One Acre in Napa Valley - Episode # 7 Pre Harvest

[sr74eagle]

I am very interested in your netting method. I saw the use of the PVC pipe which is great. I am having trouble with how the netting is stretched out over the top and at some point overlapped. A video of that process would be interesting.

Do you have any additional labor help in the vineyard, other than at harvest. I am looking at starting a vineyard and wanting to keep it to the size I can manage 90% of the time. Any input is appreciated.

Terry - Vineyard Dreams

[vincem78]

Great stuff Dave, appreciate the info! Bravo

[mendozer73]

thanx dave great help

[premsign]

Hi Dave,

Love your videos. You showed us how to prune and then train the 2 canes but do you do anything else to the canes or the spurs during the season or do you just let then go. Thanks.

[oneacrewine]

Hello premsign

I am really happy to hear that you liked the videos. Good question about the canes. Once the canes are tied down, that is all that I do to them for the rest of the season. After the shoots start to push out, I keep them growing up through the trellis wires, but the canes just stay tied down to the fruiting wire where they were tied down in the spring.

Thanks for watching,

Dave

[21sraj]

@oneacrewine I would like to know what kind of grape is that i love the color. Thanks

[oneacrewine]

Hello 21sraj

I really like the color of the grapes also. They are Cabernet, they make a wine that has a very dark color too, almost black.

Thanks for watching

Dave

[everydayxj09]

HI Dave

I was in the distribution side of the wine industry, but decided to plant a few vines to see what would actually grow here in NC.

I planted Syrah, Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Viognier, and White Reisling. The Syrah and White Reisling did fairly well, but the vines grow too heartily, and some of the canes get to 10ft or more. What can I do to slow the growth so the canopy will be thicker? Do you have to prune any of your vines after bud break?

Thank you for sharing,

David

[oneacrewine]

Hello everydayxj09

It sounds like you have a nice mix of varieties. Controlling vine vigor can be addressed in a number of ways. Some things can be done prior to planting, slow growth root stocks + high density planting. Vigor can also be restrained by limiting nitrogen fertilization and irrigation. Water stress can really slow a vine down. Vigor can also be slowed by directing the vigor into additional fruit production, more buds left at pruning. No I don't prune the shoots after bud break

Dave

[mastoth]

Hi,

I just wanted to say that I love your videos and that they have helped me a lot in my 2nd year of grape production. I am in need of some help. Here in Salt Lake City, UT we had a freak snow storm (6 inches) that weighed down the trellis that I had built. I don't believe that any damage has been done to the vines but I can see that the current structure won't hold. What materials should I use to rebuild and how is the best way to do it around existing plants? Thanks again for your videos!

[oneacrewine]

Hi mastoth

I am really happy to hear you like the videos. Sorry to hear about the snow storm, I hope the vines are all right.

What type of trellising do you currently have ? Is it a single curtain canopy Do you use one or two fruit wires ? The Main supports for my trellising are 4"-6" wood posts supported by anchors set in the ground. I ran 12 gauge wire for the trellising, tightened down with gripper fasteners. Do you have end posts in your rows.Let me know when you can,

Thanks again,

Dave

[oneacrewine]

Hi GanzConrad

For the next video I will try using a different camera and a little different format to see if we can improve the quality a bit. The next video will be of the harvest, and the one after that will be processing the grapes at the winery.

Thanks for watching,

Dave

[mroconnell]

I'm about to do an episode on the same topic, Dave! You beat me to it. The grapes are looking great.

I'll probably do my video anyway and host it as a response to yours (if you don't mind).

[oneacrewine]

Hi mroconnell

Yes, that would be nice, I will look forward to seeing your video.

Dave

[mroconnell]

I got that video uploaded, and I mentioned your video blog at the end!

[oneacrewine]

Hi mroconnell

The video is very informative, and the clusters look really good. It is a good point that sometimes we can pull the berry samples from the same location on the cluster. It is also a good description of some of the flavors that you get from the seeds that indicate the harvest is near. About how old are the vines ? How long after this video did you harvest ? We harvested today.

Thanks very much for mentioning my site at the end.

Dave

[bluzy25]

do you have any information on producing clones for grapes!

[oneacrewine]

Hello bluzy25

The majority of grape vines are propagated by cuttings, grafting, etc. so as to maintain the special qualities of that variety. But there can be some slight genetic differences in the canes even on the same vine. It could be noticed that the fruit on a particular cane might ripen later, or the fruit might have greater color. If that cane was further propagated to continue those new characteristics a new clone would have been created. I think Cabernet has about 20 clones