Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/724494
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m S e p t - O c t 2 016 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 2 7 around $10,000, according to the company. Training the vineyard to depend on less water right from initial plant- ing is ideal. This avoids encouraging the shallow root growth observed by watering too frequently. The idea is to correlate climatic demand, vapor pressure deficit and transpiration to calculate stress levels. Irrigation targets are based on production objectives, soil com- position, plant material, vine spac- ing, desired canopy height and fruit development stage. These param- eters are plugged into the Fruition Sciences dashboard and its algo- rithms go to work along with fruit composition parameters. If the canopy isn't sufficient to ripen the fruit, more water is required. If the canopy is on target, there's no need to panic and turn on the hose. Frui- tion Sciences says its solutions not only help manage irrigation sched- ules, but also help with fertilization and picking schedules as well as zoning of uniform areas. Let's hear from some of the vineyards using this and other water monitoring technologies. JACKSON FAMILY WINES Katie Jackson, vice president of sustainability and external affairs at Jackson Family Wines (JFW), has been working in the family busi- ness for seven years and is com- mitted to sustainability in every aspect of the operation. Earlier this year, JFW was awarded the inaugu- ral Executive Officer's Water Qual- ity Stewardship Award by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Board for its work in the preservation and enhancement of surface water and groundwater quality. It also received the 2016 Green Medal Leader Award, the most prestigious sustainability award given within the wine community. JFW also worked with other growers and local regulatory agen- cies to develop voluntary drought initiatives (VDI) designed to save water and protect local fish species in the Russian River watershed. The VDI program was initiated by the California Department of Fish in the U.S. wine industry (6.7 MW). It makes enough power to run 35% of its winery operations. In the vineyards, the company has always been water conscious and installed drip irrigation in the early 1990s. The biggest water sav- ings effort has been installing more than 100 wind machines to provide frost protection for 80% of its vine- yards, which has cut its water use in half. Those frost-prone vine- yards are in areas where fisheries' resources are competing for water during the frost season. Topogra- phy prevents installing machines in the other 20%. and Wildlife (CDFW) and National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) to address stream flow concerns a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e C a l i f o r n i a drought — it was a collaborative effort led by multiple agencies. JFW also worked with Trout Unlim- ited to establish a program for the purchase of residential tanks. The Jackson family donated $40,000 in seed money to help fund this pro- gram to help minimize the need for people living near the stream to draw upon it for water. Jackson jumps at every chance to share best practices, pointing out that it's the largest solar generator Jackson Family Wines is installing more than 100 wind machines to provide frost protection for vineyards, cutting water use in half.