Posts Tagged“cornell”

Cornell to Fill North Country Trial Vineyard Tech Position

Just in from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Northeast NY Commercial Fruit program, is announcement of an open position at the cold hardy hybrid wine grape trial vineyard in Willsboro, NY.  I’m well acquainted with the vineyard, having volunteered there for a few years, and I’m deeply connected to the area, due to family ties, and a lifetime of summers in the town.  Were I in a different place in my life now, or if this was 15 years ago, I would not even be sharing this information. Rather I would be doing everything I could to assume the position myself,…

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Long Island Vineyards Could See Early Bud Break in 2012

The earliest anyone can remember seeing bud break in Long Island vineyards was mid-April in 2010 — a vintage that ended up being one of the longest and warmest on record. Bud break in 2010 was about two weeks earlier than average. But, after a mild winter and with temperatures currently in the upper-50s and 60s this week — Long Island vineyards coudl see bud break even earlier in 2012. “The potential for an early budbreak this year appears higher than normal. If the weather continues to trend the way it has over the winter season it is increasingly likely that an early…

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Finger Lakes Pioneer Donates Books to Cornell Wine Library

Everyone knows that Dr. Konstantin Frank and the winery he founded blazed a trail for East Coast wine. But he was also the owner an extremely extensive book collection, which has been donated to Cornell University. In doing so, the Frank family has made Cornell’s viticulture and winemaking collection at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station’s Lee Library one of the best in the country. The Konstantin Frank family book donation consists of 132 titles, composed of 19th and 20th century titles on a wide variety of topics including horticulture, plant science, viticulture, enology, chemistry, nature, history and literature…

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Some Finger Lakes Wineries Hop on Hybrids

I read an interesting little piece this morning from the Cornell Daily Sun that talks about hybrid grape varieties, their advantages and what some wineries in the Finger Lakes are doing with them. Apparently, in addition to being more resistant to the cold weather of the region, they are also less susceptible to the typical grape maladies, meaning that fewer pesticides are needed to grow them. It’s kind of an interesting way to "go green" no? I know that there are plenty of wine lovers out there who turn their noses up at hybrids, but I’ve found several seyval blancs…

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Cornell University Workbook Helps New York and Northeastern Growers Go Green

We all know, green/sustainable/biodynamic/organic vineyard management is one of the hottest topics in the wine world these days. But how can the uninitiated get on the road to greenness? Cornell University and the Cornell Cooperative Extension have just released a new workbook to help grape growers in New York and the Northeast. The 125-page self-teaching workbook, "New York Guide to Sustainable Viticulture Practices," offers guidance in evaluating and adopting the best management practices for minimizing environmental impacts, reducing economic risks and protecting worker health and safety. Topics include: soil management to reduce erosion, runoff and leaching; use of integrated pest…

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Long Island Merlot Alliance Sponsoring an Intern

The Long Island Merlot Alliance has sponsored a summer intern to do local Merlot research during the 2007 vintage. The intern, Christopher Grassotti, is a student in the Masters degree program in viticulture and enology at Ecole Nationale Supérieur Agronomique in Montpellier, France. In his work for LIMA, he will be working closely with LIMA members, Viticultural Research Program Leader Alice Wise, and others at Cornell University. He will focus on defining the dominant and strongly identifiable aroma/ profile of Long Island merlot and identifying the differences found in other quality wine regions. This will allow specific analysis, in the…

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