Newsletter Contents
In this issue of the newsletter we discuss the following topics:

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Relative to other seasons, animal (mainly deer) predation was minimal this year. Besides just maintaining a regular presence in the vineyard, we strung 6 lb test fishing line around the perimeter of the vines. The theory is that the deer run into this invisible barrier, feel the pressure and are redirected. By and large, it worked extremely well. Because they cannot see it, they don’t seem too willing to jump over it either. After stringing it, we had one or two minor episodes of leaves being nibbled. Later in the season the string was accidentally removed while mowing the rows and since then we have noticed a jump in the number of ‘attacks’. We will surely be employing this tactic again next season as one of the weapons in our arsenal of deer-fighting methods.

If you would like to read more about our plans and ideas for trellising a backyard vineyard, read more on our Trellis page.

Next fall, we hope to be able to make wine from our first crop. The Frontenacs should provide enough fruit for a small batch. Otherwise, we’ll try harder to make it to a local vineyard during harvest.

Vineyard Status
Valiant - The Valiants have responded well to being trellised. We harvested a few clusters of grapes - probably a bit early. But by and large, these vines experienced outstanding growth this season. Most have been hardened off for several weeks already. One vine was attacked by a gopher that must have severed its root. The vines leaves are completely brown and we fear it may be totally dead. We will wait until next spring to see if it sends up shoots from it’s roots - it would be surprising if it did not. But if it does not come back, we will probably explore layering a new vine in from an adjacent one.

Prairie Star - By season’s end two of our Prairie Stars had sent up shoots - albeit very small ones. But if we can get these plants to survive, we will add to them from our vineyard in Hudson, WI. The vines there did well this summer despite HEAVY deer traffic. We plan to transplant them next spring

Frontenac - The Frontenacs growth has been nothing short of spectacular this season. By season’s end they compare in size to the Valiants despite being a year behind due to poor management! We expect a small crop from the Frontenacs next season.

Sabrevois - We end this season with three Sabrevois. Two of them put on decent growth, the third was so-so. In addition we will be moving two Sabs from our Hudson, WI vineyard next spring. These vines are probably two years away from cropping.

Marechal Foch - The Foch vines have all done extremely well with most of them reaching the top trellis wire by the end of the season. The vines that did not reach that height will probably be pruned down to a couple of buds next spring. As far as the upcoming winter is concerned we are working on our gameplan for ensuring that the Foch survive. Our main goal (as it is with any variety we grow) is that we do not want to bury the vines. We removed their growtubes in early August and they seem to have hardened off well. In addition we will mound up dirt around their bases to give their roots extra protection from freezing.

Thanks!
Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter! We don’t pretend to be experts at growing grapes in cold climates, but rather we hope you find the newsletter an informative and entertaining source of information. If you do, feel free to forward the e-mail to others that may be interested. If you have suggestions for future topics or general comments/suggestions, feel free to send us a note using our Contact Us page.

Our next newsletter should arrive in your inbox sometime soon. In the meantime, thanks for reading and take care! Don’t forget to tell your friends about our newsletter!