Finger Lakes Wines and Grapes: Warm, wet weather results in rapid growth:
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"This spring has just been flying by! I was concerned about how wet April was, but then the rain moderated in May. It was almost a little dry until the Memorial Day weekend when showers occurred across the area for several days. The rain and the warm May weather pushed vine growth about a week or so ahead of a typical year.
Our friends at the Finger Lakes Grape Program recently reported growing degree days are about 10 days ahead for May. Growing degree days are calculated by adding the number of degrees above 50 Fahrenheit each day during the growing season. This is why we are starting to see grape flower growth on some varieties right now. Remember, grape flowers emerge into the bloom phase, where they self-pollinate and produce grape clusters. This year we were fortunate not to have a hard freeze after initial leaf growth — remember, that occurred May 18, 2023. Mother Nature has been kind to the Finger Lakes grape growers this spring.
With this rapid growth, there is a lot to do in the vineyard. When we prune in late winter or early spring, we leave a few extra buds on each cane just in case we get a late spring freeze. These buds developed into nice shoots, so now we will thin out the number of new shoots on the trellis. We are looking to balance the vine green growth (canopy) with an appropriate amount of grape clusters. Too many shoots will enlarge the canopy and produce too much fruit. We like to have good airflow through the canopy to minimize mildew from infecting the vines.
We also don’t want to over crop the vines, as that would lead to unripe fruit later in the season. So shoot thinning is very important for a healthy vineyard and great fruit! With our vertical shoot positioning trellis system, we will now go through the vineyard and raise up the “catch” wires. These are the movable trellis wires that help keep the vine shoots and canes upright — again, for improved airflow and good sun exposure to the grape clusters.
We replanted many vines in our Fosterville vineyard last year, and survival over this past winter was very good. In the second year of growth, we need to train a second trunk to the trellis wire. We take one of the lowest shoots on the vine and tie it to the wire with a paper wire tie. Growing grapes in a cool climate with winters that can be exceptionally cold often causes vine trunk disease. If we have two good trunks established, we double the odds of the vine surviving multiple subzero episodes. We will also monitor these second-year vines and remove grapes that begin growing. We will let them fruit in the third year, but want the energy going into the root system and the trunks this year.
Growing grapes takes a lot of work and dedication. Last month I spoke about a vineyard survey that the New York Wine and Grape Foundation conducted. I haven’t heard back yet the results, but hope to hear soon and share the numbers with you. I wonder how the Finger Lakes and other grape growing regions in New York state have changed in the last decade.
We saw lots of moms in the tasting room on Mother’s Day weekend and are starting to see more visitors from out of town, out of state and out of country coming into the Finger Lakes.
This is a great time to visit local wineries and check out wines for your summer meals, parties and barbecues. White and rosé wines are very popular on the warmer days of summer. Finger Lakes rieslings are available in dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet styles.
These are world-class wines and pair well with many different cuisines. Experiment at home with a slightly sweeter riesling paired with hot spicy food — you’ll be surprised! Or maybe a dry or semi-dry riesling with fruit and sharp cheddar cheese. You might also try a light dry red; pinot noir is terrific with summer dishes and is not as heavy and alcoholic as a big, aged cabernet.
Before you know it the Fourth of July will be here, so go out, have some fun, taste some wines and enjoy our summer."
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