The 'Veraison to Harvest' newsletter supplies New York growers and winemakers with timely information during the critical ripening season.
CALS Impact Project
Growers from the diverse regions of New York, including juice and wine growers, were exposed to issues and concerns of their colleagues in other production areas for the first time. New producers (both winemakers and growers) were educated in the use and ranges of analytical numbers (juice pH, brix, titratable acidity), and were provided with comparisons with last year's numbers. They found out that berry weight was lower than average, but that acids dropped and sugars increased faster than last year. All were educated in some of the critical factors involved in making decisions about timing of harvest, late season management of grapes, and winemaking issues. This allowed many growers and wineries to make more informed decisions that will increase wine quality in New York.
impact statement issue
Producing wine requires attention to fruit ripening during the critical ripening season from early September through the end of October to make informed harvest and winemaking decisions. Previously, this has been done through separate regional updates by each regional extension program and the Cornell Enology Program.
With the increasing emphasis on quality and the mixture of beginners and experienced growers and winemakers, an integrated source of information that addresses the entire industry was needed because wine flaws often start with poor quality fruit, and communication between growers and winemakers is critical to raising the quality of New York wines.
impact statement response
With leadership from the Statewide Viticulture Extension program (Tim Martinson) and the New York Wine analytical Laboratory (Ben Gavitt), we developed procedures for gathering weekly berry samples, shipping them to the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y., analyzing the juice at the analytical laboratory. We and collated and distributed results in a weekly newsletter that went out every Friday with results from the beginning of the week.
Regional Extension personnel (Steve Hoying, Hudson Valley; Alice Wise, Long Island; Terry Bates, Lake Erie; and Hans Walter-Peterson, Finger Lakes) collected and shipped samples, and wrote a weekly update on harvest activity and issues in their region. The newsletter also provided a venue for updating growers about several Cornell research projects, a berry maturity assessment workshop, and specific winemaking issues (drought stress, yeast rehydration, acid adjustment, etc).
impact statement summary
Cornell Cooperative Extension Regional Grape Programs, the Statewide Viticulture Extension Program, and the New York Wine Analytical Laboratory joined forces to sample grape maturity weekly through the ripening season and report results and updates to the industry throughout the state by producing and distributing the new 'Veraison to Harvest' newsletter. Beginning and experienced growers and winemakers received timely information and juice chemistry results from 50 vineyards in the Lake Erie, Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, and Long Island regions, timely reminders on grape production, harvest timing, and winemaking issues related to the 2007 growing season.
Other private funding
New York Wine and Grape Foundation. This was fully funded by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation`s "Total Quality Focus" program.
