Improving Yield and Quality of Sauvignon Blanc

Clonal Trial: During the 2008 growing season, a trial containing 12 clones of Sauvignon blanc were grown and harvested. The vineyard is farmed organically, drip irrigated and planted in a Russian River loam soil in Hopland, Mendocino County, California. Clones include: UC FPS# 1, 6, 7, 14, 18, 20, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29. The experimental design is a ANOVA Randomized Complete Block with 8 replications of 5 vine vines planted in 4 long east/west rows. Replications are clearly marked with plastic cattle ear tags at the beginning and end of the plot containing the replication number and clone for easy identification. This is the second bearing year of the vineyard, and the vines were trained with two canes containing an average of 8 buds per cane on a vertical shoot positioned trellis (VSP). Vines were managed during the growing season to the cooperating grower’s commercial standards including trunk and cordon suckering and removal of sterile shoots, positioning shoots upright inside of fruiting wires, and a standard powdery mildew program utilizing stylet oil and wettable sulfur pre-bloom, and sulfur dust post bloom. No insecticides or miticides were applied. Not all vines are bearing at commercial levels, but we were able to sufficiently harvest enough fruit to make valid mean comparisons.

Harvest occurred on September 8th scheduled to coincide with other Sauvignon blanc being crushed by the cooperator. Target fruit maturity was 22.5 to 23.5 %brix. Following are the data: See tables on progress report.