West Virginia's growing wine industry
(Continued from Page A 18)
grow best under the conditions
found in West Virginia
In Wyoming county, West
Virginia, County Extension Agent
C. Glenn Runions is involved in a
family farm research project.
Studying the feasibility of a variety
of agricultural enterprises, in
cluding grapes and wine
production.
In that relatively mountainous
terrain, Runions has had the most
success with American varieties
Concord and Niagara. He’s also
had good luck with Seyval Blanc
and Aurora, two grapes used in
making white wines.
Androczi, with his vineyards
located in central West Virginia,
speaks equally well of Aurora and
Seyval Blanc’s performance. He
grows many other varieties and
finds the Swenson Red variety,
used in white wine production,
grows well in his area. Androczi
grows Foch, Chancellor, and St.
Croix, among others, and he rates
these the tops for West Virginia red
wine production.
Two rather well-known
varieties, Chardonnay and White
Riesling, are not suited for West
Virginia, Androczi says, because
the summers are too humid, the
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the best varieties for West Virginia. Androczi shares his
findings with other members of the W.Va. Grape Growers
Association.
winters too cold. Certain other county state/private research
table grape varieties also require arm use smooth wire to trellis
winter protection. A mulch is their grapes,
commonly utilized. tn addition to red and white
Chardonnay apparently does a wlne > Androczi, a beekeeper, also
little better in the drier, warmer makes “honey mead,” soon to be
climate of West Virginia’s eastern s °id under his label as melomel.
panhandle counties, as the West- This centuries-old beverage
Whitehill Winery in Keyser, ’ I s with honey and fruit
Mineral county does produce a juices, mainly apple, grape, and
small amount of Chardonnay. P ear - 14 has a sweet, pleasant
Both Androczi and the Wyoming taste, particularly after being aged
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 1,1985-Al9
at leasi, inree years,
Profitability
Androczi contends it is possible
to net |4,000-5,000 per acre in West
Virginia with grapes. Grapes offer
another advantage to growers
with the exception of a few wine
varieties, most grapes are equally
desirable for table use or
winemaking.
“What you cannot sell for table
grapes, you can make into wine,”
Aijdroczi explains.
Can West Virginia become a
Nana Valiev of the East?
Soybean acreage lowest
in eight years, ASA says
ST. LOUIS, MO Fewer
soybeans will be planted across the
United States this year as farmers
react to signals from both the
market and the field.
In its annual planting intentions
report - released May 9 - the
American Soybean Association
forecasts that U.S. farmers will
plant 63.1 million acres of
soybeans. That’s 4.6 million fewer
acres than last year, and the
lowest acreage in eight years.
Dennis Sharpe, head of the
Soybean Association’s corporate
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Well, not yet... But Fisher Ridge
Winery near Charleston made
25,000 gallons last year. The Wes
t Winery crush in 1983
yielded 2,000 gallons.
And if Frank Androczi has his
way, wmenes-his and others-will
very soon increase in number
and/or production, and will
definitely rival California’s
famous wine country.
Of the wine produced now in
West Virginia, Androczi states
unequivocably:
“It’s better than California’s.”
relations and economic analysis
department, coordinated the
survey. He says the low acreage
numbers yielded few surprises in
the market.
“Farmers throughout the
country are reacting to the price
signals from the marketplace,”
says Sharpe. “That’s the
philosophy of the Soybean
Association. If the market tells
farmers to grow less soybeans,
they grow less beans. In the longer
term, that’s good. Farmers will
eventually see profits return
because of the smaller acreage.”
The Soybean Association’s
survey targeted the South for the
largest percentage decrease in
soybean production; down more
than 3 million acres, or nearly 15
percent.
“The decline in Southern
soybean acreage is not a new
phenomenon,” says Sharpe.
“There is a need for good crop
rotation in the South after years
and years of continuous
soybeans.”
Some fields in the Southeast
have been in soybean monoculture
for 20 years. Planting continuous
beans contributes to the buildup of
pests and diseases, and limits the
range of herbicides available for
weed control. Rotation crops such
as com and the more drought
tolerant gram sorghum are taking
a chunk out of Southern soybean
acreage.
Sharpe says planted acreage is
only one variable in the market
equation. The effect of a small
soybean crop on prices will be
clearer later in the season when
yields are more certain.
The planting season in many
parts of the country has been dry
and some climatologists are
predicting a drought year.
Although it’s too early to predict
the weather, Sharpe says the low
planted acreage figure will hold
significance should a drought
emerge.
“I can’t say what the weather
will be like in July or August,”
says Sharpe, “but I can say that a
planted acreage of 63 million acres
sets the stage for a significant rally
if dry weather develops.”
Since 1980, the Soybean
Association’s planting intentions
survey has reflected actual
plantings within 3.5 percent, and in
the last two years has been within
one-half percent. According to
Sharpe, the survey results provide
valuable information for a far
mer’s decision-making process.
“The Soybean Association
believes soybean farmers should
have access to the same in
formation commercial buyers and
sellers gather,” Sharpe says.
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