Canopy Management in the Auxerrois

We are continuining canopy management in our vineyard. We are currently in the Auxerrois engaged in the gentle art of leaf pulling. There are only so many leaves that we want to pull off because we want the rest to be left for photosynthesis, we are only pulling the leaves on the east side of the trellis. Here are before and after photos of leaf pulling:

During leaf pulling, we make sure that the developing clusters are not entwined in each other and in the trellis post. The Auxerrois is an interesting grape because it can have as many as three clusters per shoot.

While leaf pulling, we are also making sure that all of the shoots are tucked into the trellis and we cut off any summer laterals (secondary shoots) that are sticking out of the canopy. We are also hedging the top of the canopy, since we have already hedged the canopy in early July, what we are hedging now consist mainly of summer laterals.
The Auxerrois is the first of our grapes to go into véraison so we know that we must ensure that the netting is ready to deploy.
These canopy management tasks have a profound difference in the look of the canopy. Here is a row of Auxerrois showing where shoot tucking, leaf pulling and hedging were done and a short section where the tasks still need to be attended to.

Next tasks, the rest of the 31 rows of grapes that we have!

Product Review: Netting Anchor Clips

I have never written a product comparison review before. There is always a first time. I wanted to share our experiences so that if you find yourself in the market for netting anchor clips, you can choose wisely. The first time that we put up our side netting in 2017, I wrote about How Long Does It Take to Net. In that blogpost, I showed the anchor clips that we purchased to hold our netting, it was black and did the job. Now, in 2022, we have three different types of anchor clips in our vineyard and this is what they look like:

A few years later, we put up more netting as the vines grew and produced fruit and at that time, we purchased anchor clip 2, the one in the middle. We liked that clip because it didn't have the spikes on the bottom that the black anchor clip has which can catch on the netting and make it a bit difficult to unroll. Last year, when we purchased the last of the anchor clips for the 3 rows of vines that now needed netting, we were sent anchor clip 3. Initially, it was very easy to slip the netting into anchor clip 3, but was is easy to slip in is easy to slip out.
Throughout the very windy winter and spring, anchor clip 3 did the following:

The netting slips off very easily from anchor clip 3 and then the nets go everywhere! It takes quite a bit of time to rehook the netting at a time when other tasks are claiming out attention. We are thinking that we need to change the anchor clips so that we won't have this problem next year. Sigh....

2015 Kritt Pinot Blanc

We had this season's first Caprese Salad with this 2015 Kritt Pinot Blanc from the Alsace. Caprese salad is a refreshing meal, yes meal, when the temperatures feel like more than 90 degrees outside. The pairing with this Marc Kreydenweiss Pinot Blanc was perfect! The wine reminded me of the unforgettable Pinot Blanc that we had at Greg and Linda Pearl's when we stayed at their Pearlessence Vineyard Inn. At 13% alcohol, the mouth feel is definitely there, along with the flavors and aromas of white peaches, honey and for me, a hint of umeshu, which also conjures up pleasant memories.

Vintage 2022: July Heat Wave

Tuesday, July 19 was the start of the first heat wave to hit Connecticut this year. The Chenin Blanc was demanding our presence so we went to the vineyard at 8:00 and worked until noon and then went back at 4:30 and worked until 6:00 pm.
On Wednesday, July 20 we went to the vineyard at 7:30 in the morning and finished shoot tucking in one of the rows of the Chenin Blanc at 10:45 and we were done, physically that is.
The picture on the right is a screenshot of the temperature at 1:22. The temperature was 86 degrees but the feel like temperature was 95 degrees! On that day, it was only a one shift day, no going back in the afternoon.
The weather forecast is calling for this heat wave to last until Sunday, which could be the hottest day, with temperatures perhaps reaching the high 90's and maybe 100 degrees!
It reminds me of the summer of 2020 when we experienced June Heat Waves and July Heat Waves and had a total of 4 heat waves that summer.
Not only is our region experiencing a heat wave, we are in a moderate draught situation. So far, the vines are tolerating the heat and the draught reasonably well. Fortunately, we had a bit of rain (0.8 inches) on Monday that has alleviated the situation a little. We think that finally, the roots of the vines have burrowed deep enough to access enough moisture to sustain them.
One thing we know about the heat waves that we had in 2020, the grapes accumulated the most sugar that we had ever! Perhaps, 2022 will be a repeat.