud break to regu-late crop size.

Shoot positioningShoot positioning will

improve the canopyperformance of almostany training system,whether single or divid-ed, vertical or horizon-tal. As with shoot thin-ning, shoot positioningseeks to improvecanopy configurationand reduce the amountof shading created byoverlapping shoots.

Wire moving is also akey part of shoot posi-tioning. If it is doneproperly and in a timelymanner, it can greatlyenhance canopy archi-tecture and reduce theamount of hand posi-tioning needed. Timingis probably more criti-cal for wire movingthan any other canopymanagement practice.Wires are moved whenshoots are rapidlygrowing. If done tooearly, the shoots willnot stay in place. If toolate, it becomes neces-sary to bend and tuckshoots, which oftenleads to breakage. Mov-able catch wires arepreferred over fixedwires so they can bepulled away from thecanopy and used tosweep shoots inside thewire and into an up-ward position. In mostcases, two to threepairs of movable catchwires are adequate forthis task. Shoots can beheld in place with wire,plastic clips, or branchlocks.

Leaf and lateral removal

The purpose of leafremoval is to open upthe interior of thecanopy to light and airto help promote fruitripening, reduce dis-ease pressure and in-crease spray coverage.If conducted correctly,the benefits to grapequality can be dramaticas exposure can en-hance fruit and wineflavor, color and winetexture.

Cooler regions tend topay much closer atten-tion to leaf removal,early in the season fordisease control and lat-er for fruit ripeningbenefits. In some coolareas such as Long Is-land of New York or theWillamette Valley ofOregon, as the ripeningperiod stretches intomid- to late Octoberand the sun lowers onthe horizon and daysare cool, the fruit zonewill be completelystripped of leaves to in-crease the temperatureof the berries. The addi-tional heat helps todrive temperature-de-pendent metabolicprocesses responsiblefor the maturation offlavor, color, andphenolic compounds,as well as continueto dissipatemethoxypyrazines.

In hot areas, leavesare retained to provideshade and a cooler en-vironment for fruit andmay be removed later inthe season, even afterveraison as the temper-atures become cooler,but always with thethreat of sunburn ifthere is an unexpectedheat spike.

Leaf removal can alsotake the form of lateralremoval, which issometimes preferred toretain basal leaves thatprotect fruit from sun-burn while opening theinterior of the canopy.Tunneling is a practice

where lower, interiorleaves are removed.This must be done byhand and is time con-suming and expensive.It may be requiredwhere vines have highvigor and biggercanopies.

There are a variety ofmechanical leaf re-movers with differentremoval mechanisms:pulsed air bursts toshred leaves, fans andblades that cult leaves,and rollers that pullleaves into cuttingknives. The trick is toremove the correctamount of leaves in theproper location andavoid damaging fruit inthe process. It is easy tobruise berries if theyare brushed by a handor machine, dependingon the stage of applica-tion.Other considerationsOn a vertical shoot

position system, otherlate-season canopymanagement practicesinclude hedging, oftenon the sides and top ofthe canopy. The appli-cation of bird nets willalso have an effect oncanopy configurationand needs to be takeninto consideration.

It may be necessaryto repeat these canopymanagement practiceslater in the season toachieve the desired ef-fect. For example, leafremoval may requirean early, mid- and late-season pass. Crop thin-

ning may also requiremultiple passes to getthe crop size just right.

Insect, disease, andother abiotic causessuch as frost, hail,lightning, and winddamage will also impactthe vine canopy duringthe growing season andmust be accounted forwhen considering theamount of leaf areanecessary to ripen thegrapes. If excessivedamage occurs, thecrop must be adjustedto reflect the remainingfoliage’s ability to fullyripen that fruit.

SummaryCanopy and fruit zone

management are twodistinct concepts andpractices that are inter-twined and anythingdone to one will affectthe other. Crop size canaffect vigor of a vine andis sometimes used toslow down vegetativegrowth. The canopy rep-resents the solar panelsthat catch sunlight toconvert to sugars andenhance ripening. Thesugars also are used forenergy to drive plantmetabolic processes, in-cluding those that syn-thesize flavor, color, andphenolic compoundsthat characterize eachvariety. Manipulation ofthe canopy has a directeffect on fruit chem-istry, composition, andquality.

Source: www.exten-sion.org

Fundamentals of canopy management

by Sally ColbyDave and Kathy Reid

are experienced fruitgrowers in the BuchananValley region of AdamsCounty, Pennsylvania,but growing wine grapes,making wine and sellingdirectly to consumersthrough a tasting roomis a relatively new ven-ture for them.

“For the past 35 years,we’ve grown tree fruit

and small fruits forfarmers’ markets,” saidDave Reid. “I’ve beengrowing Concord andAmerican-type grapesfor the market, then in2002, I put in winegrapes.” In addition tothe 20 varieties of tablegrapes for the freshmarket, Reid growsabout 20 varieties ofwine grapes rangingfrom classic vinifera to

Sagrantino, an Italianvariety from the Umbriaregion of Italy.

Although Reid wasn’tan experienced wine-maker when he first putvines in the ground, hehad been a hobby wine-maker for many years.“As we saw the potentialfor a business,” he said,“I realized that eventhough I liked red wines,fruit wines would be the

other half of the busi-ness for people whoaren’t naturally winedrinkers.”

Reid makes fruit wineswith only fresh fruit, in-cluding their own straw-berries and blueberrieswhenever possible.

Once the Reids hadwine to sell, they createda tasting room on thefarm. However, they re-alized their location was-n’t drawing the cus-tomers they knew wereseeking wine. “As salesprogressed at the homefarm, we knew there wasno way we would getpeople out here unlesswe built something dedi-cated here, or we couldtake advantage of the lo-cation of Gettysburg,”said Reid. “We’re tryingto catch more of the po-tential sales with thecrowd in Gettysburg, sowith the tourism trade,it was a natural mix.What really got us in thedoor was when wehooked up with the Ma-son-Dixon Wine Trail.”

The Reids’ tastingroom, which is a houselocated in historic Get-tysburg, is now startingits third season. But it is-n’t just an ordinaryhouse — it was built in1820, and is the birth-place of Jenny Wade —the only civilian casualtyof the American Civil WarBattle of Gettysburg.

The house is a typical1800s-era building —just what visitors to Get-tysburg expect to see —with wide-plank flooring,narrow hallways andsmall rooms filled withsimple yet inviting peri-od décor. As visitors stepinside, a greeter pro-vides a bit of a historylesson, then invitesguests to try wines. “Aspeople come in, we askthem their preference,”said Reid. “We try to geta feel for what they pre-fer. We have both drywines and sweeterdessert wines, so ifsomeone isn’t a dry reddrinker, we’ll steer themtoward our fruit winessuch as blueberry,strawberry or cherry. Wetry to put people at ease— that’s our focuswhether the person issomeone who has beento France and back, orjust starting to drinkwine. We try to findsomething they’ll like.”

Wine names are remi-niscent of Civil War timeand place, such as a se-lection of reds that in-cludes Richmond’sRebel, Seminary RidgeRed and Angels of theBattlefield. Reid saysthat people can be easilyintimidated by thewealth of knowledge thatgoes with wine tasting,so the staff aims to putguests at ease and make

wine tasting an enjoy-able experience. “Wewant people to keep anopen mind,” said Reid ashe explained how staffhelps guests taste andselect wine. “Sometimespeople go out the doorwith a red wine becausethey found somethingthey like.”

Downstairs, visitorscan view the selection ofwines and sample whatthey like. The upstairsincludes a sewing room— Jenny Wade was aseamstress — and theother room is referred toas the upper salon, theroom in which JennyWade was born. An out-door patio area behindthe house provides aninviting fresh-air spotfor wine tasting. Reidnoted that it took a yearor two to entice cus-tomers to visit their in-town location, but thisseason has picked upconsiderably.

Reid has found thatwinemaking involveshard science, trial anderror, common senseand a lot of reading. “Atfirst we focused on pro-duction, then on quali-ty,” he said. “We’velearned over the years totake it one step at atime.”

Visit Reid’s Orchardand Winery on line atwww.reidsorchardwin-ery.com

A tasting room that’s outside the box

Jeanne Crossland, on left, explains one of the dry red wines offered at Reid’s Or-chard and Winery to a visitor from New York.

The tasting room for Reid's Orchard and Winery is the birthplace of Jenny Wade, lo-cated in the historic section of Gettysburg, PA.

Photos by Sally Colby

by Amy Chiurco, ThePersonnel Perspective

Spring is here and asthe sun shines down,people look to get out ofthe house and enjoy theoutdoors. What betterplace to do that thanwine country! As theymake their way to yourtasting room ask your-self this, do you havethe right team in place?Will your staff provideyour guests with amemorable experience,one where they leavethe tasting room with abetter understanding ofyour wines, and a fewbottles to enjoy downthe road?

The direct-to-con-sumer sales channel inthe U.S, is set to drivethe growth of wine con-sumption over the next10 years, with sales ris-ing from 7 million 9-litercases in 2011 to around22 million by 2021, ac-cording to a new report.

A successful Direct toConsumer program is a

top priority in achiev-ing your winery rev-enue goals. Just lastyear, wine industry Di-rect to Consumer salesgrew in value by almost9 percent. Cutting the“middleman” out andselling wine directlyout of the tasting room,through a wine club,from your website, orfrom phone ordersmeans increased profit.Having the right personor people handlingthese responsibilities isessential to achievingrevenue success.

Some key roles in-clude: Director of Re-tail Operations, Hospi-tality Director, TastingRoom Manager, WineClub Manager and Di-rector of Direct to Con-sumer Sales. These arethe people represent-ing your brand, sellingyour product, creatinga memorable experi-ence, enticing the cus-tomer, and drivingyour revenue stream.

These people need tobe “stars.”

Take a good look atyour staff and deter-mine whether you havethe team you need todrive continued suc-cess. Ask yourself thefollowing questions:Are there any key posi-tions that need to becreated? Does any staffmember carry toomuch responsibility?Do workloads need toshift? Does this mean anew hire is necessary?It may be time to finetune your organizationin preparation for asuccessful year.

Keep in mind theskill set you are look-ing for. For example, aperson with a back-ground in fine diningor tourism may be agreat candidate foryour Director of Hospi-tality as they will havehad practice in creat-ing an experience fortheir customers. Theymay also be great un-

der pressure, havingrun a busy section at arestaurant, or theymay have a vast knowl-edge of the area fromtheir time in tourism,especially the hotel in-dustry. These traitswill carry over intotheir role in your tast-ing room, allowingthem to handle a busySaturday with easeand field questions likea pro. Looking outsidethe wine industry cansometimes lead you tothat perfect fit.

Now is the time tomake sure you maxi-mize on all that youhave. Take advantageof your tasting roomand the traffic; turn itinto profit! With theright team in place anda good Direct to Con-sumer program youwill do just that.

The Personnel Per-spective is a wine indus-try recruiting and HRconsulting firm. Theyare able to help you

identify the skills need-ed to meet your goalsbased on your Direct toConsumer program and

assure you are hiringtop performers who willhave an impact on yourbottom line.

Tasting room traffic and direct to consumer sales mean big money

Monterey Wine Country hasexperienced an enormous 40percent increase in tastingrooms open to the public overthe last year. This growth hasalso contributed to an increasein tasting room guests in Mon-terey Wine Country, as well aswine tasting being an increasingmotivation for travelers to visitthe region.

The Monterey County Conven-tion and Visitor’s Bureau Visita-tion Study, conducted in 2011,noted that 21 percent of visitorsparticipate in wine tasting whilein Monterey. The increase in mo-tivation to come to Monterey fora wine country experience is up50 percent, while those who par-ticipated in a wine country expe-rience once in Monterey rose by40 percent over the same studyconducted in 2009.

Guests to the area certainlyhave more knowledge and access

to the tasting rooms throughseveral new navigational toolsthat have been developed by theMonterey County Vintners &Growers Association. These in-clude a mobile phone applica-tion, wine trail signage, onlinemaps and guides, and artisticmurals that depict that viticul-ture region and are located atkey access points along the welltraveled Highway 101.

“For winegrowers and wine-makers, Monterey is a hotbed ofnew activity,” said Rhonda Motil,executive director of the Mon-terey County Vintners & GrowersAssociation. “While many of themhave been singing the praises ofthis region’s unique terroir fordecades, others are witnessing itfor the first time and are pleasedto discover the quality andgrowth of the region.”

Carmel by the Sea has experi-enced the strongest growth in

tasting rooms over the last yearwith the addition of Figge Cel-lars, Caraccioli Cellars andCoastview Vineyards, whileScheid Vineyards and WrathWines have added additionaltasting rooms in the picturesquevillage. In neighboring CarmelValley, Holman Ranch, SilvestriVineyards, Dawn’s Dream andChock Rock Vineyard havejoined the scores of others whocall the Carmel Valley theirhome. Additionally, McIntyreVineyards has opened a tastingstudio at the Hyatt in Monterey,Marin’s Vineyard opened theirtasting room in Lockwood andTalbott Vineyard’s second loca-tion on River Road has addedanother option along the RiverRoad Wine Trail.

Additional details are availableby visiting www.Monterey-Wines.org or by calling831-375-9400.

Monterey County, California sees rapidgrowth in wine tasting room visits

Miguel Gomez, assis-tant professor, CharlesH. Dyson School of Ap-plied Economics andManangement, CornellUniversity, conducted astudy measuring cus-tomer satisfactionbased on attributes of12 winery tastingrooms in the FingerLakes region of New

York in 2010. The studyshowed that customersatisfaction is directlytied to increased sales.Excellent service and asuitable tasting roomincreased customersatisfaction, which ledto increased wine pur-chases (on average onemore bottle per visit).

Tasting room man-

agers should focus onfive areas to improvecustomer satisfactionand sales:

• service,• atmosphere,• tasting experience,• retail execution,

and• tasting protocol.Source: www.exten-

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Photo courtesy of Silenus Vintners

by Karl H. KazaksRICHMOND, VA — Wineries

Unlimited, the largest winetrade show in the eastern U.S.,held its 36th conference andtrade show March 27-29 at theGreater Richmond ConventionCenter. Attendance numberedin the thousands, with wellover 200 exhibitors fromthroughout the U.S. as well asfrom Canada and Europe. Thisyear’s theme was “Eastern inScope, Diverse in Flavor.”

The first day of the event wasa day-long marketing and cus-tomer service seminar billed asWinery DIY. It was led byElizabeth Slater, founder of InShort Direct Marketing, a con-sulting business that has foralmost 20 years helped winer-ies and the wine industry builddirect sales. She spoke in theday’s first session about designinga messaging strategy.

Messaging, Slater said, is“getting the right informationthrough the right channels tothe right people at the righttime.” Being consistent andrepetitive in your messaging iscritically important, she said.

When designing your mes-saging strategy, Slater advisedattendees to think about whatsets them apart and to usethose unique qualities to buildtheir messaging campaign.

There are several types ofmessaging. Image messagingincludes messages you wantcustomers to remember for along time. Spot messaging aremessages specific and possiblytime-limited. Outside mes-

sages are messages sentthrough channels outside ofyour own business. Insidemessages are messages sentthrough your business itself —how an employee answers thephone, the overall feel of yourtasting room, the cleanlinessof the parking lot, the informa-tion provided by tasting roomstaff during a tasting, etc.

When designing a message,remember what Slater callsthe “Four C’s.” Messages aremost effective when they areclear, concise, consistent, andconnective — connectivemeaning they connect themessage to the person towhom you are addressing the

message, getting that personinvested or involved in theimage you are trying to create.

When messaging, Slatersaid, it is useful to delineateand define subsets within yourtarget audience. Some mes-sages are more appropriate fordifferent groups (one suchgroup, for example, is themembers of a wine club).Think about how the trend inInternet advertising is to pro-vide targeted advertising toeach individual’s recordedpreference. Make a record ofthe preferences you find note-worthy, and tailor your mes-sages based on those prefer-ences.

When planning events, theproper timeline is to send out asave-the-date announcementsix months in advance, aninvitation three months inadvance, a postcard thereafterto those who did not respondto the invitation, and then areminder e-mail a week inadvance. This way you can tar-get not only those who planwell in advance, but also thosewho wait until the last minuteto plan.

When sending e-mails orwhen working with computermessaging, remember to beunique and distinctive. What’smore, be concise — use whitespace. Also, create different e-mails for different target audi-ences. Finally, always meas-ure your open and clickthrough rates to see what isworking in your messagingand what is not.

Later in Winery DIY,Chrysalis Vineyards proprietorJennifer McCloud spoke aboutsome of her tips to drive tast-ing room sales. “The goal is notto foster distribution sales,”she said, “but to sell direct.”

At her tasting room, sheoffers two types of tasting —

Estate and Reserve. The Estatetasting involves seven wines,the Reserve tasting 12 wines. Adifferent size tasting glass isgiven to different types of tast-ing customers — that way hertasting room associates willknow automatically whichtype of tasting the customerhas purchased.

Ideally, all customers willwait no longer than 15 min-utes before starting their tast-ing. When the wait is longerthan that, McCloud will givethem a complimentary glass ofwine — “something to mollifythem.”

Every month Chrysalissends out an e-newsletter,with various sections, includ-ing a guest chef section,reports from The TastingRoom, the Winemaker, and theVineyard, and a Note fromJenni.

John Springer, a consultanton leadership and teambuild-ing, spoke about how to fosterthose qualities in your winery

team. “We start every staffmeeting with accolades,” hesaid, “Who got caught doing itright. I’m telling you peopleloving hearing their name.” Atthe end of such meetings, healso asks his team to describewhat went right at the meeting— what was effective and whatwasn’t, what suited theirlearning styles, and whatwould they change about themeeting. Being sensitive tothat feedback can create amore involved and productiveteam.

Later in the conference, anumber of sessions were heldon marketing, viticulture, andenology. Topics covered at theviticulture sessions includedearly season leaf removal as away to reduce bunch rot, vinenutrition effects on grape andwine quality, canopy manage-ment, and recent advances inwinter protection of grapes.Enology topics included theinfluence of yeast strain selec-tion on malolactic fermenta-tion and cryoextraction tech-niques for sweet production.Presenters at the information-al sessions included a numberof leaders in the eastern wineindustry, including MichaelShaps, Lucie Morton, ChrisHill, Shep Rouse, and manymore, as well as experts fromCalifornia, Michigan, andbeyond.

Wineries Unlimited alsoincluded a Tour de Vin whereattendees shared bottles oftheir wine, a Grand Gala withwine tasting and a “Taste ofVirginia” menu, as well aswine tasting happy hours inthe trade show hall. In short,the event was another suc-cessful vintage of WineriesUnlimited.

The 37th Wineries Unlimitedis scheduled for March 5-7,2013, at the GreaterRichmond Convention Center.

Wineries Unlimited Trade Show and Conference

Well over 100 people attended Winery DIY, a day-long how-to seminar on marketing and customerrelations for members of the wine industry. Winery DIY was held on the first day of the three-dayWineries Unlimited conference and trade show.

Francis Durand, left, Master Cooper with Tonnellerie Radoux USA,explains some of the intricacies of cooperage to Robert Jerman,Vice President of Markel, which sells, inter alia, filtration prod-ucts.

Frédéric Kuhlmann, Directeur Général of the Alsatian bottlingcompany Costral, brought one of his multi-closure bottling unitsto the show. This bottling line can easily switch to accommodatescrewcaps, corks, glass stoppers, crowns and a variety of othersealers.

Wineries Unlimited Trade Show and Conference

Trade show attendees take a break from visiting the booths and lectures by par-taking in a mid-afternoon wine tasting.

Seth McCombs, winemaker at AmRhein’s WineCellars, of Bent Mountain, VA, visited the show withAmRhein’s owner Russ AmRhein.

Bill Hatch, center, of Zephaniah Farm Vineyard of Leesburg, VA, inspects a newJacto A500 Airblast Sprayer. With him are Steve White, Jacto Regional SalesManager, at left, and Jim MacKenzie of MacKenzie Ag Consulting of Winchester,VA,a Jacto sales agent.

Photos by Karl Kasaks

John Springer, a leadership and teambuilding expert,spoke about how to foster those traits in winery staffmembers.

John McLarty, owner of Eaglestone Vineyards in Novia Scotia, at left, looks over apump with Todd Rausch, MG Newell salesman from Greensboro, NC.The WaukeshaCherry-Burrell PD pump has a unique close coupled design that works well inwineries. Eaglestone Vineyards grows primarily hybrid varietals, due to its norther-ly location.

Heiko Beckers, at left, of the German wine industry supplier Clemens, with U.S.offices in Woodland, CA, meets with members of the East Coast wine industry.Robert Butz, center, is a farmer who grows grapes — planted high-density — inPoolesville, MD. Shep Rouse is the owner and winemaker at Virginia’s RockbridgeVineyards.

Chris Kearney, marketing manager with HannaInstruments, at left, talks about lab equipment withBreaux Vineyards’ General Manager ChristopherBlosser and Winemaker David Pagan Castaño.

by Jon M. Casey“Start slowly, one or

two acres at first,” ad-

vised Mark Chien, Viti-culture Extension Edu-cator for Penn State Uni-

versity Cooperative Ex-tension, during a day-long “New Grape GrowerWorkshop,” held follow-ing the Eastern WineryExposition in Lancaster,PA. Chien, who alongwith Dr. Joe Fiola, Viti-culture and Small FruitSpecialist for the Univer-sity of Maryland, andDrs. John and NoemiHalbrendt of the PSUDept. of Plant Pathology,emphasized the pitfallsof starting a new vine-yard in the Mid-Atlanticgrowing area by remind-ing everyone that themoney from grape grow-ing comes primarily fromthe production of wine.

“In the 10 years that Ihave been in Pennsylva-nia, the number of vine-yards has shrunk by 50percent,” said Chien.“People realize that themoney is in wine. Rou-tinely most people whostart a vineyard areplanning to have a win-ery.” However, Chienalso said a grower whodoes an excellent job of

Workshop attendees encouraged to take starting a new vineyard, slowly at first

Dr. Joe Fiola, Viticulture and Small Fruits Specialist at the University of Maryland, en-couraged participants to purchase the Wine Grape Production Guide for EasternNorth America as an essential startup resource for the new vineyard grower.Workshop 15

growing quality grapes,will always be able tofind a market for thefruit they harvest, even ifthey do not own a win-ery. “Winery operatorsalways have a way offinding grape growerswho produce a highquality grape.”

Chien went on to ex-plain some of the thingsthat growers need tostart a vineyard, empha-sizing that the new grow-er does extensive re-search before purchas-ing vines and establish-ing a crop. He stressedthe importance of this,

because the breakevenfor return on investmentof most vineyards, is 8years. He added that thecost per acre for estab-lishing a vineyard, in-cluding the land, couldrun as much as $15,000per acre. At this rate, itwould only be a consid-eration for the most seri-ous of hobbyist.

With tongue in cheek,Chien occasionallywould ask the group ifhe had sufficiently dis-couraged any of the par-ticipants from beginninga vineyard. He wanted toknow because he hasrecognized through theyears that the degree ofcommitment required tooversee the successful

establishment of a vine-yard in this region, is ex-traordinary.

“It takes a lot of pas-sion to grow grapes,” hesaid. “The moment youlose that passion, themoment you do not havethe desire to go outsideand tend the vines, thevines recognize that im-mediately and they re-flect that in the quality ofgrape and the quality ofthe wine. That passionhas to be enduring foryou to be successful.”

Chien reiterated thatgrowing grapes requiresthe grower's full atten-tion, virtually year-round. “You will neverhave another summervacation,” he said in allsincerity. He lamentedthe number of times hereceives telephone callsfrom distressed growerswho have returned froma time away from theirvineyard, only to find thegrower's plants are in-fested with disease or in-sects or other pests havedevastated the crop.

Dr. John Halbrendt, anematologist at the PennState Department ofPlant Pathology, agreed.He went on to discuss

some of the plant virusesgrape growers will even-tually face should theychoose to grow a vine-yard in the Mid-Atlanticregion. He said there area number of ways virus-es can be transmittedthroughout the vineyard.Those methods includebeing introduced by manin the form of graftingand root cuttings, viapollen and seeds, frominsects and mites, fromnematodes and throughother forms such as rootgrafting, dodder and un-known ways as well.“Broadleaf weeds mayharbor these viruses andneed to be controlled atall times.”

He highlighted symp-toms of virus infection,which include foliar dis-coloration or deformity,changes in growth ormaturity timelines, fruitdeformation, lack of vig-or and decline in theplant's growth, and theinability for the plants tocope with other stressfactors. He suggested thegrower be sure to kill aninfected vine completelybefore removing it fromthe vineyard. He recom-mended drilling a hole inthe infected vine and in-serting a plant killingchemical in that onevine, to kill the roots andall, before pulling out theentire plant. In this way,the remnants of theplant will not live on toinfect other plants or thevine that is replaced inthe diseased plant's loca-tion. Prevention of virusinfection is a must.

In an overview of theequipment, supplies andmaterials needs for thenew vineyard grower,Chien provided extensivelists of small and largeitems a grower might in-ventory however, he en-couraged the group to becautious about rushingout to buy a lot of equip-ment before determiningtheir individual need.“Whether it is a pruningshear or a four-wheel-drive tractor that you areconsidering, they all arevery important to consid-er when starting a vine-yard,” he said. “You willwant to purchase thesethings from a reliablesource. It would be help-ful to get recommenda-tions from growers inyour area so that youcan have the kind ofsuppliers that will help

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Dr. John Halbrendt, nematologist, Dept. of Plant Pathol-ogy, PSU, discussed nematodes and grapevine virusesduring one presentation.

Workshop from 14

Workshop 16

you to have a successfulvineyard. Always consid-er the service that youwill get after the salewhen the equipmentbreaks.”

Dr. Joe Fiola, Viticul-ture and Small FruitsSpecialist at the Uni-versity of Maryland,discussed the processof site selection andhow to pick varieties ofgrapes and spacing togrow the best qualitygrapes. He recommend-ed growers pick the va-rieties of grapes thatconsistently grow wellin the grower's respec-tive locations, ratherthan picking grape vari-eties based on thegrower's favorite kind ofwine.

“Remember, this is abusiness,” he said.“You need to get grapesevery year. Certain va-rieties will not toleratelocal winters in thenortheast and mid-At-lantic and they may notripen properly. Youwant vines that will

provide high qualitygrapes every year. Inthis area, you will needto select varieties thatwill make it throughthe winter.”

Fiola emphasized thatthe growers become fa-miliar with the sciencebehind the sites that thegrowers select for theirvines. “Do you ultimatelywant to produce a $10bottle of wine or a $50bottle of wine?” heasked. “In the selectionof your varieties, it isbest to know the qualitythat you are seeking sothat you can find theright place and variety toplant and the difficultiesthat go along with rais-ing these varieties.”

He reminded themthat humidity, disease,temperature, rainfall,seasonal variances, mi-cro-climates, and vari-ous other parameterswill affect how well thegrowers do. “Remember,at the end of the growingseason, you need livingplants in your vineyard!”

he said. In other presentations

throughout the day, theDrs. Halbrendt, Fiolaand Chien covered sever-al other important topicsfor eventual success ingrowing quality grapes.Those included vineyarddesign and site prepara-tion; trellis construction,planting and plant mate-rials; early vine training,nutrition and care; dis-eases and disease con-trol; and insect week andvertebrate pest manage-ment. In all, more than60 participants conclud-ed the day knowing thatstarting a new vineyardwould ultimately need tobe a “labor of love.”

For more informationon future Grape GrowerWorkshops, contact

Mark L. Chien, Viticul-ture Educator, PennState Cooperative Exten-

sion College of Agricul-tural Sciences, 1383 Ar-cadia Road, Lancaster,

PA 17601, Tel: 717-394-6851 or e-mail at:mlc12@psu.edu.

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Mark L. Chien,Viticulture Extension Educator for PSU, covered a variety of topics dur-ing the daylong event.

Photos by Jon M. Casey

by Karen Ross, California Agriculture SecretaryWe did it! Congratulations to the agricultural

community, FFA and everyone who made this op-portunity to create a California agriculture licenseplate a reality! We have collected 8,355 plate orders— surpassing DMV’s threshold of 7,500 applica-tions to establish a California Special Interest Li-cense Plate.

The California Agriculture License Plate will sup-port future generations of farmers and ranchersthrough agricultural education, career awareness,

career training and youth leadership programs.Proceeds generated through plate renewal fees willbe awarded to agricultural education groups tosupport youth education and enrichment. It is an-ticipated that the first funding for educational pro-grams will become available in July 2013.

CDFA is still working with the Department of Mo-tor Vehicles (DMV) to incorporate the license plateinto official order forms and online registration —these should become available before the end ofthis year. Updates will be posted to the CalAgPlate

facebook and twitter accounts.If you would like to join the agriculture commu-

nity and order a license plate today, applicationsare being accepted and processed through theDMV. Simply complete the order form, print “CALAG PLATE” at the top of the document, and followpayment and mailing instructions.

The Cal Agriculture License Plate is a greatachievement for the agricultural community. Spe-cial thanks to all those individuals who made thisinitiative a success.

California Agriculture License Plate to make its debut in 2013

Workshop from 15

In May an importantgrape industry projectto reduce process watervolume and salinity wasawarded funding for anadditional three years.Dr. Gour Choudhury atCal Poly State, San Luis

Obispo was notified hewill receive $450,000from the AgriculturalResearch Institute,(ARI) for the project —Green Approaches toReduce Water Use andDischarge Salinity in

California Winery andFood Processing Clean-ing Operations. This isa project jointly sup-ported by NGWI, theWine Institute and theLeague of CaliforniaFood Processors.

“This project has thepotential to benefitevery winery and foodprocessor in Californiaand across the nation,”according to Choud-hury. “The developmentof green chemistry and

cleaning process im-provement has the po-tential to significantlyreduce salts in thewaste stream, a benefitnot only to industry,but to municipal waste-water treatment plants,

groundwater, communi-ties and the environ-ment as a whole.”

The wastewater salini-ty and disposal issuesare raising big questionsabout the future of winemaking and food pro-cessing, particularly inthe San Joaquin Valleyof California because ofever increasing treat-ment costs, limitedwastewater treatmentcapacity in some areas,and increased regulato-ry requirements. Thesechallenges are mirroredin winery and grape pro-cessing facilitiesthroughout the UnitedStates. Salinity dis-charge associated withcleaning and sanitizingfood processors andwineries can account fornearly 50 percent of thetotal salinity dischargedfrom a facility. If thissource is effectively con-trolled, it will have a sig-nificant impact on theoverall environmentalimpact of these types ofoperations.

The overall goal of theproject is to test andadapt or develop greenphysical and/or chemi-cal approaches to re-duce wastewater salini-ty and fresh water useduring cleaning opera-tions in winery and foodprocessing plants. Thespecific objectives areto: Review green chemi-cals and/or processesfor cleaning plant andequipment in allied in-dustries; Work withsuppliers to modifygreen cleaning ap-proaches to meet indus-try need and environ-mental standards; De-velop analytical meth-ods to determine soilload and successfulcleaning operation; De-velop new physical andchemical approachesfor cleaning; Examinepotential reduction ofwastewater salinity andfresh water use; Deter-mine economics of thegreen approaches; Fa-cilitate industry-wideadoption; and Measureindustry-wide impact.Results of the researchwill be shared with thegrape industry in Cali-fornia and across theU.S.

Source: NationalGrape and Wine Initia-tive

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by Jennifer WagesterLYNDONVILLE, NY —

If taste is an indicator ofsuccess, Leonard OakesEstate Winery has abright future. This youngwinery is about tochange the way peopleview Cayuga White,along with many othernative grapes grown inthe Niagara Region.Their secret: patienceand an excellent wine-maker.

Leonard Oakes EstateWinery is part of Ly-nOaken Farms. The win-ery’s namesake, LeonardOakes, established thefarm in 1918. Apples,poultry and tomatoeswere initially grown. In1951, the farm shiftedits focus to fruit, withapples as the main crop.Today, LynOaken Farmsgrows 260 acres of ap-ples, 50 acres of tartcherries, 20 acres ofpeaches and 15 acres ofgrapes. The grapes wereplanted in 2003 and arethe source of LeonardOakes wine.

Patience can bepainful given the amountof capital needed to es-tablish productive fields,harvest fruit, and trans-form it into wine yearsbefore producing asaleable product. The

Oakes family expects toachieve profitability in2013 or 2014, a decadeafter vines were planted.The winery could havepurchased juice to beginwinemaking immediate-ly. However, waiting fortheir own fruit was worthit. The terroir has madeall the difference.

Achieving top qualityfruit has taken signifi-cant trial and error. TheOakes family workedwith a Dunkirk areanursery to identify cli-mate-adapted varieties.Sixteen were selectedand planted in the 2003test plot. Of those 16, thetop performers wereplanted in an additionalnine acres. Riesling,Cabernet Franc, andCayuga White performedwell. Pinot Grigio andSauvignon Blanc did nottake the cold. Pinot Noirproved high mainte-nance.

Jonathan Oakes ad-mits establishing a vine-yard would have beendaunting without Ly-nOaken Farms’ fruit pro-duction experience.Techniques like site andvarietal selection, soilpreparation and Inte-grated Pest Managementhoned in apple produc-tion lent themselves to

grape growing. Whenpossible, equipment al-ready on the farm wasused to establish thevineyard, and sincegrapes ripen when ap-ples ripen, picking crewshired for the season

Patience pays off at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery

Wine bottling is a small scale affair with a staff of three people. Alongside Ameri-can White Oak and French Oak barrels, their vintage of Blanc d’Orleans will enterbottles, six at a time.

Winemaker Jonathan Oakes and his grandmother and family matriarch WandaOakes assist with bottling.Leonard Oaks 19

could help with grape harvesting.These shared resources help keepcosts down.

Jonathan Oakes is part of thefourth generation at LynOakenFarms. He oversees grape productionand is the winemaker. Jonathan’s pa-tient vigilance comes out in everyglass. Constantly monitoring grapesas they mature to harvest them at thecorrect time, and then selecting wine-making practices to match the result-

ing fruit, has allowed the winery toproduce a sophisticated product fromgrape varieties many connoisseursdon’t take seriously.

Currently, Leonard Oakes bottlessingle varieties or blends to produce 23different wines. Overtime this broadrange will be pared down to a selectionof signature wines. The Blanc d’Or-leans, named for the winery’s homecounty of Orleans, is one that will stay.This smooth, crisp wine is created by

treating Cayuga White like SauvignonBlanc. Its fresh taste without a hint ofgrapey flavor sets it apart from tradi-tionally processed Cayuga Whites. TheCabernet Franc and lesser knownFrontenac are also keepers. TheCabernet Franc yields a silky fruit fla-vor that can be enjoyed alone or pairedwith food. The Frontenac’s bold, oak-inflected taste lends itself to pairingwith steak or Italian cuisine.

Wine production at Leonard Oakes issmall at 6,000 cases a year. One of Ly-nOaken Farms’ cold storage buildingswas divided into three sections tohouse wine production. Each sectionhas its own temperature setting to ac-commodate fermenting, aging, bot-tling, and storing a range of varieties.

Jonathan Oakes utilizes a selectionof American White Oak and FrenchOak barrels in varying toasts. Mediumtoast adds vanilla and butterscotchlike flavors while heavy toast con-tributes coffee and spice. French Oak,with its tighter grain, is for wines re-quiring a longer aging process. Whilethe oak barrels are used primarily forreds, Chardonnay and other whitesbenefit from oak as well. Stainlesssteal is also used for wines requiringcrisp, clean characteristics.

Bottling is a small scale affair. Sixbottles fill at a time and are corked in-dividually. The bottles are then pack-aged by hand into case boxes labeledwith the wine’s name and vintage.From there, each bottle is labeled and

then housed before being distributed.Bottle labels include the wine’s place-ment on the International RieslingFoundation (IRF) scale, which helpsconsumers match wines to theirtastes. The IRF scale moves from dryand medium dry to medium sweet andsweet based upon the wine’s sugar toacid ratio and pH.

About 85 percent of Leonard Oakeswine is sold directly to the consumer.Retail sales are conducted through theLynOaken Farms store, which in-cludes a tasting room that is open tothe public seven days a week. Wine isalso sold at local farm markets andevents. The remaining 15 percent ofsales are to local restaurants and re-tailers. Leonard Oakes’ license as anon-farm winery allows it to distributewine without outsourcing to a winedistributor.

While Leonard Oakes Estate Wineryis new, the Oakes family is optimisticabout its future. Their patience and fo-cus on quality has been rewarded withunique wines with wide-appeal. As sig-nature wines are established, carefulexpansion will be considered. However,Wendy Oakes Wilson, president ofLeonard Oakes, does not foresee ex-pansion beyond 11,000 cases. A mod-est size ensures their patience will con-tinue producing wines worthy of bear-ing the name Leonard Oakes.

More information about LeonardOakes Estate Winery is available on-line at oakeswinery.com.

Leonard Oaks from 18

COVINGTON, KY (AP) — Home-grown grapes and small wineries arereturning to Kentucky and bringingback a tradition that made the Blue-grass State the country’s third largestgrape- and wine-producing state be-fore Prohibition.

In 1998, there were only 40 acres ofwine grapes in commercial vineyardsin Kentucky, but The Kentucky En-quirer reports (http://bit.ly/Iax8N8)that today more than 113 grape pro-ducers are growing 583 acres ofgrapes. There are also 60 small farmwineries in the commonwealth.

Vineyards cover part of the hillsideabove Mark Schmidt’s 19th-centurystone home in Covington, where vinesgrew between 1877 and 1922. Latethis year, he hopes to be makingwines from the nearly two acres of red

dornfelder grapes, which produceinky red wines popular in Germany.

These modern-day wineries aredealing with all the same agriculturalissues as other farmers in Kentuckyincluding pests and weather.

Schmidt would have started pro-ducing wine two years ago, but birdsstarted eating all the grapes. He in-stalled a bird netting last year, butthen faced another critter.

“The entire crop is gone,” he said.“And I had over 2,000 pounds ofgrapes. I mean, I had a really nicecrop.”

A fellow winemaker, Julie Clinken-beard of Atwood Hill Winery, locatedabout three miles south of Indepen-dence, helped solve his mystery miss-ing fruit.

“She said, ‘Raccoons. They got

you,’” Schmidt recalled, laughing.“Two-thousand pounds of grapes, in10 days.”

Dennis Walter, president of theNorthern Kentucky Vintners andGrape Growers Association, said rac-coons are a common problem for thenew vineyards in Kentucky. “They likegrapes,” Walter confirmed.

But he said local growers are doingwell at re-establishing grapes in thestate.

“I think they’re all holding theirown,” he said. “I mean, you don’t dosomething where you lose a lot ofmoney very long.”

Walter, who also is chairman of theKentucky Grape and Wine Council,said Kentucky’s wines have been win-ning medals and praise at wineshows, but he’d also like to see the

Kentucky State Fair become a show-case for the commonwealth’s winesand market them to visitors.

“The state fair, it treats wine kind oflike it does a prize watermelon. Yeah,you win a blue ribbon and it sits outthere and everybody looks at it, andthat’s it,” he said. “It really has nolasting effect.”

The early spring brought more cus-tomers to local wineries looking foroutdoor activities and views of thevineyards.

Walter, whose StoneBrook Winerymakes a popular vidal blanc wine,said he’s bought more grapes locallythan ever before because they aregrowing in sales.

“It’s our first grape we’ve ever plant-ed, our first wine we ever made, andit’s been well received,” he said.

Kentucky grapes and wineries building momentum

CASHMERE, WA — The Washington Wine Indus-try Foundation (WWIF) tees up its 12th AnnualWine Cup® Monday, July 9, at Meadow SpringsCountry Club in Richland. The shotgun golf scram-ble begins at 1 p.m.

Wine industry supporters, golf fanatics, wine con-noisseurs and anyone who just wants to have funare invited to get their foursome together for one ofthe Foundation’s strongest annual fundraisers.

“Besides the golf, this tournament provides twosubstantial benefits to participants,” says BoardChairman Roger Gamache of Gamache Vineyardsin Mesa, WA. “When you get involved in activitieswith the Foundation you support a resource foryour company’s sustainability; essentially, you in-vest in your own sustainability. The networking,

with both industry and non-industry people — fromall over the state — has its own value, too.”

The Wine Industry Foundation is a nonprofit thatprovides resources to meet the needs of the Wash-ington wine industry through scholarships, educa-tion and research grants, funding industry needs,and offering a home to memorials.

Golfers get 18 holes of golf at the premier golf andcountry club in Washington, an evening wine recep-tion, awards dinner, goody bag, and prizes — in-cluding getaways to top Northwest golf destinations— all for $125 registration.

This year, the Foundation has added events fornon-golfers. Spend the afternoon wine tasting orcycling, and then join your colleagues for theawards dinner. “Bike tour options include a leisure-

ly 20-mile ride on the Sacajawea Trail that goesfrom Richland to south of Pasco along the river witha good pub at the half-way point,” says this year’svolunteer organizer of the non-golf activities, BillMundy of Mundy Farms, Cle Elum, WA. A wine tourto Prosser’s Vintners Village is also available. Thebike tour is $75 and the wine tour is $85 and bothinclude lunch and dinner.

Sponsorships are available and those signed upinclude: Champoux Vineyards, Lafitte Cork & Cap-sule, Chandler Reach Vineyards, Coventry ValeWinery, Stoel Rives, and Horse Heaven Hills WineGrowers.

To register a team, sponsor or donate prizes, con-tact info@washingtonwinefoundation.org or call509-782-1108.

Wine industry tees up 12th Annual Wine Cup

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E-mail announcements ofyour regional event(s) to:jkarkwren@leepub.com. Wemust receive your informa-tion, plus a contact phonenumber, prior to the dead-line that’s noted under theAnnouncements heading atthe beginning of these Clas-sifieds.

*****AUG 16

International Cold ClimateWine Competition

University of MN ContinuingEducation Conference Center.On Internet at www.mngrapegrowers.com/competition

NOV 28International Cold Climate

Grape and Wine Conference

Germany. Details soon: Interna-tional Association for NorthernViticulture.

JAN 29-31Unified Grape & Wine

ConsortiumSacramento Convention Center,Sacramento, CA. On Internet at

www.unifiedsymposium.orgJUL 29

Minnesota Grape GrowersAssociation Annual PicnicRound Lake Vineyard,30124 State Hwy 264 RoundLake, MN. On Internet athttp://mngrapegrowers.com/mgga-annual-picnic1

FEB 7Midwest Grape & Wine

Conference & Trade ShowSt. Charles, MO ConventionCenter. On Internet atw w w . m i d w e s t g r a p eandwineconference.com

FEB 21-23Minnesota Grape GrowersAssociation (MGGA) Cold

Climate ConferenceCrown Plaza, St. Paul. MN.On Internet athttp://mngrapegrowers.com/conference

MAR 6-7Eastern Winery ExpositionLancaster County Conven-tion Center & Lancaster Mar-riott at Penn Square, PA. OnInternet at http://easternwineryexposition.com

MAR 12-14Wineries Unlimited

Greater Richmond Conven-tion Center, Richmond, VA.On Internet atwww.wineriesunlimited.com

Calendarof Events

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The Palm Abbe line of handheld digital refractome-ters provides an instant digital “field” determinationof grape ripeness, grape-must concentration, grape-must density, and sugar content, as well as the po-

tential and actual alcohol content of the finishedwine. Measurements are made with a precision com-parable to mid-range bench-top refractometers cost-ing thousands of dollars more.

“With the Palm Abbe, we are able to break priceand performance barriers previously unattainable byhandheld digital refractometers,” says MichaelCaminer, MISCO Director of Marketing. “These winerefractometers represent the most complete line ofdedicated wine testing instruments ever assembled.”

Certain models display prompts and measure-ments in English, Spanish, French, German, orRussian. Other models are available with scales forvarious international units of measure includingBaume, Brix, Oechsle, KMV, Babo, specific gravity,alcoholic strength, etc. Users have the flexibility tomix and match up to five different scales on somePalm Abbe models, giving them the ability to createtruly custom wine testing instruments.

Protection against inaccurate readings due to tem-perature differences, a major concern in refractiveindex measurement, is assured with nonlinear tem-perature compensation specific to grape juices. Tem-perature compensation is automatic for fluids readbetween 0 and 50 °C (+32 to 122 °F).

The stainless-steel sample well requires only acouple of drops of fluid to take measurements. Asimple, user-friendly interface consists of two but-tons: one to take readings and the other to stepthrough various menu options. A large, dual-line,multilingual LCD display is easily read, even in dimlight.

The digital refractometer removes the subjectivityassociated with analog refractometers that requireusers to interpret where a boundary line crosses tinyscale divisions. Calibration of the Palm Abbe is auto-matic and does not require special calibration solu-tions or tools; they automatically calibrate them-selves to water.

MISCO puts laboratory bench-top precision in the palm of your hand

MISCO 24

allows chemicals to be appliedprecisely around vineyard plantswith no drifting onto plants. Roller is 6" tall with dense paintroller material attached to it.Tank capacity 5 quartsInterchangeable rollers: 4" 6"12" and 18"From $199.900 too $205.90

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PA201 – Brix OnlyFor more information,

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A world leader in therefractometer field, MIS-CO is headquartered inCleveland, OH, home tothe company for morethan 55 years. MISCOdesigns, manufacturersand sells a variety of re-fractometers, including:digital bench-top labora-tory refractometers, inlineprocess control refrac-tometers, digital hand-held refractometers, andtraditional handheldinstruments.

Misco from 23

The Northwest-based Low InputViticulture and Enology (LIVE) pro-gram was awarded an official inter-national endorsement of its inde-pendent, third-party sustainablevineyard and winery certificationprogram from the International Or-ganization for Biological Control ofNoxious Plants and Animals (IOBC).The IOBC promotes the use of sus-tainable, environmentally safe, eco-

nomically feasible and socially ac-ceptable control methods of pestsand diseases.

LIVE is the certification of limitingraw material inputs including pesti-cides, fertilizer, water, chemicals andfuel used in vineyard and winery pro-duction. LIVE has over 25,000 farmacres enrolled throughout Oregonand Washington. Producers mustcomplete two years of membership

under rigorous standards beforeachieving certification. Membersmust undergo third-party inspec-tions to verify their practices.

Each year, LIVE must apply for en-dorsement by the IOBC to continueoperating under its standards of sus-tainable winegrowing. This interna-tional endorsement proves compli-ance to GLOBALGAP standards(www.globalgap.org), a recognized

and highly-regarded standard foragricultural production. CertifiedLIVE members are also internation-ally certified by the IOBC.

Registered as a non-profit in 1999,the Oregon-based LIVE program hasbeen certifying vineyards since1997. The mission of LIVE is to pre-serve human and natural resourcesin the wine industry of the PacificNorthwest.

LIVE program receives international endorsement