October 8, 2003
Pierce's Disease to Root StockI just made a quick trip to Omaha for my aunt's birthday-the big nine-oh. Visited some cousins who grown that beautiful Black Angus beef there in the mid part of the state. Probably some of that beef hits some of my favorite restaurants here in Santa Barbara County, especially the Casmalia Hitching Post.
During Los Alamos Old Days, I ran into Jim Fuhlrodt who owns Jafco Products down in Buellton and lives with his wife in Orcutt. He asked me what the status of Pierce's Disease was. Good question I thought. It hasn't been in the news for a while so I checked with Jeff Frey of Frey Farming, a vineyard management company based in Santa Maria.
Making it very understandable, Jeff told me Pierce's Disease is a bacterium that attacks the conductive material in the vines. It plugs up the "arteries" making it impossible for the plant to receive water and nutrient; thus, the plant dies. There is no cure.
The bacterium is transmitted by the sharp shooter. The most well known, of course, is the glassy wing sharp shooter. Jeff told me the blue green sharp shooter eats the green material. These bugs are not as effective as the glassy wing sharp shooter that goes for the wood.
We stress Pierce's Disease is not an airborne disease. It is not transmitted by grafting. It is transmitted by sharp shooters feeding on plant material.
For right now-keeping our fingers crossed-it appears to be in containment.
Rootstock
At the pancake breakfast in Los Alamos, Jim also asked me about rootstock.
The kind of grape varieties best known by most wine drinkers-chardonnay, viognier, merlot, pinot noir-is vitis vinifera. Vinifera is susceptible to nematodes-phylloxera, a scourge that destroyed Europe's great vineyards in the 19th century. To be on the safe side, most growers graft vinifera onto a nematode-resistant rootstock. Different rootstocks impart different qualities.
When my family moved to Sunnyvale, our house was in an old walnut orchard. Like grapevines, walnut trees are grafted in California-English tops on Black Walnut root systems. Unlike grapevines, the graft lines on walnut trees are much more obvious. You'll see a lot of graft lines in the old walnut orchards out on Santa Rosa Road between Buellton and Lompoc. Great countryside!
Harvest-still happening!
LaneTanner, who wrapped up her crush last week, echoes what other winemakers have been telling us. For pinot noir, at least, low yields, high quality, resulting in wines of high intensity.
Bon appetit!
Times wine columnist, Bob Senn, lives in the Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
