The Crush - September 2019 - 8

'The Mother of all Cabernet Trials'
The trial officially launched Aug.
15 in Kelseyville with a celebratory
vine planting as Andy Beckstoffer
and son David Beckstoffer
planted the vine that also marked
a milestone - the 1.5 millionth
vine for Beckstoffer Vineyards
Red Hills. Researchers, industry
representatives and journalists
gathered to celebrate what is
affectionately known as "the mother
of all cabernet trials."

Photo by Karen Pavone Photography

UCCE, INDUSTRY COLLABORATE ON
AMBITIOUS CLIMATE-SMART TRIAL IN
LAKE COUNTY
Article and photos courtesy of the Lake County Winegrape
Commission. Reprinted with permission.
UC Cooperative Extension, Beckstoffer Vineyards and Duarte
Nursery are launching the wine industry's most ambitious
cabernet sauvignon rootstock and clone trial in the Red Hills
of Lake County to give the varietal greater resilience to climate
change.
Cabernet sauvignon is California's second top-selling varietal by
volume, just behind chardonnay.
"We have been growing cabernet sauvignon since the 1970s,
and we are very proud to be part of this trial, which will help
improve cabernet sauvignon growing for years to come," said
Andy Beckstoffer, owner and CEO of Beckstoffer Vineyards,
which is providing the land and labor for the project.
The industry-driven trial - "Climate-smart Solutions for
Cabernet Sauvignon Production" - includes 3,600 vines with 10
cabernet sauvignon clones on 10 rootstocks.
"This trial will give us data that will help inform and improve
growing practices for cabernet sauvignon across the state for
the next two decades," said the trial's lead researcher, S. Kaan
Kurtural, UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) viticulture specialist
at UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology and Oakville
Experiment Station.
While the experimental vineyard is in Lake County at a property
known as Amber Knolls, the data will be analyzed in Oakville.
8 / SEPTEMBER 2019

"Everything is wonderful in Lake
County - for growing cabernet
sauvignon and for doing research,"
Beckstoffer said, noting the Lake
County region's ongoing support
for farming.

Pedro Rubio, Beckstoffer Vineyards Red Hills general manager,
said, "Lake County will definitely benefit, but the results from
this trial will be very helpful for the whole industry."
Designed to address resiliency in a changing climate, the trial
will examine which combinations give the best results with a
focus on drought tolerance and water-use efficiency, as well as
crop yield and grape quality.
"The idea behind the trial is to gain further insights into the
interactive effects of rootstock selections crossed with cabernet
clones and the impact of that on water relations and overall
sustainability," said Clint Nelson, ranch manager for Beckstoffer
Vineyards Red Hills.
"The trial will give us an understanding of the synergistic
relationship of clone and rootstock and what combination drives
the best quality and production," he said.
According to Nelson, the trial will look at canopy architecture,
yield components, water relations, traditional fruit chemistries,
secondary metabolites such as aroma, mouthfeel and color, as
well as overall vine performance.
Duarte Nursery is providing all of the planting material for the
trial. "The diversity of rootstocks and clones chosen for this
project includes some of the most modern cabernet sauvignon
clones designed for high quality and for production," said John
Duarte, nursery president.
Duarte said the trial is employing a lot of cutting-edge
technology and using some of the cleanest plant materials
available to prevent grapevine viruses.
Continued next page
https://www.lakecountywinegrape.org https://www.lakecountywinegrape.org
The Crush - September 2019

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