California Redemption Value labeling must be “clearly, prominently and indelibly marked,” according to CalRecycle.
Wineries have until Jan. 1, 2024 to sign up with CalRecycle to start reporting each month the number of wine bottles, cans and bag-in-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.
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.
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 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.
Examples of approved label samples.
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.
Examples of labels that were not approved.
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 container: 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 temporary label options.
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.
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 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.
Resources
CalRecycle online webinar: youtube.com/watch?v=x50d5FYvQdA
CalRecycle’s Beverage Distributors and Manufacturers: calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/BevDistMan/
Bottle Bill resource page: wineinstitute.org/our-industry/bottle-bill/
Figure 1. Overly vigorous vine due to abundant winter precipitation and overirrigation (all photos courtesy G. Zhuang.)
Berry 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 favoring the development of fungal diseases (Mendez-Costabel et al. 2014) (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Overly vigorous vine due to abundant winter precipitation and overirrigation (all photos courtesy G. Zhuang.)
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).
This year in Akif Eskalen’s powdery mildew trials, grape clusters in the untreated controls had 100% disease incidence.Figure 2. Heavy powdery mildew infestation on Chenin Blanc (left) and botrytis bunch rot on Pinot Gris (right).
Figure 2. Heavy powdery mildew infestation on Chenin Blanc (left) and botrytis bunch rot on Pinot Gris (right).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). 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 (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.
Figure 3. Leaf removal around grape cluster (left). Spray coverage increases with leaf removal (right).
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.
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).
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 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).
Results and Discussion
RDI reduced yield by 15% compared to SDI mainly due to smaller berries and clusters (Tables 1 and 2). Leaf removal did not significantly affect yield. Our result confirms that severe water deficit, like 50% ETc, pre-veraison, can result in significant yield loss. Contradictory to the previous field observation, bloom leaf removal had no effect on yield, and growers should be less worried about yield loss due to bloom leaf removal than severe deficit irrigation.
Berry soluble solids (Brix) were affected mainly by irrigation treatments in our study. RDI consistently reduced soluble solids each year (Table 2). Interestingly, we found that the effect on Brix depended on the interaction of leaf removal and water management (Table 3). Leaf removal increased Brix when vines were not water stressed or mildly stressed like when SDI was applied whereas leaf removal reduced Brix when vines were severely water stressed like when RDI was imposed. This implies to growers that if sugar is your biggest concern, you should water vines maintaining mild or moderate vine water stress and remove fruit-zone leaves.
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 yield reduction and that means bloom leaf removal provides a net gain of anthocyanins per berry.
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.
References
Acimovic, D., Tozzini, L., Green, A., Sivilotti, P., and Sabbatini, P. (2016) Identification 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)
California Grape Crush Report 2022, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). USDA – National Agricultural Statistics Service – California – Grape Crush Reports
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.
Kurtural, K and Fidelibus, M. (2021) Mechanization of Pruning, Canopy Management, and Harvest in Winegrape Vineyards. Catalyst: Discovery in Practice. 5: 29-44.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Matt Trevisan and his daughter Gabrielle in the Linne Calodo tasting room (photo by C. Merlo.)
Back 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, 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.
Carefully maintained vineyards surround the entrance to Linne Calodo winery west of Paso Robles (photo by C. Merlo.)
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.
Out of Linne Calodo’s passion-driven 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.
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.
Matt Trevisan, here in his winery cellar, plays a hands-on role in Linne Calodo’s operations (photo courtesy Linne Calodo.)
Over the past 25 years, Trevisan has 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 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?
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.
No-till farming is practiced at Linne Calodo’s vineyards (photo courtesy Linne Calodo.)
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 multiple 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 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.
Carefully maintained vineyards surround the entrance to Linne Calodo winery west of Paso Robles (photo courtesy Linne Calodo.)
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.
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.
Visitors enjoy both Rhone-variety blended wines and the exterior setting of Linne Calodo’s tasting room. (Photo courtesy of Linne Calodo)
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 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 to creating a composition that is exciting, artistic and enjoyable for everyone without just doing it through the use of chemistry manipulation.
“I’m really just a steward of the land,” says Matt Trevisan (photo courtesy Linne Calodo.)
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 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. When I started, there were 26 wineries in Paso, and wine tasting was $5 or free. I raised my prices to $20 and $30 and $40. We all did that. I think I was wrong, and it’s time to re-think it.
We all rode a wave of thinking we needed to be more and more exclusive. Maybe we need to be more and more 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?
No, it is a world-class region. It’s just still growing. We’re still learning exactly what the best grapes and training methods are. It’s suffering all the same challenges of any fast-growing region. But there is a fine group of us trying to figure out better, more sustainable, more ecologically friendly ways to pass this on to our future generations.
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.)
Although 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.
“I really like what those guys do,” Sweeney said.
Eskalen said conducting fungicide trials annually is important as new products are introduced to the market. Having up-to-date results also helps growers.
“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.
Annual Powdery Mildew Trials Continue
Eskalen took over the program in 2018, replacing Gubler who had conducted fungicide efficacy trials for about three decades.
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.
Each treatment was replicated five times, after which 25 fruit clusters were evaluated for disease severity in late July.
In this year’s trials, the organic and biological products did not perform as well statistically as synthetic compounds. But Eskalen said it was important for growers and PCAs to incorporate more non-traditional products into programs to reduce the risk of fungicide resistance from developing.
Resistance management involves rotating effective modes of action based on Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC) codes. Applying the same materials repeatedly without rotating allows for resistance development. Those pathogens not controlled by the material reproduce, eventually outnumbering susceptible organisms.
Already, powdery mildew has confirmed resistance to the strobilurin group of fungicides, also known as QoIs.
Eskalen also pointed to the state’s “Sustainable Pest Management: A Roadmap for California” released earlier this year as a reason why he included softer materials. The program from the California Department of Pesticide Registration seeks to identify what it considers “priority pesticides” for replacement or eventual elimination by 2050. The state defines priority pesticides as high-risk products, active ingredients or groups of related products considered hazardous and that pose “potentially severe or widespread adverse impacts.”
Sweeney said he has noticed the inclusion of more organic and biological compounds in the trials over the years. He also has had discussions with Eskalen about the products’ efficacy.
“If you actually talk to [Eskalen], which I have done several times, conventional products work great,” he said. “Organic products don’t come out better if you get 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.
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.
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 break and the beginning of fungicide applications by a few weeks compared to 2022. But as the weather began to warm this spring, powdery mildew took off.
“This year, in 2023, we had the perfect conditions for disease pressure,” Eskalen said. In the untreated controls in his trial, they saw 100% disease incidence, whereas in some other years, disease incidence was only 40%.
This year in Akif Eskalen’s powdery mildew trials, grape clusters in the untreated controls had 100% disease incidence.
And it’s not just ambient air temperatures but also conditions within the grapevine canopy that influence disease development.
Once temperatures move into the 90s, Eskalen said powdery mildew reproduction slows and will stop once the mercury tops 95 degrees F.
The environment within a vineyard also contributes, he said. This year’s near-record rainfall promoted tall weeds in many blocks, reducing airflow, increasing humidity and enhancing powdery mildew conditions.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.”
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.
Eskalen said the index helps growers and PCAs make more informed decisions about fungicide applications and spray intervals.
“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.”
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].”
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.
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.)
Torch 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.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
Welch typically ages his wines 18 to 33 months in either French Oak barrels or a combination of French Oak and American barrels.
After graduating, Cal Poly Crop Science Department offered me a position to lecture classes and manage the vineyard 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.
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.
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.
Welch and his girlfriend, Alta, pouring wine at an event.
Q. Where did the name ‘Torch’ come from?
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.
Welch takes pride in his unique style of winemaking.
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.
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.
There’s not only one way to do things. That’s kind of where you stand out between you and the next guy.
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. 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 18- to 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 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 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.
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 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?
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?
Six months out of the year I work in the wine side and the other six months I work as an independent pest control adviser (viticulture consultant). It does help me. I get questions on both sides all the time.
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?
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.
Ransomware and business email compromise usually happen because people click on a malicious link or PDF file (photo by C. Merlo.)
In the world of cybersecurity, they’re called “bad actors,” and they’re not just attacking corporate giants, retail chains and school systems. They’re targeting ag-related businesses too.
Criminal hackers are looking to breach your network, steal your data and compromise your operations. They can hold you hostage, denying you access to your own files unless you pay a hefty ransom. It’s not a question of if but when a cybercrime will occur, experts warn.
“It doesn’t matter what the business is or its size, the threats are very real,” said Doug Davidson, director of technology for GBQ, which Forbes lists as one of America’s Best Tax and Accounting Firms. “Today, 25% of all crime is cyber-related.”
Is your farm or winery vulnerable? If your business uses email or smartphones, it is. If your employees handle payroll, inventory, shipments and customer transactions online, it is. If your wine club conducts business via the internet, you’re at risk. In fact, anything attached to the internet is vulnerable to a cyberattack.
The primary motivation for attacks continues to be overwhelmingly financially driven at 95% of breaches, reported Verizon in its widely read 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report. It also noted the most common form of attack is ransomware, followed by business email compromise (BEC).
“Ransomware continues to be a major threat for organizations of all sizes and industries,” said Verizon.
The three primary ways in which attackers access an organization are stolen credentials, phishing and exploitation of vulnerabilities, the report added.
Threat Risks
As vineyards and wineries increase their use of technology, they must be aware of the security controls they have in place, said Melissa DeDonder, senior manager and director of external IT consulting for Pinion, a national food and ag consulting and accounting firm.
As examples, she pointed to chemical applications in the field, temperature settings during fermentation, humidity in warehouses, all increasingly controlled by automation. Further, there’s third-party risk, where processes such as sales orders and distribution are handled through digital avenues. A customer relationship management system, with customer names, addresses, phone numbers and credit card information, is also vulnerable.
“Can your system be broken into?” DeDonder asked. “What are the risks or breaches that can happen there? How are you securing that data?”
Layers of Prevention
There are several layers of cybersecurity, but the most basic prevention starts with recommendations from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the nation’s cyber defense agency and national coordinator for critical infrastructure security.
“Using strong passwords, updating your software, thinking before you click on suspicious links and turning on multi-factor authentication are the basics of what we call ‘cyber hygiene’ and will drastically improve your online safety,” CISA said. “These cybersecurity basics apply to both individuals and organizations.”
Beyond that, business owners should know what software, hardware and important data they have. That includes computers, printers, routers, security cameras and smartphones.
“We find that most organizations don’t know what they have or where it is,” said GBQ’s Davidson. “If you don’t know what you have, you can’t protect it.”
Another cyber defense is to back up data regularly, FBI agent Brad Swenson told attendees during a “Cybersecurity 101” seminar at World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif. last February.
“Keep three copies of your data,” Swenson said. “Two of them onsite should be on two different computers, so if one crashes, you still have another. One copy should be out in the cloud or offsite. You can put it on a hard drive and put it in a safety deposit box at the bank.”
“My No. 1 cyber protection advice is to educate your employees,” says Pinion’s Melissa DeDonder (photo courtesy Pinion.)
Swenson also urged people to be careful about what they post online. Bad actors “use that information against you,” he said. “They do their research, figure out who you are, what makes you tick, then use it against you.”
Businesses should also fight cybercrime by adopting a security framework, Davidson said. He likens that to a playbook of controls put in place to identify what you have and what needs to be done to protect it.
One available framework comes from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This government agency has developed the Cybersecurity Framework to enhance the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure. The framework integrates a set of industry standards and best practices to help organizations manage cybersecurity risks. It’s free and accessible at nist.gov/cyberframework.The
Human Element
Unfortunately, businesses’ biggest cyber threat often lies close to home. Verizon’s 2023 report found that 74% of all breaches include “the human element,” with people being involved either through error, privilege misuse, use of stolen credentials or social engineering.
For many businesses, that weak link is employees, especially those who unknowingly click on a link or open a PDF file that contains malware, or malicious software, which allows hackers in.
IT security expert Doug Davidson says 25% of all crime today is cyber-related (photo courtesy GBQ.)
“My No. 1 protection advice is always to educate your employees,” said Pinion’s DeDonder. “Ransomware and BEC happen because employees, executives or owners click on something.”
Cybersecurity training teaches people what to watch out for, whether it’s a malicious email link, PDF file or website. And once-a-year training isn’t enough, added DeDonder.
“It’s got to be constant and repetitive.”
Among other cyber-hygiene practices DeDonder advocates are patching, or updating, your system and backing up critical data you and your business can’t afford to lose. Then test your online security controls that are in place.
“And make sure you have enough of a technology budget to protect your business,” she said.
Reporting Cybercrime
If your system has been compromised, you should contact the FBI, according to Swenson. He advised victims to start with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.iC3.gov. The site offers a complaint form that, once filled out, will be routed to the appropriate FBI field office so the agency can start taking action.
If a cybercrime involves a financial theft, “the quicker you can notify us, the quicker we can take action to stop that money movement,” Swenson said. “If you let us know within 72 hours of a fraudulent wire transfer, we have mechanisms in place to halt it. In the instances I’ve seen, the money gets returned.”
While Davidson recommends anyone who’s had a cybercrime event to report it to the FBI, he believes the first person you should call is your attorney.
“An attorney can help do some of the investigative work under privilege,” he said. “Then call your insurance carrier if you have cyber liability insurance.”
Bottom line: Be suspicious. Be careful what you download and what you share. Make sure your business has controls in place to detect, respond to and recover from a cyber threat or actual event. Don’t let bad actors catch you unprepared.
Cybersecurity Terms to Know
Hacking: Attempts to intentionally access or harm information assets without authorization by circumventing or thwarting logical security mechanisms.
Ransomware: A type of malicious software that threatens a victim by destroying or blocking access to critical data or systems until a ransom is paid.
Business email compromise: A type of cybercrime where the scammer uses email to trick someone into sending money or divulging confidential company information.
Spoofing: When someone disguises an email address, sender name, phone number or website URL, often just by changing one letter, symbol or number, to convince you that you are interacting with a trusted source.
Phishing: A targeted attempt to obtain sensitive data by duping victims into voluntarily giving up account information and credentials.
Data Incident: A security event that compromises the integrity, confidentiality or availability of an information asset.
Data Breach: An incident that results in the confirmed disclosure (not just potential exposure) of data to an unauthorized party.
Malware: Any malicious software, script or code run on a device that alters its state or function without the owner’s informed consent.
Sources: Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report; FBI.gov; Microsoft.com
FBI’s Cyber Safety Tips
The FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating cyberattacks and intrusions. Here are some tips the FBI offers to protect yourself from cybercriminals:
Keep systems and software up to date and install a strong, reputable anti-virus program.
Be careful when connecting to a public Wi-Fi network and do not conduct any sensitive transactions, including purchases, when on a public network.
Create a strong and unique passphrase for each online account and change those passphrases regularly.
Set up multi-factor authentication on all accounts that allow it.
Examine the email address in all correspondence and scrutinize website URLs before responding to a message or visiting a site.
Don’t click on anything in unsolicited emails or text messages.
Be cautious about the information you share in online profiles and social media accounts. Sharing things like pet names, schools and family members can give scammers the hints they need to guess your passwords or the answers to your account security questions.
Don’t send payments to unknown people or organizations seeking monetary support and urging immediate action.
Even sophisticated field equipment should have cybersecurity controls in place, experts say (photo by C. Merlo.)
Garrett Van Brocklin, a sales technician for Clemens Vineyard Equipment Inc. in Woodland, Calif., uses a Clemens Shoot Thinner for canopy management on a high wire vineyard at the UC Davis, Oakville Station in Napa County in 2021 (all photos courtesy UC Davis.)
Prompted by labor availability and ever-increasing labor costs, winegrape growers have increasingly turned to mechanization, first with harvest and then with other cultural practices.
The move didn’t come overnight and has been more of an evolution, said S. Kaan Kurtural, founder of Kurtural Vineyard Consulting in Davis, Calif. In addition, a fully mechanized production system isn’t for every grower, and they must weigh their production practices before making the jump.
But Kurtural has proven it can be done, whether growers are planting a new vineyard or wanting to convert over an older one.
For more than 20 years, he has studied mechanized winegrape production first at California State University, Fresno, and then at UC Davis, until earlier this year. One of the most recent projects he led was establishing a “touch-free” experimental winegrape vineyard at the UC Davis Oakville Station.
“15 years ago, there wasn’t a lot of economic necessity to do mechanized practices,” Kurtural said. “However, grape prices have not changed in the last 25 years. Now it’s become a necessity, and there’s been a change in the ways vineyards are planted and farmed.”
Controlling labor costs has become a focus as state minimum wages increase annually. That’s because labor tied to pruning and harvesting account for more than 80% of overall vineyard labor costs, according to research conducted by Kurtural and several colleagues.
George Zhuang, UCCE viticulture advisor in Fresno County, conducted four studies in 2019 that estimated the costs and returns of establishing and producing winegrapes in the southern San Joaquin Valley. The research, which looked at nearly complete mechanization, involved four varieties: cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, rubired and colombard.
Based on the studies, fully implemented mechanization reduced production costs from $3,000 to $2,500 per acre, or 17% less.
Because the studies were completed four years ago, Zhuang said he couldn’t help but expect the savings to be even more today with the state’s annual increase in minimum wage.
“If you still use my numbers, the savings have jumped from $500 to at least $700,” he said.
Aiding the transition are the growing number of U.S. equipment manufacturers that have developed machines to box prune vines in one pass, Kurtural said. Many European machines, on the other hand, are designed more for the VSP (vertical shoot-positioning) trellis system and only prune on one plain.
Trellising is Key
Choosing the proper trellising that provides 360-degree machine access without cross arms or wires getting in the way is key to making full mechanization successful, Kurtural said.
Other factors to consider include topography, cultivars, rootstocks, vine and row spacing, irrigation systems, climate and yield potential. Cultivars that can be trained to have straight trunks and lateral cordons lend themselves to mechanized management. In addition, those with strong basal bud fruitfulness, such as chardonnay and cabernet, are better suited to mechanized management than varieties like Thompson seedless with lower basal bud fruitfulness.
In several trials, the single high wire trellis system performed the best, reducing labor costs by more than 90% and increasing fruit yields without reducing quality. Known by other names, including high-cordon machine pruned, the system involves training bilateral cordons on a single wire about 60 to 72 inches off the vineyard floor. Canes are allowed to flow over the sides to create a kind of parasol over the fruiting zone. The leaves don’t totally block the sun, instead acting like a sun screen to filter rays that hit the fruit.
The single-wire system isn’t far removed from the California sprawl, where bilateral cordons are topped by a single catch-wire, and canes are allowed to sprawl over the sides to create a canopy covering the fruiting zone. Where the single-wire system differs is it lacks extraneous wires that may interfere with mechanical pruning blades, saws or sickles.
The single-wire system also elevates fruit higher off the vineyard floor, minimizing damage from spring frosts that are colder closer to the ground. Recent UC research led by Kurtural also has found the system protects fruit from heat waves or increasing temperatures by keeping it farther away from heat radiating from the vineyard floor.
The VSP system, on the other hand, uses a fruiting wire about 36 to 40 inches from the ground. Three to five additional movable wires allow for shoot training. The fruit is exposed to the sun, making it prone to sunburn. The lower fruiting wire also makes buds and new leaves more susceptible to spring frosts.
While the California sprawl system works for mechanization, cross arms with two catch wires can cause big problems for mechanical pruning or shoot thinning.
In addition, the single-wire system typically helps balance canopy size with fruit load without affecting grape quality. In fact, Kurtural said, the new systems actually enhance desirable chemical components such as anthocyanins within the fruit.
“We initially started work to see if [full mechanization] would be economically profitable for the grower,” he said. “Once we established that, we noticed that the quality was much higher at the farm gate. In the end, the wine was preferred by taste panels as well.”
Mechanical Pruning
Along with harvest, dormant pruning is one of the most labor-intensive and costly cultural practices tied to winegrape production, according to Kurtural’s research.
Over the years, he and his colleagues have found that mechanized box pruning, where bearing spurs are pruned from the top, bottom and sides, mostly closely resembles hand pruning. The initial prepruning pass leaves a box with dimensions ranging from about 4 to 6 inches wide and about 4 inches tall.
Because mechanical pruning is not selective, follow-up mechanical shoot thinning after bud break and the danger of frost has passed helps achieve the desired shoot density.
Making the Switch
Zhuang, who cooperated with Kurtural in some of his previous trials, said nearly all new vineyards being planted in the south San Joaquin Valley are on single high-wire trellises.
“It’s very obvious right now based on my observations that all of the new plantings of winegrapes are on single wire or high quads shooting for 100% mechanical pruning,” Zhuang said.
Because yield is the top goal of south San Joaquin Valley producers, he said shoot thinning and leaf removal aren’t that popular.
Payton Hoover, a parts manager with Vmech, of Fresno, drives a tractor that pulls a Vmech Chariot with dual precision pruners for pruning on high wire vineyards at the UC Davis Oakville Station in Napa County in 2021. Westside Equipment acquired Vmech in June 2023.
Zhuang was part of research with Kurtural in 2019 that examined the feasibility of converting a hand-pruned San Joaquin Valley vineyard to mechanization. The 20-year-old head-trained merlot vineyard was planted on traditional trellising that involved two eight-node canes laid on a catch wire in opposite directions and two eight-node canes attached to a 66-inch-high catch wire. Although the system could be mechanically harvested, it didn’t lend itself to mechanical dormant pruning or shoot removal.
As part of the trial in the Madera vineyard, they converted 8 acres of vines to a cordon-trained spur-pruned California sprawl system or a bilateral cordon-trained mechanically box-pruned single high wire system. Of the two, the single high wire proved more successful for mechanical pruning in the San Joaquin Valley, where more than half the state’s winegrapes are grown.
Retraining the vines also resulted in yields and fruit quality as good or better than from hand-pruned vines. Once the project was completed, the vineyard owner converted the remaining 45 acres of vines to the single high-wire system.
But Zhuang said there is a caveat when converting vines to a new trellis system.
“We see a lot of those old vineyards in the south San Joaquin Valley have a lot of trunk disease, so there’s a lot of dead arms,” he said. “Typically, we don’t recommend growers convert those vines because diseases like Botryosphaeria and Eutypa will come back and impact your new vines.”
But if the vineyard is relatively healthy without a lot of dead arms, Zhuang said it would be a good candidate for conversion.
Pam Marrone, innovator and pioneer of biopesticides, is a proponent of non-chemical pest control methods (all photos courtesy P. Marrone.)
A successful entrepreneur and pioneer in biopesticides, Pam Marrone is the co-founder and executive chair of the Invasive Species Corp. and Invasive Species Foundation. A thought leader with deep experience in the ag biologicals industry, she successfully brought multiple science-based products to market and scaled two agbio companies from founding to a consistent high growth revenue stage.
Marrone also mentors entrepreneurs and promotes education on ag biologicals through speaking and writing.
In 2010, she won an IPM Innovator award from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and recently served on DPR’s committee on Sustainable Pest Management, creating a new roadmap and recommendations. She also serves on the board of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research.
In 2019, BioAg World honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution in Biopesticides.
Pam Marrone believes bioherbicide production is the next key opportunity for biological pest control.
What are biopesticides?
They’re naturally occurring microorganisms like bacteria and fungi and some extracts of plants and other natural materials that are nontoxic to humans and the environment.
And how do you find them?
Microorganisms live everywhere, outdoors in the soil, on flowers, on your body, on your feet, and so you literally can find them anywhere. Companies looking for and developing new drugs look to the rainforest, and for areas of high biodiversity to find new drugs. It’s the same with things that kill pests.
So you look for areas where there’s a little battle going on between the different microbes, and the ones that win out tend to be the ones that probably have pesticidal properties. A dry creek bed, where it’s wet part of the year and dry part of the year, so the microbe has to be pretty tough to survive the different conditions.
How did you get started in this field?
I was actually hired to start up a new program at Monsanto in the 1980s, looking for nonchemical ways to control pests.
I was given pretty much free rein, and I set up a national products screening program, like we’re doing now at Pro Farm Group (the new company name, after the sale to Bioceres Crop Solutions), just screening microbes looking for ways to control pests. And that was great fun.
We screened over 100,000 microorganisms, looking to control pests, plant pathogens and weeds. And Monsanto decided they were going into genetic engineering of crops, and so that’s what they wanted me to switch to, and I really preferred screening the microbes. I fell in love with that.
Then I got a call from a Danish company, Novo Nordisk. They were looking for someone to start up a new company, looking for testing microbes against pests. And I said, ‘Wow, that’s exactly what I want to do,’ so I left Monsanto and started up Entotech here in Davis, [Calif.]
And then they sold us to a large competitor in 1995. And that’s when I started AgraQuest, which I left in 2006, and then started up Marrone Bio Innovations in 2006.
Where did you find the organisms in these products?
We found the Bacillus in Stargus® in a rice field in northern California. Grandevo®, which we licensed from USDA-ARS, was found under a hemlock tree in Maryland, and we discovered Venerate® from a Buddhist Temple garden in Japan.
Are growers using these products and find them effective?
Yes they are, and our products have grown quite rapidly. But it is important to know how best to use them as they are not curative synthetic chemicals and need to be applied before the buildup of the pest or pathogen.
Are there alternatives to glyphosate yet?
Not yet on the bioherbicide side. The products for organic growers are typically burndown and need to be reapplied, like those from capric and caprylic acids by Certis and Westbridge.
What are the next problems you’re hoping to solve to help growers?
I was working on three products for weed control while leading Marrone Bio. Bioceres has indicated it wants to complete their development.
In the new company that I recently co-founded, Invasive Species Corporation, we are setting up a bioherbicide screening platform. There are very few bioherbicides out there because chemical herbicides are so inexpensive. It is just very technically challenging to find a bioherbicide that will compete. But those types of grand challenges are what I like to tackle, and I am convinced with the new scientific tools we have today our team can quickly find some effective and cost-effective bioherbicides.
Vines are planted in Smith-Madrone’s vineyards on slopes with varying sun exposure depending on variety.
Nestled high up in the Spring Mountain District of California’s northern Napa Valley, Smith-Madrone Vineyards is unique in many ways when it comes to growing grapes and making wine.
There aren’t many wineries in the state that sit at around 2,000 feet of elevation, and certainly less that are dry farmed like Smith-Madrone. Winemaker Stu Smith, who studied viticulture and enology at UC Davis and founded the vertically integrated operation with brother Charles, considers winegrapes grown in the mountains to have character, flavor and interest, qualities that convinced him to plant in Smith-Madrone’s location. The winery’s name comes from Smith’s last name combined with the name of the predominant tree on the ranch, the Madrone, an evergreen with a red-brown trunk and branches. The operation is dry farmed and since 2017 has received little to no irrigation.
Today’s winegrape industry sees much of its product grown in the Valley, but before this practice took off, Smith said grapes were mostly grown in mountainous regions and takes pride in the location he’s been fortunate to produce in. He also acknowledged major differences in growing on a mountain vs. in a valley, including the ability to use certain equipment, water availability, permitting and surrounding wildlife among other challenges.
Smith-Madrone currently produces wine grown from grapes of Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot varieties.
Smith sat down with Grape and Wine to share his experiences at Smith-Madrone from 1971 to present day.
Vineyard Inception
The history of the property goes back to 1880, when George Cook planted a fair number of olive trees and cleared the forest to plant a vineyard. He then went to San Francisco and applied for the Homestead Act and was granted the property.
That vineyard was abandoned around that time, Smith said, as were most of the vineyards in the mountains, as a result of grape phylloxera, a root-feeding insect.
Smith visited the property when it had regrown into a forest and closed on it in 1971. In June of the same year, he acquired a logging permit to reclaim the vineyard from the forest and start planting.
“We had to clear the vineyard, we had to pick up all the rocks and the roots,” Smith said. “Just smoothed it out, we just picked up, picked up, picked up.”
In 1972, planting started. “We planted five acres each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling,” he said, although the vineyard’s current acreage no longer consists of Pinot Noir as it was phased out and grafted to Chardonnay in the 1980s.
Stu (left) and Charles (right) Smith of Smith-Madrone Vineyards take pride in their unique method of grape and wine production (all photos by Matouš Forman.)
A Unique Approach to Grapes and Wine Grapes
Vines are planted in Smith-Madrone’s vineyards on slopes with varying sun exposure depending on variety. Smith noted this orientation heavily contributes to wine quality as different varieties grow best with more or less sun exposure.
“The Chardonnay, which was Pinot Noir at the time, was planted out in front of the winery, and it went around a slope,” he said. “It was a northeast-facing slope, and it would get the least amount of direct sunlight because it would be a fairly obtuse angle for the sun. I decided to plant the Pinot Noir there because Pinot Noir needs less sun than anything else.
“Just across an avenue was an area that was facing more east,” Smith continued. “I put the Riesling there because it needed more sunlight than Pinot Noir.”
The vineyard also has a flatter portion with good sun exposure to the southeast where Smith planted the Cabernet Sauvignon.
Stu Smith examines vine leaves in one of the vineyard’s dry farmed blocks. Drip irrigation is installed to get the vines through their first year and left in the field afterward if needed.
The original vineyard was hand-watered in its first year and dry farmed in subsequent years, and any new plantings have followed suit with this strategy. Dry farming as a technique has been discussed within the ag industry due to recent severe drought years in California and certain crops being tolerable to it, but the practice is still infrequently used.
Drip irrigation wasn’t common practice either when Smith initially planted, so the intention from the beginning was to dry farm, and for the most part, the vineyard has stuck to it. Drip was installed in the vineyard later but ripped out in the mid-1980s. However, due to drought concerns, any new planting in the vineyard today, Smith said, has drip installed.
“When I say dry farming, we’re not 100% anal about this,” Smith said. “Unlike back in the mid-80s with the drought, we didn’t and aren’t going to tear out the drip irrigation this time around because we just don’t know what climate change is going to bring us.
Smith-Madrone Vineyards is nestled high up in the Spring Mountain District of California’s northern Napa Valley at around 2,000 feet of elevation.
“We don’t have a lot of water, and we have to be very careful about what we do have, but a number of our blocks haven’t had water [applied] in many years.”
As with the orientation of the vineyard and its varying sun exposure, Smith believes this water strategy contributes to grape and wine quality, noting the vines go from a vegetative cycle to a ripening cycle in a more natural fashion. “The vines understand what’s going on,” he said.
It should be noted that these methods produce a smaller crop all around with a different fruit set, but that is exactly what Smith is striving for. “We don’t want big, fat, juicy, watery [grapes],” he said. “We want small berries that struggle to exist and have lots of concentrated flavors.”
Smith-Madrone currently produces wine grown from grapes of Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot varieties.
Wine
Smith-Madrone follows what Smith called a “Eurocentric” approach to winemaking, which believes in good acidity, balanced complexity, finesse, elegance and flavor layering. By definition, if any one of these pillars is more dominant than another in the final product, the wine is considered “singular.”
“What we want is all kinds of interesting flavors that balance one another and create a wine that is hedonistic,” Smith said, stressing the goal is not to make a Pepsi or a Coca-Cola but rather an end product that is more refined.
In terms of why Smith-Madrone produces their current selection, which includes Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot, Smith said it is mostly a matter of preference and the ways in which the winery has been able to advance its wine composition over the years.
Smith takes pride in the experience Smith-Madrone offers to visitors, who can visit with him and Charles directly during tours. The two brothers share decades of combined viticulture and enology experience.
Stu Smith shares his knowledge of viticulture and enology with a visitor from the Czech Republic.
“You’re having a tour and tasting with a person who’s been doing this for decades and can answer almost any question out there that someone has,” Smith said, “and that is something you cannot get at most larger wineries. Any questions you want to ask, we will stay with the group or the person until they’re done asking questions and we will give the very best straight scientific answer that we know.”
The bulk of the winery is nestled against an alley of olive trees and overlooks most of the Chardonnay vineyard and the floor of the Napa Valley. “The property is beautiful,” Smith said.
By opting for a sustainably produced wine, wine enthusiasts are enforcing the socially responsible practices the wine brand engages in (all photos courtesy Vina Robles.)
When thinking about sustainability, people often focus on environmental practices. Heightened concerns over resource issues such as water quality and availability, greenhouse gas emissions and soil nutrient depletion have inspired consumers to seek out businesses that use practices that are less demanding on and harmful to our blue planet.
While combating climate change and environmental degradation are certainly good enough reasons to support sustainable agricultural systems, many consumers will be pleasantly surprised to learn that sustainability goes beyond protecting the ecosystem. Sustainability puts a heavy emphasis on social equity. If you are wondering what it means for a business to practice social responsibility, look no further than the sustainable winegrowing industry.
The sustainable winegrowing community knows that people are our most valuable resource. Within the business, this includes the people who plant, care for, harvest, crush, ferment, bottle and pour the wine. Outside the business, it means the larger social systems in which the business exists, including neighbors and communities. Sustainable winegrowers put conscious care into protecting human resources.
In the eyes of many Americans, being a good employer is one of the most important attributes of a responsible company (Cone Communications 2017). Sustainable winegrowing businesses invest care and resources into their workforces by offering fair wages and benefits, safe and ethical working conditions, regular safety trainings, opportunities for education and emphasizing diversity and inclusion in their hiring processes. By creating an environment that encourages wellbeing and development, these companies foster strong, dependable workforces.
77% of consumers are motivated to purchase from companies committed to making the world a better place (Aflac CSR Survey 2019). There are several ways a business can use its resources to give back and in turn support the people and communities who make its success possible.
Sustainable winegrowers stay engaged and in tune with their communities by creating communication plans and participating in community forums. They give back to their communities through charitable donations including volunteer time and funds to local organizations. Many brands invite communities to their farms to participate in events designed to educate the community on resource issues and sustainable farming practices. Consumers can support these virtuous endeavors by choosing to shop their values and buy from a business that does good.
All of this is great news for the nearly 46% of U.S. regular wine drinkers who say they will always choose a sustainable wine when given the choice (IWSR 2022). The mindful shift toward supporting sustainable businesses and products has been observed over the past several years (Simon-Kutcher & Partners 2021; NielsenIQ 2021). IWSR’s latest findings from tracking consumer interest and attitudes toward alternative wines shows that the proportion of regular wine drinkers who are even willing to pay more for wine that was made sustainably has significantly increased over the past year (IWSR 2022).
By opting for a sustainably produced wine, wine enthusiasts are enforcing the socially responsible practices that the wine brand engages in. They can enjoy the good feelings that come from knowing they are supporting a company that treats its employees with care and respect and extends their good work to uplift their community.
Conscientious consumers can look for wine labels that showcase their social responsibility right on the label. For example, consumers of Vina Robles’ the Arborist Red Blend can feel good knowing they are helping plant trees with every bottle they purchase of this dynamic red blend.
Socially Responsible Sustainability in Action
In 2017, a unique partnership was formed between Vina Robles, a SIP Certified sustainable winegrower in Paso Robles, Calif., and two non-profit environmental conservation organizations: One Tree Planted and the Arbor Day Foundation. This partnership is a natural extension of the winery’s passion for trees and sustainable viticulture. Vina Robles has created a wine to embody these organizations’ shared belief that planting trees is the key to preserving our planet.
The oak tree depicted on the bottle’s label represents the Legacy Oak, an oak tree that took root on Vina Robles Estate’s Jardine Vineyard over 300 years ago.
The wine itself is dedicated to the winery’s founder, Hans Nef, and is named for the arborist who saved the tree from its declining health in 2014.
The trees planted through this partnership have been planted all around the world. “Our current tree count is over 35,000 trees,” said Alyssa Krichevsky, director of marketing at Vina Robles. “We hope to bring more attention to the work and host our own community event in the future.”
Socially responsible initiatives like Vina Robles’ the Arborist program allow consumers to contribute to a greater cause while they enjoy a glass of wine. This is a win for the brand, consumers and planet.
If your wine business practices social responsibility and other sustainable practices, share this valuable information with your customers. Communicating your business’s care for social issues is a great way to capture the attention of the 70% of consumers who want to know what the brands they support are doing to address social and environmental issues (Certus 2019).
Helping wine consumers understand specific sustainable practices can also increase a winery’s sales (Kathleen Kelley, The Pennsylvania State University, 2021).
In a recent study, two of Pennsylvania State University’s Kathleen Kelley’s colleagues, Michela Centinari and Justine Vanden Heuvel, determined that under-vine vegetation, or cover crops, can prevent erosion and soil runoff, nutrient leaching and excessive vine vegetative growth. Kelley wondered if promoting this sustainable farming practices could be part of a marketing strategy to sell more wine.
To test this theory, Kelley sought to characterize several wine consumer groups that were “likely” to sample wine from vineyards using cover crops. The findings, published in the International Journal of Wine Business Research, found 72% of 956 wine consumers from the mid-Atlantic region surveyed were willing to pay $18.99 for a 750-ml bottle of wine, which included a $1 surcharge to cover associated sustainable production costs including cover crops. Additionally, 26% indicated they would be willing to pay $20.99.
Vina Robles serves as a socially responsible wine brand through their partnership with environmental conservation non-profits One Tree Planted and the Arbor Day Foundation, allowing consumers that purchase bottles to contribute to a sustainable cause.
It’s important to note for the participants in Kelley’s study, simply hearing a wine brand acted sustainably wasn’t enough; it was learning the importance of specific sustainable practices that increased customers’ willingness to pay more for a sustainable wine. As Kelley said in her ‘Cover crops make vineyards more sustainable; strategy can be marketing tool’ article, “…in today’s world, sustainability can mean almost anything, and we’re seeing a consumer group that wants to be educated and wants to know exactly what is going on with sustainable wine production. So, being descriptive about what it actually means to include cover crops in a vineyard is a way to be attractive to them.”
We know that the proportion of regular wine drinkers willing to pay more for sustainable wine has significantly increased in the past two years. Vineyard Team’s Executive Director Beth Vukmanic said, “Wine brands have the opportunity to create an emotional connection with their customers by sharing stories about the specific things their brand does to be sustainable and why those practices are important.”
Don’t miss the next issue of the Sustainable Story Series to learn how one Paso Robles winery designed their entire operation to help protect California’s top resource concern: water.
