Trellises Continued from Page 10
intensive, he said. “The results (of HWC trellising) have been a mixed bag,” Miller said, adding that he’s seen good results in yields overall. “We often see 25% to 30% greater clusters per vine, and while the cluster weights tend to be lower, this still translates to more con- sistent yields less impacted by cold spring weather during bloom, which helps to sus- tain the economics of farming winegrapes in Monterey County.” Miller said the strong Salinas Valley winds are a challenge during the trellis- ing transition, requiring improvements to row orientation so that vines grow with the wind rather than perpendicular to pre- vailing wind directions. This has meant in- stalling short extensions with catch wires to keep cordon stems upright to support fruiting and enhance yields and quality. Miller said the trellising investment ulti- mately needs to translate to the customer. “(A challenge has been) demonstrating to the wineries purchasing the fruit that the higher yields can still maintain solid quality fruit with lower skin-to-juice ratios and more uniformity in ripening,” Miller said. “Input costs have surged in the last few years, outpacing contracted tonnage prices. Therefore, we must adapt and over- come this.” (Caitlin Fillmore is a reporter based in Monterey County. She may be contacted at cslhfillmore@gmail.com.)
digit weather, said Yu, who has observed the technique at vineyards on the Central Coast and San Joaquin Valley. “It all depends on the specific mac- ro- and meso-climate in the vineyard,” he said. “SHW (single high wire) might work for some people, but with high hu- midity, the density of the canopy cov- erage might be problematic in terms of grape disease management.” Questions about the right vineyard trel- lis for a changing climate coincide with a significant downturn in the wine market and requests to reduce statewide wine- grape acreage by 9%. While the HWC trellis system is mainly employed on large Central Coast vineyards, the technique may be adopted for redeveloped land in other wine regions. “When people start replanting grape- vines again, I think there will be more SHW systems put in due to its simplicity, lower cost to install and maintain, and the capability of providing good canopy coverage to protect the fruits from getting burnt,” Yu said. About 650 acres that Miller manages are under redevelopment and will be in production during the next few years. He balances a mix of VSP and HWC sys- tems, depending on the site. He is also experimenting with shade cloth, which he found to be cost prohibitive and labor
Year-old winegrape vines are being trained for high-wire cordon trellising. Daryn Miller, who manages vineyards for Monterey Pacific, says the systems can help support consistent yields.
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July 31, 2024 Ag Alert 11
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