"'The VSP system is a dinosaur at this point,' Bryan Babcock, the winemaker at Babcock Winery & Vineyards, in the Sta. Rita Hills, said in an article for Wine-Searcher, 'because it exposes the fruit to too much sun and maximizes labor and fuel consumption.'”
☝ Primary reasons I've been advocating different trellis designs in Texas for years now! Why on earth are we using VSP in a HOT, HIGH altitude, HIGH UV, DRY growing region...??? It makes no sense!
Our primary issue IN TX High Plains AVA has always been sun OVER exposure to fruit (sunburn, raisin) due to the extreme heat (110*F+) and extreme UV intensity (3,000'+ elevation). Dappled sunlight with single high wire or California sprawl canopies tend to do MUCH better for us and produce more balanced fruit (especially red grapes).
"Adam Casto, the head winemaker at Ehlers Estate, in St. Helena, is moving to high-wire trellises as he replants part of the property’s 42-acre vineyard, planted predominantly to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. 'There’s been a pretty decisive move away from VSP over the last 10 years or so, but especially over the last five,' he says. 'The vast majority [of growers] are either bringing up the fruiting wire or converting to cane pruning altogether. Climate change is increasingly the reason.'”
While 98%+ of our acreage is in single high wire trellising, we do have ~15 acres still set up in VSP.
We actually use our existing VSP trellising to make a modified California sprawl system as we have moveable catch wires. Only one pair is lifted to tuck cane growth at a much shallower angle, producing something similar to a Cali sprawl. Works MUCH better and can still be adjusted as needed for each variety's growth habit.
Quotes from Virginie Boone's article "California’s Trellising Systems Adapt with the Times" published July 3, 2024.
Link below, please go read it!
https://lnkd.in/gdXziCEV
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Brock Storrusten, PE AECPM looks like a great spot for the next Craft Beer Crazies meetup! 🙃