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The 2019 Growing Season in Review
The 2019 growing season will be marked, if not scarred, by the amount of unsold fruit still hanging on the vine after harvest. You don't need me to tell you that it was a rough year for growers just about everywhere in California. Growers with grape contracts faced strict limitations on their contracts' tonnage maxima; and, while it was an average year for yield, even some contracted vineyards had fruit that was left hanging on the vines. For those without contracts, it was a no-go as almost nobody was looking to buy grapes this year. Even good grapes. I know that some spot market bargains were had, but most non-contracted grapes went to the birds. Or to the fungi. Unfortunately, I feel that this is not the last we've seen of a bad grape market. Let's hope it's a short dip and we get back into balance soon.
It Was a Good Vintage But...
As usual, I'm writing this from the perspective of the California North Coast wine-growing region. Any weather data I'm showing are from the Russian River region, or at least the corner of the region I call home base, which is the northern part of the AVA. I would bore you (and me) to pieces trying to pore over every region's weather data, and so I'll limit the discussion in this way to make it bearable and useful for most of us.
Overall, this year was fairly smooth. No big heat spikes, generally good weather and enough time available to ripen the fruit. But no growing season is perfect, and perfect is boring. So, I'll accentuate the negative—because negativity is more interesting.
A Wet May
The rainy season was going along just fine, except for the flooding in February. I don't mean to be insensitive, as the floods were severe and very damaging. But they occur frequently in a wet climate like this; and as usual, it happened when the vines were sleeping. After the February rains, the precipitation was more typical of the region, and we were proceeding along with what seemed to be a typical, if not drier than normal, spring. That is, until mid-May, when we received a rather unseasonal rainfall that ranged between about 3 to 5 inches over two days (F IGURE 1 ). East Coast folks will laugh at us, but that amount of rainfall is quite a challenge for fair-weather Californians.
In the short-term, the rainfall stopped all our field work for more than, including much-needed fungicide spraying. In the longer term, that amount of moisture was enough to bring most soils back to field capacity and even saturate many vineyards to a depth not usually found in May. We have soil moisture probes in vineyards throughout the region; and after the initial rainfall drained away, many soils remained saturated at depths of about 2 feet (and below, of course). Many of these soils did not fully drain below saturated levels in the lower soil profile until July and August and some even into September. It was a challenge to tell some growers not to irrigate in the middle of the summer, but many of them didn't need to irrigate because that stored moisture held on for so long. My day job largely involves guiding growers to initiate their irrigation later into the season in order to extract the rain-fed moisture before applying any supplemental moisture. This year took that concept to an extreme, and we didn't need to start irrigating most vineyards until August and September in the North Coast. (Likewise in East Paso Robles!). Some vineyards held on all season without any irrigation and only needed to be irrigated after harvest.
When the rains arrived, bloom and fruit set were not yet in wide display. There was some bloom but less than what is usually present mid-May. This is a good thing because rain, during bloom and fruit set, can and will cause failure to set fruit. There were a few precocious vineyards that were in bloom, and some did not fare well as a result. We did see a fair amount of shatter in Cabernet Sauvignon and some Rhône varieties, but fruit set was largely unimpeded by the foul mid-May weather. The spate of cool weather did seem to slow down the vines, and we were looking at a potentially very late season and harvest at the time of fruit set.
We Californians are spoiled with usually perfect growing season weather, and clearly that is something that makes our region so great for growing winegrapes. So, the vintage is usually affected when that dry weather pattern is disturbed. Another downside to late spring rainfall in 2019 was that vines and other vegetation grew wildly. It was tough to keep up with cover crop mowing and mowing, three times or even more was not uncommon. But worse than that were those growers who tilled in their cover crops—for shame! The season played a trick on us and made us think that spring was over with dumping its rainfall. So, some thought they would conserve moisture by tillage (as well as those who till for aesthetics). Those who tilled their tractor rows had it worse than those that didn't. Unpredictable spring rainfall is yet another reason to consider moving to no-till management practices.
Botrytis is always a fear after a rain, partially in the short-term but mostly in the long-term, as the fungus can create a latent infection in the clusters that re-awakens much later in the growing season. Astute growers applied preventative sprays after fruit set and again at bunch closure. Perhaps as a result, and due to a rather dry harvest, I saw very little bunch rot on well tended vineyards this year.
Not only did cover crops and weeds grow like, uh, weeds, but so did the vines. Keeping up with canopy management after the May rains was difficult; and just when crews finished one tucking and positioning pass, another was needed, in addition to other canopy management tasks. With vines growing so wildly, our clients and our own vineyards withheld any nitrogen fertilization, for fear it would only feed the fire. I presume that nitrogen fertilizer was eventually applied to most vineyards, but I think some simply skipped that step; and as a result, I think some vineyards were nitrogen-deficient as harvest approached.
Temperature Patterns
In my opinion, though rainfall patterns are important, temperature patterns define the vintage. If that is the case, then this was a pretty good one, not an exceptionally hot year like 2017 nor an exceptionally cool one, like 2018. The 2019 vintage was a more-or-less Goldilocks one where things were just about right. Looking at the accumulated heat summation (degree-days, FIGURE 2 ), we see that the season started out pretty typically compared to the previous two seasons, whereby in mid-June heat accumulation was about the same for all three years. A late-season spate of warm weather rose the heat summation above that of last year, but the absence of extreme heat waves kept accumulated heat well below that of 2017 (a season many of us want to forget).
Looking at heat summation month-by-month (FIGURE 3 ), we see that May temperatures were much lower than the previous three growing seasons, which tended to delay the onset of bloom and fruit set. Many vineyards were setting fruit well into June this year, which is later than typical by about two weeks. My observations were that bloom and fruit set were erratic and uneven. Flowers were blooming on vines where fruit had already set. While not uncommon, this is not a blessing for quality because uniformity of maturation tends to lead to higher quality.
By June and July, things were more typical of the region, with weather being consistently mild to warm but devoid of extreme temperatures. We like that because the vines like that. But the late and erratic fruit set led to late and erratic veraison. We saw green Cabernet Sauvignon berries into late August, something I can't recall seeing before. Veraison seemed to take weeks in a single vineyard block. I don't like to appear pessimistic, but a long, drawn out veraison process is not good for wine quality. Again, this stemmed from the uneven bloom and fruit set weeks earlier.
Weather was quite warm during August and September, with heat summations rivaling the hot 2017 season, though without the extremes of the high temperatures in 2017. There were a few heat spikes, including one in late September that reached 105° F in Alexander Valley and a bit higher than that in a few other locations, like Calistoga, but nothing that caused immediate damage to most vineyards. The very late veraison was matched with a very short ripening period brought about, presumably, by the consistently warm, but not extremely hot, weather.
Does that bode well for quality? Well, we usually hope for a long ripening period, which allows for phenolic "ripeness" coincident with ideal sugar, acid and pH levels. For certain, many vineyards developed sugar quickly, and phenolics seem to match. My fear for the quality of the vintage lies more in the potential variability of fruit maturation, which persisted throughout ripening and originated at fruit set. Furthermore, the late spring rains made it difficult for vines to reach desired water stress levels as there was simply too much moisture available to them. Stress prior to veraison—I like to target lag phase—is an important physiological trigger of secondary metabolic enzymes in the fruit. This is especially important for red varieties. Some vineyards did indeed reach target stress levels prior to veraison, but I would estimate that most did not, especially if they were irrigated too early.
Since I'm being so negative, I'll have to mention disease. Every year I say the same thing: "This was the worst mildew year ever." Funny, though, that early in the season we were all marveling at how it was a good year for mildew control. That confidence was soon shattered when we ventured into the "worst mildew year ever." This can best be visualized by looking at the powdery mildew (PM) risk index, with daily scores averaged over each month (FIGURE 4). Early- season (April-May) PM index levels were quite low in 2019 compared to the prior two years. Perhaps this created a sense of complacency with growers; and since the rains happened, it was difficult to catch up on sprays anyway.
But the index went sky-high in June, rivalling that of 2018, with index levels averaging over 80. That is high risk indeed. To make matters worse, the index stayed high in July and August. This was due to the consistently mild weather. It takes high heat to push mildew back, but our high temperatures did not venture over 95° F and were much milder than that, so mildew was a happy camper. We were not. Susceptible varieties, like Chardonnay, were hit bad. Control was difficult and some fruit simply had to be dropped. The late and uneven veraison made it even more challenging, since growers who made their last spray at veraison were surprised with the persistence of green berries, which are susceptible to PM and went unprotected before finally entering the ripening phase.
Late Spring Sometimes Defines the Vintage
It seems clearer than ever that, at least in the North Coast, late spring weather influences the vintage quality as much as any other weather factor. The big, late rain lies in counterpoint to the mild to warm (but not too hot) temperature patterns during fruit development. The mild weather also made for some severe outbreaks of powdery mildew that were tough to eradicate. Pardon my guarded pessimism, but while I'm sure great wines will be made from fruit this vintage, my overall impression is just "meh." Hopefully, we'll all be pleasantly surprised
Check out Mark's full article in the December issue of Wine Business Monthly.
This is the time to start thinking of goals for next season. Whether that is a new monitoring or control system or adding on to an existing site, we want to bring you the tools for success in 2020. And since this is our "slow season", we will offer incentives up to 15% off for technology equipment.
Now through the end of January, we are giving discounts on telemetry systems and sensors. Weather stations, soil probes, irrigation system monitoring and automation-you name it.
Our focus is connecting new and existing field sensors to devices that allow for real-time visualization and control of your vineyard. View historic data, set up alarms and even control valves and pumps from your smartphone or computer. Telemetry systems we currently support include Ranch Systems, WiseConn, Naviz Analytics and Davis Instruments. These systems, including Aquacheck soil moisture probes are all discounted through the end of January. So contact us now!
We are happy to discuss your current situation and find the right system that fits your needs.
Email firstname.lastname@example.com or call us at (707) 838-3805
The State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) provides financial assistance in the form of grants to implement irrigation systems that reduce greenhouse gases and save water on California agricultural operations. Eligible system components include (among others) soil moisture monitoring, drip systems, automation, switching to low pressure irrigation systems, pump retrofits, variable frequency drives and installation of renewable energy to reduce on-farm water use and energy.
The Sonoma RCD is offering a free webinar to assist growers interested in applying for SWEEP Grant funding.
Wednesday, November 20, 10-11:30 AM. Webinar held with California Sustainable Winegrowers Alliance. Register online HERE.
For more information, visit https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/sweep/
While SWEEP applications are due December 16th, NRCS EQIP funding is a year-round application process. Folks missing out on SWEEP can look into EQIP for projects under similar guidelines as SWEEP. For more information on EQIP, visit the website HERE.
Email email@example.com for questions about both SWEEP and EQIP funding. We are happy to help put together a site specific project that fits your needs and the parameters of the grant.
Trust us, you are not alone..
It's harvest or post-harvest and your vines have been putting their resources into maturing a crop. Or trying to. At this time of year, due to leaf age, accumulation of stresses and a diversion of the vine's carbohydrates to the fruit, vines tend to look their worst.
There are many possibilities why your vines don't look right, and this is the best time to identify possible culprits, which could include nutrient deficiencies, toxicities, water stress or disease. We can help you determine if what you are seeing is a severe or minor problem, or maybe not even a problem at all. We can direct specific sampling and testing or perform the sampling ourselves and send samples to reputable labs for analysis.
Then, we can recommend mitigation and management strategies so you can deal with the issue in the best viticultural and economical way.
Mark Greenspan and the AV team are happy to schedule a vineyard walk through to assess health, perform any needed tests and provide recommendations. Don't ignore it or wait yet another year!
Email email@example.com or call us at (707) 838-3805.
Webinar by: Dr. Mark Greenspan of Advanced Viticulture and Christopher Dunagan from Naviz Analytics
Thursday 8/15/19 8:30AM Pacific Time
Why does Napa and Sonoma Cabernet fruit command some of the world's highest prices? Learn about the best practices for Vineyard Water Stress Management from Dr. Mark Greenspan from Advanced Viticulture. Dr. Greenspan, widely acknowledged as one of the leading Viticulture experts in world is regularly published in Wine Business Monthly. Christopher Dunagan from Naviz Analytics will also show you how leading growers use Remote Sensing technology and Analytics to help manage vineyard operations and report on water stress management practices.
Many North Coast vineyards are beginning to irrigate, or soon will start. Without sensors in the ground, we run risk of over irrigating or over-stressing our vines and losing either or both quality and yield. With veraison around the corner, we still have time to install soil moisture sensors to help you optimize your water management.
Soil moisture sensors are the most useful tool for precision water management of vineyards. Having decades of experience, Mark Greenspan has perfected how to view this information and make calculated decisions about when to start irrigating and then about irrigation volume and intervals. Soil moisture is not a secondary measurement. It's a primary one along with plant water status measurements like the pressure chamber and porometer.
We don't just sell soil moisture devices - we show you how to use them because we use them ourselves.
Our services include installation and support of the soil moisture sensors. Once installed, we are happy to guide you on how to view the soil moisture data and make calculated decisions on irrigation.
For those wanting more assistance, AV offers an advisory package for folks looking for expert analysis and easy-to-follow irrigation recommendations based on your real-time soil moisture and plant stress data.
Email firstname.lastname@example.com or call us at (707) 838-3805 for more information on our soil moisture probes, other technology and any site specific questions you may have.
I recently attended a tour of some vineyards in central Spain, hosted by Lallemand, to introduce some international viticulturists and winemakers to their LalVigne product, which acts to stimulate ripening processes in the grape. I will talk about their product, as well as some others, in another column. I had been to Spain a few times before this recent visit but was struck by the vineyards in the La Mancha region, which were rather extensive plantings of very low, head-trained (AKA bush) vines, widely-spaced and whose vineyard floor had been completely denuded of any other vegetation besides the vines themselves. This practice has been traditional in the region, which receives about 20 inches of rainfall annually and whose soils are very shallow and rocky. Because the soil overlies limestone, roots go down to only about 30 inches in depth or less.
Nevertheless, they do have irrigation available in the La Mancha region, and some vineyards there are experimenting with cover crops in order to build their soils, which otherwise tend to look like barren wastelands. Here in California, it is becoming more and more uncommon to witness vineyard floors with such a "scorched earth" appearance. Growers have been employing cover crops, either by sowing a blend of grasses, legumes or insectary flowers, or by allowing the "native" vegetation to grow during the winter and managing it during the growing season. The current trend has been to reduce or eliminate tillage from the row middles (i.e., tractor row). But is leaving the cover crop in the tractor row a source of competition for the vines and could it be more detrimental than it is beneficial? The answer is, of course, "it depends."
If Spanish traditionalists are trying cover crops in regions they never have before, perhaps there is a reason. As you can see from the photo, the soil in that bush vine vineyard looks more like a pile of dead rocks than it does actual soil, but fine winegrape vineyards don't really want fertile soil, do they? Again, it depends.
What Do Cover Crops Do for Us?
Soil is an ecosystem with a mineral phase, a water phase, a gas phase and a biological phase. The biological phase includes soil-borne macrobiota: worms, insects, nematodes, mollusks, plant roots, etc.; and microbiota: bacteria and fungi of countless different genera and species. While some of the biota are potentially harmful to grapevine roots (e.g., some nematode species, grape phylloxera, some pathogenic bacteria and fungi), most, if not all, are part of an interwoven subterranean ecosystem. The soil biota help to cycle nutrients, thereby improving the efficiency of cropped systems by cycling biomass into useful minerals for our crops. Dead plant parts function as a source of energy for much of the soil organisms, large and small. So, when we prevent vegetation, a component of our biological system, from growing, usually through cultivation or herbicide applications, we eliminate the primary food source for the biological organisms in the soil. This not only increases our dependence on chemical fertilizers, it potentially creates waste as the soil nutrient-holding capacity of the soil is benefited by the ability of soil microbes to convert fertilizers into usable forms for plants, as well as to lock some up for temporary storage into organic forms.
In other words, a lack of plants (other than grapevines) is potentially very dangerous for a vineyard and is generally undesirable for a sustainable vineyard system.
An extensive research study was published in 20031, where a vineyard was analyzed after 17 years of treatments that included a permanent fescue cover crop in tractor rows, herbicide-treated tractor rows and alternate-row herbicide treatments (none was tilled). There was a distinct and significant elevation in soil organic matter in soil under permanent sod, but the difference was only seen in the upper 8 inches. Nitrogen content was also higher in the upper 8 inches of soil while potassium content was higher, down to 18 inches under the cover-cropped treatment. Soil under permanent cover crop also had higher water-holding capacity and greater friability down to 18 inches and a lower bulk density (hence less compaction) down to 8 inches. While no soil microbiological assessments were made (this study was done before PCR laboratory methodologies were as widespread as they are now), the higher soil organic matter and generally better soil conditions would most likely promote a more active and potentially diverse soil microbiota.
Mind you, the benefits were mostly seen in the upper levels of soil, which are where most of the microbial activity and nutrient cycling occur. Though not explicitly stated, cover crops will aid in water infiltration and reduce runoff and erosion. Grass cover crops, such as the one studied in the 2003 paper, are high biomass producers, with dense but shallow root systems. Some native perennial grasses have deeper root systems, and we've seen them as deep as 4 feet in some places. But those grasses are intensely competitive and are not generally good companions for grapes, except possibly under the soggiest, most vigor-inducing soil conditions.
While grasses have a benefit as a cover crop, broadleaf plants also have their place. Legumes (e.g., beans, peas, vetch, clover) form a symbiosis with certain bacteria, and can capture nitrogen from the atmosphere and "fix" it in a mineral form that can serve as a nutrient for the crop. There is a place for legumes in all but very vigorous vineyards. The nitrogen fixed by legumes is not immediately available but is slowly released as the vegetation decomposes, which creates a slow and steady available nitrogen source for the vines. Besides legumes, many growers like to plant mustards and other brassicas, which have showy flowers in the spring and some tendency, though not a very strong one, to repel nematodes. Yet another use for cover crops is for insectaries, and they are usually planted only in a small percentage of rows for that purpose.
What is the Downside to Cover Crops?
The 2003 study I've referred to demonstrated a strong competitiveness of the grass cover crop for the grape roots. Grape roots were found to be far less abundant wherever the grape roots proliferated. That means, in the case of the cover crop, there were much fewer grape roots in the tractor row down to about 2 feet in depth. Below that depth, a reduction in grape roots was not observed. On the other hand, there were more grape roots found under the vines in the cover-cropped treatment than in the sprayed treatment, though again the differences were not evident below about 2 feet in depth. So, clearly, the grass cover crop roots presented a source of competition against the grape roots and caused the vine roots to grow differently based on the grass competition.
Grasses will compete against other species for nutrients and water, but much of their competitiveness comes through allelopathy, wherein the grass roots exude chemicals that are toxic to other plants. This is why it is generally quite undesirable to grow grass cover crops under vine rows. But can this effect be undesirable for cover crops grown only in tractor rows and not under vines? Again, I fall back on "it depends."
I've been involved with a study in Sonoma County that compares cover- cropped to tilled treatments, similar to the 2003 study, but with tillage instead of herbicides and with a much shorter time of study. One of the measurements includes soil moisture profiles measured in the vine rows in the treatment plots. Because I am serving as an advisor and analyst on the project and am not the principal investigator on it, I will refrain from presenting any data from the study (and also because the study is ongoing). However, early indications are that the cover-cropped versus tilled treatments did not show any differences in the rate of moisture draw-down by the vines, at least when measured under the vine rows.
Anecdotally, others who have conducted similar trials have seen little, if any, differences in water consumption under tilled versus non-tilled treatments. This is somewhat perplexing since we would expect a transpiring cover crop to extract more moisture from the soil than a tilled soil, as a tilled soil may dry out in the upper few inches, but the disturbed soil will tend to inhibit evaporation otherwise. I suspect that we and others may have seen a difference in moisture draw-down in the tractor rows under cover crop versus tillage, but it is not practical to maintain soil moisture devices in the tractor rows.
That said, I most certainly believe that a cover crop will compete with vines, both for water and through an allelopathic interaction (for grasses). While cover crops will tie up nutrients, the long-lasting effect is not a nutrient competition because nutrients are eventually released as the vegetation decomposes, which is what cover crops eventually do. As for water competition, keeping cover crops mowed will reduce the transpirational surface area and, hence, reduce their water competitiveness. And on the contrary, leaving them high will help to extract moisture from the soil, which can be a good tool for wet spring conditions (and wet summer conditions in regions that receive summer rainfall). But as we've seen in our limited trial work, the competition is not great under well-managed conditions (i.e., a mowed cover crop with weeds controlled in the vine rows).
Where might cover crops be undesirable? Truthfully, they will probably be beneficial in almost any situation, and the types of cover crops can be chosen to complement any soil and climate combination. Grasses are great at water consumption if water is in over-supply and are also great for biomass production to improve soil organic matter content. Legumes are great for stimulating weaker vineyards by their ability to fix nitrogen and lack of competition based on their growth cycle. But planting grasses in a weak vineyard could be counterproductive, especially if not mowed when water is scarce. Planting legumes in a vigorous vineyard is similarly unwise.
Thinking about the relatively "awful" soils in La Mancha, wine growers have long eschewed any form of weeds and cover crops in order to reduce competition. But, in so doing, they have also (likely) reduced soil organic matter, water-holding capacity and nutrient retention. It's good to see that they are now experimenting with allowing other vegetation into their vineyards. The move to cover crops and reduction in tillage is a good one, but like everything, it must be managed to suit the specific conditions of the vines, soils and climate.
Though much of the North Coast got a healthy mid-May drink of water recently, preparing for and scheduling of irrigations are right around the corner.
Without remote monitoring and control of the system, we sacrifice both potential wine quality and water use efficiency. Walking the vineyard to operate valves, manually monitoring flow and pressure are time consuming and error-prone. For instance, did your irrigator really turn on that block for 4 hours, or was it actually 3?
These should be problems of the past.
Controlling your system from a smartphone or computer and monitoring usage in real-time eliminates the risk of error and saves you time and money and provides documentation of your irrigation activities.
Systems we design, sell and support monitor and grant you full control of your vineyard water delivery system.
We work with some of the best companies out there for irrigation control: Ranch Systems and WiseConn. Click the logo below to learn more about each system and their specifications.
Email email@example.com if you would like more information about either system or the concept in general. We are happy to answer site-specific questions and work out a plan that fits your needs.
Our inventory is re-stocked!
With the season upon us, this is a great time to install soil moisture sensors and view a full-season's set of soil moisture dynamics.
The probes we support measure soil moisture and temperature from 6-12 sensor depths. Meaning with one probe, you can view specific moisture readings every 4 inches- down to four feet!
We are ready to put the necessary measures in place so you can view soil moisture data for years to come. Telemetry systems we support will send continuous data to your smart phone or computer.
Contact firstname.lastname@example.com for more information on soil moisture sensors. We are happy to find the site-specific system that best fits your needs.
We want you to be prepared this spring so your vines wont end up looking like these.
It's time to install a state-of-the-art wireless frost alert system.The systems we support will wake you from your slumber so you can brave the elements and protect your crop. Set specific parameters, choose your mode of alert, and trust that your system is acting as your frost sentry. Be alerted via phone call or text message or both.
The AV team is ready to act fast and put in the necessary solutions ASAP.
Email firstname.lastname@example.com for questions and comments about frost monitoring systems.
You can add a full weather station or any number of sensors and control elements to this system either now or in the future.
Making sense of soil moisture sensors
Soil moisture sensors are the most useful tool for precision water management of vineyards. With two decades of experience, Mark Greenspan has perfected how to view these reports, and make calculated decisions about when to start irrigating and then about irrigation volume and intervals.
We don't just sell soil moisture devices - we show you how to use them because we use them ourselves.
Our services include installation and support of the soil moisture sensors. Once installed, we are happy to give a tutorial on how to view the soil moisture data and make calculated decisions on irrigation.
For those wanting more assistance, AV offers an advisory package for folks looking for expert analysis and easy-to-follow irrigation recommendations based on your real-time soil moisture and plant stress data.
Whether it is a short term tutorial, or long term consulting, we want you collecting soil moisture data and learning how to use it to extract maximum value. Email email@example.com or call us at (707) 838-3805 for more information on our soil moisture probes and any site specific questions you may have.
It's that time of year..
Who says the holidays have to be over?
Now through the end of January, we are giving discounts on telemetry systems and sensors. Weather stations, soil probes, automation-you name it.
This year we want to focus on connecting new and existing field sensors to telemetry. View historic data, set up alarms and even control valves and pumps from your smartphone or computer. Telemetry systems we currently support include Ranch Systems, WiseConn and Davis. These systems, including Aquacheck soil moisture probes are all discounted through the end of January. So contact us now!
We are happy to discuss your current situation and find the system that fits your needs.
Email firstname.lastname@example.com or call us at (707) 838-3805
Soil moisture sensors are one of the most (if not the most) useful tool for precisely managing water in winegrape vineyards.
If you don't know what's happening below ground, you are missing out on half the picture! Our goal now is to move away from
hand-logged devices and connect your soil probes to the "cloud". Live soil moisture data, instantly, to your smartphone or
computer. Why wait to download the data when you can see what it is in real-time?
From this... To this...
Systems we currently support include Ranch Systems, WiseConn and Davis. All of these can connect to your new or even
your existing soil moisture probes. Costs vary, but you may be pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive it can be*.
You have better things to do than download your soil moisture devices!
* Advanced Viticulture's moisture monitoring clients may receive discounts on monitoring if telemetry is installed.
For more information about telemetry options or information on soil moisture probes, email firstname.lastname@example.com
or call us at (707) 838-3805. We are happy to discuss your situation and help find a solution to make viewing soil moisture data a whole lot easier.
Automating flow meters
Make easy work of automating record keeping
Monitoring water use may be necessary for some farms under SB88 or the SGMA program. Whether it is needed now or will be in the near future, why make more work for yourself than is necessary. Tracking water use of your vineyard/farm is cumbersome, not to mention the reporting that is needed. Many of us have flow meters installed (or may be required to do so in the near future). However, many are stuck walking the vineyard to collect flow data.
We can help make that task much easier.
Our technology partner Ranch Systems has introduced a package (for flow meters and pressure sensors only) where we can hook up existing meters to telemetry for 50% off annual Ranch Cloud subscription costs. The system can even generate the monthly report you need to file.
New or existing meters, analog or digital at half-price. If you don't have a flow meter, we can help you get started on that also.
As July flies by, many of us on the North Coast have begun to irrigate, or will soon start the schedule. The timetable is calculated and undoubtedly, questions arise. Was pump x turned on/off? How long did Block x receive water? Was there enough pressure? Did the filter clog? ... Ease your mind during this critical time by installing a system that supports complete irrigation control.
Eliminate guesswork
Systems we design, sell and support monitor and grant you full control of your vineyard irrigation.
* Valve control with Ranch Systems shown in photo
We work with some of the best companies out there for irrigation control: Ranch Systems and WiseConn. Click the logo below to learn more about each system and its specifications.
We would be happy to go in to more detail about these systems, and discuss site-specific application to find out how best to suit your needs. Email firstname.lastname@example.com or call us at (707) 838-3805.
Excerpt from Mark Greenspan's May Wine Business Monthly article
It doesn't take a genius to know how important water is to agriculture, but 30 years ago I had yet to learn about the finer aspects of how it can be managed and manipulated to produce the best wines from any vineyard. I'm glad that I ended up working with water as it continues to be known as one of the primary tools a wine grower has available to manipulate his crop towards the end product and, for those of us in the coastal regions, to bring out the true site characteristics from a vineyard.
I'll divide the active growing season into four segments for the sake of this discussion: Budbreak to fruit set, fruit set to veraison, veraison to harvest and harvest to leaf drop.
Budbreak to Fruit Set
This stage is easy. Between budbreak and fruit set, we are aiming for steady, uniform shoot elongation. This period has been referred to as the "grand period of growth." While we don't want excessive rate of shoot elongation, we in wet winter climates usually manage vigor before the season starts, using balanced pruning techniques, not water management. We pretty much want our vines to have all the water they need during the grand period of growth. In the North Coast, this is easy.
Even in drought years and except for the rockiest of soils, we usually start the growing season with a soil profile that is at field capacity and in some cases above field capacity at some soil depths. That is not the case with the Central Coast. Many locations will not receive a full profile from rainfall each year, so some irrigation will be necessary during the spring (and some will need irrigation during the winter as well).
How does one know if their vineyard needs to be irrigated? The easy and non-sustainable way would be to simply irrigate. There is no downside to the vineyard to irrigate, during the winter and spring, as long as one uses high-quality water. But, the use of soil moisture monitoring devices is always a good idea to identify how much moisture resides in the soil at any given
Finally, we absolutely do not want any water stress to occur on the vines during bloom and fruit set periods. We also do not want excessive vegetative vigor at this time, but that is often more about nitrogen status than water status.
Fruit Set to Veraison
This is the critical period. Following fruit set, the berry enlarges, first by cell division and expansion and later (after two to three weeks have passed) by cell expansion alone. Berry enlargement will be very sensitive to water deficit stress at this time as the berry is being fed by xylem vessels, which can both push water into the berry and pull it back out.
Growth of berries is impossible without turgor pressure within the cells, and water stress will cause berries to become less turgid. The softening usually only occurs temporarily during the day but can be sufficient to reduce berry enlargement. Therefore, water deficit stress has a direct, depressing effect on yield.
However, the benefits of well-managed water stress at this stage are great, and this is the phenological period that benefits most from controlled water stress. As mentioned, berry size is reduced by water deficit stress. But, the benefits are not solely about berry size. Let's get back to vine vegetative growth—primary shoot and lateral elongation. Our goal is to grow enough leaf area to ripen the crop but not so much growth, including lateral shoots, that we create a dense canopy, especially not in the fruit zone. Dense canopies cost more money in canopy management, create disease pressure, both for powdery mildew and botrytis, and have a depressing effect on wine quality. Vines that have ample water resources will simply continue to grow vegetatively, so there is a compelling reason to control water status of the vines during this phase of development.
However, perhaps the most compelling reason is that we have a short, but fairly identifiable, period during which water stress can improve aspects of ripening and final wine quality more than any other time of the growing season. This is the period preceding veraison, whose length is unclear, but I suggest is about two to three weeks before veraison. For many varieties,
this is the lag phase when fruit slows down its growth prior to softening and resumes its growth at and after veraison.
Hence, the primary window for water stress is lag phase through completion of veraison (because berries go through veraison asynchronously). Some evidence exists that water stress could hasten the onset of veraison and possibly make it more uniform, but excessive water stress may also retard veraison. So, like most things, moderation is the name of the game. We
usually aim for -14 bars of midday leaf water potential or 125-150 mmol m-2 s-1 of stomatal conductance during this period, though these values vary among varieties, wine styles, and soil conditions.
Veraison to Harvest
The current trend seems to be that the water stress applied prior to veraison can be relieved after veraison because beneficial effects of stress on berry metabolism is far less than before veraison. Aside from during heat events (when keeping water status high allows leaves to better cool themselves and maintain some photosynthesis) there is no reason to over-irrigate vines during the ripening phase. We want to maintain a little stress on the vines, though not as much as we had imposed on them during our lag phase stress window.
Speaking of winemakers, it burns me (and sometimes the grapes) when they ask us growers not to irrigate during ripening or at least at the latter stages of ripening. Unless vines have been over-irrigated, there is little reserve moisture in the soil remaining, and going cold turkey on irrigation causes vines in that condition to crash. I totally understand not wanting growers to over-irrigate at that stage, but vines still need water to maintain leaf function through harvest.
Post-harvest irrigation is so important, it's amazing how many growers get it wrong. I've seen everything, from no-irrigation after harvest to the infamous "big drink and walk away." I'd prefer the latter to the former; but if the length of time between harvest and leaf drop is long, it's better to just keep irrigating the vines as they were before harvest. We want to keep leaves functioning to replace carbohydrates in the permanent structure of the vine. This is extremely important. I'm not going to drone on and on about this, but the moment after harvest is the first day of the new growing season so don't neglect your vines at this critical time.
Water management is probably our biggest tool in California viticulture. Most growing regions of the world do not have the opportunity to control vine stress as we do. Let's use our advantage wisely
Check out Mark's full article in the May issue of Wine Business Monthly.
To find out more about our moisture management services and the tools we use to manage water stress, email email@example.com, or call us at (707) 838-3805
AV irrigation management services for this growing season
Moisture monitoring of both plant and soil is essential for bringing out the best in any vineyard. Avoid excessive irrigation, find out if dry-farming is possible, bring out your vineyard's terroir and refine a key component of sustainable viticulture. Our moisture management services improve wine quality without sacrifice to productivity and, over time, reduce your vineyard's dependence on irrigation.
We will install soil moisture probes in key locations that provide continuous measurements of the moisture profile and combine that with plant moisture status measurements and visual observations. You may have seen our soil moisture charts before (we post them here in our newsletters). We will interpret those for you, instructing you on how to interpret them yourself (if you want to), study them in the context of plant moisture status, and come up with brief, but specific, irrigation recommendations for you on a repeated weekly cycle. We do this for the entire growing season.
Don't rely on a computer model or automated advisory system. Our hand-made advice comes from expert viticulturists with over three decades of combined experience including Mark Greenspan, Ph.D. who is known internationally for his work in vineyard water. We believe our services are best described HERE, by clients who have leveraged the results. Cost? Well like all things there are volume discounts, but our monitoring AND consulting services can be retained for under $50 per week per monitoring location for an entire season.
Email Paul for questions and comments about the service, technology and specific application to your vineyard. Or call us at 707-838-3805.
Tools of our trade:
Pressure Bomb
-Measures leaf water potential
-Biophysical stress measurement
Decagon/Meter* Leaf Porometer
-Measures stomatal conductance
-Good indicator of benificial stress
-Identifies range for optimal water use efficiency
Aquacheck* Soil Moisture Probe (6 sensor)
-Identify where and how much water is stored in your soil
-View where root activity is occuring
-Visualize when moisture becomes sufficiently depleted that irrigation is necessary
-Know how far irrigation applications percolate in your soil
-Precisely identify the irrigation nshcedule-no guesswork
* Advanced Viticulture is an authorized reseller for METER/Decagon products (including the porometer), Aquacheck soil moisture devices, and several different data telemetry manufacturers including Ranch Systems, WiseConn and Davis Instruments
Knowing your soil moisture takes the guesswork out of vineyard water management
Bud break is here and the 2018 vintage is underway. A dry February for the North Coast, followed by a rain-filled March begs the question, "is it time to irrigate?"
There have been some email campaigns circulating suggesting that irrigation of vineyards is imminent. For most locations, we disagree. Notwithstanding the predicted rainfall that should hit us very soon, most soil moisture profiles in the north coast are where they were last year.
Using continuous soil moisture profile probes at our vineyards, we don't need to speculate about what might be needed with regard to irrigation. We just know. And no matter what method you choose to monitor your vine water status/stress and/or evapotranspiration, if you don't measure what is happening below the surface, you're still just guessing.
Here we investigate a few different locations, with different soils and different climates and comment on each one. For each of them, we show a full year's worth of soil moisture. The beginning of the chart shows the moisture levels at the same time one year ago.
The upper chart shows average soil moisture and the lower chart shows individual depths in the profile. Both representations of moisture are important as they tell us different things and facilitate rapid decision-making. Note that total profile charts are only possible with water content information - matric potential data cannot be summarized in this manner, which is why we prefer water content sensors.
Do any of these look like your vineyard? You won't know until you measure it.
Green valley vineyard
Green valley vineyard on Goldridge fine sandy loam soil (we've used this site for examples previously). This vineyard has received about 22.5 inches of rainfall this season. The average soil moisture (upper chart, blue line) is nearly identical to what it was this same time last year. Note that the vineyard did not require irrigation until Mid-August as moisture was taken up at succesively-deeper levels as the season progressed. The longer we wait to irrigate here in the north coast, the less the vines become dependent on irrigation.
Russian River valley vineyard
Russian River valley vineyard on Huichica loam soil. This vineyard has received about 19 inches of rainfall this season. Again, the average soil moisture (upper chart, blue line) is nearly identical to what it was this same time last year. Note that the vineyard did not require irrigation until Mid-July as moisture was taken up at successively-deeper levels as the season progressed. The deepest level (48", brown line in the lower chart) did not get accessed by the vines until early August and moisture became depleted at that depth in early September.
Eastern Paso Robles vineyard
Eastern Paso Robles vineyard on a silty clay soil. This vineyard has received only 8.5 inches of rainfall this season, which is common, but on the dry side of normal. These soils rarely saturate and this season is no different in that respect. Note, however, that the soil moisture in the profile (upper chart, blue line) is about the same as it was the same time last year. In this climate, the limited soil moisture requires earlier irrigation to allow for canopy growth and good fruit set. After fruit set, irrigation must continue, but a deficit irrigation program will ease the vines into a mild water stress for the benefit of wine quality. Knowing soil moisture here is especially important at all times of the growing season, since it rarely starts off with a soil profile even close to field capacity.
Soil water content information is critical, no matter how you choose to measure vine water status. You need to know what is going on below ground level. Don't guess - your crop is too important. Contact us to find out how you can start taking the guesswork out of water management. Contact Paul at email@example.com or call us at 707-838-3805.
Budbreak is here. And it's time to think about your water management practices this upcoming growing season. And for the lifetime of your vineyard.
Sonoma RCD has a great opportunity for growers on important reaches of Mill, Mark West, Grape and Wine Creeks, and their tributaries, to participate in a vineyard water management and conservation project. We have a grant that allows the Sonoma RCD to pay for 85 % of the cost of:
-1-2 irrigation block evaluations, which includes information on distribution uniformity performance, and a report and recommendations for system upgrades, if needed
-receiving weekly irrigation recommendations from Advanced Viticulture, who will monitor soil probes in the field, along with doing weekly porometer and pressure bomb readings
-developing a water management/conservation plan
You would benefit by looking at the different aspects of your water use and management, and develop a plan to meet your needs, while using water as efficiently as possible. The irrigation efficiency tests would help you understand how well your system is working, and make recommendations to maximize your distribution uniformity and irrigation efficiency. This increases grape quality and production, while minimizing water use. The weekly Advanced Viticulture irrigation recommendations will help improve fruit quality and provide timely information on when to water or hold off.
Fortunately, we can offer these services, of which you would only need to cover 15% of the overall costs. It would only require a small time commitment from you. Please let us know your interest in this, as we are trying to nail down our last couple participants soon.
Please contact Keith Abeles by email or phone to answer any questions or discuss the opportunity. firstname.lastname@example.com, (707) 569-1448 xtn 112
If you know of others you think would be a good candidate, please let us know.
Low-cost weather and soil moisture monitoring with EnviroMonitor
We've been looking for an affordable telemetry solution for soil moisture monitoring. We have found it! The Davis Enviromonitor system is your simple, reliable and inexpensive tool for crop monitoring.
A great way to monitor everything in your vineyard.
Advanced Viticulture is an authorized re-seller for Davis Instruments.
Please join us at the Advanced Viticulture Offices on Friday November 17th from 10:00 to 11:30am for a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) presentation on available technical and financial assistance for conservation work on vineyards through their Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
There are opportunities for qualified applicants of federal funding for vineyard projects available through the USDA NRCS Petaluma Field Office that demonstrate a conservation benefit. Projects often include (but are not limited to): irrigation system improvements, soil moisture monitoring, flow meters and weather station implementation, cover crop and mulching, wildlife boxes, hedgerow and insectary plantings, field borders and filters strips, and riparian area improvements.Fire recovery programs will also be discussed.
Brooke Pippi, NRCS Petaluma Field Office Engineer, will be presenting this information and has 10 years experience with assisting growers in Sonoma and Marin counties.Keith Abeles from the Sonoma RCD will discuss programs and services that they offer to growers, in the realms of water management and fire damage support.
We will also briefly discuss the PG&E ADR program, which will subsidize irrigation automation projects.
Advanced Viticulture will be showcasing products from water management technology partners they represent, but this will not be a sales-focused discussion.
Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to Advanced Viticulture by November 14th to attend this exciting discussion and opportunity!
RSVP or email questions and comments to email@example.com
Thank you,
No, we never get tired of promoting the use of soil moisture for vineyards. Having adopted them in 2010 after eschewing them for decades, we now feel that they are one of the most valuable pieces of information out there for growers. And they are becoming more affordable, at least with respect to the conveyance of this information to your computer screen, portable device or phone.
We're working as re-sellers for several different companies now and you will be pleasantly surprised at the affordability as well as quality of these systems for soil moisture monitoring as well as any other monitoring or control purpose. Be pleasantly surprised. Call us at 707-838-3805 or reach out to Mark at firstname.lastname@example.com or JT at email@example.com.
Oh, and by the way, those devices we installed in 2010 are still working just fine!
This winter was the wettest on record. I've had some growers ask me or joke "so we won't need to irrigate this year, right!?". Well, as most of you probably know, that is not the case at all. There is a finite amount of water storage in our soils, referred to as water holding capacity (WHC), defined per depth of soil, but also spanning the depth of the effective root zone. Beyond that WHC, any additional moisture will either run off, or percolate below the root zone. Soils in the north coast were essentially at field capacity in December of 2016, so all of that heavy rainfall did not contribute one drop of additional moisture storage to vineyard soils. It's really the spring rainfall that dictates how we manage vineyard water. Late spring rainfall forces us to combat that extra available moisture through vineyard management practices, such as delayed suckering and thinning, cover crop and floor management, and possibly less fertilization.
Next month, take a look at my article on the subject in the June issue of Wine Business Monthly, where I go into greater detail. In that article, I stress the importance of soil moisture management. There are new technologies that are bringing us the ability to automatically monitor vine water status (stress). I feel that some of the best are still to come, now being field-tested. We are participating in the testing of one of the devices and are also involved with another of them. Despite our increasing ability to monitor vine stress, the need for soil moisture monitoring is not reduced by any means. With knowledge of where root activity is occurring and where moisture continues to be available, soil moisture monitoring allows us to apply irrigation later into the growing season. Oftentimes, we've been able to dry farm vineyards previously irrigated. Also, continuous electronic soil moisture monitoring allows us to determine the depth of each irrigation and precisely how many days elapse for vines to extract that moisture. No modelling - just highly repeatable results from irrigation-to-irrigation and from season-to-season.
I gave a presentation recently at the Sonoma County Winegrower's Sustainability Field Day. Check it out by clicking here.
Mark Greenspan
For more information about soil moisture monitoring, contact Mark at firstname.lastname@example.com or JT at firstname.lastname@example.com or 707-838-3805.
If your irrigation system uses an electric pump or pumps and is connected to a PG&E meter, you may be able to get your vineyard's irrigation system automated with a substantial portion paid by PG&E. PG&E's automated demand response (ADR) program asks that a participating grower's pump be shut off from 1 to 5 hours during the peak demand portion of the day, for about 15 days during the growing season. Growers participating in the program get an initial payment to cover the costs (up to 75%) of an irrigation automation system which, in addition to automated valve control, may include soil and plant moisture, weather, and other monitoring features. Additionally, growers are paid cash or bill credits for each temporary pump control event. Growers are given advanced notice of these temporary downtime events.
This is a great way to get a state-of-the-art irrigation automation and monitoring system installed in your vineyard at a fraction of its cost otherwise. We can help you with design and installation of a wireless system that requires essentially no disruption of your existing infrastructure.
This is an exciting program. Get involved while it is still available! Application is very easy and requires minimal paperwork, with which we can help you. Inquire with Mark (firstname.lastname@example.com) or JT (email@example.com) or call us at 707-838-3805.
A pest or disease outbreak can be devastating to your growing season, costing you up to a complete loss of crop. Keep an eye on your vineyard for pest and disease outbreaks. If you need assistance with that, we can provide it. Vineyard inspections, either weekly or bi-weekly, throughout the growing season, we will identify the problems when they are still easily treatable. We can potentially save you not only your crop, but your reputation as a wine grower. Talk to us about our pest and disease monitoring and insect trapping services. For more information, contact our PCA, Dan Vyenielo at firstname.lastname@example.com or call us at 707-838-3805.
Don't let this happen to you!
Springtime ushers in new hope for a great new vintage. As growers, we can only hope. But, we can also be proactive. As the vines wake up, their roots grow and reach out to explore and extract nutrients from the soil. Early-season fertilization will help some vineyards to achieve a full canopy with healthy, functional leaves. But, don't throw on fertilizers without some knowledge of the overall nutrient status of the vineyard, especially with regard to nitrogen. Excessive N fertilization or fertilization with N fertilizers to a vineyard that tends to be vigorous can be counterproductive. Take the advice of a good expert. You know who they are.
Also, consider promoting the microbial diversity of your soils by applying a good-quality compost tea to your vineyard. Compost teas are active cultures of microbes, bacterial and fungal, which aid in the cycling of nutrients in the soil and allow for better uptake of nutrients to the vine. You can brew your own compost tea or call us and we can custom-brew a batch for you and provide it to you fresh for injection through your drip irrigation system. At around $3/gallon, it's an economical and impactful component of your sustainable soil and vine management tool set. For more information, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com or 707-838-3805.
Well, almost free. The Sonoma (Resource Conservation District) RCD has grant assistance funding available to work with a limited number of grape growers to conduct irrigation system evaluations in conjunction with soil and plant stress monitoring provided by Advanced Viticulture. The RCD is looking for interested candidates in the Mark West Creek, Mill Creek, Petaluma River, and Sonoma Creek watersheds. Please contact us if you are interested in this opportunity. Growers will be asked to contribute only 15% of the cost of the hardware and services.The grant funding will provide the balance of the cost.
A great opportunity to get some valuable insight into your own moisture management practices if you are in one of the watersheds listed. If you are interested, please contact Keith Abeles at Sonoma RCD at firstname.lastname@example.com or 707-569-1448 extension 112. Or contact us at Advanced Viticulture, firstname.lastname@example.com or 707-838-3805.
If you are outside these watershed areas, give us a call anyway and we can discuss moisture monitoring and advising services for your vineyard too.
We've Moved!
To accomodate our growing services list and our increasing staff, we've moved our office to a larger space. Our new space has much more room for each of us, a full-size conference space, and a "lab" space where we can configure our field electronics before deployment in the field. We're all very excited!
When Advanced Viticulture started almost 12 years ago, it was just me and a desk in the corner of my bedroom (and an ATV in the garage). Since that time, we've moved three times, increasing our office spaces and enlarging our equipment yard. We look forward to hosting meeting with our clients here.
We're still at the same address; just at a different location within the complex. 930 Shiloh Road, Building 44, Suite E in Windsor (off of Shiloh Road). Hope to see you here soon!
Although we have always considered ourselves to be practitioners of sustainable viticultural practices, we felt it important to become certified sustainable under the California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing, administered by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.
Sonoma County wine growers, led by the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission, are well on their way towards their goal of having 100% of their vineyards certified under this program. We are proud to be a part of this community of growers and just as proud to be complying with the California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing. We will continue to evaluate and upgrade our practices under this program.
We Won an Award!
We're proud to announce that Advanced Viticulture was chosen as the "best" vineyard management company in the North Bay Businiess Journal's Wine Industry Awards ceremony, held on November 30, 2016 in Santa Rosa.
We are grateful to our clients who nominated us for this award and are honored to have received it this time around. Our vineyard manager, Alec Roser and his team have done some great work in vineyard development and management and this award belongs to them. Click here for an article on our company that appeared in the North Bay Business Journal.
We'll be at the Unified Symposium! Come see us in booth 314, main floor
The Unified Wine and Grape Symposium continues to be the largest wine and grape trade show and symposium in North America. As we have done for numerous years, we will be there on the exhibition floor, ready to greet our friends, colleagues and clients as well as meeting new people. To us, this symposium is the unofficial start of the new vintage.
Come see us to talk to our viticultural team, including Mark Greenspan, our company President and former president of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture. Alec Roser will also be on hand to discuss the art of vineyard development and management.
We continue to sell and support various water management technologies, including soil moisture, plant moisture, weather stations and irrigation control. We've now got some new technologies available and some even newer ones we are now evaluating.
Talk to us about our brewed-to-order compost tea product, to improve your soil's health.
Talk to us about viticultural consulting, for general viticulture, irrigation management and pest monitoring and control.
We'll be in booth 314 on the main floor. We may have some free exhibit hall passes available - contact us if interested.
We offer state-of-the-art pest and disease scouting services for vineyards. Our scouting service includes WEEKLY vineyard inspections from the beginning of the season through harvest, providing a high-intensity, high-frequency alert system for your vineyard. Don't let disease get ahead of you ever again!
We have two PCAs on staff and we can also provide specific, independent, plant protection recommendations tailored to your vineyard and to the company where you typically buy your materials.
Pricing starts around $50/acre for the whole year and varies depending on site. A great value for your vineyard in obtaining a set of trained eyes on your vines throughout the growing season. Contact us for a no obligation, no pressure quotation.
Post-harvest is our slow season. As much as we like reflecting on a great vintage where we helped growers and wineries improve their viticultural practices, installed and managed vineyards, and provided vineyard technology to many growers, we don't really want to slow down, even for a couple of months!
We are offering discounts on our regular prices for many of the vineyard technology products that we represent. That includes Aquacheck soil moisture profile probes. These probes are among the best value in the realm of capacitance probes. Available in 4-sensor and 6-sensor formats, the per-sensor cost is similar to that of individual sensors, but these are integrated and fully-protected units. Available with internal dataloggers or with digital connections to dataloggers or weather station/telemetry devices, they have been essential to our work in vineyard water management.
We continue to work with Ranch Systems, a Novato, California-based manufacturer of communications equipment. Much more than weather stations, these units will connect to the Aquacheck and other soil moisture devices, pressure and flow gauges, pond and tank depth sensors etc. They also can perform irrigation control, which is something most other weather station companies cannot do. New technology allows us to wirelessly connect these devices to a number of Aquacheck wireless soil probes, providing a low-cost way to develop a soil moisture sensor network without buying a bunch of expensive telemetry devices.
Give us a call at 707.838.3805 or email email@example.com or email@example.com discuss options and to provide you with a no-pressure quote. Discounts are available now through the end of 2016.
The Russian Riverkeeper Board of Directors and staff have selected Mark Greenspan as the finalist for this year's Business Water Conservation Award. The award will be presented at this year's River Awards Gala on September 24th.
Mark was chosen because of all his work on vineyard irrigation efficiency and his 2012 Middle Reach Russian River Vineyard Irrigation Demonstration Project that provided valuable information on agronomic rates for irrigation with recycled water. These efforts help achieve one of the most important goals of achieving watershed resilience in the face of Climate Change by reducing water use and assisting with protecting high quality groundwater.
Mark will be unable to attend the event, and the award will be accepted by one of Mark's associates. To quote Mark: "I would like to thank the Russian River Keepers for this honor. Our approach to precision water management provides for a very efficient use of water resources for wine grape growing. This benefits the grower in lower farming costs; benefits the winery in improved wine quality; and has the added benefit of water conservation. Grapevines are a very water-thrifty crop and we should be happy that they are a part of the landscape of this region."
Mark will be travelling to Chile at that time at the request of some of the Chilean growers. Mark will be speaking to growers on vineyard irrigation management and on state-of-the-art vineyards in the north coast. Mark hopes to gain some knowledge and experience from the Chilean growers and maybe even get a Wine Business Monthly column out of it!
The month of February was quite dry. In our soil moisture example site above (located in the heart of the Russian River Valley), only about 0.9" of rain were recorded during that month, though we are staring at more rainfall now that March has arrived.
The soil moisture content charts (above) include individual levels (8" through 48" at 8" increments) in the lower chart while the upper chart shows average moisture content in the profile (all 6 sensors). We see that, in January, most levels were at saturation with the substantial rainfall that fell then (note how the curves "flat top"). The total/average profile moisture shows a similar pattern during January, where the relative moisture content hovered about 84%. We see how, since January, moisture content had dropped off by the end of February, breaking below saturation at most levels, including 40", though 48" still appears to be at saturation.
The rains in early March brought moisture levels back to saturation, which will then drain off to be at field capacity. There was sufficient rainfall received in just those few days to bring the profile back to full, which is what we hope to have occurred by this time of year.
With budbreak occurring, the dry February does not seem to have had any effect on the moisture conditions to start the season, thanks to the rainfall recently received. So, what will happen now? We'll keep monitoring.
if you want to do similar moisture monitoring, let us know. We have new, low-cost ways to remotely sense soil moisture. Email us or call us at 707-838-3805.
Its not too late to sign up for our custom pest and disease scouting services
The growing season is upon us and with it comes weed and insect pests and diseases. We've crafted a program of intensive monitoring of vineyards, which will involve spatial mapping of problematic pests and diseases, identifying on maps where the problems are occurring, so they can be treated locally and monitored for effectiveness of the corrections.
We can do weekly or bi-weekly scouting of your vineyards. In addition, we can do trap monitoring for important insect pests and vectors, and make specific, unbiased recommendations for control.
This level of scouting and reporting is unprecedented and we are excited to bring it to growers in the region. Starting around $50/acre per year, it is also cost-effective.
Email Dan, our PCA, or call us at 707-838-3805.
A big step towards sustainability: Moisture monitoring services and irrigation guidance from an expert human viticulturist!
Moisture monitoring of both plant and soil, is essential for bringing out the best in any vineyard. Avoid excessive irrigation, find out if dry-farming is possible, and make a big step towards sustainable viticulture. And don't forget that, with our moisture management services, wine quality is almost always improved without any loss in productivity.
Water is our specialty. We can provide a full season of weekly plant and soil monitoring for as little as $400 per site per season.
We can also provide specific irrigation guidance, from an expert viticulturist, not a computer model!
Email us or call us at 707-838-3805.
Advanced Viticulture recently sent out its first newsletter. In case you missed it, you can find it here: http://eepurl.com/byi4iD . The newsletters will offer some viticultural comments, usually from viticulturist Mark Greenspan, Ph.D., some updates on our company and occasional promotions, like the one we are running now on soil moisture probes. We'll be sending these out once per month, so please subscribe if you have not already: http://eepurl.com/bx90EH. Or email us and we will set you up. email@example.com.
This is a great time to review your practices for the season, to see what you did well and what could be improved. Vines show a lot to a trained viticulturist at the end of the season. While our ongoing clients receive specific, proactive advice from us, its not too late to gain knowledge on how you can do things better going forward, maybe even starting this fall. Viticulturist Mark Greenspan can review your irrigation practices, nutrient and fertilization management, pest management, and general viticultural practices. An hour or two can make a huge difference for your vineyard gonig forward and may very well save you money on materials, improve productivity and quality, and help you achieve sustainability. Schedule a season-end checkup soon by calling 707-838-3805 or emailing firstname.lastname@example.com.
Advanced Viticulture's president, Mark Greenspan, has been appointed as President of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV), after serving terms as director and 2nd and 1st Vice President. During his one year term as President, Mark hopes to attract more viticulturists and growers to ASEV membership. Mark says, "The ASEV is expanding its activities towards outreach to practitioners in the industry, including industry and outreach seminars at its annual conference, ongoing partnership in the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium and the brand new outreach journal, "Catalyst". This makes the society a fantastic conduit for knowledge from academia to the industry at large. For more information on ASEV membership, please go to asev.org.
On May 1st, Advanced Viticulture celebrates its 1st decade in business. Starting out with Dr. Mark Greenspan as a one-man show, AV has grown to include additional experienced associates in the technical field and has moved with full force into vineyard development and vineyard management services. We are proud of what we do and also proud of the clients we serve. While growing, we remain committed to providing excellent, personalized service to our clients. Tell us happy birthday (no gifts please, it's the thought that counts) and we will extend a $100 discount on any number of Aquacheck soil moisture probes and will also extend discounts on any of the other products we work with, including Ranch Systems. This offer extends through the month of June, 2015. Please call us at 707-838-3805 or email Mark at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Contact us now. We have $100 off coupons for Aquacheck soil moisture probes. We also are offering discounts on Ranch Systems equipment through the end of February. And last, but not least, we have NEW low-cost cellular data soil moisture stations. Call us at 707-838-3805 for details or to set up a no-obligation, no-pressure site visit.
We want to get more growers using technology for water savings. Face it, You're going to need it. Let us help you save some money. We are offering discounts on all of our equipment from now through the end of 2014. In addition, we can help guide you through the process of the government-sponsored programs that can contribute up to 50% of the cost of these products and their installation and even the consulting that goes into getting you up to speed on implementing and using this technology in your vineyards. Come see us at the Wine Industry Expo on December 4th. We'll be in booth 631. Or contact us at 707-838-3805.
The Sonoma County Water Agency is sponsoring FREE soil and vine moisture monitoring by Advanced Viticulture, with weekly emailed commentary by viticulturist Mark Greenspan on irrigation practices. Most slots have been filled, but there is limited space still available. There is no catch, but the vineyard must be in the upper reach of the Russian River Basin (north of Healdsburg) and at least 10 planted acres. Call 707-838-3805 or email mark at email@example.com to see if there is still room. Hurry!
Mark Greenspan was an invited speaker at the ASEV Water Use Efficiency Symposium, held in Austin, Texas on June 24, 2014, which preceeded their annual conference. He presented on employing current research and technologies to help determine the water needs of the vineyard. Focusing on vine water status measurements and continuous soil moisture measurements, he told the audience that they probably can irrigate their vineyards less than they think they need to, but that measurements are essential to avoid over-stressing their vines. A wealth of other domestic and international experts were on hand at the symposium and an article on the symposium can be found here:
We're seeing dry soils in the upper 12-18" of soil, but most sites have plenty of moisture down deep. Don't guess! Measuring soil and plant moisture has been a game changer for numerous growers. Give it a try. We can rent you equipment if you aren't sure or have a constrained budget. Call us and find out how affordable moisture monitoring can be.
(707) 838-3805
The adage: "you can't manage it if you don't measure it" is often-used, but is very much true. Measure the water status of your soil and your vines in order to minimize water applications, effectively apply mild stresses (or avoid any stresses) to improve wine quality, and to have quantifiable baselines for future vintages. This does not have to break your budget. Advanced Viticulture can monitor soil and plant moisture status of your vineyard at low cost - as low as a few hundred bucks per site for an entire season. Don't wait another year! Call us and we can show you how easy and affordable moisture measurement can be. 707-838-3805
We are getting calls for real-time monitoring of not only pond and tank levels, but also for monitoring well water levels. Water reserves are almost assuredly going to be lower than they have been in a while. While we have a full soil moisture profile to start off the season, how long will that last and how much reserve to you have? As your local reseller for Ranch Systems products, we are able to help you in multiple aspects of water monitoring. And while soil moisture monitoring is our specialty, we can integrate water level monitoring, flow monitoring and irrigation control into the system. Be prepared for what is coming down the pike. Don't wait. Give us a call at 707-838-3805 and we can discuss what is possible.
The much-anticipated rainfall has finally reached the north coast and we are watching soil moisture profiles fill to 3 and 4 foot depths at most locations and we expect additional rainfall to occur, further filling soil storage capacity and potentially allowing water movement into streams and reservoirs. The Central Coast remains dry and we hope that they will be blessed by rainfall soon. Whatever the case, and despite the current rainfall, water storgage will likely remain short in all regions. We can help you monitor stored soil moisture reserves and determine precisely if, when irrigation is necessary and how much to irrigate. Don't wait to gain access to this valuable information. We have rental and lease to own plans that will allow you to take advantage of these efficiency-gaining technologies this season while delaying the capital expense for later, or easily making small payments towards ownership of the equipment. This is a perfect time to have us install this equipment in your vineyard. Call us for a no-oblication, no-cost site visit. 707-838-3805.
This may be a VERY challenging year for water management. We're hoping for substantial rainfall going forward, but it looks like a dry year is coming regardless. We have systems to help you manage your vineyard water that are extremely cost-competitive to some of the complicated, and expensive solutions being offered. We have over a quarter century of experience in vineyard water relations and management and can offer thoughtful and cost-effective ways to handle the challenges coming at us. Come see us at the Unified Symposium in booth 644 (main floor) so that we can discuss it with you. You may be surprised at how effectively you can manage vineyard water without breaking the bank.
It sure looks like we may be in for a second very dry year, or so the long-term forecasts and recent history tell us. We certainly wish for wetter weather so that our soil profiles can fill up for the upcoming growing season. But that may not happen. What will you do? Water management is our strong suit, so consider our services to help you decide how to manage your vineyard water needs under any conditions - wet or dry. Soil and plant moisture monitoring, irrigation advisory, and other cultural practices support are all offered by Advanced Viticulture to help guide you through the season. Come see us at Dollars and $ense in Santa Rosa and at the Unified Symposium in Sacramento this month. Let us show you our soil moisture monitoring technologies and how we can provide cost-effective solutions for vineyards. A phone call costs you nothing, but doing nothing could be a big mistake! 707-838-3805.
Folks continue to be surprised when we tell them that we manage vineyards. Yes, we do! Advanced Viticulture started as a consulting and technology company and we still dedicate ourselves to those areas of service. But, we've been managing vineyards since 2011, marrying our technical expertise with solid, practical knowhow and strict attention to detail. The best of both worlds, our Vineyard Manager, Alec Roser, has a decade of experience. Taking guideance from Viticulturist Mark Greenspan, we feel we have a truly unique offering for our clients. Please contact us to discuss how we can service your vineyard next season. Or, come see us at the Wine Industry Expo in booth 146!
Harvest is over, which means the 2014 vintage has begun. AV is still actively working. Mark will be making a presentation at the SITEVI International Exhibition in Monpellier, France. His topic will be irrigation management in California and the use of decision-support technology. This will be a great opportunity to explore new devices, machines and approaches being used in Europe and you can be sure to hear about some of them in his Wine Business Monthly column at some point.
We've also been installing moisture monitoring, irrigation control and weather station equipment in the field. We would be excited to help you build a system that meets your needs and prepares you not only for the upcoming season, but for a future in which water use will be at the forefront of our sustainability efforts, our public relations, and our wine quality improvements. This is a great time to grab tax benefits of new equipment, and catch us before we get busy again with growing vines. Hope to speak with you soon!
We hate limited time offeres as much as the next person, but there is good incentive to act right away if you are considering adding technology to your vineyard for irrigation or energy management. The NRCS' EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) deadline is November 15. Their program will cover nominally 1/2 the costs of your new equipment. Let us know if you are interested and we will connect you with the right person.
The IRS section 179 allows a business to depreciate 100% of the costs of equipment during the year it was purchsed *. That's a huge tax incentive! Current limits are $500,000 for the year, but it is scheduled to drop to only $25,000 in 2014, unless a change is enacted to restore it. Another great incentive to furnish your operation with weather stations, irrigation monitoring, pump control, water level sensors, etc.
On another note, let us remind you of the optioni to lease (to own) your new equipment. Advanced Viticulture has partnered with Paramount Financial Group to offer leasing packages for Weather Stations, Soil Moisture monitoring, and other vineyard monitoring and control technologies. Leasing provides the means to get your vineyard equipped with state-of-the-art technology without the need for a large outlay of capital. Several packages are available and most have a $1 buyout feature available, so that you will own the eqiupment at the end of the leasing period. The process is seamless and easy. Give us a call or email to inquire about the leasing options and we will guide you through the easy process.
*Talk to your accountant about section 179 - we are not able to give tax advice.
Register to attend an informational meeting on water conservation research findings and methods taking place in Alexander Valley.
The information presented is from Western SARE grant research projects currently managed by Sonoma County Winegrape Commission in conjunction with Rhonda Smith, UCCE Viticulture Advisor, Mark Greenspan of Advanced Viticulture, and Tom Gore of CWUS/Simi Winery.
Field day will include visits to two sites, where soil pits will be open to discuss issues affecting drip irrigation water percolation in vineyard soils.Discussions about frost protection as well. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP.
REGISTER TODAY! http://www.sonomawinegrape.org/waterfieldday
For more information, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com, (707) 522-5862, or click: http://www.sonomawinegrape.org/vineyard-water-conservation-field-day-august-16
This is the time of year growers seem to get behind: spraying, vine trimming, leaf removal and cluster thinning. Not to mention fertilization. We can help you get your work done on time. Give us a call and we'll see how we might be able to get you caught up. All with our usual strict attention to detail and professionalism. Call us at 707-838-3805!
We are pleased to announce the addition of John Camastro to our team. John will be performing hand and mechanical tasks in our managed vineyards as well as supervising operations. John has a degre form the University of Washington School of Fisheries with a BS in fishery science. He has been involved with construction and has run his own excavating company prior to joining us. We look forward to having John help us to farm more vineyards with an eye toward attention to detail and true sustainability.
Advanced Viticulture is excited to announce the addition of a new Viticulturist and Soil Scientist to our team: Joe Gallucci. Joe will bring a broad-based technical and practical perspective on viticulture to our company as well as solidifyiing our strengths in soils evaluations and our focus on sustainable viticulture. Joe has a BS in Geology and a Teaching Certificate from State University of New York and dual master's degrees in both Soils/Biogeochemisty and Horticulture/Viticulture from UC Davis. His extensive education is supplemented by practical experience, having held roles as viticulturist, vineyard manager, and winemaker. He has worked on the east and west coasts of the United States and has worked in numerous locations internationally. Needless to say, we are delighted to have Joe with us and believe strongly that he will help us to better serve our existing and future customers.
Vineyard consulting and vineyard management taken from the standpoint of what is appropriate for YOU. Our goal is to help you create a product that provides value for you as a grower, you as a winemaker, or you as grower and winemaker. We never rubber stamp anything we do - everything is based on your needs, no matter if you are growing, buying, or both. The only thing constant is our attention to detail and committment to sustainable farming. We can do custom vineyard operations for you this year or manage your vineyard from A to Z. Call us for affordable, yet precise soil and plant moisture monitoring equipment and services. General or specific vineyard improvements? Mark Greenspan, Ph.D., CPAg, CCA, is eager to turn problems into solutions for our clients. No challenge is too great. Try us!
Don't forget your vineyard soil. Detailed soils mapping allows us to diagnose issues in the vineyard and offer site-specific recommendations to correct problems and improve uniformity of maturation. Soils mapping provides detailed information and prescriptions for vineyard plantings and replant efforts. And soil moisture monitoring provides precise control of vine water status and provides for efficient water management, sometimes indicating no need for irrigation at all! New telemetry options are now becoming available, so talk to us about various options. Mark Greenspan, Ph.D., CPAg, CCA is eager to "get the word out" about how easy it is to realize immediate improvements to vineyards.
The only vineyard management company with a built-in full-time, Ph.D.-level, ASA-certified vineyard consultant! ** We prefer not to think of us as vineyard "managers", but as a vineyard care organization. We take pride in all of our vineyard and winery clients, whether we're on hand for vineyard advice or operations, vineyard design or installation. Combining technical expertise with attention to detail, we are eager to work with clients who take pride in their product. Let us help you craft your vineyard. Please visit us at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium (booth 939) to see what we're up to. Let us show you the tried and true best way to manage vineyard water needs and I'll bet we can improve upon your current practices. Hope to see you there!
** to our knowledge; at least in our region
Please come talk with us. This is an important time in our business and we probably can help you out. Think water quality and conservation, nutrient management, vineyard management and vineyard installations. We have some new things to show you as well.
We had some great discussions about general vineyard improvement, vineyard development and management, moisture monitoring and vine nutrition at the Napa Valley Vit Fair this week. We focus on all aspects of sustainable wine growing with an emphasis on detail. Thanks for stopping by!
November through February are relatively slow months for us, and we generally get inundated with requests for soil moisture monitoring equipment in early spring. Help us to alleviate the backlong in spring and keep us busy during the winter. In return, we will reward you with 50% off of installation costs and package discounts on soil moisture monitoring equipment. We have hundreds of these soil monitoring systems in the ground and growers have completely changed their irrigation approach, often saving half of the water they had been applying prior to using them, while improving wine quality and vine health at the same time. Initial consultation and quotes are at no charge and with no sales pressure. Let us prove to you that your vineyard operation will benefit from these devices and save money at the same time!
Vineyard operations:Advanced Viticulture offers vineyard operations services. Call on us for custom operations, such as spraying, mid-row and in-row cultivation, mowing and vine trimming. We are a licensed pest control business and can help you get through the difficult period of disease management. We've recently added more equipment to expand our offerings. We operate witth efficiency, safety and sustainability in mind.
Moisture management knowledge services:Some other vendors may sell you equipment to monitor soil and plant moisture, but may leave you alone to figure out how to actually USE the equipment. We sell soil and plant moisture monitoring equipment, but we also use the instruments in our own practice. We will get you started with the training necessary to fully utilize the power gained from monitoring soil and plant moisture status. We are busy installing soil moisture probes right now in the north and central coast regions, with clients excited about their potential to guide them in moisture management. Call us to find out how cost-effective, yet impactful these devices can be for you. We've also experienced growing interest in the leaf porometer, which provides meaningful information as to the physiological stress on the vine, and allows us to guide water management towards achieving the balance between excessive and insufficient vine stress. Call us to discuss at 707-838-3805, or contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Access soil information from UC's Oakville Research Station:A 48 inch, 6-sensor Aquacheck soil moisture probe with Advanced Viticulture's cellular telemetry module was donated to UC's Oakville Research Station. The unit was installed during the latter part of the summer in 2011 and will be used to monitor root zone soil water content on a continuous basis to provide repeatable, precision irrigation applications. There are plans to monitor other aspects of vine moisture status, with collaboration from the station's manager, Mike Anderson. Anderson says "I am looking forward to working with Mark and this equipment in conjunction with other advanced measurement technologies to develop ways to control vine water status and eventually automate the irrigation process". The block where the equipment is installed is Cabernet Sauvignon on 101-14 rootstock. Free access is available to all by logging onto the portal via www.ranchsystems.com . Click on the "My Account" button and use the following login criteria: Property: UCOES Username: avdu Password: avd
Please come see Advanced Viticulture at the Napa Wine + Grape Expo on November 16, 2011 at the Napa Airport. We'll be in booth B8. We will be there to discuss soil and plant moisture monitoring, general viticultural consulting and vineyard management services. We look forward to seeing you there!
Reduce your water footprint now while getting your vines into balance. Mark Greenspan will discuss methods of precision water management and irrigation at two seminars this Fall. A free webinar will be conducted online in conjunction with Ranch Systems on November 11, 2011 at 11:11 am (that's a lot of elevenses!). The free webinar will discuss soil-moisture methods for irrigation scheduling and will review some case studies from the 2011 season. Click HERE to register for the free webinar. Mark will also be speaking about vineayrd water management tools at the Napa County Water Conservation Workshop on December 1, 2011, which will be held in Yountville. Details forthcoming. Also, Mark will speak about practical uses of agricultural lab results to soil and plant analytical personnel at the Laboratory Analysis Workshop in Modesto on November 8th.
Advanced Viticulture and Ranch Systems announce a new solution for soil moisture management and control. Partnering with AquaCheck Soil Moisture Management, Advanced Viticulture is packaging one or two soil moisture probes with a cellular-based data node as a stand-alone automated data collector. Data telemetry and management is powered by Ranch Systems, LLC's technology. Professional installaion is available. The focus on these automated soil moisture management systems is on irrigation and water management, but the equipment may be configured with other weather station devices as well. For more information, please contact Advanced Viticulture at 707-838-3805 or email@example.com.
February, 2011:Advanced Viticulture is excited to announce the addition of Alec Roser to our staff. Alec brings years of experience in vineyard development and management to our company. He has developed premium vineyards throughout California. Alec will serve our clients in a technical viticulture capacity and will also enable us to expand our offerings into management of vineyards.
January, 2011:Teaming with Meristem Technologies, Advanced Viticulture will be making real-time data available to clients via Advanced Vit's web site. The web portal will provide water status, soil moisture, observational reports, and other viticultural information to clients. Map-based as well!
Components of service packages may be selected based on client's needs and budget. Pricing may be structured in the form of monthly service fees with no hourly constraints, as hourly service rates, or combinations thereof.
Soil moisture monitoring equipment may be leased on its own or in conjunction with monitoring services. No capital up front!
On a tight budget right now? Ask about a-la-carte services!
" We're pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Advanced Viticulture for the last 3 years. Mark and his team have rapidly exercised our technology in the field and provided us an authoritative assessment of feature strengths and relevance. "
- ScanControl, Inc., ScanControl, Inc.
Technology Partners
Advanced Viticulture, with its viticultural and technical knowlege, brings value-added services to these companies' offerings. Partnerships include:
Ranch Systems - We have enjoyed a partnership with Ranch Systems longer than any other company. Headquartered in Novato, California, Ranch Systems manufactures weather stations and wireless vineyard control systems. They can monitor soil moisture (connection to Aquacheck and other probes), irrigation system status, water depth, and local weather, while providing irrigation system automation for vineyards and other farms. Advanced Viticulture is an authorized reseller and installer, supporting all applications, and specializing in water management and control technologies.
Davis Instruments- Based in Hayward, California, they are a manufacturer of weather station instruments and have been in business for over 50 years. Their new Enviromonitor system combines weather stations with other monitoring capabilities, not the least of which is connectivity to the Aquacheck soil moisture probes. Their system is very low cost and the online user interface is simple and clear. Advanced Viticulture is an authorized reseller and installer for Davis Instruments.
WiseConn- Based in Chile, but with local offices in California, they manufacture wireless telemetry and control devices, specializing in wireless irrigation system control under their DropControl brand. They integrate soil moisture, valve and pump control, fertigation control and weather data into a sophisticated, but easy-to-use online control portal. Advanced Viticulture is an authorized reseller and installer for DropControl products.
Trimble (formerly STI) - A technology provider, and this relationship is focused on soil-based spatial technologies (SIS) to create high-resolution spatial maps of soil properties. Advanced Viticulture is a reseller for this technology.
Decagon Devices - Soil moisture monitoring and Plant water status measurement. The Leaf Porometer remains the favorite plant-based moisture measurement tool. Advanced Viticulture is a Distributor of their products in Northern California.
Working with Advanced Viticulture provides the following benefits:
Advanced Viticulture is proud of and gracious for the comments made by some of our clients:
"Mark is an important part of our team because he consistently produces results. His all around knowledge of climate, soil and viticulture has been invaluable to us. Especially at our most challenging sites."
Mike Benziger, Benziger Family Winery, Glen Ellen, CA
"We have been working with Advanced Viticulture, LLC for five years. We began working with Mark because we needed advice to bring our vineyard to a higher level of fruit quality and solve special plant/soil nutrient issues. We have found that Mark's advice on vine nutrition, plant moisture management and trellising has enabled us to improve the fruit quality to the level we were seeking. What we value most in our work with Mark is his deep and rigorous knowledge of viticulture research literature as well as his unique knowledge of the relationship between viticulture practices and results in the vineyard. It continues to amaze me how Mark can ride through the vineyards and visually identify plant nutrient issues and plant moisture status. He is a strong proponent of using detailed scientific data on plants to confirm visual observation of plant nutrition issues which is a practice that we now regard highly."
Donald Hofer, Kiler Canyon Vineyards, Paso Robles, CA
"Advanced Viticulture has added value in making recommendations for operations that have resulted in improved vineyard health and increased production of high quality fruit.
Bruce Conzelman, Conzelman Vineyards, Anderson Valley, CA
"I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Mark Greenspan, Ph.D over the years on numerous projects addressing different issues. In each situation his insights, advice and open-mindedness served us well. I would have no hesitation recommending his services and look forward to our ongoing collaborations."
Alan York, International Advisor on Biodynamic Winegrowing
Advanced Viticulture has supplemented our company's technical viticulture effort for the last three years. Specifically, Advanced Viticulture has helped us with staff training, technology investigations, and viticulture research projects. Advanced Viticulture helps insure that Walsh will stay sharp and continue to provide excellent service to clients.
Towle Merritt, Viticulturist, Walsh Vineyards Management