Viticulture Association of the Santa Cruz Mountains
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Winter.
Happy New Year! The vines are asleep and growers’ hands have hopefully had a
chance to rest and recuperate from last years exciting ride. The fruit produced
in the Santa Cruz Mountains is making great strides in producing consistent
outstanding quality. The wines from the last few vintages continue to escalate
the stellar reputation of our historic mountain appellation. This is great news
to growers and incentive to keep up the good work, keep the vines clean, and to
get the fruit ripe; thus achieving our appellation’s finest potential. With the winter festivities behind us (thank you to everyone
who attended our annual Christmas party – what a great time) we are ready to
return to the vineyard and check on our sleeping vines. Now is the time to begin
a weed control program. Consider burning short grasses and broadleafs
back with propane or in a very small vineyard situation consider using mulch.
Larger operations may have access to an in-row mower or tiller.
This latter application is only feasible if the ground is sufficiently
stable to drive on without compacting the soil. Vineyards with a sound cover
crop program will be easier to gain entry into after the rains. Some organic
growers have found success with a commercial grade vinegar spray to burn back
weeds. Use of a focused spray of Round up or combination of pre-emergent and
Round up is another alternative. Whatever
your approach, be sure to address the weed issue now while it is still small and
seemingly insignificant. The other big winter project is pruning. Timing is
everything. The earlier you prune the earlier opportunity you have for bud
break. On the other hand, earlier pruning and large pruning wounds can expose
your vines to Eutypa, a very nasty pathogen that attacks older vines and is
associated with rainy conditions after winter pruning. At this time there is no
registered product to spray against Eutypa. Your best defense is to develop a
strategy. If your vines are older and especially if you have seen the telltale
wedge shaped black on the interior of the cane or spur you need to make a plan.
Try to prune during dry conditions when the weather forecast is sunny for days
to come. Never prune in the rain or just prior to a storm if you can help it. If
you think that your vineyard is susceptible to Eutypa consider pruning later in
the season (closer to bud break) or pruning twice. Prune once now to remove the
major brush 4 spurs up and once just before bud break to remove newly infected
wood. This is time consuming and not very efficient but Eutypa can be a very
serious disease that will compromise fruit production and ultimately kill your
vine. Older vines and big pruning wounds are most susceptible so be aware of
this issue. Finally we come to the pruning itself. This is possibly the
most pleasurable part of the vineyard year. It’s a quiet, contemplative time
that carries the opportunity to shape the future with a single cut. This is a
time to be realistic about fruit production and your best chance to control the
way the vine will grow this year. Balanced pruning is the key. If you overprune
the vine it may compensate by putting out all kinds of unfruitful vegetative
growth. Leaving too many spurs promotes unwanted shoots that must be either
removed after bud break or fought against all year as they compete with the
fruit for light, air and nutrients. Remember the goal is to grow fruit with
enough canopy to support that fruit. Balance
is the key:
Always think two years ahead when pruning.
Cane pruning is a viable alternative in vineyards where fruit set has
been an issue (and other factors have been ruled out) or in cooler areas. We can’t forget the government. The Regional Water Quality
Control Board will be looking for your “Farm Plan” that shows that
you are thinking about where any potential runoff from your vineyard is going.
As in any tedious bureaucratic project there are kernels of knowledge and new
ideas to be born from this process. Get it over with and send it in. On a more positive note, Biodiesel as an alternative to
diesel fuel is becoming a more practical and economical alternative. There
are stations offering this fuel popping up on the Central Coast.
Go to www.biodiesel.org for more
information. J.B. Dewar Inc. in San
Luis Obispo (805-543-0180 and McCormix Corporation in Santa Barbara (805)
963-9366 are both petroleum distributors with product available. Call them for
pricing and more information. In
most cases and especially in newer tractors (from 1994) biodiesel can be
substituted for diesel fuel in your tractor without any special retrofit.
“Biodiesel reduces emissions and poses no threat to human health. It is
nontoxic, biodegradable and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics,
significantly reducing emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter,
unburned hydrocarbons and sulfates.” (National
Biodiesel Board). This is just one more thing to think about as you contemplate
your rows. Get out in your vineyard and walk off the holiday feast.
Observe the winter structure. Imagine a prosperous new year laden with healthy
vibrant fruit destined for the premium fine wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains
full with flavors and character unique to our special appellation. Salud. Prudy Foxx
President, Viticulture Association of the Santa Cruz Mountains (Vine
Talk column, January 2006) |
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