Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/418083
26 DECEMBER 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com O ne of the more permanent decisions in wine grape growing is vineyard design. Make the wrong decision, and the vine- yard could be tied to expensive canopy manipulations or unable to accommodate mechanization. Four Washington State grape growers gave their thoughts on what works best in their region for vine spacing, row orientation, and trellis design. The four vineyardists shared their perspectives during a session at the annual meeting of the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers. Chris Banek is co-owner of Banek Winegrower Management, LLC, in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. He manages 250 acres of wine grapes in the Walla Walla Valley with partner Ramon Esparza. Vineyards range in size from four acres to 50. "Our goals are to produce high quality wine grapes in a progressive and sustainable manner," he said. Joe Cotta is vineyard manager for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates' Cold Creek Vineyard, located 30 miles east of Yakima, Washington. Cold Creek, first planted in 1973, includes 16 wine grape cultivars on about 850 acres. "Our philosophy and goals are to maximize leaf efficiency by manipulating canopy architecture to improve leaf expo- sure to sunlight while avoiding excessive heat exposure of fruit," said Cotta. "The general idea is to develop the canopy with the least amount of management, so that when you look at the block, we've managed it to the point that we don't need to pull leaves to improve light expo- sure." In short, he wants enough leaves to sustain high fruiting capacity without causing excessive shading. Damon LaLonde of LaLonde Consulting, LLC, is vine- yard manager of Vinagium, a Red Mountain vineyard and winery partnership, and vineyard manager and part- ner in Yakima Valley's French Creek Vineyard. LaLonde puts viticulture first and strives to maximize fruit quality through trellis design. Dr. Wade Wolfe, owner and winemaker of Thurston Wolfe Winery in Prosser, Washington, also has years of vineyard experience as a viticulture consultant and former vineyard operations director for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. His vineyard design philosophy is "keep it simple, but also keep it logical." He adds that a vineyard should be designed to maximize mechanization options. "It's important to match the vineyard layout to the variety and the site's climate, soils, and topography," he said. "Some of the biggest errors I see are when an owner comes in with design ideas without considering the site and how to match it all together." Vine spacing LaLonde: His favorite spacing is seven feet between rows, four feet between vines. "This fills in the cordon space pretty easily, without a lot of gaps, and the buds push well. When you go to wider in-row spacings of 7-by- 5- or 6-feet you don't always get good spur positions. Banek: Prefers 8-by-4-feet. Eight-foot rows are com- mon in the Walla Walla Valley, and are "middle of the road" in terms of vineyard development costs. An 8-by-4- foot spacing also allows farming on steep hillsides, helps maintain wider canopies needed for sun protection, and works well in windy sites. "Once you go below eight feet wide, you really have to look closely at your site and the equipment you'll be using," he said. "On flat ground, there's not so much of a difference, but on steep ground, the eight feet become seven, and seven feet become six." He adds that current and future equipment needs should be considered when planning vineyard designs. Wolfe: Likes rows that are eight or nine feet wide, with five or six feet within-row spacing. Vigor potential of the site should influence row spacings, he says. "Sites with high vigor potential need wider vine and row spacings," he said. "For low vigor sites, like we frequently have in eastern Washington, you should look to be going tighter between the rows and vines. Within row, it's about how fast you fill in your cordon. Between rows, it is more com- plicated and involves equipment considerations, type of trellis, and such." Cotta: Cold Creek's spacing is 8 by 5 feet, a width that allows use of both old and new equipment. Row orientation Wolfe: The vast majority of early vineyards in Washington were planted on south-facing slopes in an offset north-south orientation. But as the industry expands and plants on a wider range of slopes and aspects, he believes east-west orientation should be considered. "I've seen Cabernet Sauvignon, planted on west-facing slopes, do well on an east-west orientation. The east-west rows help protect fruit from the afternoon sun." Cotta: Most rows at Ste. Michelle are north-south. Vine sprawl on the west side of the canopy helps com- pensate for the hot, afternoon sun. LaLonde: He manages vineyards in all row directions. Red Mountain has both east-west and north-south vine- yard orientations. He hasn't noticed sunburn associated with row orientation. Banek: Prefers north-south orientation so that the hottest time of day is directly over the canopy. "When you work with small sites, a lot of times you're forced into row orientations that may not be ideal but work better for the layout. Otherwise, you could have hundreds of short rows. Either north-south or east-west orientations work as long as you understand your canopy position and where the heat is hitting it." Trellis systems Cotta: Since vineyard expansion began at Cold Creek in 2007, most of the new vines have been planted to a modified vertical shoot positioned (VSP) trellis, on which the shoots are trained upward from the horizontal cordon. "The modified VSP is a system that gives us maximum production while hitting our quality goal target," he said. It's called a modified VSP because shoots are allowed to sprawl on the western side of the canopy. The sprawl cre- ates a larger fruiting zone than traditional VSP systems, he adds. About ten acres at Cold Creek are trained to the fan system. Nearly all vines are spur-pruned. Wolfe: The fan system involves multiple trunks (four to five) trained on a two-wire vertical trellis. The fan was initially used by some in Washington as a way to provide more chances for the vines to survive winter damage but has fallen out of favor because of its higher pruning and production expenses, apical dominance issues, and increased irrigation needs. However, the system works well in spreading the canopy and fruit both horizontally and vertically and allows for good light penetration. LaLonde: Most of the vineyards he works with are trained to the bilateral cordon, with T-posts and offset crossarms used for support. He works predominantly with vineyards that are spur pruned. "Spur pruning is easier than cane pruning, and on Red Mountain, spur pruning is a more predictable way to adjust crop loads," he said. Banek: He prefers a "controlled" sprawl—a bilateral cordon system that results in a V-type canopy. "It's a vertical canopy, but you have the option of bringing up or down catch wires to tidy up the canopy or to let it sprawl. For an east-west orientation, we let it sprawl on the hot side to protect the fruiting zone and pin up shoots on the cool side." He uses baling wire loops to attach the canopy catch wires to notched posts. Crossarm supports aren't needed, which gives him mechanization options and allows shoots to be vertically positioned if necessary. Most of the vineyards he works with are spur pruned. • Grapes Designing a vineyard Four grape growers discuss their design preferences for Washington vineyards. by Melissa Hansen From left, Chris Banek, Damon LaLonde, Dr. Wade Wolfe, and Joe Cotta. PHOTO BY TJ MULLINAX