Summer Updates - Whites

August is nearly half over now and the vines are quite happy with recent wave of sunshine and heat. Our spring was really great, but the early part of the summer was sadly quite wet and cooler than normal. as a result the vine growth has fallen back to about the same as last year.

Fruit Set: It appears that vines that had bloom quite early were better of this year as vines with later bloom did not have great fruit set. I suspect this is a result of cooler temperatures and heavy rains that may have  impacted the pollination process.

Powdery Mildew (PM): Despite a fairly aggressive and consistent spray program, PM still reared its ugly head.  We have trimmed all the fruit from Chardonnay, Auxerrois, Mad Angie and Mad Sylvaner. Siegerrebe is looking like it has some impact as well and may need some culling shortly

Some PM on the fruit

Blattner

Petit Milo

Petit Milo: small-med berries in fairly tight bunches.  No signs of powdery mildew (PM) or other issues. Very nice growth and canopy seems to manage itself. As of August 14, veraison has started on most fruit.

Epicure: Small berries in loose bunches.   The vines look good, no signs of PM and not overly vigorous.

48-05-49: Medium size berries in loose bunches. low vigor.

Remaining Varieties

Siegerrebbe: Medium berries in semi-tight bunches.  Low vigor. PM present on maybe 5% of fruit. As of August 14, veraison was present on most fruit.

L'Acadia Blanc: small berries in loose bunches. .  Overall vines look healthy but low vigor. No PM visible. As of August 14, veraison was present on most fruit.

Chardonnay: All fruit was removed on July 30 as a result of PM. Canes show heavy signs of PM as well.

Osceolo Muscat: Small-medium berries in semi-tight bunches.  Lots of vigor no PM signs. As of August 14, veraison was present on most fruit.

Auxerrois: All fruit was removed on July 30 as a result of PM. Canes show heavy signs of PM as well. There was not a lot of fruit on the vines this year.

Siegerrebe

Madeliene Sylvanor: All fruit was removed on August 6 as a result of PM. Canes show heavy signs of PM as well.

Madeliene Angevine: All fruit was removed on August 6 as a result of PM. Canes show heavy signs of PM as well.