Volume 1 Issue 4

October 2000

    The 11th Annual Viticulture Field Day and Steak Cookout held August 2, 2000 was a huge success. Attendance reached over the 240 mark, with participants from Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. The various workshops throughout the day were well attended.
    Michigan wineries from all over the state donated their wines for the Wine Hospitality and the steak cookout, as always, was wonderful.
    Special thank you to all the speakers, exhibitors and Michigan wineries for helping make the day a success. Thanks also to Tom Zabadal, Michigan Grape Society members and the SWMREC staff for putting on a great program.
    Check out more pictures of Viticulture Field activities at the end of
this newsletter.

Mark Your Calendars for The Michigan State Horticultural Society Program, December 5th, 6th, & 7th, 2000

Meeting to Update MSUE Grape Bulletin
By: Mark Longstroth, District Extension Horticulture and Marketing Agent

   The Grape Cost of Production Bulletin (E-2189) is over 10 years old. It is important that we update this bulletin for several reasons. It can by used to compare your costs to the average cost of growing grapes in Michigan. People and organizations like National Grape and myself use it to determine the financial health of Michigan grape growers in general. New growers use this bulletin in planning the costs of new plantings.
    In order to have good numbers it is necessary to get the average costs from growers and not just guess at what their costs really are. There will be a meeting of growers and others to share their numbers with MSU personnel at the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center on November 1, at 1:30 to 4:30 pm. I have put together a list of task with blank spaces for the number of times or the costs of the items to allow you to have the figures ready beforehand so that the meeting will go relatively quickly. With the information collected it should be relatively easy to update the bulletin. If you are interested in attending the meeting or giving input for the update of the bulletin, call me at (888) SWFRUIT. I will send you the questionnaire and a copy of E-2189 "The Cost of Producing Grapes in Southwestern Michigan" so that you can see what the costs were in 1989.

    The Michigan grape and wine industry is healthy and growing. Ranked 5th in grape production in the nation, Michigan has become the leading producer of Niagara grape juice. Its wine industry is totally revitalized from what it was a quarter century ago with numerous new varieties being grown and a broad spectrum of premium, award-winning wines. The growth of wineries in Michigan has been constant in recent years with the latest count at 25. With the expansion comes the need for new technology and more skilled processors and growers. To assist with that educational need the Heartland Coalition has sponsored a conference each year since 1997 to present topics on grape growing and wine making. The Heartland Coalition is a regional collaboration among Ohio State University, Purdue University and Michigan State University to pool their viticultural and enological (wine making) resources. This winter's Heartland Conference will be held at the MSU Kellogg Biological Station near Battle Creek, MI. The overall theme of this 3-day meeting, which will be held from January 16th to 18th, is vineyard and winery establishment. Approximately 20 presentations will cover topics ranging from the selection of vineyard sites to the licensing and outfitting of a winery. The full program and registration information will be available about November 1st, but those interested can view the program outline by logging on to the web site of the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center at http://www.msue.msu.edu/swmrec Those interested in attending this conference are encouraged to register early, because enrollment is limited for these meetings and all past Heartland Conferences have "sold out" early.

Click here for link to Heartland Conference on Vineyard & Winery Establishment Registration

St. Julian Wine Company Announces Management Changes

Congratulations to Chas Catherman and David Miller of St. Julian Wine Co., who both recently received new appointments with increased responsibilities at the state’s oldest and largest winery. Chas Catherman, winemaker for the past 26 years has been named Executive Vice-President of Operations and Dave Miller takes on the position of Winemaker. Winery President David Braganini noted “ we are very fortunate to have two extremely talented individuals who will lead our company to the next level of accomplishment in wine production”.

    Michigan wines fared well in several prestigious wine competitions this spring and summer. Tasters Guild International, Los Angeles County Fair, Great Lakes Wine Competition, Pacific Rim Wine Competition and the Riverside Wine Competition – over 512 medals so far in 12 competitions and still counting!
    St. Julian Wine Company of Paw Paw led the industry in gold medals with top honors for several red wines - 1998 El Nino, 1998 Merlot, 1998 Chancellor and Simply Red.
    Chateau Grand Traverse Winery on Old Mission Peninsula earned a gold medal for its 1998 Reserve Late Harvest Riesling at the Tasters Guild International Competition.
    In the Michigan State Fair Competition, Best of Show awards were made in six categories:
        Dry White –Peninsula Cellars 1999 Pinot Blanc
        Semi-Dry White – Black Star Farms 1999 Riesling
        Red – St. Julian 1998 Chancellor
        Sparkling – Bel Lago 1997 Brut
        Specialty – St. Julian Solera Cream Sherry
        Judges Special Award – Good Harbor 1998
        Pinot Noir Rose

Complete results of the Michigan State Fair Wine Competition held August 1, 2000, are available at www.michiganwines.com or by calling 517-373-1104.

    Over the past few years, Michigan grape growers have seen increased damage from grape berry moth (GBM), especially during the third brood just before harvest. As harvest slows down for 2000, it’s a good time to reflect on what growers can do in 2001 to decrease the likelihood of damage from this insect.
    The first thing to think about when planning GBM management in 2001 is the ‘risk’ of GBM in your vineyards. Things that increase vineyard risk to GBM are: proximity to woods, snow cover allowing winter survival, and damage from GBM this year. If there is good snow cover this winter, and berry moth damage has been seen this year, or if the vineyard is near a woods, then controls should be applied to manage this pest next year.
    The first flight of GBM seems to have become earlier recently, and we even caught our first moth on April 21 this year. If you see a significant first flight of GBM in a vineyard next year, an immediate pre-bloom insecticide spray timed just before egg-hatch of GBM can prevent the population from increasing in high-risk sites.
    Insecticide sprays need to be timed accurately in relation to the insect’s life cycle, especially because development of GBM can vary greatly within a region, within a farm, and even from the edge of a vineyard to the interior. For example, in Lawton this year, we saw a two week difference in the start of moth activity between a hilltop and a vineyard near the bottom of a valley slope.
    There is no substitute for monitoring your own pests in your own vineyards, because this greatly improves decision-making of when, and whether, to spray for GBM. Two pheromone traps should be placed at the edge of a vineyard (preferably near to woods), and two in the interior. Put traps out in mid-April to be sure to catch the start of moth activity, and record the trapped moths weekly to identify the start of the flight. We are currently working on degree-day models for GBM, but growers need to monitor moth flight to know what’s happening in their vineyards. Without this, timing your sprays can be guesswork, and you may not even have a GBM population. In vineyards that are not high risk for GBM attack, scouting in mid to late July for second brood worms can be used to decide if vineyards require a chemical control, or not.
    To help growers plan their strategies for control of grape berry moth and other insects next year, I am co-organizing a 2001 Spring Pest Management Meeting, specifically for grape growers. This will be at the Trevor Nichols Research Complex in Fennville on Thursday May 3^rd, and the aim will be to discuss how to build an effective integrated pest and disease management program for your farm. Watch for details in a future issue of this newsletter.

11th Annual Viticulture Field Day & Steak Cookout,
August 2000 — Pictures

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