{"id":46542,"date":"2017-09-07T17:37:50","date_gmt":"2017-09-07T21:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=46542"},"modified":"2019-02-28T13:45:03","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T18:45:03","slug":"brock-scientists-helping-growers-closely-track-ripening-grapes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2017\/09\/brock-scientists-helping-growers-closely-track-ripening-grapes\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock scientists helping growers closely track ripening grapes"},"content":{"rendered":"

As harvest season quickly approaches, Niagara\u2019s grape growers and winemakers are keeping a steady eye on the grapes ripening in their vineyards. They can now also turn to scientists at Brock University\u2019s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) to help them make informed harvest decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every week from now until harvest, CCOVI\u2019s annual preharvest monitoring program will track key indicators of ripeness at four different vineyard sites in the Niagara Peninsula. At those sites, CCOVI viticulturist Jim Willwerth and CCOVI oenologist Belinda Kemp will be sampling grape clusters from five core Ontario varieties: Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.<\/p>\n

After the samples are selected, key ripeness indicators such as brix (sugar levels), titratable acidity, pH levels and volatile acidity (a measure of fruit integrity) are then measured by CCOVI\u2019s Analytical Services department<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Willwerth said while this season was not as hot or dry as previous years, \u201cwe are on track for some of the similar vintages of 2013 and 2014 \u2014 which provided some fantastic cool-climate wines with great character and regional identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough it\u2019s been a challenging year with the wetter weather, the size and health of the crop looks very good \u2014 a testament to how our growers have been managing this weather and the delayed maturation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willwerth says the preharvest monitoring program, which has been running since 2010, provides data that is \u201can integral part of the industry\u2019s decision-making process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The collected data is available to the industry through an interactive website<\/a>, providing users with insight into how different grape varieties are responding to the current growing season. It also provides the ability to compare harvests from different areas in the region from year-to-year.<\/p>\n

Interest in the program goes well beyond Canada. Last year alone, more than 1,900 users in 17 countries went online to follow CCOVI\u2019s monitoring of the Niagara harvest.<\/p>\n

Beamsville grape grower Ed Hughes said comparing different harvests helps him track the progress of his own crop and make predictions about what\u2019s ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs my crop as it should be? Am I ahead or behind?\u201d the 2011 Grape King explained. \u201cI can also look back at similar years\u2019 harvests to help me make assumptions on this year\u2019s possibilities, and also look at possible areas of improvement for the next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richie Roberts, winemaker at Fielding Estate Winery in Lincoln, calls the program a \u201ctime-saving tool, when time is more valuable than ever.\u201d With a later harvest date expected this year, he said the CCOVI program \u201cwill be even more useful to help monitor progress in different parts of Niagara.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sampling for the preharvest monitoring program will take place every week and the data will be posted online at ccovi.ca\/preharvest<\/a> every Tuesday until harvest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As harvest season quickly approaches, Niagara\u2019s grape growers and winemakers are keeping a steady eye on the grapes ripening in their vineyards. They can now also turn to scientists at Brock University\u2019s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) to help them make informed harvest decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":46545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3319,4052,41,1,5],"tags":[3630,61,5757,1278,5758],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46542"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46542"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56433,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46542\/revisions\/56433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}