New England Wine Grape Growers

Welcome to New England Wine Grape Growers' Resource Center

The Wine Industry is a new and rapidly expanding agricultural community in New England. There are approximately 100 vineyards and associated artisan wineries located all around New England with more in the planning stages.

This site is designed to provide information to these new enterprises and help create a sense of community among its members. Check back often to see what's new.

For the latest issue of New England Grape Notes, click here

What's New?

Grapevine Pruning Instruction:

Part 1: Grapevine anatomy and vine balance

Part 2: Selecting fruitful wood and balanced pruning

Part 3: Cold climate pruning strategies

Pruning Rules from Mark Chien Penn State Viticulture Specialist

How to assess winter injury to grapevines:

Finger Lakes Grape Program YouTube videos

Washington State Univ. Cold Damage in Grapes

MSU Winter Injury to Grapevines and Methods of Protection

Canopy Management

Early summer is when canopy management begins. The key purpose it so develop a canopy that is not overcrowded with vegetative growth and allows for adequate sun penetration into the fruit zone and good air circulation to lessen the chances of disease development. This also allows for good spray penetration into the canopy which improves coverage.

The key practices in grapevine canopy management are:

Shoot Thinning

and

Shoot Positioning

A comprehensive source of information on Grape Canopy Management can be found in the Midwest Grape Production Guide

Early Season Disease Management

Early season disease management is critical to successful grape growing. There are several resources to help guide you in this process.

Wayne Wilcox's 2011 Grape Disease Management Primer and Putting it all Together Summary are now available. These are 'must reads' for all grape growers.

A fact sheet about Early Season Disease Management for Grapes is available from the UMass Fruit Team website.

The University of Vermont's Cold Climate Grape Production Newsletters also provide excellent information on pest and disease management for New England grape growers.

The New England Small Fruit Pest Management Guide provides good local information for grape disease management.

The New York/Pennsylvania Pest Management Guidelines for Grapes provides even more detailed information.

For ORGANIC production, see Cornell Production Guide for Organic Grapes.

2011-2012 Vineyard Pest Management Tool Kit

Summary of NE1020 projects in New England:

Massachusetts:2010 Update

Vermont: 2010 Update

Connecticut: 2010 Update

Harvest

The timing of winegrape harvest is determined by assessing the main characteristics that determine the resulting wine quality; soluble solid content (Brix˚), pH, and titratable acidity (TA). Experienced vineyardists also assess other flavor components and overall potential for further ripening in any given season.

Some good resources for information on how best to measure these parameters as well as what you should be aiming for can be found at:

Cornell's 'Veraison to Harvest' newsletter

'How to Judge Grape Ripeness Before Harvest' - Ed Hellman, Texas A&M

For a good record-keeping tool to keep track of your harvest of different blocks or varieties, or grapes coming in from other vineyards, see this Grape Inspection Form developed by Tim Weigle of Cornell University.

New Resource on Cultivar Descriptions

Iowa State Viticulture Program Cold Climate Cultivar Descriptions