The Vineyard at Grandview

Located in Lancaster County near Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, The Vineyard at Grandview is beginning its fifth year. Our premium vinifera varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay, Albarino and Muscat. The tasting room is open Saturday 10-4,and Sunday 12-4 and other times by appointment.



Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Great wine begins in the vineyard!

Join us as we compress a year of vineyard maintenance into one blog!  We start our journey in the fall season, after the harvest is complete.  Late October is a good time to survey the vines individually, checking for disease or injury.  We identified crown gall in some of our vines this year, a problem introduced from the nursery.  One hopes for disease free vines, but unfortunately, this is often not the case.  You can read more about crown gall here.  Diseased vines are removed from the vineyard and burned.

In November, before the winter cold sets in, we "hill up" the vineyard, putting soil over the graft of each vine to protect it from winter damage.  The grape hoe has a disk attachment for this purpose.



















Pruning is done during the winter months.  At this time we select and save three or four potential canes to be laid down on the fruiting wire in the spring.  The other branches are pruned, pulled down off the wires, and placed between the rows to be chopped up with a flail mower and integrated back into the soil.


In early spring, as the vines become pliable, we select and lay down new canes on the fruiting wire, one each way from the trunk.   These two photos show that process, however, these are young vines, so there is only one cane.  The following year, canes will lay out in both directions, forming a "T".


When shoots start to grow from the canes, we thin them to about a hand's width apart.  As they continue to grow, they are tucked between the catch wires and taped if necessary to maintain vertical growth.  There are three sets of catch wires, about a foot apart, so tucking the growing vines is repeated several times during the spring and early summer.   This picture shows the spacing of the catch wires.


In mid to late summer, the focus is on additional canopy management.  Hedging keeps the tops trimmed to prevent them from hanging down over and shading the grape clusters. 


We remove all lateral shoots that come off the main shoot.  We remove leaves in the lower canopy to keep the fruit zone open to the sun.
Hedged, tucked, trimmed!

Throughout the growing season we continue to use the grape hoe for weed control in the rows.  Grass planted between the rows is mowed regularly as well.


Spraying the fruit is vital to prevent disease.  The frequency for spraying is determined by the weather.  We use a single row Lipco tunnel sprayer.  This is an over-the-row sprayer which confines spray inside the tunnel and reclaims spray that isn't retained by the canopy.  The reclaimed spray is filtered and returned to the tank, a 30% savings over air blast sprayers, saving not only money, but also reducing the amount of spray discharged into the environment.

Sprayer - front view


Sprayer - rear view

In mid to late July, we roll nets over the fruit to prevent bird damage.   This year we also purchased a propane cannon to scare birds away from the vines.  Bird control is a significant challenge.  Many vineyards have said 2011 was one of the worst years experienced.


As you can see, canopy management is a labor intensive operation, made worthwhile by the joy of tasting great wine. You might also understand why a Schwab commercial pokes fun at vineyard development as a retirement hobby!

Next:  Harvest!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The vineyard gets some tender loving care

Within three weeks of planting, green growth was emerging on the grafts.  Weeds were growing, too, of course.  In the very beginning, we cultivated the vines using an old tobacco cultivator.


We also pruned for the first time, nipping off all but two or three shoots, and any tiny bunches of grapes.

 
And that was just the beginning . . .




Anchors were placed at the ends of each row, augered in using a post hole digger attachment.


 

End and line posts were driven in using a vibrating pounder which the guys rigged up to a skid loader.


 

A pencil rod was placed at each vine.


The vine was fastened to the pencil rod with plastic banding.


We purchased a grape hoe to cultivate the growing vines.


The hoe has a sensor that detects the pencil rod and swings out around each plant, then back into the row.

 

Soon it was time to string the fruiting wire in each row. The wire is attached to the end posts and to each line post.

 

Each pencil rod is clipped to the fruiting wire.  And yes!  That's a level used to be sure each rod is straight.


These plants have been hoed and pruned again so that there is only one stalk remaining. It will become the main trunk for the maturing vine.


This is a picture of the young vineyard, carefully tended. For us it was a satisfying and beautiful sight!

Next:  Maintaining the vines.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Planting Day!

In April, 2009, we planted our first 3150 grapevines. It was an exciting and fascinating process.  We contracted the planting with Ken Whitty of Benchmark Custom Work, Ontario, Canada, a company that uses a laser planter.  One of the men, Cameron Hosmer, explains the process in this video clip.  

The first step was to measure and mark the rows.


Then the laser was set up, as well as the spacing wire.


This is the planter.


These are the wires that hold the plants.


Here, Larry is putting the plants into the moving wires which cycle around, placing the plants in a narrow groove cut into the ground.


After planting, a single waxed graft showed about the surface.


This is a completed row of plants.


At the end of the day, we were left waiting to see if green growth really would emerge from the dormant grafts!    

Next:  The work is just beginning . . .

Monday, September 5, 2011

A Vision Takes Shape

The dream began in 2007 when Larry learned that our soil and setting is well suited for a vineyard site.  He spent the winter and the following months reading textbooks and attending educational seminars, absorbing all he could about developing and managing a vineyard, as well as building a winery.   An oft repeated remark was, "It's a steep learning curve for an old buck like me!"

For several years he had been gathering berries and making various dry fruit wines, shared and enjoyed by family, clients and friends.  The possibilities emerging from a vineyard project took this hobby to a whole new level!  We (his family) all knew he was serious when the pasture fences, soccer field and ball backstop came down in the fall of 2008.

We contracted a soil scientist specializing in viticultural soils for a chemical analysis of the soil and recommendations for the best soil maintenance for our vines.

In mid-March, 2009, the ground was ripped both ways with a subsoiler, leaving huge clumps of sod which needed to be broken up with a disk and then plowed under.



There were trees and brush along the perimeter that needed to be removed.



In April, there was more disking and harrowing in preparation for planting.  The vines arrived from a nursery in California, 3150 of them, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.


The vines were packaged in bunches.  They didn't look like much, just roots and dormant grafts covered with wax.  Larry literally held his hopes and dreams in the palm of his hand!


Next up:  Planting day!