Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/56967
VINEYARD EAST COAST WATCH MARGUERITE THOMAS Going to Extremes On-the-edge viticulture presents Olympian challenges E Marguerite Thomas is a Baltimore-based journalist and photographer who contributes wine-related articles to several national and international publications. She is the author of the books "Wineries of the Eastern States" and "Visiting East Coast Wineries." xtreme winegrowing – cultivat- ing grapes and making wine at the very climatic edge of viable regions – has a lot in common with extreme sports. Think of how motocross tests the human tolerance for dealing with dirt and rough terrain, or the way bungee jumping involves a leap into the unknown on a wing and a prayer (much like starting a winery where none have dared to tread before, right?). Luge, said to be the most dangerous sport in the Olympic Games, can't be much more blood- curdling than trying to harvest fro- zen riesling grapes during an ice storm. And how about street luge, which involves racing downhill at 80 mph on a sort of modified skate- board; being crazy, they say, isn't a prerequisite for street luge, but it helps (this may sound familiar to more than a few winegrowers). I read a description of extreme sports recently that defined the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery, in New York near the Canadian border, is subjected to brutal winter temperatures. SHORT COURSE Growing grapes in very cold and very hot regions is a high-wire act. Site selection is crucial, requiring proper air circulation, good drain- age and particular soil types. Hybrids give Eastern/Southern growers a fighting chance. Shifting weather patterns have some growers relocating their vineyards. WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM al growing areas are nodding your heads knowingly right now, say- ing, "Been there, done that" – and surely growing chardonnay suc- cessfully where winter tempera- tures dip below zero qualifies as a spectacular stunt? At Leonard Oakes Estate Win- ery, winegrowing challenges are the norm. With a 90-year history of farming on this land in the north- west corner of New York state, right next to the Canadian border, the Oakes family planted its first 6 acres can include cane tip dieback, death of dormant buds and, occasionally, the death of canes and trunks. The possibility of damage depends on many factors, from grape variety to duration of cold spell, but most experts suggest extreme vine vul- nerability at minus 8°F. In punishing winter frosts during which tem- peratures can plummet to minus 20°F, little protection is possible. Grafts can be earthed up, but that isn't much help to trunks and canes whose woody parts may have MAR - APR 2012 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT 27 activity as "any sport featuring dan- ger, a high level of physical exer- tion, exceedingly specialized gear, and/or spectacular stunts." All of you who tend a vineyard in margin- of vines in 2003. The climate is mod- erated by the effects of Lake Ontar- io, but winters can still be taxing. Potential dangers to vines in extremely cold places such as this