Week 22 (18 - 22nd)

This is my last week at the HRC. It is hard for me to believe that six months have passed, the growing season has come and gone, and now I am walking away from this experience. Everyday at the HRC has taught me a lesson, an irreplaceable skill and unique education. I am extremely thankful that I was able to learn from such passionate educators and will be forever indebted to them.

Nick taught me a titration alternative in order to measure sulfur in wine samples: Aeration Oxidation. This allows you to  measure both free and bound sulfur, which can be added together in order to determine total sulfur. Though this method takes a little more hardware, it's more precise and the method utilized by most wine makers. 

After loading and unloading 400 bails of straw, we are finally covering the pinned j-vines for the winter. The only problem with this method is that straw makes an enticing home for mice. In order to combat this we place two mouse poison blocks next to each vine. We then fluffed roughly a bail of straw per vine, covering all sections and capping the top with chunks of straw. 

We finished the back-breaking work in two days, covering all the j-vines with a blanket for the winter. An alternative method to straw would be to cover the vines with dirt, however, this can be messier and more difficult to uncover in the spring. Bring on the snow!

Two analytical ways to assess the season: our spray program and precipitation. We only sprayed three times (and then two organic potassium sprays to control powdery mildew on our European varieties) throughout the season, where some wineries spray once a week. Spray programs are meant to by dynamic, targeting specific needs at specific times. This some growers find hard to grasp, which is unfortunate for the environment and the consumer (and a waste of money). Due to these practices mutant resistant pathogens are more likely to arise as well.