In July 2001, twenty five Riesling grape vines were planted in a small test plot near the greenhouses at Woodroffe campus.

The experiment, to monitor the hardiness of this varietal was undertaken with the assistance of the Horticultural program.          

The vine which was planted is a Riesling high production vitis vinifera clone (B21) and will be trained using the Pendelbogen system, common in the Niagara area.
You can see the difference one year makes on the right. The vines grew quickly in the sandy loam soil. Although the Riesling grapes are just beginning to make an appearance, we expect to see each vine produce as early as next year.

Only one vine died last winter which is a good result considering the low temperatures during January.

Many thanks to Pat Fraser, our tireless vineyard volunteer who weeded, pruned and counseled this summer.

There was some Japanese Beetle leaf damage as shown here, and some downey mildew as well. Next season, with the advice of Mac McDonald, our resident wine expert who instructs in our Sommelier Program, we expect to begin spraying, to eliminate these problems.