Niagara Wines & Season XIII WPT Fallsview Poker Classic

 

Niagara Wines Published on Feb 14, 2015

Melissa, Kat, and Brittany brave the cold and head to Niagara Falls Niagara Wines country and check out The Ice House to find out what ice wine is all about. 



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WINERIES NIAGARA - WHAT HAS THE POLAR VORTEX DONE TO NIAGARA WINES and Their GRAPES?

Wineries Niagara News Here at The Ice House Winery Niagara On The Lake. When making Icewine cold is good but extreme cold is The Polar Vortex Niagara Wines has taken us down to some potentially dangerous temperatures for the Niagara vineyards. The first problem is primary bud damage to the grapes. If you remember grade 11 Biology there is a primary bud, a secondary and a tertiary. If all goes well the primary will be the bud “to break” in the spring and start a normal growth cycle. Primary bud activity will inhibit growth of the other two, but if the primary is damaged (frozen) the secondary will take over with a 30% to 50% crop load. If the tertiary – the hardiest – is forced out all growth will be vegetative i.e. no fruit that year. Growers are cutting into the buds with razor blades to examine the buds and assess the damage. This may lead to delayed and selective pruning. Be sure to visit The Wineries Niagara on your visit to the Niagara Wines Region.

 

NIAGARA WINERIES and Their Different Types of Niagara Wines.

A bigger and worse problem is trunk damage or “winter kill”. This is where the xylem and the phloem are damaged. Remembering grade 9 Biology, the xylem and 

 

the phloem are the pipelines between the roots, vegetative growth and the fruiting zone flowing through the trunk or wood. Excessive cold or severe 

 

temperature fluctuations can lead to a rapid freezing (and deadly expansion) of the liquid in the system “exploding” the walls of the tubes. (If this 

 

bursting happens in our brains we call this a stroke). Not good! Check out the Niagara Wineries and enjoy a Nice Ice Wine beverage at the Ice House Ice Wine 

 

Winery in Niagara on the Lake.

 

 

NIAGARA ICE WINE & Niagara Wines

Unfortunately the existence or extent of winter kill cannot be quantified until well after bud break as there is enough “fuel” in the canes to initiate bud 

 

break without yet depending on the roots. So things could appear normal until the new shoot withers and dies. Yikes! In this instance and perhaps this year 

 

growers may decide when pruning to bring up a “sucker” as a potential new trunk. If the old trunk is sound  the sucker will be pruned away. If the trunk is 

 

damaged, the old will be removed and the new trunk will be established through the sucker. Good news – a live plant. Bad news – no fruit and therefore no 

 

Icewine. Making Icewine is a complicated process and without Mother Nature’s blessings it just doesn't happen.

 

If you are down in Niagara this spring, watch the vineyard management and you might see some of Mother Nature’s challenges in play, but hopefully NOT!

 

Niagara Wines visit The Ice House Winery Niagara On The Lake Ontario Canada.