Grape & Wine Magazine - October / November 2023

Putting Fungicides to the Test

A Vintner from the Ground Up

Mechanical Leaf Removal is More Effective

October / November 2023

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PUTTING FUNGICIDES TO THE TEST

12

A VINTNER FROM MECHANICAL LEAF THE GROUND UP REMOVAL IS MORE EFFECTIVE

18

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & INDUSTRY SUPPORT

Vicky Boyd Contributing Writer

Matthew Fidelibus Viticulture CE Specialist, UC Davis

Catherine Merlo Contributing Writer

Michael Miiller Director of Government Relations, California Association of Winegrape Growers

Pam Strayer Contributing Writer

George Zhuang UCCE Viticulture Farm Advisor, Fresno County

UC COOPERATIVE EXTENSION ADVISORY BOARD

Surendra Dara Director, North Willamette Research and Extension Center Kevin Day UCCE Pomology Farm Advisor, Tulare and Kings Counties Elizabeth Fichtner UCCE Farm Advisor, Kings and Tulare Counties

Steven Koike Tri-Cal Diagnostics Jhalendra Rijal UCCE Integrated Pest Management Advisor, Stanislaus County Mohammad Yaghmour UCCE Area Orchard Systems Advisor, Kern County

Katherine Jarvis-Shean UCCE Orchard Systems Advisor, Sacramento, Solano and Yolo Counties

AND THE STATE

The articles, research, industry updates, company profiles, and advertisements in this publication are the professional opinions of writers and advertisers. Progressive Crop Consultant does not assume any responsibility for the opinions given in the publication.

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UCCE Plant Pathologist Akif Eskalen recommends taking an integrated approach to powdery mildew management that includes fungicides, using the Gubler-Thomas Powdery Mildew Index to gauge disease risk and modifying the vineyard environment through practices such as leaf removal (all photos by V. Boyd.)

Putting Fungicides to the Test Annual powdery mildew field trial gauges products’ efficacy alone or as part of a program.

By VICKY BOYD | Contributing Writer

A

lthough unusually cool, wet weather kept powdery mildew at bay during the early part of this season, more moderate weather in late spring created a near-ideal environment for the fungus. This allowed UCCE Plant Pathologist Akif Eskalen to put 65 fungicides, alone or as part of season-long programs, to the test under tough powdery mildew conditions at a UC Davis vineyard.

But Eskalen viewed fungicides as just part of an integrated approach that should also include using the Gubler-Thomas Powdery Mildew Index to gauge disease risk and modifying the vineyard environment through practices such as leaf removal. He also encouraged growers and PCAs to do their

homework and keep an open mind.

Pete Sweeney, a PCA for Grow West in Geyserville, Calif., does just that. Each year, he said he studies the powdery mildew trial results, first when Doug Gubler conducted them and now Gubler’s successor, Eskalen.

Annual Powdery Mildew Trials Continue

Eskalen took over the program in 2018, replacing Gubler who had conducted fungicide efficacy trials for about three decades.

Eskalen said conducting fungicide trials annually is important as new products are introduced to the market. Having up-to-date results also helps growers.

This year’s powdery mildew trial was conducted in a 12-year-old vineyard with chenin blanc, a susceptible variety, on the UC Davis south campus.

Trial entries included synthetic, organic and biological fungicides. The crew used a backpack sprayer to apply materials on frequencies ranging from 7- to 21-day intervals.

“If you‘re just staying with what you used 10 years or 20 years ago, you’re not keeping up; you’re behind the game,” he said.

Each treatment was replicated five times, after which 25 fruit clusters were evaluated for disease severity in late July.

“I really like what those guys do,” Sweeney said.

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5

into it and actually read the research.”

Sweeney said he also likes to take a season-long program approach to powdery mildew management, rotating products with different FRAC codes. His goal is to develop plans for his growers that have the least risk of powdery mildew development.

This year in Akif Eskalen’s powdery mildew trials, grape clusters in the untreated controls had 100% disease incidence.

The Disease Triangle

Powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe necator is a polycyclic disease with multiple generations during the growing season.

As such, growers may have to spray weekly or biweekly under ideal conditions to keep the disease at bay. The actual interval depends on the fungicide, weather conditions and label recommendations.

For any disease to develop, it needs a suitable host, a favorable environment and a viable pathogen.

UCCE Plant Pathologist Akif Eskalen shows a grape cluster from one of his treatments and discusses the results of his powdery mildew trials with field day attendees

Continued from Page 4

Ideal conditions for powdery mildew in grapes include prolonged leaf moisture and temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees F. Leaf wetness and suitable temperature are the key, and rainy weather is not conducive to disease development, Eskalen said.

Cooler weather in 2023 delayed bud In this year’s trials, the organic and bio- tainable Pest Management: A Roadmap break and the beginning of fungicide logical products did not perform as well for California” released earlier this year applications by a few weeks compared to statistically as synthetic compounds. as a reason why he included softer mate- 2022. But as the weather began to warm But Eskalen said it was important for rials. The program from the California this spring, powdery mildew took off. growers and PCAs to incorporate more Department of Pesticide Registration non-traditional products into programs seeks to identify what it considers “This year, in 2023, we had the perfect to reduce the risk of fungicide resistance “priority pesticides” for replacement or conditions for disease pressure,” Eskalen from developing. eventual elimination by 2050. The state said. In the untreated controls in his defines priority pesticides as high-risk trial, they saw 100% disease incidence, Resistance management involves rotatproducts, active ingredients or groups whereas in some other years, disease ing effective modes of action based on of related products considered hazardincidence was only 40%.

Fungicide Resistance Action Committee ous and that pose “potentially severe or (FRAC) codes. Applying the same mate- widespread adverse impacts.”

And it’s not just ambient air temperarials repeatedly without rotating allows tures but also conditions within the for resistance development. Those Sweeney said he has noticed the inclugrapevine canopy that influence disease pathogens not controlled by the material sion of more organic and biological development. reproduce, eventually outnumbering compounds in the trials over the years. susceptible organisms.

He also has had discussions with EsOnce temperatures move into the 90s, kalen about the products’ efficacy.

Eskalen said powdery mildew reproAlready, powdery mildew has confirmed duction slows and will stop once the resistance to the strobilurin group of “If you actually talk to [Eskalen], which mercury tops 95 degrees F. fungicides, also known as QoIs. I have done several times, conventional products work great,” he said. “Organic The environment within a vineyard also Eskalen also pointed to the state’s “Susproducts don’t come out better if you get contributes, he said. This year’s near-re6

Grape & Wine Magazine

October / November 2023

cord rainfall promoted tall weeds in many blocks, reducing airflow, increasing humidity and enhancing powdery mildew conditions.

Eskalen said the index helps growers and PCAs make more informed decisions about fungicide applications and spray intervals.

In addition, variety susceptibility plays a role, with carignane, Thompson seedless, ruby seedless, cardinal, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and chenin blanc being some of the most susceptible.

“If we know about the conditions, we don’t have to spray based on the calendar,” he said. “That’s the risk index. If the risk is low, you don’t have to apply fungicides on a weekly basis. If the risk is high, you have to apply.”

Sweeney described this year’s powdery mildew season in the North Coast where he works as returning to normal, noting the past two years have been very light.

Nearly 30 years after it was developed, Zhuang said, the index remains relevant, especially during a season like 2023.

“It’s still very important to track the powdery mildew index,” he said. “If you look at the powdery mildew index, in Fresno, we have eight weather stations across the county. You can see a very clear line that in May, the disease pressure was relatively low. But if you look after Memorial Day, everything just skyrocketed to the top of almost 100 for the entire month [of June].”

George Zhuang, a UCCE viticulture farm advisor for Fresno County, said table grape, winegrape and raisin grape growers in his area this season experienced more severe powdery mildew pressure than in the northern San Joaquin Valley or North Coast. He blamed it partly on increased precipitation, which promoted larger canopies that increased in-vineyard humidity and created near-ideal disease conditions.

The late bud break also caught some growers by surprise, Zhuang said.

“I think a lot of growers still use the calendar for spray programs and to schedule their sprays,” he said. “When we started the season, it was unusually cold, and it slowed canopy growth and slowed pathogen development.”

To view the results from this year’s powdery mildew trials as well as from several previous years, visit ucanr.edu/sites/eskalenlab/Fruit_Crop_Fungicide_Trials/. The site also provides links to trials that involve other fungal diseases and other tree fruit crops.

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

Typically, growers in his area begin fungicide applications about mid-April shortly after bud break. This year, they started in late April or early May, and even then powdery mildew pressure was low. In early June, temperatures warmed, and the pathogen took off.

“There was a huge explosion of powdery mildew pressure at the beginning of June, and it kind of surprised everybody in terms of how to time their spray intervals,” Zhuang said.

He pointed to the importance of the Gubler-Thomas Powdery Mildew Risk Index when timing fungicide applications.

Don’t Guess, Use the Index

Developed by Gubler and colleague Carla Thomas, the index draws data from weather stations and canopy leaf wetness sensors to determine the risk of powdery mildew developing.

The model then calculates a daily risk index ranging from 0 to 100.

A reading of more than 60, for example, indicates a high risk.

Growers and PCAS should shorten spray intervals to 14 days or the label minimum for chemical fungicides or seven days for sulfur, according to UC IPM guidelines. A reading of 0 to 30, on the other hand, means a low risk.

Chemical fungicide intervals may be stretched to 21 days or the label maximum, while sulfur may be used at 14- to 21-day intervals.

October / November 2023 www.grapeandwinemag.com

7

A Vintner from the Ground Up

25 years ago, newcomer Matt Trevisan set out to produce his own grapes for his wines. Now, he’s San Luis Obispo County’s Winemaker of the Year.

By CATHERINE MERLO | Contributing Writer

Matt Trevisan and his daughter Gabrielle in the Linne Calodo tasting room (photo by C. Merlo.)

B

ack when Matt Trevisan was new to California’s wine industry, he received a piece of advice he’s never forgotten: “Wine is made in the vineyard.”

Those words stayed with him as he made his way, year by year, into viticulture and winemaking. Trevisan had no family background in the business, but he had fallen in love with all things wine while attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He soon was apprenticing at wineries in the nearby Paso Robles area, picking grapes, driving forklifts, learning how varietals were grown, how wine was produced and bottled.

In 1998, Trevisan and his wife Maureen took a leap of faith and started their Linne Calodo winery. Two years later, 8

Grape & Wine Magazine

Carefully maintained vineyards surround the entrance to Linne Calodo winery west of Paso Robles (photo by C. Merlo.)

they bought their first piece of land, located in the Willow Creek District just west of Paso Robles. It was the beginning of their estate vineyard, but it wasn’t until 2005 that they were able to plant its first five acres. In 2012, they bought 48 more acres nearby, calling it Stonethrower Vineyard and planting vines a year later.

production came Rhone-variety blends with names like Rising Tides and Overthinker as well as Zinfandel-driven blends such as Cherry Red. Trevisan’s most popular wine, a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Grenache and Mourvédre, was created through a long, frustrating process he feared was a mistake. Instead, the result was a delicious blend, which he aptly named Problem Child.

Trevisan had already begun questioning the accepted belief that California blended wines were inferior to varietal wines. He set out to craft his own red blends and create wines with high-integrity growing and winemaking. Over the next few years, Trevisan and Linne Calodo would specialize in limited red blends, helping break new ground in Paso Robles winemaking.

But Trevisan never forgot that wine begins in the vineyard. The California native practices what he calls “nature positive” farming. It’s based on age-old ways of farming that work with the land’s limited resources. Linne Calodo vineyards rely on natural solutions and manual labor instead of chemicals and carbon-heavy activities.

Out of Linne Calodo’s passion-driven

Over the past 25 years, Trevisan has

October / November 2023

recognizes dedication, stewardship, innovation and leadership in the country’s wine community.

Just before this year’s grape harvest began, Trevisan shared more of his story with Grape & Wine.

Q. Where does your winery’s name, Linne Calodo, come from? What does it mean?

Matt Trevisan, here in his winery cellar, plays a hands-on role in Linne Calodo’s operations (photo courtesy Linne Calodo.)

made his mark. In July, he was named San Luis Obispo County’s 2023 Winemaker of the Year. The recognition came from the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance in partnership with the San Luis Obispo Coast Wine Collective, the independent Grape Growers of the Paso Robles Area, The Vineyard Team and past award recipients. The annual award

Linne Calodo is a series of calcium-based soils, mapped out by the U.S. Geological Survey, that predominate here on the west side of the Santa Lucia Mountains. When we chose our winery’s name, we looked for something unique that represented our neighborhood.

Q. How did your life’s path lead to winemaking?

I am a first-generation vineyard farmer and winemaker. I went to Cal Poly intending to major in aeronautical engineering. But then I switched to biochemistry. Along the way, I met mul-

tiple individuals involved in the wine industry, including people connected with Fetzer and Robert Mondavi. While at Cal Poly, I helped with harvest on the James Berry Vineyard. I really fell in love with this business. After I graduated in 1995, I went to work for Justin Winery, doing an apprenticeship there.

The next seven years of my life were with Justin Winery and Wild Horse Winery and Vineyards, where I managed the warehouses and did any job I had to do.

Q. When did you buy your first vineyard property?

While I was working full-time at Wild Horse, my college roommate and I started making wine after hours. With the approval of Kenny Volk, who owned Wild Horse at the time, we used the facility every day from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

When we started Linne Calodo in 1998, a lot of people, including other winemakers, helped out, both picking fruit for us and helping us process. I used the

Continued on Page 10

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Continued from Page 9 bottling line at Wild Horse to bottle the first vintages of Linne Calodo. That was a great time. In 2000, before the market really moved, my wife Maureen and I bought a property of 77 acres here in Paso Robles. It wasn’t until 2005 that I was able to plant my first estate vineyards; it was just five acres.

Q. You started that from the ground up?

Yes. In 2012, I bought another 48 acres across the road. Starting in 2012, we put vines in the ground on that and did full development. There was no power on that property, no wells, no roads or anything. I didn’t start with a chest full of money. It’s been a slow grind.

No-till farming is practiced at Linne Calodo’s vineyards (photo courtesy Linne Calodo.)

Q. What do you mean by “nature positive” in your vineyards?

It’s to let Nature take its course. I’m really just a steward of the land. We farm no-till, no herbicides. We spray only organics for mildew control. It really goes hand in hand with my winemaking style. When I pick grapes, it’s about letting them go through a natural process to become wine.

Q. Are you doing anything differently from five years ago?

No-till agriculture is something I had tried before and couldn’t figure out, using no herbicides out there. It’s a very labor-intensive process we’ve enacted, which is basically treating our vineyard like a home garden for our winemaking.

We’re out there hand-weeding pretty much every square foot and trying to get invasive species out by hand.

Q. Do you irrigate your vineyards or dry farm?

I have both. My Zinfandel and Grenache vineyards are dry farmed. I’ve been experimenting over the last two decades how to create sustainability of grapevines. What’s the spacing of the grapevines? What are the irrigation or non-irrigation methods? I may irrigate when planting a vineyard but then pull back and end up on a vigorous enough root stock and clonal selections to where I’m really working backwards on the 10

Grape & Wine Magazine

Carefully maintained vineyards surround the entrance to Linne Calodo winery west of Paso Robles (photo courtesy Linne Calodo.)

vine. It’s just a lot of fruit thinning and shoot thinning along the way to get the grapes to maturity.

Q. Why has Linne Calodo focused on limited red blends?

When I started making wine, people were still acidulating wines, changing tannin contents. It was fairly chemistry heavy. I understand chemistry and, yeah, I can manipulate things. I can do organic synthesis and create a pharmaceutical. But winemaking is not about that. It’s more like cooking. It’s more like putting different spices together to change the flavor characteristics. When you grow different grapes, you grow different flavors, with different acid and tannic levels. It really opens up the door

October / November 2023

to creating a composition that is exciting, artistic and enjoyable for everyone without just doing it through the use of chemistry manipulation.

Right now, I’m growing probably 11 different varieties, and they all have different flavors. And that’s not even talking about clonal selections or root stalks or soils and hilltop versus lower on the hill and south-facing versus east-facing versus north and so on. There are so many different qualities that exist in grapes. When you do blend them, it really makes them pop.

Q. Where do you think demand for wine is headed?

I think we’ve outpriced ourselves, in

inclusive instead. I believe we are at a fork in the road with tasting fees. At Linne Calodo, we’ve lowered ours back down to $20. If we want to win over the younger generation, we have to make it easier for them to get in the door and fall in love with great wine.

Q. Today, the Paso Robles region is home to more than 40,000 vineyard acres and 200-plus wineries. Is there any doubt anymore that it’s a world-class viticultural area?

Visitors enjoy both Rhone-variety blended wines and the exterior setting of Linne Calodo’s tasting room.

(Photo courtesy of Linne Calodo)

No, it is a world-class region. It’s just still growing. We’re still learning ex“I’m really just a steward of the actly what the best grapes and training land,” says Matt Trevisan (photo methods are. It’s suffering all the same courtesy Linne Calodo.) challenges of any fast-growing region.

But there is a fine group of us trying to figure out better, more sustainable, more I raised my prices to $20 and $30 and ecologically friendly ways to pass this $40. We all did that. I think I was wrong, on to our future generations. and it’s time to re-think it.

some ways, from getting the Gen Zs and the next generation to see wine as being approachable. I just recently woke up to the fact that even my own tasting fees were too high for the Paso Robles region. We all rode a wave of thinking we When I started, there were 26 wineries needed to be more and more exclusive. in Paso, and wine tasting was $5 or free. Maybe we need to be more and more

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11

Mechanical Leaf Removal is More Effective than Regulated Deficit Irrigation to Improve Fruit Quality While Maintaining Yield

Figure 1. Overly vigorous vine due to abundant winter precipitation and overirrigation (all photos courtesy G. Zhuang.)

By GEORGE ZHUANG| UCCE Viticulture Farm Advisor, Fresno County and MATTHEW FIDELIBUS | Viticulture CE Specialist, UC Davis

B

erry sugar and anthocyanin accumulation are key factors in determining the fruit quality of red wine grapes in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV), where >70% of California wine grapes are grown (California Grape Crush Report 2022). Hot climates are not ideal for red Bordeaux cultivars such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot as anthocyanin accumulation is inhibited. However, fruit quality might be improved with certain management practices, including deficit irrigation and leafing. Previous research in the SJV demonstrated that moderate

irrigation deficits can improve grape yield and quality in addition to saving water (Williams 2012). Mild or moderate irrigation deficits promote yield formation due to increased bud fruitfulness and decreased fungal disease pressure.

Sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) of 70% to 80% evapotranspiration (ETc) was found to balance economically sustainable yield, fruit quality and water-savings goals (Williams 2010). Abundant winter precipitation and overirrigation cause grapevines to grow excessively, shading the fruit, directly reducing quality and fa-

Figure 2. Heavy powdery mildew infestation on Chenin Blanc (left) and botrytis bunch rot on Pinot Gris (right).

12

Grape & Wine Magazine

October / November 2023

voring the development of fungal diseases (Mendez-Costabel et al. 2014) (Figure 1). Years like 2023 might remind growers that managing water and canopy size to improve canopy microenvironment and enhance spray coverage will reduce fungal disease pressure (Figure 2). However, severe water deficits pre-veraison significantly impair grapevine vegetative and reproductive growth, photosynthesis and fruit maturity (Levin et al. 2020).

Removing leaves in the fruit zone is another beneficial practice growers may do to improve fruit quality. Leafing increases fruit exposure which may directly improve fruit quality, create a microenvironment that discourages powdery mildew and bunch rots, and improve spray coverage (Austin and Wilcox 2011) (Figure 3, see page 13). Leaf removal is most practiced in cool climates as overexposure can easily reduce fruit quality in a hot climate. However, studies on leaf removal in a hot climate also showed similar benefits as reported in cooler climates (Cook et al. 2015). As with deficit irrigation, the timing and intensity of fruit zone leaf removal determines the potential impact on grapevine yield and fruit quality at harvest. In a cool climate, basal leaf removal prior to bloom may reduce berry set, thus lowering yield

Figure 3. Leaf removal around grape cluster (left). Spray coverage increases with leaf removal (right).

Figure 4. Clemens roll-over leaf plucker with a sickle-bar sprawl clipper (left) and mechanical leaf removal at full bloom of Cabernet Sauvignon (right).

(Acimovic et al. 2016). Effects on berry set depend on the extent of leaf removal and the weather (Frioni et al. 2017). In hot climates, mechanical fruit zone leaf removal prior to bloom had no effect on berry set or yield (Cook et al. 2015). In addition to the potential to reduce set in cool climates, leaf removal prior to bloom can increase berry total soluble solids, anthocyanin content and berry aroma compounds (Ryona et al. 2008).

Recently, mechanical fruit zone leaf removal has gained popularity due to labor shortage and increased labor cost in California (Kurtural and Fidelibus 2021). Years like 2023 which came with abundant winter precipitation, delayed harvest and cool temperatures might require additional fruit-zone leaf removal to open the canopy and increase spray coverage to help control fungal diseases.

Three-Year Field Study

Aiming to find the “sweet spot” of water management and leaf removal on yield, sugar and anthocyanin accumulation of red wine grape in hot climates, we conducted a three-year field study on Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Madera as Cabernet Sauvignon is believed to be one of the most challenging varieties to be grown in the SJV due to lack of berry color at harvest.

The experiment was conducted in a commercial vineyard located in Madera on fine sandy loam soil. 10-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon vines on Freedom rootstock with 4’x10’ spacing and Northeast-Southwest row orientation were used for the experiment. The grapevines were quadrilateral cordon trained with a 24-inch cross-arm to 48-inch height

above vineyard floor with a pair of catch wires above the cordons. A two (deficit irrigation) × three (leaf removal) factorial split-plot design was applied for three seasons: 2018 through 2020. Two irrigation treatments were applied: 1) sustained deficit irrigation (SDI): water was maintained at 80% of weekly crop evapotranspiration (ETc) through the growing season; 2) regulated deficit irrigation (RDI): water was maintained at 50% ETc from berry set to veraison then switched back to 80% ETc until harvest. ETc was calculated using the equation of ETc = ETo × Kc (Williams 2010). On top of irrigation treatments, we applied three timings of mechanical leaf removal: 1) bloom, 2) berry set

Continued on Page 14

October / November 2023 www.grapeandwinemag.com

13

Continued from Page 13

Table 1. Harvest yield components of Cabernetof Sauvignon fromSauvignon 2018, 2019 and 20202018, 2019 and 2020 Table 1. Harvest yield components Cabernet from

and 3) no leaf removal. Leaf removal was applied to both sides of the canopy using a roll-over leaf plucker with a sickle-bar sprawl clipper adapted for a sprawling-type canopy (Model EL-50, Clemens Vineyard Equipment, Woodland, Calif.)

(Figure 4, see page 13).

Results and Discussion

Treatment

Treatment

Shoot No./ Leaf area Pruning Cluster No./ Yield (tons/ Cluster 2/ weight (kg/areagrapevinePruning grapevine acre) Yield weight Cluster No./ (tons/ (m Cluster Leaf grapevine) 2 (g) grapevine)

grapevine

RDI

89

SDI

96

p value

0.1173

Bloom

92

RDI SDI

89 96

13.8 a

126 b

weight 7.5 (g)

(m / 1.1 b grapevine)

59 grapevine)

138 a

7.7

1.2 a

58

0.0099

0.3275

0.0443

130

7.4 b

1.2

13.8 a

12.4

93

0.1173 12.9

No leaf removal

94

13.0

92

11.8 ba

0.0013

Berry set p value

Bloom

acre)

11.8 ba

132 0.0013 134

12.4

126 b 138 a

7.5

weight (kg/ 1.1 b

0.4817

7.7

1.2 a

59

7.20.0099 b

1.1 0.3275

58

0.0443

8.1 a

1.2

58

1.2

130

7.4 b

RDI reduced yield by 15% compared to 0.0506 0.3240 0.0293 0.5082 0.1742 p value Table 2. Harvest berry0.5592 chemistry from 2018, Berry set 93 of Cabernet Sauvignon 12.9 132 2019 and 2020 7.2 b 1.1 SDI mainly due to smaller berries and aDifferent letters within columns represent the significant differences according to the Tukey’s HSD at p <0.05 Table 2. Harvest berry chemistry of Cabernet Sauvignon from 2018, 2019 and 2020 clusters (Tables 1 and 2). Leaf removal No leaf removal 94 13.0 134pH 8.1TA a b (g/L) 1.2 Treatment Berry weightSauvignonBrix Anthocyani did not significantly affect yield. Our Table Harvest berry chemistry of Cabernet from 2018, 2019 and 20202019 and 2020 Table2.2.

Harvest berry chemistry of Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, b (g/L) from Treatment Berry weight Brix pH TA Anthocyanins (g) (mg/g of FW result confirms that severe water deficit, p value 0.5592 0.0506 0.3240 0.0293 0.5082 (g) (mg/g ofbFW) Treatment Berry weight Brix pH TA (g/L) Anthocyanins like 50% ETc, pre-veraison, can result a RDI 1.03 brepresent b 3.8 according to4.1 0.74 aDifferent b (g/L) letters within columns the23.0 significant differences Tukey’s HSD at pa<0 Treatment weight Brix pHa TAthe (g) (mg/g of FW) Anthocy 1.03 ba 23.0 b Berry 3.8 4.1 0.74 in significant yield loss.RDI Contradictory (g) (mg/g SDI 1.12 a 23.7 a 3.9 4.1 0.65 b of to the previous field observation, bloom 0.74 a RDI SDI 1.12 a 23.7 a 1.03 ba 3.9 23.0 b 4.1 3.8 0.65 b 4.1 leaf removal had no effect on yield, and 1.03 ba 23.0 b 3.9 3.8 4.1 b 0.74 pRDI value 0.0027 0.0078 0.0699 0.9869 0.0048 0.65 SDI p value 0.0027 0.0078 1.12 a 0.0699 23.7 a 0.9869 0.00484.1 growers should be less worried about SDI 1.12 a 23.7 a 3.9 4.1 0.65 Bloom 3.8 b 0.9869 4.10.0048 0.75 a p1.08 value 23.4 0.00271.083.8 b 0.0078 23.44.1 0.0699 0.75 a yield loss due to bloom Bloom leaf removal than 1.08 0.0027 3.8 b 0.75 a Bloom severe deficit irrigation.Berry set Berry 1.07 3.9 a 23.4 23.3 3.9 a b 4.1 4.1 0.71 b p1.07 valueset 0.0078 0.0699 0.9869 0.004 23.3 4.1 0.71 Berry set

No 1.07leaf removal 23.3

1.07

1.073.8 b

23.3

23.34.1

3.9 a

3.8 b c 0.63

4.1

4.1

0.71 b

0.63 c

Bloom 1.08 23.4 3.8 b 4.1 0.75 Berry soluble solids (Brix) were affected 1.07 23.3 3.8 b 4.1 0.63 c No leaf removal p value 0.6324 0.5667 0.0044 0.4859 <.0001 pBerry valueset 0.6324 0.5667 0.0044 0.4859 <.0001 mainly by irrigation treatments in our 1.07 23.3 3.9 a 4.1 0.71 b 0.6324 0.5667 0.0044 0.4859 <.0001 p value study. RDI consistentlySoutheast reducedside soluble 1.07 b 23.4 3.9 a 4.0 b 0.69 Southeast side 1.07 b 23.4 3.9 a 4.0 b 0.69 No leaf removal 23.3 3.9 a 3.8 b4.0 b 4.1 0.63 1.07 b 1.07 23.4 0.69 Southeast side solids each year (Table 2).

Interestingly, Northwest side 1.13 a 23.3 3.8 b 4.2 a 0.70 Northwest side 1.13 a 23.3 3.8 b 4.2 a 0.70 1.13 a0.6324 23.3 4.2 a 0.70 Northwest we found that the effect on Brix dependp value side 0.5667 3.8 b 0.0044 0.4859 <.000 p value <.0001 0.1228 <.0001 <.0001 0.7767 p value <.0001 0.1228 <.0001 <.0001 0.7767 ed on the interaction of leaf removal <.0001 0.1228 <.0001 <.0001 0.7767 p value Southeast 1.07 b according to the 23.4 a 4.0 b 0.69 a within columns representside the significant differences Tukey’s HSD at p 3.9 <0.05 aaDifferent and water managementDifferent (Tableletters 3). Leaf within columns represent the significant differences according toaccording the Tukey’stoHSD p <0.05HSD at p <0.05 Differentletters letters within columns represent the significant differences the atTukey’s Northwest side 1.13 a 23.3 3.8 b 4.2 a 0.70 removal increased BrixTable when vines were 3. Interaction of waterTable management and mechanical leaf removal berry Brixleaf removal on berry Brix 3.3.

Interaction of water management andon mechanical Table Interaction of water management and mechanical leaf removal on berry Brix not water stressed or mildly stressed p value <.0001 0.1228 <.0001 <.0001 0.776 like when SDI was applied whereas leaf aDifferent letters within columns represent the significant differences according to the Tukey’s HSD at p <0.0 Leaf removal Irrigation Leaf removal Irrigation removal reduced Brix when vines were Leaf removal Irrigation RDI SDI RDI SDI severely water stressed like when RDI Table 3. Interaction of water management and mechanical leafRDI removal on berry Brix SDI was imposed. This implies to growers Bloom22.9 b* 22.9 b* 23.9 a 23.9 a Bloom that if sugar is your biggest concern, you 22.9 b* 23.9 a BerryBloom set 22.8 b 23.9 a Berry set 22.8 bremoval 23.9 a Leaf Irrigation should water vines maintaining mild or Berry 22.8bb 23.9 a No leaf removal 23.3 a 23.2 b No leaf removal 23.3 aset 23.2 moderate vine water stress and remove RDI SDI P value 0.008 <0.001 No leaf removal 23.3 a 23.2 b fruit-zone leaves.

P value 0.008 <0.001 No leaf removal

Berry anthocyanin content is critically important for red wine grapes. RDI increased berry anthocyanins by 14% in comparison of SDI, and bloom and berry set leaf removal increased anthocyanins by 19% and 13%, respectively, compared to no leaf removal control (Table 2). This means the 14% increase in anthocyanin concentration from the RDI treatment is proportional to the decrease in berry weight and yield. So, there is no net gain of anthocyanins per berry associated with the RDI irrigation treatment. Bloom leaf removal increased anthocyanins by nearly 20% with no 14

Grape & Wine Magazine

Bloom P value Berry set

yield reduction and that means bloom leaf removal leaf removal provides a net No gain of anthocyanins per berry.

P value Bloom leaf removal was more effective than pre-veraison RDI at improving berry Brix and anthocyanins without adversely affecting yield. Given the significant reduction on yield from severe deficit irrigation and the low economic return per ton of fruit in the SJV, bloom mechanical leaf removal coupled with SDI of 80% ETc could be a useful practice for SJV growers.

October / November 2023

References

22.9 b* 0.008 22.8 b

23.9 a <0.001 23.9 a

23.3 a Acimovic, D., Tozzini, L., Green, A., Siv- 23.2 b ilotti, P., and0.008 Sabbatini, P. (2016) Iden- <0.001 tification of a defoliation severity threshold for changing fruitset, bunch morphology and fruit composition in Pinot Noir. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 22: 399– 408. doi: 10.1111/ajgw.12235.

Austin, C and Wilcox, W. (2011) Effects of Fruit-Zone Leaf Removal, Training Systems, and Irrigation on the Development of Grapevine Powdery Mildew.

Am J Enol Vitic. June 2011 62: 193-198.

Cook, M., Zhang, Y., Nelson, C., Gambetta, G., Kennedy, J., Kurtural, K. (2015) Anthocyanin Composition of Merlot is Ameliorated by Light Microclimate and Irrigation in Central California. Am J Enol Vitic. 66: 266-278.

California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) (ca.gov)

Williams, L. (2010) Interaction of rootstock and applied water amounts at various fractions of estimated evapotranspiration (ETc) on productivity of Cabernet Sauvignon. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research. 16:434–444.04 Williams, L. (2012) Interaction of applied water amounts and leaf removal in the fruiting zone on grapevine water relations and productivity of Merlot.

Irrig Sci. 30: 363-375.

Williams, L. (2014) Effect of Applied Water Amounts at Various Fractions of Evapotranspiration on Productivity and Water Footprint of Chardonnay Grapegrapevines. Am J Enol Vitic. 65: 215-221.

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

California Grape Crush Report 2022, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). USDA - National Agricultural Statistics Service - California - Grape Crush Reports

Ryona, I., Pan, B., Intrigliolo, D., Lakso, A., and Sacks G. (2008) Effects of Cluster Light Exposure on 3-Isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine Accumulation and Degradation Patterns in Red Wine Grapes (Vitis vinifera L. Cv. Cabernet Franc). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 56 (22), 10838-10846.

tool for use on a variety of fruit, nut

ADVANTAGES

and vegetable crops to suppress and control diseases that negatively

■ Broad spectrum disease control

impact crop quality and yield.

■ No Pre-Harvest Interval or MRLs

In university and field trials, DART®

■ Apply throughout the season up

consistently demonstrates excellent control of powdery mildew, downy

to the day of harvest

■ Ideal for IPM programs

mildew, botrytis, Botryosphaeria, and much more.

DART® Controls Powdery Mildew in Chardonnel Grapes University Trial, 2018

b

b

b

b

b

b

97.3

95.5

98.2

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Clusters

Leaves

94.5

Mendez-costabel, M., Wilkinson, K., Bastian, S., Jordans, C., Mccarthy, M., Ford, C., and Dokoozlian, N. (2014) Effect of increased irrigation and additional nitrogen fertilisation on the concentration of green aroma compounds in Vitis vinifera L. Merlot fruit and wine.

Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research. 20:80–90.

DART® Fungicide EC is an effective

96.6

Levin, A., Matthews, M., and Williams, L. (2020) Effect of Preveraison Water Deficits on the Yield Components of 15 Winegrape Cultivars. Am J Enol Vitic. 71: 208-221.

An Effective Contact Fungicide Solution for Organic and Conventional Farming

94.7

Kurtural, K and Fidelibus, M. (2021) Mechanization of Pruning, Canopy Management, and Harvest in Winegrape Vineyards. Catalyst: Discovery in Practice. 5: 29-44.

Percent Control (severity)

Frioni, T., Zhuang, S., Palliotti, A., Sivilotti, P., Falchi, R. and Sabbatini, P. (2017) Leaf Removal and Cluster Thinning Efficiencies Are Highly Modulated

by Environmental Conditions in Cool Climate Viticulture. Am J Enol Vitic.

68: 325-335.

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October / November 2023 www.grapeandwinemag.com

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October / November 2023 MYAGLIFE.COM/MYAGNITE

Grape & Wine Magazine

EVENT HOST

JASON SCOTT CEO OF JCS MARKETING, INC.

POWERED BY AG MARKETING SOLUTIONS

Fox News Host to Headline My Ag Nite Event in Tulare

P

olitical commentator and Fox News co-host, Jesse Watters, will be the headliner at a premiere ag event coming to the heart of the Central Valley on November 2. My Ag Nite, hosted by Jason Scott, CEO of JCS Marketing, Inc., will bring together industry professionals and conservative dignitaries to celebrate all things California agriculture.

part of the state, Scott said, and will no doubt make the event memorable.

“We expect this to be one of the best events that we’ve ever put on or will put on,” Scott said. “If you want to attend something that’s different, unique, and special to agriculture, this is the one time you need to make time to show up.”

the successes and failures of those issues so often being determined by politics.

“I feel like agriculture is in a place where it’s time to get back to basics, it’s time to celebrate a lot of the things we have in common, and be able to come together and talk about it for an evening,” he said.

Scott's firm publishes both print and Scott added that he wants people to digital trade magazines. The publicawalk away with renewed relationships, tions include West Coast Nut, Grape & a better understanding of who ag is Wine and Progressive Crop Consultant. as an industry, and the challenges ag Scott's firms also hosts a growing web- faces collectively, as a group. site called MyAgLife, which highlights the diverse agriculture commodities of “I hope attendees will walk away with the West Coast. The site is also home a sense that not all is lost with conserto a daily and weekly podcast highvative values and we don’t stand alone Scott said he sees the night as a way lighting Central Valley ag issues and in that community,” he said to bring those who have a stake in leaders. agriculture together in one place to Tickets for My Ag Nite start at $150 celebrate the industry and to wind Coming out of a post pandemic reality, per person and a number of upgraded down and enjoy like-minded solidarScott came up with the idea for My Ag ticket opportunities are also availity following the stresses of the busy Nite as a way to stimulate live events, able, including a meet and greet with harvest season. he explained. Like the MyAgLife web- Watters, group table reservations, and site and brand, he emphasizes the event trade show booth space. Tickets and “We’re bringing a diversified group of being about agriculture as a whole, and further information can be obtained thought leaders together to celebrate not focusing on any one commodity. through www.myaglife.com/myagnite. leadership in agriculture,” he said.

Ag media inquiries only can be direct“We wanted to do something unique in ed to the JCS Marketing Office (559) Scott is especially excited about the the industry, for the industry, and we 352-4456. No outside media outlets event being able to present a rare, wanted to provide something for the beyond agriculture. in-person opportunity to hear from a MyAgLife brand,” he said. “The idea political commentator of Watters’ cali- behind it is that we celebrate agriculber that will appeal to the conservative ture and our conservative values in the farming community. Watters’ notoriety industry.”

About JCS Marketing: has skyrocketed since he took over for JCS Marketing has a rich history in former Fox News commentator, Tucker Scott says that while he tends to leave providing marketing services tailored to Carlson, who left the network earlier politics out of his publications and the agricultural industry. With a deep this year. marketing, he sees My Ag Nite as understanding of the unique needs and a way for those who have a stake in values of the ag community, they are The chance to see Watters speak isn’t agriculture to be able to talk about the committed to fostering connections and likely to come around again to this issues that affect them first hand—with driving success within the industry.

The dinner and gala will take place at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, Calif., and is expected to sell out.

Guests will have access to an exclusive trade show showcasing innovative farming solutions, and the opportunity to network and forge connections within the industry.

October / November 2023 www.grapeandwinemag.com

17

NEW BOTTLE BILL DEADLINE IS APPROACHING FAST, AND ACTION IS REQUIRED

By PAM STRAYER | Contributing Writer

W

ineries have until Jan. 1, 2024 to sign up with CalRecycle to start reporting each month the number of wine bottles, cans and bagin-box items they produce. It’s all part of the new bottle bill, SB 1013, passed in 2022.

The new law going into effect has two important deadlines for producers.

Part 1, due Jan. 1, 2024, is reporting and paying a small fee per container.

Part 2, due July 1, 2025, is labeling all containers with recycling redemption language, following specific CalRecycle mandated guidelines.

Part 1: Reporting and Paying

Before this new law went into effect,

consumers could turn in bottles and cans for non-alcoholic beverages for redemption and receive 5 or 10 cents back per item. The issue is that most did not visit a specific recycling center to get those nickels and dimes, but rather deposited their empties in municipal waste pickup programs.

The new law expands returnables to

The overwhelming majority of wine and liquor containers sold are glass bottles: 87% by units and 99% by weight. PET plastic bottles make up 9% of wine and liquor units sold (less than 1% by weight). Aluminum cans make up only 2% by units and are negligible by weight, while 3% are cartons and foil pouches that are not eligible for California Redemption Value.

18

Grape & Wine Magazine

October / November 2023

’

The idea is to close the loop between producers and the potential waste they create.

wine and spirits containers. It also requires retailers to do a better job of accepting returnables.

Then two months after the start of the Jan. 1, 2024 reporting deadline, producers will be required to pay fees based on the numbers in those reports.

The idea is to close the loop between producers and the potential waste they create. Redemption increases recycling rates, experts say. It also creates better-quality glass returns, researchers report, and that makes this recycled glass more attractive for reuse by glass manufacturers.

According to CalRecycle, the bill will bring 4,200 California wineries into the fold and is expected to add 1.1 billion wine and spirits containers to recycling.

That’s an overall increase of 4%, a department spokesperson said.

The CalRecycle registration page has details. The agency also has representatives available to assist in filling out registration forms.

Beginning in March 2024, producers will begin paying “processing fees.” The price is not fixed but is very low. Currently, the fee is $0.00452 per bottle, $0.00005 per plastic container and $0.00762 for a box or equivalent.

Tasting rooms in California do not need to report or pay processing fees, but any

out-of-state wineries selling to Californians must report monthly and pay processing fees.

Part Two: Labeling Changes

After completing the first phase of reporting and paying fees, the second big deadline takes place 18 months later on July 1, 2025. By then, wine and spirits containers sold in California must be labeled with the California Redemption Value (CRV) code.

Consumers will then begin paying CRV deposits of five cents for containers under 24 ounces, 10 cents for containers of 24 ounces or more and a flat rate of 25 cents for bag-in-box packaging (regardless of size).

CalRecycle offers wineries five options for the message to display on the con-

Continued on Page 20

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October / November 2023 www.grapeandwinemag.com

19

Continued from Page 19 tainer: California Redemption Value, CA Redemption Value, California Cash Refund, CA Cash Refund or CA CRV. There’s more information available in the CalRecycle webinar, posted on its YouTube channel, and website instructions provide requirements and example how-to’s.

The labeling must be “clearly, prominently and indelibly marked,” according to the website.

For glass and plastic, the message needs to be on the container body label or secondary label. The text height should be 3/16 inches, or it can be 1/8 inches if it is in a contrasting color to the background and nearby text.

Examples of approved label samples.

For aluminum cans, the message must be on the top lid. If the top is more than two inches in diameter, the message must be 3/16 inches in height. If the top is 2 inches or less in diameter, the message must be 1/8 inches in height.

The agency is still working on details for box, bladder and pouch product labeling.

No monetary value appears in the messaging as that is subject to change in the future, CalRecycle said.

Examples of labels that were not approved.

The CalRecycle website has do’s and don’ts examples posted on its website.

The End Goal: More Efficient Glass Reuse

According to Scott Defife of the Glass Packaging Institute, “California bottles have 40% recycled content. Oregon bottles have 70% recycled content.

Washington bottles have 50% recycled content.”

CalRecycle hopes the redemption program will increase the recycling rate to 80% and increase glass reuse by glass manufacturers.

Industry researchers from the Container 20

Grape & Wine Magazine

Examples of temporary label options.

October / November 2023

..the bill will bring 4,200 California

’

wineries into the fold and is expected to add 1.1 billion wine and spirits containers to recycling.

Recycling Institute say glass returned outside the consumer redemption system (where it is mixed in with other recycling items) is dirtier and costs $20 a ton to recycle. That’s in contrast to cleaner glass handled through redemption centers where it’s worth $20 a ton and is attractive to glass manufacturers.

California Redemption Value labeling must be “clearly, prominently and indelibly marked,” according to CalRecycle.

Resources

Bottle Bill resource page: wineinstitute. org/our-industry/bottle-bill/

CalRecycle’s Beverage Distributors and Manufacturers: calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/BevDistMan/

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

CalRecycle online webinar: youtube. com/watch?v=x50d5FYvQdA

T5.120 with Air-O-Fan

Garton Tractor, Inc. 4780 South K Street Tulare, CA 93724 (559)686-0054 | www.gartontractor.com October / November 2023 www.grapeandwinemag.com

21

SUSTAINABLE STORY SERIES: PART 2 PLANTING TREES WITH A BOTTLE OF WINE: SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE WINE INDUSTRY

By WHITNEY BROWNIE | Vineyard Team

W

hile our planet’s nickname “the Blue Planet” might imply that water resources are plentiful and available, this is not actually the case. Over 97% of Earth’s water is unusable salt water, and 2% is unavailable freshwater stored in glaciers and ice caps. This means less than one percent is freshwater that is accessible to humans to fulfill our daily water needs.

USDA’s Erika Cross gave this staggering analogy: “…if the world’s water supply were 26 gallons, our useable supply of freshwater would be half a teaspoon” (Cross 2022).

Of all our water daily uses, from hydrating ourselves and our pets to washing our hands and our cars, water for agricultural crops is one of the most important and demanding.

With the country’s population growth of nearly 100 million between 1980 and 2015, how can it be that water withdrawals for irrigation were relatively steady during that time span? The USGS posits the effects could be attributed to water conservation efforts and greater water use efficiencies (USGS 2018).

From water application tools and strategies in the vineyard to capturing, treating and reusing winery wastewater, sustainable wine brands use practices that minimize their water use, optimize efficiency and reduce groundwater pumping (all photos courtesy Shale Oaks Winery.)

22

Grape & Wine Magazine

October / November 2023

Managing agricultural water use in a responsible way can have a positive impact on water conservation while also maintaining a stable food supply for years to come. Growers can use responsible water management strategies that conserve and optimize their use, ones that increase water efficiency without decreasing crop yield. The sustainable winegrowing community does just that.

‘...several studies show that when managed correctly, winery wastewater has no negative effects on the health of grapevines or vineyard soils.’

Water Sustainability in Viticulture

From water application tools and strategies in the vineyard to capturing, treating and reusing winery wastewater, sustainable wine brands use practices that minimize their water use, optimize efficiency and reduce groundwater pumping.

Agriculture can feel like a battle against natural elements. Growers must learn to work with elements out of their control, including wind, frost, degree days or a family of ground squirrels that decides to call their vineyard home. Although the same can be said for precipitation, supplemental water application is one of the few inputs the grower has significant control over.

So, how does a vineyard manager know when to irrigate the vineyard and how much water to apply? As well as using visual cues from the vines themselves, sustainable winegrowers use hard data from plant and soil moisture monitoring devices to understand how their crops and the land respond to their practices. Using this data, they make informed irrigation decisions and only apply water when it is needed.

Continued on Page 24

When rain falls on the roofs of Shale Oak’s winery and tasting room, it is directed through a water passage that flows to a water feature. When it fills up, the overflow goes to a sump pump, where it begins its journey to the vines.

October / November 2023 www.grapeandwinemag.com

23

At the top of Shale Oak’s hill sit five 100,000-gallon water cisterns. This is where the rainwater from the wet season is pumped and held until the dry season to drip irrigate the 5-acre vineyard.

Continued from Page 23 Low-volume irrigation systems are one of the most impactful water conservation tools in the grower’s toolbox. Drip irrigation is a sustainable winegrower’s go-to method. This type of irrigation system typically uses an impressive 20% to 50% less water per-acre than a sprinkler system (EPA 2017).

In a drip system, emitters are placed along an irrigation line that runs along a vine row a few inches above the soil.

The emitters slowly drip water directly onto the planted areas at the base of the vine. This is a contrast to sprinkler systems, which spray high volumes of water over large areas, both planted and not.

The slower, more targeted application of 24

Grape & Wine Magazine

water delivered by drip means a greater percentage of what is applied is actually used by the crop, less water is lost through leeching and runoff, and water isn’t applied to areas that don’t need to be irrigated.

Responsible water management does not stop in the vineyard. It can take anywhere from 2 to 20 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of wine (Wine Business Analytics 2014) depending on a winery’s water management practices.

Between using water to clean and sanitize equipment, as a wine additive and as a processing aid, gallons can add up.

Sustainable winemakers don’t let the runoff water from tasks go to waste; they recycle it. Winery wastewater can

October / November 2023

be stored in an irrigation pond or aboveground or belowground holding tanks on the property. Wherever it is stored, wastewater must be treated before being reused.

After proper treatment, recycled water can be used for more cleaning and sanitizing of winery equipment, as an equipment coolant, for frost protection in the vineyard and even for irrigating grapevines and landscaping. If you’re concerned over whether the quality of grapes and composition of the soil could be harmed by recycled water, there’s no need to fret; several studies show that when managed correctly, winery wastewater has no negative effects on the health of grapevines or vineyard soils (Hirzel et. al. 2017; Buelow et al. 2015).

begins its journey to the vines.

Shale Oak captures most of the rainwater that falls on their property through this roof collection system, and by utilizing the natural flow of the terrain.

The water that falls on their grounds, driveway and parking lot are diverted to numerous waterways that lead to an underground cistern. All this water that would otherwise have run off their property will join the water collected from the roofs to deficit irrigate their vines.

At the top of Shale Oak’s hill sit five 100,000-gallon water cisterns. This is where the rainwater from the wet season is pumped and held until the dry season.

During the hotter, drier months when the vines are in critical growing stages, all the rainwater they captured is carried out to drip irrigate their five acres of vines and hydrate their landscaping.

Since this water capture strategy was designed into every element of their layout, Shale Oak significantly reduces their pumping needs. In fact, Sean Walter, assistant winemaker, stated, “Our 500,000-gallon capacity, most of the time, can get us through the whole growing season if we have a significant rainfall throughout the wintertime.”

Sustainability in Action: Shale Oak Winery

Learning how responsible producers like Shale Oak Winery go the extra mile to protect natural resources has a myriad of positive effects on the whole food system. It fosters deeper connections between agricultural producers and consumers, brings attention to sustainably minded growers and their good work, and helps consumers understand more about the agricultural systems we depend on every single day.

It’s not just winery wastewater that is captured for later use. With proper architectural planning, rainwater that falls on roofs and driveways can also be collected and used for growing wine grapes. Some wineries are designed with rainwater capture in mind, like Shale Oak Winery in Paso Robles, Calif.

“Food disconnect” is a term used to describe the average consumer’s lack When rain falls on the roofs of Shale of knowledge about where their food Oak’s winery and tasting room, it is comes from and how it’s made. When it directed through a water passage that comes to wine, most people only see the flows to a water feature. While this wafinished product: what’s in their glass. ter feature offers patio tasters a sense of serenity, it was designed to be more than If your wine brand practices sustaina visual pleasantry. When it fills up, the ability, there’s yet another level to this overflow goes to a sump pump, where it disconnect with your customers. While

‘After proper treatment, recycled water can be used for more cleaning and sanitizing of winery equipment, as an equipment coolant, for frost protection in the vineyard and even for irrigating grapevines and landscaping.’ consumers name food and beverage as one of the most important industries when it comes to sustainability, more than one in four U.S. adults said they don’t know what makes a product sustainable (Morning Consult 2022).

This highlights an opportunity to showcase the time and careful consideration that went into your wine’s production. By highlighting your dedication to sustainability, you create a deeper connection with your customers. Wine drinkers gain valuable (and engaging) insights into agriculture. Plus, it lets them know that when they support your brand, they also contribute to a more sustainable food system.

In the next issue of the Sustainable Story Series, we share the story of a San Luis Obispo, Calif. winegrower who unintentionally discovered a unique pest mitigation strategy while developing a vineyard planting method that significantly conserves water by using everyday hardware store materials.

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

October / November 2023 www.grapeandwinemag.com

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Mark Welch, co-owner and winemaker at Torch Cellars, has worked in wineries across the world to perfect his own wines (all photos courtesy M. Welch.)

Winery Feature: Torch Cellars

Well traveled winemaker and PCA Mark Welch takes inspiration from techniques around the world.

By TAYLOR CHALSTROM | Editor

T

orch Cellars co-founder Mark Welch had worked in multiple vineyards across the globe all his career before finally opening his own with longtime friend Greg Jelstrom. A dream come true, Welch and Jelstrom made it their mission to “craft elegant, limited-production wines that will delight the most discriminating wine enthusiast.”

Welch, who is also a certified PCA, worked his way up through the wine industry in all facets, from the field to the winery to teaching, and finally back to the winery. By the early 2010s, Welch and Jelstrom were making wine by hand as a side project and bottling their first Zinfandels. Jelstrom, like Welch, came to enjoy winemaking, and the two became business partners to form Torch Cellars.

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Torch Cellars is located in western Paso Robles within San Luis Obispo County and produces from grapes grown in vineyards in the Willow Creek, El Pomar and Templeton Gap regions.

Location, which includes factors like soil type, weather and aesthetic, is everything to Welch for a winery, and it played into the search for Torch’s home on the Central Coast.

Welch sat down with Grape & Wine to share his experiences working across the industry up to Torch’s inception and beyond.

Q. How did you get your start?

I’m from Visalia originally. I went to Cal Poly [San Luis Obispo] for crop science. Two years into my agronomy class, I had Viticulture 1 and Viticulture

October / November 2023

From left to right, Tempranillo, Rosé and Cabernet Sauvignon options from Torch Cellars. Welch said his grandmother, an artist, created the logo he’d eventually use for Torch, which takes inspiration from the Mayan sun.

2. I enrolled in those. At this time, Cal Poly did not have a wine and viticulture program so a few professors with vision created a “Wine Marketing Certificate Program” in the early 1990s through the university’s extended education teaching program, which I participated and graduated. It was the beginning of what Cal Poly has now in the wine and viticulture program.

At that time as a student, I worked and

Welch typically ages his wines 18 to 33 months in either French Oak barrels or a combination of French Oak and American barrels.

was enrolled at the university yearlong.

Professor Paul Fountain oversaw the teaching vineyard. Paul asked me, “I need someone to run the vineyard (Trestle Vineyard) for the summer.” I volunteered, so that’s how I got started.

along with all the permanent tree crops That’s where I met Dr. Keith Patterson, a very famous viticulturist. Keith took me under his wing... and I ended up teaching there for the next 10 years as a lecturer.

The winery that was processing those grapes for Cal Poly was Wild Horse Winery and owner Ken Volk, very famous winemaker. I wanted to learn more about the winemaking process.

Fast forward, after I graduated Cal Poly, I ended up going to work for Wild Horse in Templeton, Calif. I spent three years learning the wine business. At this same time, I was introduced to the music business and managed, marketed and toured with musicians for the next six years. That was fun and very educating; however, I decided to follow my passion and get back into the wine business. I went back to Cal Poly and enrolled in the master’s program for plant protection science.

At that time, we developed the wine and viticulture program at Cal Poly. We were the first ones to develop it. I was on the ground floor.

After graduating, Cal Poly Crop Science Department offered me a position to lecture classes and manage the vineyard

Q. Where did the name ‘Torch’ come from?

In 2012, we had a department head change... I decided to retire and move on. Following my interest to travel and work abroad, I ended up doing grape harvest in Switzerland along Lec léman (Lake Geneva), and subsequently accepted a cellar hand position in New Zealand for the next three seasons working for Constellation Brands. After moving back to San Luis Obispo, I went to work for Midnight Cellars in Paso Robles. That’s where I started the brand, Torch Cellars.

Torch was my nickname I was given

while working at Wild Horse Winery.

Ken Volk named me “Torch”. We were working in the sun so much, I looked like a surfer guy. “You’re a torch,” he said, and that’s the name.

Q. To you, what makes Torch Cellars unique?

Location has everything to do with it.

On the west side of Paso, the soils are very chalky (we call them calcareous), they are old seabed soils, and the weather, of course, the day and night temperature fluctuations, those have a lot to do with the flavor of the grapes, we say.

At Torch Cellars... my winemaking style is a combination of various techniques.

We have seven guys that make wine down here, and all of us might use the same grapes but we don’t necessarily use the same yeast, barrels and/or aging techniques. It’s like a chef, for example, like you’re making a pizza and I’m making a pizza; we all use dough, but it’s how you make it.

Continued on Page 28

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Continued from Page 27 I think the things that stand out for anybody making wine is your label. The brand has to be the one that kind of stands out and makes it unique. You need to have a story behind it. I think it makes it a lot more interesting when people ask about it.

I went around the world where I’ve seen a lot of different winemaking techniques and I apply them to my winemaking style.

Welch and his girlfriend, Alya, pouring wine at an event.

There’s not only one way to do things.

That’s kind of where you stand out between you and the next guy.

Q. Tell me about some of those grapes and wines you produce at Torch.

I make red wines in a “Bordeaux style,” meaning I primarily use the five primary reds from France: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.

I always liked Cab, and I always liked Syrah, and I ended up blending this Cab-Syrah-Tempranillo, and that’s kind of my flagship. That’s my reserve. It’s always been Cab, Tempranillo and Syrah.

I love Tempranillo, it is a favorite variety I use as a standalone variety and blend.

Tempranillo is from Spain, and I use a combination of American and French Oak barrels, age 33 months. It’s kind of earthy, it’s got the other elements that Cab doesn’t have or Syrah. Of course, it’s the major variety out of Rioja, Spain.

I produce the wine over here and kind of do it in a different style.

I typically age 18 to 33 months in 50% New French Oak. Rhône-style wines (Syrah, Grenache) use much less new Oak (33% new French Oak) and only 18to 24-month barrel aging.

Grenache is the workhorse of the Rhône Valley [in France], so I also do a little Grenache Rosé.

There’s about a handful of us that make 28

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Welch takes pride in his unique style of winemaking.

Chardonnay on the west side of Paso, and it’s in a Burgundian style... meaning barrel fermented, barrel aged and sur lie aging (the process of letting white and sparkling wines mature and age on top of spent yeast and other particulate matter.) Typically, no more than five

October / November 2023

to six months in barrel before bottling.

In Europe, winemakers use traditional winemaking techniques centuries old handed down by generation where in New Zealand) we use the same concepts but more mechanized and larger quantities.

do the tastings, and you’re in the cellar, you see the tanks, we do some barrel tastings.

Most people are just in the tasting room, they just don’t get to see the owner. They get to see everybody else. So, it’s just with me.

Q. Separate from Torch Cellars, what’s been your personal mission as a winemaker?

Welch makes red wines in a “Bordeaux style,” using the five primary reds from France: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.

Q. What’s the tasting experience like at Torch?

Everything is in the wine cellar itself, which is kind of unique. You have to have an appointment, we come in, we

I’m trying to help growers be efficient. I get called all the time. It’s been a learning process.

Q. What does sustainability mean to you?

Travelling really opened my eyes to traditional winemaking. My main objective with that was to just learn as much as I could and try to bring as much of that knowledge back here and try to train people.

I don’t know if I really have a mission; I just know I want to try and make the best wine I can, and I like being a PCA.

Q. Does being a PCA help when being a winemaker?

I work as an independent pest control adviser (viticulture consultant). It does help me. I get questions on both sides all the time.

Six months out of the year I work in the wine side and the other six months

There’s a pest side, soil side, water side and people side. So, all those things taken into consideration, when we farm, sustainability is using the least of all your inputs to create a product.

I tell everybody, you’ve got to farm the soil, not necessarily just the plant because it is what’s in the soil that translates into the wine.

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

Contact us to see how we can help!

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FIRE INSURANCE A MOVING TARGET LOCALIZED IMPACTS AFFECT SOME VINEYARDS DRAMATICALLY, SOME NOT AT ALL

By PAM STRAYER | Contributing Writer

D

riving up Soda Canyon Road on Napa’s east side, the neighborhood under the Vaca mountains looks different these days. Gone are many of the old wood frame houses, replaced today with new, boxy homes built of fire-resistant materials.

building’s outer shell. The winery caves were restored.

But today, Travelers no longer provides their coverage.

“Before the fire, we could have one carrier that insured the entire properThe October 2017 Atlas Fire was the ty, liability, equipment, all the houses, big changemaker. The fire destroyed caves, the entire thing was at one com781 buildings and over 51,057 acres of pany,” said Vandendriessche. “After vegetation. the fire, nobody wanted to take on that much risk because that meant you were Chris Vandendriessche remembers what exposed to all the potential damages life was like before the fire when his in a fire. And since then, we’ve had to family’s winery, White Rock Vineyards, take eight or nine companies, each one had just one insurer. In 2017, the family taking a little tranche of the insurance lost all the structures on their property, needs of our business.” including the 1870’s stone winery that had been converted into a family home But each year, the family still must seek for his parents (who founded the family new coverage and new insurers. winery), the modern winery a few hundred yards away and the small tasting “Every year since the fire, two or three of room adjacent to it. those companies have backed out, and we have to find new ones. The prices With money from their insurance have tripled for less coverage. So, that’s claims from Travelers Insurance, the our insurance picture.” stone house innards were built anew, preserving the stone structure on the The Vandendriessche’s insurance agent, 30

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Jim Stetson, Agency co-owner of Leavitt United Insurance Services, deals with properties all over the state. He says the rising rates are highly localized and that insurance rates for vineyard and winery owners in other parts of the state have not been affected by the wildfires.

“For somebody with little to no wildfire exposure, we can still get basically the same kinds of programs that we had in the past,” he said. “It depends on the wildfire risk, the property values and loss control, and brush mitigation. If you’re in American Canyon or Lodi or Sacramento or somewhere like that, the wildfire concern isn’t going to be really

Some owners of vineyards and wineries in high-fire-risk areas are finding it difficult to keep themselves on fire insurance plans as providers continue to pull out and prices increase.

an issue. But in a lot of the other areas, you are going to be exposed to that.”

Wine Warehouse Insurance Affected It also depends on where wine is stored, Stetson said.

“Aggregation can be an issue; that’s where carriers only want to have a certain amount of limit in one area so that if there’s some kind of catastrophic wildfire event, they’re not losing it all in one event. So, they don’t want to have too much value, say over $100 million, in one five-mile area.

“We see that at the wine warehouses

in American Canyon right now, where there’s aggregation issues with certain carriers where they have too many clients storing wine or producing wine in one location.”

Insurance Tied to Bank Loans

The insurance issue is complicated because it isn’t just about insurance.

Insurance is linked to winery finance since banks require insurance to lend money.

“2017 brought increased awareness of the problem, and that’s when the insurance industry started pulling out,” said Michael Miiller, director of government

relations at the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG).

“Basically, where our growers are is they have a property that has a structure on it. And if they have any kind of line of credit already lending at all, they have to have proof of insurance as a condition of that lending, which means they have to have insurance.”

“We’re in a crisis situation,” he said.

Continued on Page 32

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Continued from Page 31

negotiations between the department and the FAIR Plan.

Mixed Reviews for the FAIR Plan

By summer 2023, the department had still not implemented the increases announced in March and said in an email to Grape & Wine the higher limits would most likely be available by end of 2023.

That leaves many businesses exposed again during the 2023 vintage.

The state of California has stepped in to create the insurer of last resort: the FAIR Plan. FAIR Plan’s policy numbers more than doubled between 2018 and 2022 from 127,000 to 272,000 (including homeowners as well as businesses.)

“Right now, it’s the only option available to people, to many, many people,” said Miiller. “And when your safety net is all you have, that’s not sufficient. They have a limit to how much they can cover.”

In March 2023, the California Department of Insurance announced it would up FAIR Plan caps for commercial businesses coverage amounts “from $8.4 million to $20 million per location, and under its Division II Business Owners Program, from $7.2 million to $20 million per location,” according to a department press release.

Stetson explained that the FAIR Plan is not a state run program but is run by the insurance companies themselves. “A lot of people think it is [state-run], but it’s a pool of all the admitted carriers doing business in California.”

That means each new change requires

“The FAIR Plan does not cover things like faster water damage or falling objects, freezing pipes,” said Stetson, “so there’s some gaps there.”

He said commercial insurers are starting to fill in some of the gaps. “That’s starting to come back online and provide a little bit of relief.”

Miiller pointed out that even when the $20 million limit is implemented, the amount is per policy, not per structure.

“It would be better if it were per structure,” he said.

The CAWG official criticized the state’s insurance regulators for being slow to act.

“We’re looking at how they set rates, we’re looking at the expediency of rate approvals and those kinds of things.

There’s a lot that can be done at the

Department of Insurance to speed things up. And they’re just not doing it.

When you look at when Lara expanded the FAIR Plan, it took them forever to approve their rates.”

“When there’s no product on the market, growers have no options,” he said.

Still, despite wildfires in Oregon, the situation is quite different there, Miiller said.

“You can find growers in Oregon who aren’t having near the problems that they’re having in California. Their regulatory system is entirely different.”

That’s because Oregon does not set commercial insurance rates.

The Crisis Continues... for Some

Miiller warned that the crisis, however unevenly distributed it is, is far from over.

“If we don’t start looking at this like the emergency situation that it is, we are quickly going to see a bunch of industries that are going to pay some serious consequences because they can’t buy insurance. Insurance isn’t an option. You have to have it to be in business. If it is not available, the dominoes start falling.”

“So, from my perspective, I think there

Reducing on-property fire risks may improve coverage options in the eye of the insurer, but there is no guarantee of return on investment.

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really needs to be somebody to step up and say, ‘Hey, we have an emergency. And I’m going to implement these emergency actions to start to address this problem.’”

Yet, when it comes to insurance, some areas of the state are stable, said Stetson.

“For folks in the Central Valley, if there’s no wildfire risk, the options are pretty much what they were [before 2017]. If there’s wildfire risk, then we have to start getting more creative.

not bottled yet is excluded from coverage,” said Stetson. “So that’s a pretty big issue for people because typically, once it’s case goods, they can move it to a third-party storage location and find palatable, affordable coverage from an admitted carrier.”

According to the California Department of Insurance, counties where 25% or more homes are in high fire risk, these are the top-ranked counties, by highest

exposure first: Tuolumne, Trinity, Nevada, Mariposa, Plumas, Alpine, Calaveras, Sierra, Amador, El Dorado, Mono, Lake, Mendocino, Siskiyou, Butte, Lassen, Shasta, Tehama, Santa Cruz, Humboldt, Napa, Del Norte, Modoc, and Placer.

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

“If there’s no wildfire risk, that’s the carrier’s main concern. We have seen a little bit of a rate increase, but there’s still a lot of carriers playing in the space.”

Reducing Risk

What can property owners do to reduce risk in the eyes of insurers?

“It’s a moving target,” Stetson said. “Defensible space is always the first thing that people do, cutting back brush, removing low hanging branches and getting ladder fuels off the property or away from the buildings. That’s definitely helpful.

THE BEST WAY TO MANAGE PATHOGENS BEFORE THEY BECOME AN ISSUE.

“Some people have contracted private firefighting companies to consult. Some will spray fire retardant seasonally around the production buildings, and then they sometimes have them on a retainer to come in...so if there’s a wildfire event, they will help defend the property.”

Sprinklers make sense, he said, but there’s no guarantee installing them will bring a return on the investment. “Unfortunately, it’s difficult to ask somebody to spend that much money because it’s not necessarily a guarantee of an offer of coverage. The insurance companies can make somebody put in a six-figure sprinkler system, and then that same carrier that asked him to do that next year could pivot,” he said.

“A lot of people in the brushy areas are stuck in the process,” he added.

Another limitation of the FAIR Plan: It doesn’t cover wine in tanks. “Anything

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Under SB 703 (Florez) Chapter 481, Statutes of 2003, open burning for agricultural crops is phased out under a prescribed schedule. This schedule will result in the near-complete prohibition of agricultural open burning in the Central Valley beginning Jan. 1, 2025 (all photos courtesy Fowler Brothers Farming.)

The End of Open Ag Burning in the Central Valley and the State

By MICHAEL MIILLER | Director of Government Relations, California Association of Winegrape Growers

I

n the next two years, California’s Central Valley will experience a transformational change in agriculture: the end of open agricultural burning. It is likely that other regional air districts around the state will adopt a similar prohibition of open agricultural burning in the years to follow.

Under SB 703 (Florez) Chapter 481, Statutes of 2003, open burning for agricultural crops is phased out under a prescribed schedule. This schedule will result in the near-complete prohibition of agricultural open burning in the Central Valley beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

In preparing for this, the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) worked with other agricultural industry associations in 2021 and successfully advocated in the State Legislature for nearly $180 million in funding for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. This one-time influx of money in part provides funding for the District’s Alternatives to Agricultural Open Burning Incentive Program. This stipend program is intended to help growers pay the high costs of alternatives to open agricultural burns during the phaseout.

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For decades, the disposal of old orchards and vineyards has commonly involved burning. For vineyards, the materials used in trellising, such as end posts, t-posts and wire have created unique challenges in how to dispose of vines when removed. That is why up and down the Central Valley, you may see piles of pulled vineyards left sitting waiting to be disposed of.

In 2003, opponents to SB 703 warned of the very situation in which we now find ourselves. The analysis by the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources, dated June 30, 2003, stated, the following: “Bill opponents state that while the agricultural community is willing to pursue means to reduce or eliminate burning when feasible, it is important that alternatives to burning be established BEFORE the prohibition is enacted.”

Unfortunately, that advice was not heeded.

Alternatives

To address this situation, CAWG will be advocating in the legislature in 2024 to obtain additional funding to develop viable alternatives for disposing of

October / November 2023

CAWG will be advocating in the legislature in 2024 to obtain additional funding to develop viable alternatives, like the air curtain burner pictured here, for disposing of vineyards.

vineyards. However, this will be difficult as almost every alternative comes with unique challenges. The alternatives and associated challenges are outlined as follows: Chipping and Mulching: This alternative involves the grower to either hire a company to chip or mulch the piles of vines on-site or ship those piles to a facility equipped for chipping and mulching.

There are three specific challenges with this alternative: Economics. Most of the machines used to chip, mulch or grind vines don’t work well with metals. This means all metal would need to be removed first, which can be a very costly endeavor. Additionally, if the vines are being shipped to a facility, shipping costs can also be expensive.

Disease. When old vines are removed due to disease, chipping and mulching is not a viable option as this would potentially result in putting disease back into the soil or spreading the disease to nearby vineyards. The federal Tree Assistance Program (TAP) provides financial assistance to eligible growers to replant.

A condition of the TAP program is the diseased vine cannot be reincorporated into the soil and best practices prioritize burning.

Market Demand. Increased forest management (preventing fires) and the recent prohibition of putting food and other organic waste into landfills has resulted in a substantial increase in the supply of compost, mulch, wood chips and other similar groundcover. This means if a grower decides to dispose of old vines through chipping and mulching, no one may be waiting to buy that material.

So, what is the grower to do with that material? While there is a beneficial use of this material in a new vineyard, there is only so much a grower can use.

through pyrolysis) exist in the Central Valley. Additionally, there are economic challenges in shipping.

Biomass: Vines can be used as alternative fuels within energy conversion chains, driving renewable energy exploration as an alternative to traditional agricultural biomass burning. The ability to convert grapevine biomass residues into energy is potentially a valuable alternative to explore in the future. However, there would need to be an expansion of markets and availability. Unfortunately, policymak-

biomass as an effective tool in fighting climate change and protecting clean air.

CAWG has created a hotline for its members who find they have reached a dead end in getting approval to burn. It is recommended that CAWG members diligently go through the steps provided on cawg.org’s Ag Burn Hotline Webpage (under the Resource Tab) before completing the form for CAWG’s assistance.

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

Air Curtain Burners, also called FireBoxes: These act as an air pollution control device by reducing the particulate matter, smoke or black carbon created by burning wood waste. This alternative to traditional open burning mitigates the amount of smoke released from open agricultural burning. This also creates a valuable byproduct that can be tilled into the soil. The downside is that while some growers can afford this equipment, most cannot. Additionally, there is limited availability of these burners.

Low-Smoke Ag Burning: This is an important option (for 2024 only) in dealing with vineyard management waste. Low-smoke agricultural burning, when using best practices, takes into consideration concerns of public health as well as climate change. The challenge here is how long a grower needs to wait for approval of a burn day. Depending on several meteorological factors and how many people want to burn in that area, a grower with a permit to burn could wait for several months to get approval, and that grower is not guaranteed to be able to burn their full permitted amount in one day.

Biochar: This is one of the smartest alternatives that also offers incredible benefits.

One ton of biochar is equivalent to three tons of CO2 sequestered. By turning old vineyards into biochar, carbon remains trapped in its solid form, thus creating a carbon-negative cycle. However, few Pyrolysers (an oven that creates biochar

ers in Sacramento currently do not see October / November 2023 www.grapeandwinemag.com

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