Did you know…

Did you know….
The vineyard at Summerseat is a legacy vineyard, dating from perhaps the 1970’s. The soil is mostly sandy and it has a high water table in the winter and dries out quickly in the summer if there is no rain for a couple of weeks. When the non-profit bought Summerseat the vineyard was in decline with many of the posts and wires down and the vines sprawled on the ground. Pat Isles rescued the vineyard in 2001, worked with the University of Maryland (UMD) to bring back the vines that were there and to put in new vines. The original vines were Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc and Marechal Foch. All three are grape varieties that grow well here in SOMD. 
Working with the U of M, Pat obtained a number of new vines to try in this vineyard. Vines that have been added over the years are Barbera, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Petite Syrah. Also added were Viognier, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Malvasia Bianca, Vignoles, Norton and Linea. Although that sounds like a lot of grapes, most of the varieties consist of only 8 or 12 vines because they were given to Summerseat for testing to learn how they would grow here. Many of the vines did well for quite a while but little by little they have lost vigor and many have died. The vines have suffered since the double freeze a few years ago and a renewal effort is planned for the next year or two. Pat sends reports to Dr. Joe Fiola of UMD keeping him informed of what has worked and what has not here in the Summerseat vineyard.
Pat has installed a weather station which reports to a nation-wide weather network. The weather data is also transmitted to a Maryland vineyard weather monitoring network which uses the data to calculate disease pressure status for growers to help them plan disease spray programs.
Pat and Rich have just completed the pruning of the vines for this spring. Pruning is done to ensure the vines set fruit along the lower wire so it can be managed and eventually harvested easier. During the growing season the vines will be pruned to help direct the growth to support the fruit, sometimes excess fruit will be cut off as well to ensure that the remaining fruit ripens completely.
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