A Ragged Bunch

After Harvest, here is the whole family minus Dad, Brook and Elizabeth. I am sure Dad would be proud and happy we did this together.

From left, Riley Lieber, Jennifer Lieber, Chip Lieber, Joseph Lieber, Julia Bruce, Neal Bruce, Jeramie Bruce, Caroline Baldwin, Emory Lieber, and Tim Baldwin (and Lami Lieber).

Our harvest Day started early and was finally done at about 7:30 pm with the last load of grapes delivered to Don Tilmon of Tilmons Island Winery in Sudlersville. From our approximately 2.7 acres of vines ranging in age from their 4th year to vines in their 1st year, The yield was approximately 3.4 tons of Chardonnay. The final Brix reading was 22.

Harvest Day Gatherers

A great start and an historic moment by great friends helping on our first harvest. A never ending thank you to guest harvesters Jim Georgeson, IJ Profaci, Chuck Parry, Mike Dickinson, Maryann Ruehrmund, and Max Ruerhmund. Lunch Layout and kitchen cleanup by Linda Parry. All of these wonderful people set aside there Friday to give us much needed help. Again we can not truly express the extent of our thanks.

August Fruit

Grapes are looking great. First week of August and Brix reading was 13. We are keeping our fingers crossed, so far we have seen only minor damage to fungus or insects. Most recent spray included Pristine at the high rate and Carbaryl for Japanese Beetles. Interestingly the Japanese Beetles have been more prevalent at the southern corner of the vineyard and for the most part high in the vines

While spraying last week, I stopped and removed two bunches of fruit each in different locations that showed similar “purple” spots on the fruit. I have not seen more as of yet. I took a casual walk through the vineyard the other evening just to marvel at the work everyone has done. It really looks great.

Based on my walk and articles on fungi and diseases I have read like the one below, there are three comments I would make:
1. It is my opinion that we should incorporate an effort to remove more of our prunings from the vineyard as opposed to leaving them and mowing them under. As with many things in life, good housekeeping is the best effort we can make to help us fight the problems we will encounter in the vineyard. Removing all trimmings would come short of eliminating problems, however, as I am spraying, my mind meanders into worst case scenarios where I see the mower spewing and spreading spores that might otherwise be minimized by removing them immediately after our efforts.
2. Correct me if I misunderstood, but I understand that Mr. Tilmon did not suggest pruning more fruit from the vines. Basically let them grow. Based on what I saw the other evening, it is very clear that those vines that did not quite get pruned back to the ideal target of three vertical shoots in 12” of cordon have substantially more fruit than others. I would say in those areas the fruit is actually crowded. However, the berries and/or bunches in those areas are also not as well developed as those in vines that are pruned closer to the ideal. I see this as a potential detriment when we are sampling to reach the target of 22 brix. It will take longer for this fruit to reach that target and my understanding is that it may in some ways affect future quality in those vines as well.
3. As a curious observation, I saw that those vines in row 1 that were substantially “devastated” by the deer prior to our second application of deer deterrent now have some of the best looking fruit bunches on them. I am very curious to see what the quality of those bunches will be at the time of harvest.

As always my comments are solely intended for bettering our future as a vineyard and in no way do I mean to diminish the work everyone has done. The vineyard really does look great.

All the best,
Chip

Chip Lieber

From: Baldwin, Caroline (OPM)

This is info that we needed last year. I don’t know if we have a problem this year or not but we’ll keep our eyes open.


Caroline L. Baldwin, CCM

Week of May 12 - Thinning Vines

Progress this week included thinning vines. Last weekend, I understand that Tim completed row 1. Jennifer and I worked in rows 2, 3, & 4. 3 & 4 are complete and row 2 is approximately 1/2 complete. As a guestimate of time required, we took approximately 2.5 hours to work through 1/2 of a row per person. Since the growth was so heavy in these rows, I tended to work at the vine sitting on the ground and working from underneath the vines. From the top of the vines, I could not see what to remove without doing damage. Attempting to speed up work also caused mistakes so we kept at a fairly manageable pace which means lots more to get done.

I have not sprayed at all this week. Last spray of sulphur and PencoZeb was on May 5.

Monday May 5, 2008 3rd Spray

On Monday May 5, I mixed the equivalent of a 1 acre application of liquid sulphur and Pencozeb with 30 gallons of water in the blast sprayer. (1 gallon of liquid suphur, 4 lbs of PencoZeb) The weather was perfect for spraying with only a slight breeze (1-2 mph) out of the south southwest. This allowed me to spray while running the rows in both directions. This mix was applied with the sprayer set at 30 psi. I ran the tractor in 3rd gear at approximately 1500 rpm's. At this rate I was able to cover both sides of the rows. After discussion with Caroline, we determined that another equal spraying was due to obtain the recommended application for our 2 1/2 + acres. I re-installed the "Deer Tape" at both ends of the rows.

Vineyard Management Seminar at Piney Grove

Jack Steinmetz, Director of Economic Development for Kent County, and the Upper Shore Regional Council, arranged and held a Vineyard Management Seminar, Introducing Steve Mudd from the North Fork of Long Island, NY in an effort to determine interest in and establishment of a Vineyard Management Company that would service the upper shore region. Below is a picture taken by the wonderful Augustine Cook, and a press release written by Jack Steinmetz. The event was fantastic and we are very pleased to have had the opportunity for this to happen at Piney Grove Vineyard.

PRESS RELEASE

UPPER SHORE REGIONAL COUNCIL
VINEYARD MANAGEMENT COMPANY PROJECT
April 26, 2008 Seminar


Approximately sixty individuals attended a three-hour seminar on Saturday, April 26th, to learn more about starting a vineyard and using a Vineyard Management Company (VMC) to establish and maintain their vineyard. The Upper Shore Regional Council (USRC), which represents Queen Anne’s, Kent, and Cecil Counties, secured a matching grant from the Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) to hire a vineyard industry consultant to help determine if a VMC would work in the region.

A VMC is a company which assists new vineyards in becoming established or existing vineyards in expanding, and no such organization currently exists in Maryland. Mr. Steven Mudd, President, Mudd Vineyards, Ltd., of Southold, New York, a nationally recognized vineyard management consultant, has contracted with USRC to conduct a study of the potential for a VMC in the region and prepare a business plan for a potential VMC and also a business plan for individuals who are considering starting a new vineyard utilizing the services of a VMC.

Saturday’s seminar was held at Piney Grove Vineyards (the Lieber Farm) in Chestertown, and the individuals in attendance were primarily regional land owners who were interested in establishing a vineyard, but who did not want to actually operate all or a part of the operation. A presentation was give by members of the Lieber, Baldwin, and Neal families, the vineyard owners, on what they had to do to re-establish and maintain their vineyard. A second presentation was provided by Mr. Al Cassinelli, of Cassinelli Vineyards, in Church Hill, MD, describing how he began his vineyard and winery operation. Lastly, Mr. Mudd presented the concept of a VMC, and described how he maintains over 500 acres of grapes in the North Fork of Long Island, NY. Of note, Mr. Mudd personally manages more acres of grapes in a fifty-mile area of Long Island, than are currently planted in the entire State of Maryland. Attendees will be indicating the degree of their potential interest in utilizing a VMC, and Mr. Mudd will utilize that data within his recommendations.

Both the Maryland Wineries Association and the Maryland Grape Growers Association are very excited about this USRC project, because of the potential it has to jump start badly needed wine-quality grape production in Maryland. Last year, for every ton of state-grown grapes that Maryland wineries used in their wine production, they had to import almost one and one-half tons from other states. Maryland needs more grapes, and a VMC can assist in filling that need.

Further information can be obtained by calling the USRC Vineyard Project Coordinators at the Kent County Economic Development Office at 410.778.5188.