Spring 1998 Brief History and Goals
On Dec 24, 1997 I signed a lease with Shelburne Farms for a vineyard site. We will be planting  2000 grape vines on a superb 2 ½ acre site in late April-early May. Nearly 2 years of planning and many more years of dreaming will become a reality this spring. The site is directly south of  the Breeding Barn on Southern Acres section of Shelburne Farms.
Vineyard site looking north to the Shelburne Farms Breeding Barn
The land slopes gently to the south and the west in close proximity and sight of Lake Champlain. Our goal is to produce outstanding wines here in Vermont. The vineyard will operate as an independent venture  while demonstrating a new alternative and sustainable form of agriculture for Vermont. It will also diversify the agricultural resources at Shelburne Farms in support of educational programs for land stewardship and natural resource conservation. Shelburne Farms is a 1400 acre working farm, national historic site and nonprofit environmental educational center on the shores of Lake Champlain. Its mission is to cultivate a conservation ethic by teaching and demonstrating the stewardship of natural and agricultural resources. The vineyard is not open for general public access. Please call me in advance if you would like to visit. The Spring of 1998 With the help of volunteers we planted over 2,000 vines during the 1st 3 weeks of May The Future: Our goal is to plant an additional 2 ½ acres in the spring of 1999, and plans are to have a winery location selected, built and operational in time for harvest in year three. A Vermont Vineyard? Many have questioned establishing a vineyard here in Northern Vermont. Sixty-five miles north of us, in Quebec, grapes have been growing successfully, producing some very fine dry wines, both white and red, for over 12 years. The original 15 commercial vineyards have now grown to 24. Our climate here on the east shore of Lake Champlain at its broadest point is better. It benefits from the lake's moderating influence with more growing degree days, and a longer season. During the growing season our climate is similar to that in the New York State Finger Lakes wine District. Winters here though, are colder than in the Finger Lakes, so we will protect the vines from the cold winter lows with a cover of earth. We'll mound up earth in late fall and remove it in the spring. The site we will plant this spring on Shelburne Farms is optimum.  It has light soils with good air circulation, and gently slopes south-west towards Lake Champlain.   This will not be my first experience growing grapes in Shelburne... My experience growing grapes in my back yard in Shelburne Vermont I've been growing French-American hybrid grapes in Vermont for 25 years on a site not nearly as optimal as the Shelburne Farms location.  My 25 year old Aurora (a hardy French-American hybrid common to the Finger Lakes wine district of New York State) vines have never lost even one cane to winter injury and have produced well each year.. My 5 year old Seyval (a more tender but higher quality French-American hybrid variety) vines have also flourished, yielding healthy crops at a productivity rate similar to that experienced in New York State. Varieties Planned for Shelburne Vineyard There are quite a few grape varieties suitable for our climate here in northern Vermont on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, but we are limiting our selections to those that produce high quality wines. The first season's planting will be all white varieties. We have some red grape varieties on order for spring '99 planting. The three white varieties for '98 planting are: Cayuga, a 1974 cross by the Cornell University experiment station of native American and European Vinifera varieties. It can produce fine slightly off-dry as well as dry wines with a slightly flowery aroma. It is quite disease resistant as well. Vignoles, another hybrid. It produces a wide variety of wines including an outstanding “ice-wine” for dessert use. Riesling, the classic wine grape of Alsace and the Rhine regions of Europe. New York Finger Lakes wineries have produced world class wines from this grape. Our goal is to produce excellent wines here in Vermont, with this noble variety. Shelburne Vineyard Vines to be Cultivated using Organic Practices Our goal is to produce grapes on organically grown vines. This means that weed, insect and disease control will be via organic methods. WEEDS: I recently purchased a "Weedbadger" mechanical weeding attachment for our “new” (1970 vintage Allis Chalmers 175D) tractor, that will keep the vineyard weed free without chemicals. DISEASE: Grapes are notoriously susceptible to fungus diseases. How do you protect against them? -First an ideal site, such as our Shelburne Farms location near the lake shore, well drained and exposed to the wind. -Next, careful selection of grape varieties for disease resistance. -And finally, good “canopy management” (the careful pruning of the vines to expose the grapes to wind and sun) Shelburne Vineyard plans to apply to the Northeast Organic Farmers Association for Certification as an organic grower. The NOFA Vermont office is at PO Box 697, Richmond, VT 05477 After the Grapes, Millennium Wine It will take a little patience. We may be able to make a small quantity of wine from fruit harvested in the 2nd growing season, (the fall of 1999), but it is likely that the first meaningful harvest will be in the 3rd growing season. This will be, of course, the millennium vintage! Learning From Experience and Learning from Others I’ve been fortunate to have had the generous advice of so many experienced viticulturists, enologists and farmers including Those at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva, NY The Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center, Michigan State University, Benton Harbor, MI Growers and winemakers in Quebec and in the Finger Lakes. Shelburne and Charlotte farmers who helped with my first steps on getting into agriculture after 30 plus years at IBM. Snow Farm Winery, South Hero, VT in its start-up season this past year. I will be consulting with an experienced Quebec grower (Etienne Heroux of  Vignoble Morou) during the coming season, and will be experimenting this fall with several techniques being used by the Southwest Michigan Station for the winter protection of grapes. My thanks to them all and to Shelburne Farms for their belief in this project and their help in making it possible.