WINE GROWING
Why do we say “wine growing” instead of “winemaking” or “grape growing”?
Wine growing is an all-encompassing term that incorporates the entire process of growing grapes to turn into wine without disassociating the two, as they shouldn’t be separated.
ARE OUR GRAPES ORGANIC, BIODYNAMIC, OR SUSTAINABLE?
We use a hybrid approach to pesticide use in the vineyards and it is highly tailored to the season and the site. What we mean by hybrid is that 80% of what we spray is OMRI organic certified, but there are times when we find conventional sprays may be necessary, so that means we are not organic certified.
We do not use herbicides in any of our estate vineyards and haven’t for decades.
As of 2024, all Damiani estate vineyards are New York Sustainably Certified.
80% of our grower fruit is also New York Sustainably Certified.
We intend to transition several of our long-standing grower blocks to biodynamic in the future. Biodynamic viticulture is a highly specific farming style that is designed to create a diverse and self-contained ecosystem within the vineyard by using certain ingredients (ideally made on the farm) at precise times to enhance and sustain the life of a vine and vineyard system.
Example: specific preparations are made from organically derived ingredients (like chamomile, yarrow, nettle, compost) and applied to the vineyard at a targeted time interval where the plant is most receptive to that treatment (i.e. time of season, moon phases and times of the day/night).
Davis Vineyard
CABERNET FRANC, CABERNET SAUVIGNON, LEMBERGER, MERLOT, PINOT NOIR, RIESLING, SAUVIGNON BLANC
- Valois gravelly silt loam and Howard gravelly loam with limestone soils
- Planted in 1997 through 2017
- 18 acres
Armed with years of experience dating back to his childhood, Phil Davis owns and operates Davis Vineyard. Phil shares a remarkable bond with his vineyard, leaving little space left untouched or unknown to him. Since every vine tells a different story, each is worked by hand and cared for on a vine-by-vine basis. As a firm believer that great winemaking comes from great viticultural practices, Phil continues a thoughtful and constant maintenance program to support the vineyard health. From early leaf-pulling – exposing the grapes to more sunlight, to fruit thinning – removing any weak clusters, allowing the energy to be transferred to more desirable fruit, many precautions are taken to allow for the most optimal fruit quality.
Our rich and compelling Pinot Noir is the centerpiece to Davis Vineyard. Each of the four Dijon clones planted here are cared for separately throughout the vintage and harvested independently. Clone 115 is grown in the lower block, while the other clones 114, 667, and 777 are nurtured in the upper block. Both the Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc utilize the Scott Henry trellis system, lessening disease pressure and canopy density, ensuring ample sunlight and airflow. Other varieties grown at Davis are trellised using VSP, or Vertical Shoot Positioning, including: Merlot, Riesling, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Damiani Vineyard
CABERNET FRANC, CABERNET SAUVIGNON, MERLOT, PINOT NOIR
- Lordstown & Arnot channery silt loam soils
- Planted in 1997 through 2005
- 3.2 acres
The sweeping western-facing slope of Damiani Vineyard captures brilliant sunlight and warmth throughout the year, creating wines of depth and maturity. While canopy management is strictly followed, the vineyard floor is left uninterrupted, driving the roots of the vines deep into the earth, gathering and sending valuable nutrients to the grapes.
Valois Vineyard
CABERNET FRANC, CHARDONNAY, LEMBERGER, PINOT GRIS, PINOT MEUNIER, PINOT NOIR
- Howard gravelly loam and Valois and Lansing gravelly silt loam soils
- Planted in 2013 through 2024
- 10.6 acres
Valois Vineyard overlooks the hamlet of Valois, just north of Hector. It was planted between 2013 and 2015 on 10.6 acres of land consisting of 50% Howard gravelly loam, 40% Valois gravelly silt loam, and 10% Lansing gravelly silt loam. The vineyard is home to cabernet franc, chardonnay, lemberger, pinot meunier, pinot noir, and pinot gris, west-facing on a slope varying between 3 and 15%.
Caywood Vineyard
CABERNET SAUVIGNON, MERLOT
- Honeoye silt loam and Lansing gravelly silt loam soils
- Planted in 2005
- 2 acres
In 2005 we planted our Estate Caywood Vineyard, located on 2.2 acres across route 414 from Silver Thread Winegarden. Featuring merlot and cabernet sauvignon rooted in 60% Lansing gravelly silt loam and 40% Honeoye silt loam with 3 to 15% slope, this vineyard plays a strong role in our reserve and single vineyard programs.
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Our Approach
- DWC sources grapes from a number of different vineyards on Seneca, Cayuga, and Keuka Lakes, having worked with some of the same growers for many years.
- Grower vineyards that are NY Sustainable Certified: All DWC Estate vineyards (Davis, Damiani, Valois, Caywood), Standing Stone, Weis-Fournier Vineyard, Lamoreaux Landing, Sawmill Creek, Airy Acres, and Anthony Road.
- Rough outline of vine growth stages and corresponding vineyard work:
- Jan-Apr – pruning, fixing trellis wires and posts, tying canes on low wires, applying dormant fungicide spray, apply compost, hilling-down.
- May-Jun – budbreak (usually mid-May), early/rapid shoot growth, shoot thinning/removal of secondary buds, bloom/flowering, fruit set, critical fungicide application, bunch closer, shoot positioning, leafing.
- July-Aug – tucking shoots under higher wires, hedging, spraying fungicides, mowing row middles, under-vine cultivation of weeds, veraison (usually end of July), berry-softening, begin sampling vineyard for sparkling wine harvest, end of Aug is end of most spraying for non-sparkling blocks.
- Sep-Oct – harvest season, a foliar nutrient application can be made post-harvest but while leaves are still green.
- Nov-Dec – hilling up, tighten and roll netting.
- All estate and most-all grower vineyards are trained using the VSP system (Vertical Shoot Positioning). This is where the vine is trained onto a lower training wire and as the shoots grow, they are trained up using a catch wire in the middle and top of the canopy. This allows for targeted but even sun exposure and air flow, and de-cluttering the fruiting zone. The other training system used with some grower vineyards is the Geneva Double Curtain system, which is more of a sprawling system where the cordon arm of the vine is on the top wire and the shoots sprawl downward. This can only be safely utilized when vigor is low as most of the fruit is shaded and if inside a dense canopy, humidity is high and air flow is low.
- All estate vineyards are caned-pruned (with the exception of a few areas that also include spurs to increase fruit yield). This means that all but 3-4 shoots coming off the trunk are pruned back every winter, and those remaining shoots establish the next year’s growth. This is a huge reason why pruning from the previous year so dramatically affects the coming season’s fruit yields and spacing.
- Almost all estate vineyards are planted on the 3309 rootstock. This was the rootstock most used in the 1990s-2000s to vineyards planted in the FLX. It’s a vigorous rootstock and is very cold hardy.
