Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/76198
Amano Time Clocks Some winemakers still insist on low yields regardless of the vine's balance or capacity to ripen fruit to maturity. In some winery circles, these Zinfandel grapes could be candidates for cropload adjustment. winemakers from making unreasonable demands. Better metrics needed Gallo's Dokoozlian believes the indus- try has difficulty defining yield and quality with the metrics currently available. Yield is typically defined as tons per acre, but more is going on in the vineyard than just yield. "We fail to integrate what's really going on. It's not just the amount of fruit, but it's really the canopy—size, condition, and character—that determines the abil- ity of the vine to ripen the fruit and effec- tive crop load," he said, adding that the industry hasn't paid enough attention to canopy size and capacity relative to yield and quality. "Vineyardists don't have compositional metrics in Nick Dokoozlian Tedd Wildman place to look beyond sugar [soluble solids] and color when talking to winemakers. Sugar and color are just two of the many components involved with grape and wine quality." • With automatic hours calculation right on the card, the MJR-7000 saves you time AND money every day. Come in today and learn how you can control your labor costs with an Amano time clock. Save You Money 310 E. Chestnut, Yakima, WA 98901 509-453-7115 q 800-327-9198 Serving Central Washington for over 100 Years Brennon Leighton Eric Brasher wine industry and winemakers," he said, adding that the U.S. wine industry has a lot of historical baggage and tra- dition tracing back to France. "There's good reason why French vineyards tend to crop low, and it's usually an artifact of the soil, site, vine density, age of the vines, and such," he said. "Winemak- ers, perhaps unconsciously, gravitate toward the low end of the scale. And while every vineyard has a different sweet spot, when winemakers go beyond and below that theoretical sweet spot artificially, just for the sake of low crop because it's a talking point, it's a mistake, and the myth should be busted." Crop load management is best done by pruning, he said, adding that while he prunes aggressively because he's on a low-vigor site and not worried about overly vig- orous vines, some growers tend to leave extra buds when pruning to compensate for spring frosts and must later come back to thin the crop. Even with knowing his bud count and with his severe style of pruning, he still can have a problem of higher cluster counts than desired. Wildman said he's had some years where yields ended up a ton more per acre than what was planned. "But if the vines seem to be in balance, I let it hang, and so far, it's worked out and I've not had complaints." For winemakers who insist on low tonnage, Wildman suggested that growers use contracts based on acreage instead of production or yield. He believes acreage con- tracts help remove conflicts of interest on the part of growers who may want to maximize tonnage and keep www.goodfruit.com *%"%%,##'&'# #%,#(%"+'$ "'" %,!&- %,!&- %,!&- $! %" ) ) ,%%&!$ &,!$*,"&%)&!$$*$!) %&$&% ,!$%!)$'% !% &!$ #'$& ++$)& &&$%&$'&! !!)$'% ! &$&%(!$ &! •Bruce Ponder •Colleen Chastain •Adam Weil •Dave Weil GOOD FRUIT GROWER AUGUST 2012 55 Photo by melissa hansen