August 2014

In Th is Issue:

• Juice Grape Pricing Agreement

• OVIP Update• GGO Says Farewell to

Nick Hubbard• Harvest Reminders• eGrape Update• Get Social with the

GGO!• Focus on the Grower• Classifi eds

in the vineyard

GGO says farewell to Nick HubbardAs of August 28, 2014, Nick Hubbard will be joining Engage Agro as their new Product Manager for Potatoes and Vegetables. Nick has been a valuable member of the Grape Growers of Ontario team for over 7 years. It is without a doubt a most diffi cult time to replace such a talented individual, however, we are pleased to announce that Nick Lemieux will be taking over Nick’s duties. All GGO staff are familiar with the harvest protocols we have put in place and growers can be assured this transition will be a seamless process. We thank Nick for a job well done and wish him the best in all his future endeavours!

Juice Grape Pricing AgreementTh e Grape Growers of Ontario are pleased to announce that a two-year Juice Grape Pricing agreement has been completed with the Winery & Grower Alliance of Ontario with increases to all varieties as follows:

Class Variety 2013Price

2014Price

% Change

2015Price

% Change

1 Concord, Fredonia, Patricia, President, Suff olk Red and Van Buren

$480 $487 1.5% $492 1.0%

2 Niagara and Wiley White $456 $463 1.5% $468 1.0%3 Delaware, Elvira, Himrod, Sovereign Corona-

tion, Veeblanc and Veeport$551 $559 1.5% $565 1.0%

OVIP UpdateWe are currently in the middle of the fourth and fi nal intake of the Ontario Vineyard Improvement Program. Th e fourth intake was fully subscribed and the intake was closed at the end of April.

As harvest quickly approaches OMAFRA asks that approved growers submit any claims for vineyard improvements or complete an expenditure forecast for the remainder of the year. Expenditure forecasts were sent to all approved growers at the beginning of August from OMAFRA.

If you require any information, please contact Nick Lemieux from the GGO at 905-688-0990 ext. 228 or by email at nlemieux@grapegrowersofontario.com or Brett Mclennan from OMAFRA at 519-826-3833 or by email atbrett.mclennan@ontario.ca.

August 2014

Harvest Reminders - Bird Bangers

Best Management Practices for Bird Bangers

Th e principle for best management practices for bird bangers is that their only use is to protect bearing, marketable grapes from bird predation. Th e number of bird bangers operated should be appropriate for the amount of bird pressure present. Malicious use for any other purpose must not be tolerated.

1. Follow recommended setbacks for bird bangers to neighbours’ homes based on ring-graph method on manage-ment strategies.

2. Tell neighbours living within 175 m (575 ft ) of bird bangers about when and how they will be operated and who to call if there is a problem.

3. Start operating bird bangers no earlier than three to four weeks prior to veraison and stop right aft er harvest. Do not operate outside this season.

4. Operate bird bangers during daylight hours, between 30 minutes before local sunrise and 30 minutes aft er local sunset. See Table 1. Do not operate bird bangers at night in your vineyard.

5. Place adjacent bird bangers no closer than 125 m (410 ft ) to each other, unless the area of crop being protected is less than about 4 ha (9.9 ac), in which case place them no closer than 100 m (328 ft ) as smaller properties are oft en awkwardly shaped. To calculate hectares of grapes needing protection include just the area of land cur-rently of crop-bearing age and marketable in the current year.

6. Adjust timers to account for changes in sunrise and sunset times throughout the season especially at Daylight Savings Time if bird bangers are still necessary beyond this date until harvest.

7. Where practical, move bird bangers weekly so birds do not get used to their location.8. Do not place bird bangers within a grape row directly in line with a neighbour’s house, as the row canopy can

channel the sound towards the house.9. Monitor bird bangers so they operate properly, especially those not on, or near, your home farm.10. Take into account echoing when using bird bangers adjacent and below or on the Niagara Escarpment, as it can

cause echoing.11. Use light sensor over-ride devices to ensure bird bangers cannot operate at night, even if timers are adjusted

improperly, especially on properties where the vineyard manager lives off -site.

Source: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/facts/10-053.htm#3

Weigh Bills

Please fi nd enclosed weigh bills for your use during the 2014 harvest. If you require additional weigh bills please contact the Board offi ce at 905-688-0990.

HOLD THE DATE: Cheque Day - Friday, November 14, 2014

Th e 2014 cheque date has been scheduled for Friday, November 14 from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm at the GGO BoardOffi ce, located at 1634 South Service Road, St. Catharines.

August 2014

eGrape System Rollout

Th e rollout of eGrape will continue throughout the 2014 harvest. Th is new system creates a single point of access for users, and will streamline data entry in particular for processors. Please note the following:

1. Temporary passwords were emailed to the “Administrator” designated on the eGrape update forms on August 22, 2014. Please use this temporary password to log into eGrape.

2. Growers may be requested by processors to give permission to view specifi c contracted Block ID and Vine-yard ID information which assists processors to more accurately enter weigh bill information. Please be aware any access granted by growers will be verifi ed by GGO staff to maintain the appropriate oversight. In addition, please note growers can at any time remove processor access to their Block ID and Vineyard ID information.

3. Growers currently enrolled in the crop insurance program provided by Agricorp may give their adjuster access to view weigh bills electronically through the eGrape system. Th is access provides a more streamlined process for the crop insurance adjuster. Growers will need to contact the GGO to provide permission to their adjuster to access the grower’s weigh bills.

4. Please note third party brix sample results through Mckibbon & Associates will be forwarded to all growers and processors via email through the eGrape system. All historic brix testing results are stored within eGrape as grower records.

For more information, please contact Nick Lemieux at 905-688-0990 ext 228 or by email atnlemieux@grapegrowersofontario.com.

Get “Social” with the GGO!Th e Grape Growers of Ontario thank Jill Windeatt for her work as the GGO’ Marketing and Communications Of-fi cer over the summer. Jill assisted with social media and marketing, and interviewed several growers for our series entitled “Focus on the Grower.” Jill is returning to the Goodman School of Business (Brock University), for her BBA.We wish Jill all the best in her studies and all her future endeavours!

Don’t forget to share your vineyard and winery pictures, stories, milestones and events with us at marketing@grapegrowersofontario.com and we will post as many as possible to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Please provide at least one week’s notice before events. Expand your social reach by following/liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

Grape Growers of Ontario @grapegrowersont Grape Growers of Ontario

August 2014

Fast Facts:

• Name - Gerry and Lia Spinosa (pictured on right with their children and former Lieutenant Governor David Onley)

• Farm location - Milford (South end of Prince Edward County)

• Most grown varietal - Pinot Noir• Favourite food and wine pairing - “Exultet chardonnay

with roasted poultry.”

Exultet Estates Winery in Prince Edward County focuses on the distinctness of their property. Th eir “Blessed” Chardon-nay has won top honours at the Ontario Wine Awards and the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Ontario Wines. It seems fi tting that the winery’s name is Exultet, coming from the Latin word “Exsultet”, meaning ‘to sing praise’.

Such a unique winery name is suited to their unique location. Although the Spinosas had the idea of starting a winery in the Niagara Peninsula, the appeal of rural Prince Edward County was preferred. Gerry, having a back-ground in science, and Lia, a teacher, had been living and working in the GTA and had relatively no farming expe-rience before deciding to make the move. Th e Spinosas purchased a 200 acre farm in Milford, Ontario, once the home of a cheese factory, and are now growing a total of 10 acres of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio and Vidal grapes in its place. Th e operation is mostly family run with the help of Gerry and Lia’s kids for tasks like cleaning, bottling and harvesting in addition to a couple of foreign seasonal workers.

Th e original owners of the farm were the Striker family, United Empire Loyalists, who from the early 1800’s op-erated a dairy farm and apple orchard. In 1870 the milk from the cows was used for cheese production, a popular commodity at the time, with approximately 30 cheese factories existing in the County. Operations continued until 1956 when the building was abandoned. In 2011, the Spinosas had the building historically designated and now the former cheese factory houses all of Exultet’s production.

With no previous experience in farming, learning to grow grapes in Prince Edward County has been an ongoing challenge for the Spinosas, but their willingness to experiment with diff erent styles of winemaking continues to set them apart. An example of this would include a recent creation called “Mysterium” which is a white table wine made from red Pinot Noir grapes.

Being a small winery in a relatively new Ontario appellation (Prince Edward County only became a designated viticulture area in 2007), the Spinosas have to rely on what is in the bottle to sell their product. Gerry identifi es his winemaking style as “working with the beauty that his property produces;” he views winemaking as a form of art over everything else. Noting that grapes grown on their property yield diff erent fl avours from those grown on lands just a half an hour away, they are pleased to see that once people try a wine from Prince Edward County they can truly appreciate the nuance and character that originates from that corner of Ontario.

Focus on the Grower: Gerry and Lia Spinosa

August 2014

Classifi edsWANTED4 tonne binsPlease contact Albrecht at 905-651-7400

FOR LEASE30 acre vineyard on St. David’s Bench. Includes 10 acres of Vidal, 10 acres of Riesling, 6 acres of Merlot and 5 acres of Sauvignon Blanc. Lease may include 3 windmachines, netting and 2014 crop that is 80% sold.Please call Lenny at 905-988-3117

FOR SALE1. Zambelli crusher destemmer “cantinetta”, stainless steel with stand. Used only once, selling because I need a larger one for higher capacity.2. 23 litre Italian glass carboys. $25.00 each or 10 for $400.3. 20 litre Italian basket press, used once. Selling because I need to accommodate a higher capacity. $200.00Please contact Avi at 416-831-2296 or by email at Avig1@mac.comFOR SALEZambelli Tio 70 Hydraulic Vertical Basket Press with Stainless Steel Basket. 330 Litre, 220V Single Phase, 0 to 300 Bar. Used only once... Selling because I am outsourcing pressing of Icewine. Paid $9000 USD plus Shipping in May. Asking $9000 CND - Remember - Used only Once!!Please contact Avi at avig1@mac.com if you are interested

FOR SALE65 red barrels for sale. French Oak 6/7 years old- Cleaned, Ozonated and sulfured before departure.Available second week of September-Minimum order=5. Price $90+ HST at pick up.Please contact jlgroux@stratuswines.com

August 2014

Custom Icewine & Late Harvest pressing available.Please contact John at 905-937-2474 or jrmisek@gmail.com

Please visit

www.grapegrowersofontario.com

for the 2014 Grapes

for Sale list

8 August 2014

P.O. Box 100 Vineland Station, ON L0R 2E0

Tel: (905) 688-0990Fax: (905) 688-3211

grapegrowersofontario.com

Connect With Us

@grapegrowersont

Grape Growers of Ontario

P.O. Box 100 Vineland Station, ON L0R 2E0

Tel: (905) 688-0990Fax: (905) 688-3211

grapegrowersofontario.com

Connect With Us

Grape Growers of Ontario

@grapegrowersont

Grape Growers of Ontario

P.O. Box 100 Vineland Station, ON L0R 2E0

Tel: (905) 688-0990Fax: (905) 688-3211

grapegrowersofontario.com

Connect With Us

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Grape Growers of Ontario