Vitis vinifera survives the Finger Lakes: is it the rootstock or the climate?

Wines & Vines,  August, 2003  by Thomas Pellechia

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Today his grandson, Fred Frank, and Fred's cousin, Eric Volz, carry on the legacy at Dr. Konstantin Frank's Nursery and Dr. Konstantin Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars. The Frank nursery is joined in the region by two more nurseries: Grafted Grapevine Nursery, LLC, formed in 1957 by immigrant Herman Amberg, who once worked at the agricultural station; and Wiemer Nursery, established on Seneca Lake by Hermann Wiemer, yet another immigrant. In addition, nursery and research work at Geneva includes Vitis vinifera viability in cold climates.

Controversy and questions persist. According to Fred Frank, after his grandfather's success, Geneva researchers endorsed one rootstock for Vitis vinifera grafting, the riparia/labrusca line 3309. But like his grandfather, Fred believes in using rootstock/scion wood relationships suited to various micro-climates and soil differences. He says, "Contrary to 3309 as the be-all, our nursery provides a variety of rootstocks. Not all micro-climates and soil sites are alike. We encourage customers to experiment with a range of low to medium to high-vigor vines to fine tune in their vineyards. My grandfather proved that vine vigor was key to its survivability in erratic winter climates. Low-vigor vines remain healthy and strong by being good at drawing nutrients from our acidic soil. 3309 is too vigorous for the region, plus it is not nematode resistant. Yet, they (at Geneva) maintain that the roots do not determine viability."

Geneva Agricultural Station plant pathologist Robert Poole confirms that, "Nelson Shaulis felt the only difference among rootstocks was their phylloxera tolerance." But today Poole is engaged in trying to establish which factors are more important to the health of Vitis vinifera, or any vine species grown in cold climates. He has not found the definitive answer. For instance, no one doubts Vitis riparia rootstock offers protection from phylloxera, but Poole notes that it may offer more, pointing to a recent study by one of his colleagues that indicates rootstocks with considerable Vitis riparia in their line seem less prone to certain bacteria common in the Northeast.

Local grower Thomas Mitchell is convinced rootstock 3309 is generally fine for the Finger Lakes, stating flatly that, "... it is a medium-vigor vine and it is nematode resistant." Mitchell had been vineyard manager for the once giant Taylor Wine Company. Today his vineyards supply both local wineries and Fallbright Winemaker's Shop, a home winemaker supply business operated by Mitchell's wife, Marcy. Mitchell has grown grapes in the Finger Lakes for 30 years--natives, French-American hybrids, and vinifera. He challenges the notion that the region can support exclusively Vitis vinifera vines.

"Frank succeeded in growing vinifera in the Finger Lakes for two reasons: he believed in himself; and he selected clones carefully," Mitchell says. On this, Mitchell and Fred Frank agree. "But today," Mitchell says, "there are too many tender vinifera varieties out there. We used to get nasty winter nights, with temperatures plummeting to arctic numbers ... even hardy Concord vines succumbed. I have this feeling that climate change has something to do with vinifera's success here. What if one of those nights returns?"