E4-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 7, 2002
Winegrower Tastes Benefits Of Research, Hard Work
(Continued from Page E 1)
“A lot of people think you
can only grow grapes in poor
er soils,” he said. “I realized a
lot of grapes are grown in sim
ilar ag areas (to Lancaster
County).”
Waltz began cultivating
Cabernet Sauvignon and Mer
lot, two popular varieties used
for making red wine. He chose
quality, virus-free vines from
California and New York to
plant in his well-drained silt
loam fields. He now has a
total of 10 acres in grapes.
The vines are supported by
a high-tensile wire “Scott
Henry” trellis system, named
after the Oregon grape grower
who developed it. In this type
of trellis, the vines are trained
to grow horizontally at two
Sam Zook, hired worker, tightens trellis wires in Jan
Waltz’s vineyards.
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levels, with the goal of increas
ing fruit set while maintaining
a thin profile of the vines and
leaves to allow good air circu
lation. Rows are spaced eight
feet apart.
The young vines come
grafted onto rootstock that is
best adapted for local growing
conditions. The vines normal
ly take three years to produce.
Waltz selected relatively
slow-growing rootstock be
cause of the native fertility of
his soils, and the vines need
minimal fertilization. Waltz
applies small amounts of ni
trogen in the spring and keeps
an eye on micronutriert levels
through soil tests.
There are no set guidelines
for growing grapes in the area,
according to Waltz.
“We went through a lot of
trial and error,” he said.
“There’s not any one book
telling you how to do it in this
part of the country.”
Growing wine grapes in
volves constant learning, talk
ing to other local growers, and
traveling, Waltz said. Penn
State and the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture are
also “really working to devel
op a better industry,” along
with the Pennsylvania Associ
ation of Wine Growers, of
which Waltz is a state direc
tor.
Weeds are handled with a
cultivator designed for run
ning alongside the vine rows.
Hilling soil around the
grafts in the fall to pro- |
tect them from freezing I
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also helps control weeds the
following spring. Waltz uses
no herbicides.
For insects mostly the
grapeberry moth he applies
pesticide once or twice per
season, mainly around the pe
rimeters of the vineyard. Jap
anese beetles can also be a
problem, but Waltz strives to
keep spraying to a minimum,
in part to protect helpful in
sects.
“There are so many benefi
cials that are important,” he
said.
Waltz applies fungicides on
a more regular basis, rotating
the chemicals as much as pos
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sible to manage disease resis
tance. Systemic fungicides
have a longer lasting effect.
Marketing is a major part
of a successful wine-growing
business. It’s crucial to re
search markets, even before
starting to grow grapes, and to
secure buyers before expand
ing, according to Waltz.
“If you want to grow
grapes, you’ve got to have a
market,” he said.
Waltz’s goal is “to maxi
mize revenue per acre.” He
chose Cabernet Sauvignon
and Merlot, French nonhybrid
(Turn to Page ES)