Running Head: Horticulture & Enology 1

Jacob A. Gronniger

From Vine to Wine: Horticulture & Enology

Author’s Note:

This project could not have been completed without the help of my mentor, Adrian

Mobilia, who was the owner of the winery where I had the privilege of shadowing. Additionally,

I would like to thank Mrs. Graves for her efforts to work through the unique nature of my

product, and Mrs. Shoemaker for allowing me to dive as far into this topic as my curiosity would

go. Without these people I wouldn’t have been able to explore this area of interest as much as I

would have liked. Thank you!

After graduation I hope to eventually major in viticulture and enology at Virginia Tech or

the University of Virginia.

If there are any questions in relation to this paper, my product or my project as a whole

please feel free to contact me at jacobgronniger@yahoo.com, my mentor, Adrain Mobilia, at

amobilia@saltedvines.com or my senior project advisor, Mrs. Graves, at

allison.graves@vbschools.com.
Horticulture & Enology 2

While the winery industry today has made headway and continues to grow at an

exponential rate, where did this industry first begin to take root? Everyone knows about wine

(some more so than others) but not everyone knows the process of winemaking from vine to

bottle. The lessons we know today have been cultivated over years of growing grapes in specific

climates whether on the west coast or as this paper will look at, the east coast. Even within the

east coast region the wine industry has vastly expanded past its birthplace in Virginia. As evident

in the massive growth demonstrated by the sheer number of wineries that now abound up and

down the east coast. Even smaller states like Delaware have felt the spread of the industry. So

much so that one can look at one winery and apply the principles across the same region.

The history of the winemaking industry in the United States runs its roots right through

the eastern seaboard. Particularly in the region and accompanying states between New York and

Virginia. The premier settlers who made head roads in their respective colonies all attempted to

grow native European grapes in the virgin American soil. Lord Baltimore in MD, William Penn

in PA, and even our own Thomas Jefferson right here in Virginia. It was clear from their early

attempts at growing grapes, that the climate of the United States facilitated different varieties of

grapes than what many of these founding fathers in their respective states at first suspected

("Transformation," 2019).

In fact the very first settlers in Jamestown made attempts to turn vines into a cash crop as

they would eventually attempt and succeed to do with tobacco. One of the first acts of the newly

established House of Burgesses required every male to plant at least 10 vines of european
Horticulture & Enology 3

“vinifera” grapes. Their failings trying to spark the industry would eventually lead to Jefferson’s

own shortcomings mentioned earlier. It wasn't until the early 1800’s when hybrid american and

european varieties were created by Dr. Daniel Norton that the wine industry began to make

steady progress. While Virginia would go on to be the world's 5th largest producer in the later

half of the 19th century historical events like the Civil War, Prohibition, and the Depression

would all but completely hinder the region’s progress in this field (Keppel, 2017).

When not hindered by international strife or national politics, the industry managed

remarkable growth. Before the events of prohibition and the Depression a man by the name of

Paul Garrett established a large 4 million gallon winery in Norfolk, Virginia. With a goal of

incorporating the finger lakes1 regional grape varieties with his own to create a unique blend,

Virginia Dare. While eventually undone when alcohol was deemed illegal others would

eventually push the industry forward as seen with Mack Sands. He and his son purchased a wine

plant in the finger lakes and produced their own fortified wine in Petersburg, Virginia. They

eventually picked up the Virginia Dare label and the company, today known as Constellation

Brands, is headquartered on Canandaigua lake (Expert Editorial, 2019).

This rich history is often overlooked, a theme that I think applies to the whole industry as

a whole. Everyone knows the end products or the “fruits of the labor” when it comes to grape

growing. Most adults are accustomed to wine and it has become a beverage synonymous with

special events, important gatherings, and celebrations. People only feel or notice the impact on

the final product when things are done during the final stages. Little things during the tasting of

the final product, wine, vastly shape people's perception. The factors that influence that

1
An official wine region in New York state centered around long, finger-like lakes, that help
moderate the climate and make it suitable for winemaking. It contains over 120 wineries and is
the largest producer of wine in New York State. Named the top wine region in USA Today's
Readers Choice Poll(2018)
Horticulture & Enology 4

perception are: the weight of the bottle, the sound the glass makes as liquid is poured and even

the shape and appearance from which the wine is drunk (Mullen, 2016). If a simple change like

glassware can impact the perception of something that has reached its culmination while only

being pseudo indicators as to actual characteristics, then how much can changes which alter the

track of the original juice change that perception? Things like growing/fermentation time, use of

various chemicals or yeasts, impacts of sharp temperature changes in grape or juice form and

even simple things like the amount of rain during the growing season. All factors that needed to

be considered further peaking my curiosity.

The irony of my now “budding” knowledge on this topic is that in the beginning, my

knowledge was embarrassing in comparison to what I have learned. While that is the point, most

endeavor down a path that they are familiar with in terms of past interest or ideas, or have

enough of a basis to know some of the facets involved. When it came to horticulture and

enology, I wasn’t privy as to the meaning of those terms until my shadowing really took hold on

my aspirations. I knew that if you grew grapes you could turn them into wine but my insight was

so limited. After finding this as a potential opportunity my curiosity abounded to learn about the

process that impacts the final product. Whether that be the process out under the sun or in the

cool shade of the tank room how did that process play out? And all the while how does that

process play into the hands of a successful business endeavor? I wanted to learn how these

various “vines" came together and I was eager to see what “fruit” they would produce. Questions

I was happily able to discover the answers to.

Horticulture & Enology 5

The Story

The start but not the beginning:

Junior year in the context of a senior project is your last chance for preparation before

you are in the thick of it. Almost everyone is scrambling to come up with ideas or areas of

interest they believe they want to invest a plethora of time in. I however had my mind made up, I

was going to do my senior project, with full confidence, on nuclear energy. I had done my

sophomore and freshman year research paper on the subject and I found it vastly fascinating. As

apparent by the subject of this paper, unless I did all that research just to fool you, my project

took a different course.

Looking at my circumstances as junior year progressed I was having difficulty coming up

with the tangible means to pursue what were my goals at the time. There are no nuclear plants

nearby meaning I would have to travel far(well further than I did for the winery, the irony isn’t

lost on me). Not to mention because of the secrecy and potential danger of some of these places

my ability to log and take pictures of things would most likely be limited. Something I was

hoping to avoid as I wanted to showcase whatever I choose to focus my product on not shield it

under some umbrella. It was around this time that Mrs. Graves mentioned that while nuclear was

a fascinating field, if I wanted to get out into the “weeds” I would need to find something

different. A piece of advice that was something important to hear even as I began to come to

terms with the reality of the situation.

Grape growing & wine making?:

As I began to look for another area I found interest in I turned to something that had

always been a core passion of mine: Business. I had always loved the idea of running a business,
Horticulture & Enology 6

my shortcoming was always with what kind of business did I have the passion to run? I couldn’t

see myself just being the dejected manager of some store, I would want to be at the heart of the

operations, not at the beck and call of some corporate authority. Then it hit me, I had connections

with a winery, a type of business yes, but also one heavily incorporated in extremely

fundamental fields of science. While I didn’t have prior knowledge, I came to the realization that

focusing on that field as the crux of my senior project would serve its very purpose. Is that a field

that I would want to dive into as a future career?

With those questions in the back of my mind I dove in. The end of junior year we have a

project accurately called the “4th Quarter Project”. We choose a specific area to divert time to

develop a tangible product showcasing our knowledge after about a month(very much a mini

preparatory run of senior projects as a whole). I looked into the psychology behind the taste of

wine. Hoping this would help to set the path for my eventual senior project.

Wine glasses solidifying interest:

The use of glass for example was first used as a mere status symbol. People that could

afford ornate glass used it to enhance their experiences with the drink they were

consuming(Shackelford, 2017). These upper class individuals also happened to drink wine in

greater concentrations than the average individual. This would begin the association between

fancy glass and fermented juice. As new techniques for glass blowing were invented in the late

19th and early 20th century, wine glasses became widely available to a growing middle

class(Williams, 2021). The sheer magnitude of glass now being produced facilitated a wider

market and glass began to fade in elegance in terms of wealth; however, its association with wine

was never set on the sidelines. A legacy that continues and is easily recognized in the modern

world.
Horticulture & Enology 7

Even the glass itself is often designed to highlight the best qualities of the wine being

showcased. Our perceptions during a true tasting of something are not merely based on what we

are tasting but all of the sensory information we take in at that time, from sight, temperature,

texture and overall environment(Mullen, 2016). The duality of these factors was apparent, good

taste is only great when surrounding factors are as great, and even a mediocre product can be

limped to the finish line if overall factors are so enjoyable they influence perceptions. When the

industry designs glasses today they consider all of these factors trying to ensure their glasses do

the best to positively influence what the customer will experience. This insight into how one can

influence consumers has proved extremely valuable to manufacturers as they continue to strive

for better glasses (Spence, 2020). The wine glass industry, while newer than its cousin,

winemaking, has only been perfecting designs for consumer perception since the 50s. Showing

that while the industry in general was slow to progress once the grapes made a home in the soil

the foundation was there for an industry that supports innovation.

The implications of all this that I discovered of simply the glass that served the wine is

what endowed me to look further into this topic. If something as simple as the glass begging used

to serve a beverage affects wine then how many other minute details during the actual process

come into play?

The Winery:

Without a doubt in my mind about where I wanted my project to head I began talking to

my senior project advisor, Mrs. Graves, and over the course of a couple of meetings was cleared

to embark with my winery idea. I shadowed at a winery in Frankford, Delaware called Salted

Vines Vineyard & Winery (if Adrian is there tell him Jacob sent you). Wineries on the east coast

have been a booming industry over the past 2 decades, as of 2017 there were over 1700 wineries
Horticulture & Enology 8

between Virginia and New York, with those two states making up 57% and 17% of east coast

vineyard acreage respectively(Expert Editorial, 2019). Salted Vines has 4 total acres of grapes

with hopes of expanding that total as business continues to grow. Their varieties of grapes

include: Vermentino, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec. All being red wine grapes with

the expectation of the lone white wine grape, Vermentino. While they use all the juice that they

get once the grapes are harvested it isn’t enough to make enough wine to meet their demand.

Any additional juice that they need is ordered from California, one of the major exporters of

grape juice. Of the 2.2 million tons of grapes grown in California in 2005, 51% were used for

wine and concentrate(Paggi & Yamazaki, 2007).

After setting up my shadowing to be at this winery my mentor provided me with a variety

of sources that I could look into to help myself develop some foundation. The grape growing

process as a whole was one focus of my capacity building for my shadowing. I was mainly

referred to east coast sources such as the website from the University of Maryland extension on

viticulture. It was important to look at universities based in this area as the timelines for the

season on the east coast do not always match up with the timelines on the west coast. While the

processes might be similar when certain actions take place could be weeks or months apart.

Intricacies of the trade:

My shadowing while focused mainly on aspects of viticulture and enology also allowed

me to look at what it was like to run the business and interact with people. My first couple of

days shadowing I helped my mentor do private tastings that people could schedule on the

weekends. Running the vineyards and tank room is important but if you can't interact and

facilitate positive interactions with people then that hard work won’t reach its culmination. What

was fascinating was not only was I able to introduce myself as a high school senior and explain
Horticulture & Enology 9

my senior project, but I was able to play an active role in the dialogue. Furthermore, my mentor

includes information about the fermentation process in his tastings so customers get an informed

synopsis on the process while they taste the various wines that process helps to offer them. He

elaborated on the trade and asked questions that many casual wine drinkers can't answer. What is

the difference between a dry and sweet wine? When looking at the process it's quite simple but is

coming up with an answer out of the blue as simple? Ironically, the tastings served as a window

into how all aspects of a winery are combined, the business, horticulture, and enology.

Referring back to some of my key takeaways from my initial tastings, I ventured to

research the answers to these questions as they were fundamental in the industry. When it comes

to the dryness or sweetness of a wine that refers

All tieing back to the grapes that are being grown. They set the limits on what can be

accomplished with the wine as the sugar content they are harvested with is all that there is to be

fermented into wine. In a dry wine fermentation has taken place for longer resulting in higher

amounts of that original sugar still being present. Whatever amount of sugar is left over after

fermentation is called residual sugar the dryer the wine the lower that residual sugar value tends

to be.

Into the “vines”:

The growing cycle of grape vines is divided into 8 main stages that occur over the course

of the year. These stages include: dormant, pre-bloom, bloom, post bloom, mid season,

pre-harvest, harvest, and post harvest (Fiola, 2021). My shadowing mainly encompassed the mid

season up to but unfortunately not including harvest(early July through early September).

All of the vines at the winery where I shadowed at and the majority of vines up and down

the east coast use a technique called Vertical Shoot Positioning. This technique involves forcing
Horticulture & Enology 10

grape vines to grow in a much more structured way than they would attempt to be left alone in

nature. Like most vines they attach to things in an attempt to grow up; however, if there is

nothing to grow up along they simply grow along the ground. Vines randomly climbing objects

or other plants or sprawling across the ground don’t help to produce a large healthy crop. Vertical

Shoot Positioning forces the vines to grow straight up in the air and has the vines connect on

dedicated wires, 3 to be exact, that are placed about every 2 feet from the ground(one wire at 2/3

feet, a second wire around 4/4.5 feet, and the last wire around 6 feet above the ground). This

strategy for growing grapes gives some semblance of structure to the vines allowing them to be

more easily taken care of and harvested. The other thing it facilitates is greater airflow through

the vines. Something critical in humid east coast climates where morning dew is almost always

present. This is one of the other reasons it is so common on the east coast, an area that is no

stranger to extreme humidity during the dog days of summer. The added air flow helps to dry the

fruit out sooner after rain/a heavy dew helping to prevent diseases like downy mildew (Mudd’s

Vineyard Ltd., 2016). Additionally, despite the sheer nature of the vertical growth that is induced

onto the vines, there is much easier access for workers trying to do manual tasks required

throughout the year.

When I first began to do work out in the vineyards, early July, there was a magnitude of

manual tasks that needed to be accomplished. The first task I worked with was called leaf

pulling. Every year during this period of time all of the vines have leaves strategically removed.

This is done around the grape clusters to expose them to sunlight and wind. While it seems trivial

it has an important impact on the growth of the grapes. Just like vertical shoot positioning is used

to help with air flow pulling leaves from around grape clusters further ensures that conditions

around the fruit don’t stay moist enough to facilitate disease. Special consideration must also be
Horticulture & Enology 11

given to which side of the vines leafs are pulled from. With the purpose being to simply dry them

out from rain and morning due anything beyond that could be damaging. When leaf pulling one

typically pulls the leaves off the morning side(east or north) but leaves on the afternoon side

(west and south) to prevent sunburn (Striegler & Jones, 2019). With this in mind that was my

task, go down each row on the morning side and remove leaves from around the clusters of

grapes. It is a very time consuming process but one that is important for the health of the grapes

overall.

New Growth:

One of the other tasks that was important to keep up all throughout the year was the

monitoring. Once vines are planted a number of things can happen to them to cause damage or

potential death. These can range from things like disease, tractor injury, rot, and severe stress

(Bolton, 2020) as well as damage from animals if the vines aren’t properly protected. When a

vine does die it is removed and in late winter or early spring a new vine is planted in its place

(Stafne, 2019). Obviously, this newly planted vines is going to lag behind the others that were

planted a year or multiple years before. This means that while the main cultivation of the vines in

the vineyard are being done on vines that are producing fruit and have been growing for almost 3

years (each variety of grape at Salted Vines was planted at a different time, the ages of vines

vary) other vines are at various stages in growth. Just as my leaf pulling was extremely important

for the vine that was ready for that stage of management, there are tasks that need to happen with

the smaller vines to ensure they successfully reach the maturity of the other grape vines, and so

they can produce healthy quantities of grapes.

One of the major things done to young vines is the placement of a protective growing

tube. These are made of the same material as your school lunch milk carton and are a rectangular
Horticulture & Enology 12

shape that shoots up from where the young vine exits the soil. These serve to protect young vines

from pests, particularly deer and rabbits (Fiola, 2021), before the stalks harden. These are on the

vines from the time they are planted until they have grown out and above the “carton” as it is

sometimes referred to(the “carton” is about 12-18 inches tall). As pulling leaves was taking place

I simultaneously looked for younger vines, and if they had grown out of their tubes, proceeded to

remove them. If the tubes are not removed at the proper time it prevents the vines from having

adequate time to harden off; potentially causing loss of dormancy, a debilitating consequence

likely setting them up to die off during the winter(Fiola, 2021).

Pruning the proper path:

As few leaves are left to pull and an emphasis has been placed on readying young vines

to eventually produce fruit the focus looks to the grape producing “runners” or “shoots”. Not

every place on a vine is going to grow grapes, and that isn’t something that is even desired. If a

plant tries to grow too many grapes all of them might not be ripe when harvest time comes, or if

there are two fewer they might ripen too fast. At Salted Vines they prune the base stock(the part

of the vine that is sticking just out of the ground) down to two main branches, in a process called

cordon pruning. Jim Law (2006) put it as follows:

Cordon pruning leaves a permanent horizontal extension of the trunk in place year after

year. Cordons can be decades old and achieve diameters of several inches or more. The

cordons themselves do not usually produce fruitful shoots. The fruitful shoots come from

spur positions located along the cordon. (para. 3)

This leaves a big, thick, solid trunk at the very base where the vines branch up from the ground.

This trunk splits into two and each of those branches are run along wire that is horizontal to the

ground.
Horticulture & Enology 13

As sprouts begin to grow from these main trunks they are sequestered upwards being

made to grow in a vertical orientation, this is called Vertical Shoot Positioning. There are catch

wires allowing the vines somethings to grip as they grow vertically to further incentivise the

desired growing behavior(Steigler & Jones, 2019). While most of the vines in the vineyards I

worked in were already growing in the desired orientation between the catch wires there are

always a few exceptions. As I was pruning or pulling leaves and I noticed a vine that was out of

the catch wires I would “tuck” it back where it should go. This happened on occasion but not

enough to necessitate us going through the vineyards just to tuck. Tucking was something always

done in combination with leaf pullin, pruning, and netting.

The pruning of the vines was one of the most important aspects being dealt with. Its main

benefits are that it prevents sunlight blockage because of excessive growth, and it gets rid of

older canes helping to promote new growth(Jones, 2022). At the winery you would prune by

taking a shoot(leafy green growth that could produce fruit) and making sure that there is only a

certain amount of growth on that shoot. Each shoot will have other mini shoots attempting to

branch off and then leaves are branching off from the shoots as well. We ensure that at each

connecting point, where something is growing off of the shoot we are looking to prune, there

isn’t more than one in the same spot. For example, if there are two leaves growing out from a

shoot from the same spot I would need to prune off of those. Typically, the one sandwiched

between the shoot and the other leaf. Additionally, I made a point to take off any dead, dying, or

unhealthy looking shoots. This specific process/aspect of pruning is called shoot thinning.

The process of pruning off this undesired growth is very simple. The shoots that are

thinned and their branches are typically very easy to snap off. At each V where there are two

leaves growing out of the same spot, to prune one I simply fold it off and it will snap off. The
Horticulture & Enology 14

process then repeats itself, and it comes with such little resistance that I never needed clippers or

any sort of tool to complete pruning.

Threats as grapes swell and gain color:

In sequence after my various pruning jobs had been completed the next task began

immediately. When it comes to vineyard management, in the summer at least, there was never a

lull in work that needed to be accomplished. This phase in the process however is reliant on a

yearly occurring process indicating its necessity. This process is called veraison, the name for the

process by which grapes begin to swell up as they accumulate sugar making them gain

color(transparent green for white grapes and purple for red grapes) and soften (Cain Hickey et

al., 2012). Veraison is an extremely important part of the growing season as it signals one of the

final phases in the grape growing process. Once the grapes have finished plumping up and have

reached the desired amount of sugar(measured in brix2) they are ready to be harvested. This

process began to occur when I was up there in the last few days of July into early August.

Depending on the environment and climate(or northern or southern Hemisphere) this time frame

will vary, even in the same climate it can slightly vary from year to year.

How is this significant to the overarching section topic? It is quite simple, as we find the

grapes more desirable and they become sweet enough that you could pull one of the grapes and

find it delicious(watch out for the seeds!). Animals think the same way. Now that the grapes are

beginning to sweeten a wide variety of animals will try and pick them off one by one. The main

aggressors are deer and birds(at least for Salted Vines although these are two very common

threats to the crop). Birds will fly into the canopy and pick away at grapes. As they peck and try

to suck out the sweet juice from inside they break the grapes skin and expose the insides.
2
a measure of the dissolved solids in a liquid, and is commonly used to measure dissolved sugar
content of an aqueous solution. One degree Brix is 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution
and represents the strength of the solution as percentage by mass.
Horticulture & Enology 15

Exposing the nutrient rich insides causes major problems. According to the University of MO

Division of Plant Sciences (2019), “The fungal pathogen, Botrytis cinerea can then infect the

fruit and cause bunch rot. This disease alters fruit flavor and adversely affects wine quality even

when disease infection is low (3% or higher)” (para. 5). Deer, on the other hand, simply push

through the leafy canopy and eat the grapes whole. If left alone they could severely reduce your

harvest.

The way to combat this3, as used at Salted Vines, is the use of white plastic netting which

is used to cover all of the grape producing sections of the canopy as soon as it starts to hit

veraison. This year's version began at the very end of July and very early August. What is

interesting is the priority given to the varieties of grapes, as they don’t all begin veraison at the

same time and some will take longer to mature than others. Me and the others who were going to

be putting up netting were limited in how much we could do each day, so priority had to be given

to something. There are a couple of things to consider however, the color of the grapes and the

time at which they begin to “turn”. The white grape varieties, in the case of Salted Vines the

vermentino, are some of the first to turn. They begin to swell up before any of the other 3

varieties. Since they are the first to become edible, common sense might lead someone to give

them priority. Interestingly, I myself had to give them a second look to even realize they had

begun to turn. The white grape varieties turn from green to a translucent green, a very subtle

change. The animals have the same problem, they take longer to recognize the change. This is

where color factors in; the red grape varieties, since the grapes are going to be turning purple,

become extremely visible and heavily indicate they are plump with sugar and nutrients. Birds

and deer use this as their signal to begin trying to eat the grapes. The problem is, once the birds

and deer find the grapes and begin eating them they will continually return, but if you can
3
There are different methods to keep animals like birds away, i.e a predatory bird call
Horticulture & Enology 16

prevent them from having the chance they won’t be as persistent as the grapes continue to

mature. Preventing the association of the vineyards with the delicious grapes each and every year

is why the timing of the netting is so important.

But what is the netting and what is the process? The bird netting itself is a white plastic

mesh material that comes in rolls. The netting was unspooled and rolled out down each vineyard

row being stapled to the top of the second catch wire. When not in use it is rolled up into a nice

little spool and kept there during harvest and the winter. When Veraison began to occur my job

was to go out into the vineyards and unspool the netting. Unspooling it is not enough, however,

once the netting is unrolled(it covers about a foot and a half of the canopy, the portion where all

of the grapes are growing) it has to be fastened together at the bottom. Any gap that is large

enough for a bird to get through is a path they will exploit, they can fly and will have no issue

going under the netting if they have to. This year we fastened the bottom of the netting with

close pins, we rolled up sections to keep it tight and latched a close pin to keep the tension. What

is nice is that the connection point at the bottom helps to pull the netting tightly across the entire

canopy(tops are already fastened tightly, this was done when netting was installed). The biggest

advantage of this, besides the aforementioned birds, is the tight netting keeps deer out of the

canopy. Deers aren’t shy, and will push and pull on netting if they see any place they think they

can get grapes from. This additional strength helps repel them from eating away at the eventual

crop yield.

The process of properly putting in place netting is extremely time consuming and

consumes a wide variety of time. It becomes a balancing act in the dog days of humid August

Delaware summers. I attempted to accomplish as much in the morning as I could because the

afternoons would often be over 100 degrees and in the beating sun it would become unbearable.
Horticulture & Enology 17

Luckily, the netting was put up in a timely manner and there were no significant negative

impacts from birds or deer. In retrospect it was really fun being able to have a part in the process.

I wasn’t hearing about it being done, or seeing its completion over time, I was doing it. A theme

that was prevalent throughout my shadowing, in my opinion allowing me to take the most from

it.

My own growth:

What better way is there to learn than to do? Throughout my shadowing I was exposed to

a variety of alien things that I had to learn about, quickly, and apply. When I was shown how to

prune vines or drop netting I was expected to pick it up immediately and repeat it many hours

over many days in an efficient and correct manner. I was asked to undergo or help with tasks in

the tank room and needed to learn quickly in order to be helpful. Sometimes I was left on my

own to complete new tasks and while scary there is no better environment for learning. Even

when it came to things like driving expensive and potentially dangerous(in the sense that you

have to be very careful) machinery I was allowed the opportunity to dive right in. Was it perfect

through all this? Was I always natural at all of it, making no mistakes along the way? Absolutely

not, but I have never learned more in my life from an extended experience than I did while

making mistakes and completing tasks at Salted Vines. Some I enjoyed more than others(driving

the tractors has no competition) but I learned from absolutely everything. Nothing is done as

busy work, it is all driven with a purpose. A purpose that is revealed when the wine is ready for

consumption. I might not have known a lot going into my shadowing but I learned more than I

could have hoped for, and for that I am grateful. I found a field that I have a grand curiosity in

and in general there is no experience, in my mind, that could have better prepared me for the real
Horticulture & Enology 18

world. This real world tangible mindset is really what led to my product. Something that I felt

best combined all aspects I had endeavored to explore.

My Product

What better showcase of the winery industry than its most desirable product? Wine is a

great representation of all of the aspects of grape growing, the fermentation of juice, and then the

marketing and business side that actually allows that product to reach consumers. Well, a great

representation for those not still in public schools at least… As fitting as it would have been and

as thrilled as some teachers would have been (wink wink) comensense and actual rules dictate

that that course would not be prudent. That left me in a predicament. I really wanted to showcase

the industry and I was passionate about the idea of a tangible, maybe even edible product where

the fruits of my labor could be shown rather than told. That is when it hit me, if it couldn’t follow

the process to its very end why not go as far as possible? Who doesn’t love the delicious and

sweet taste of what became my final product: grape juice.

Grape juice is integral to anyone looking at how the wine making process plays out. All

tying into the driving question of how that process plays out and how it allows a successful

business. Grape juice itself serves as the middle point in the entirety of the process. It marks the

end of the horticulture sides, but shines on the beginning of the enology part, involving the

delicate chemistry now needing to take place. I began to look into this as I was exploring a

potential product for my senior project. In a perfect world I would have used a wine, created

entirely from grapes grown at Salted Vines, as my product. Unfortunately, that would have been

inappropriate for the school setting and thus was ruled out. Grape juice was as close as I could

get to the finale without breaking any laws. All the while serving as a fantastic representation of

the past with dramatic potential for the future.

Horticulture & Enology 19

While serving as a point of discussion for the scientific side, grape juice also allows other

avenues to be explored. While conducting my shadowing I was always going in and out of the

winery, often through the tasting room, whether to cool off from the heat, get a bottle of water, or

simply complete a task. As one would expect during the busy summer months the winery was

always bustling with people enjoying the delectable liquid they all came to drink. Why not create

a product that would allow my fellow classmates to experience a similar sensation. Tasting a

tangible product that one could experience rather than be told about. This would provide the

greatest insight to what I was studying as the taste of the final wine is the things the whole

process desires to perfect. Grape juice allows anyone to be given a sneak peak of what that final

aroma and flavor is going to be made up of. Because the grape juice itself very much impacts the

final menusia of the wine in terms of taste, signature, and alcohol and sugar concentrations.

The exact grape juice I decided to use was the juice from the Vermentino variety of

grape, one of the four grape varieties that are grown at Salted Vines. After the grapes are

harvested in mid september they are crushed and the juice is filtered from the solids(seeds, skins,

and other plant material). The juice was placed in a stainless steel tank for eventual filtration,

racking, and fermentation. However, before any fermentation had begun I acquired 3 bottles (750

mL each) of the vermentino juice for use in my project. My mentor and I added sulfur to each

bottle to help hold off fermentation. Additionally, I constantly kept the juice cooled at

refrigerator temperature to help hold off fermentation as well.

The vermentino variety of grapes, from which I collected the juice, were a kind that I had

worked with throughout the summer. All of the pruning, netting, and preparation done during the

summer was done on the vermentino. While I wasn't only limited to that section of the vineyard I

helped throughout the entirety of work being completed there. Preparing them for eventual
Horticulture & Enology 20

cultivation so I could have grape juice when the time came comprised the vast majority of my

shadowing. It was extremely satisfying to have a product that came from the exact grapes I had

poured out so much sweat over, and it added to the already rewarding nature of my enjoyable

shadowing experience.

Results

I decided to really showcase my product. I would do taste trials and allow others to give

feedback based on the most important quality for the entire wine industry: taste. I used my

vermentino grape juice(a white grape) as juice B and a stock grape juice made from diamond

grapes(another white grape) as juice A. Two white grape varieties to limit the different variables

between the two. Anyone who wished to participate in the tastings was required to sign a consent

form. Once forms were collected I could begin the tastings. The samples were put into 3 ounce

cups labeled B and A respectively. Participants were asked to try juice A in whichever manner

they wished. They were then given a cup of water to cleanse their palate, and asked to try juice

B. After they had tasted both they were given the link to the google form in which they could

provide feedback. They were asked questions about their past experience with grape juice and

asked to rate/give sensations or particular tastes they noticed while trying both juice A and juice

B. Once participants submitted their forms and I had finished tastings I analyzed the results and

noted and extrapolated trends. To help better put my data into words as I could measure the

success or failure of my product.

As I was expecting before I started the tasting trials, most individuals have had grape

juice in the past. Additionally, the vast majority like grape juice. Only 1 out of 43 respondents

said they didn’t like grape juice. While only 3 out of 43 had never tried it. 38 of respondents had

consumed red(purple) grape juice in the past and 33 respondents had consumed white(clear)
Horticulture & Enology 21

grape juice in the past. Keep in mind the question asking what types of grape juice respondents

have had in the past was a select all that apply question, so the numbers don’t add up to 43.

When looking at the lone individual who did not like grape juice he was dissatisfied with

juice A, classifying it as “sour”. That person found the more unique taste of juice B to be more

appealing as they rated B with an 8/10 compared to a 3/10 for juice A. This particular result was

interesting because it shows a trend I noticed throughout the entire lot. While most

respondents(60/40% respectively) preferred juice A, juice B often received higher praise from

the individuals who preferred it. As showcased by the lone individual who didn’t like grape

juice.

Looking at the data in relation to respondents' assumption for which grape juice was the

one I worked with its split. While the majority of respondents thought that juice A was the juice

that I worked with, the margin was very close, 52% to 48%. This shows that for a non-negligible

margin of respondents, judgment of taste did not impact their assumptions relating to which

grape juice was my actual “product” for my senior project.

The other relationship that was fascinating to watch is one that can’t be deciphered from

the final data on the google form. Originally, after about 10 responses, the relationship between

which juice respondents liked and which they thought was my grape juice was almost one to one.

This is most likely because the first handful of respondents were my family, close friends, and

teachers that I was testing out my process and form with. These people, hoping to “guess” which

one was mine, picked the tastier juice as the one they thought was mine. As more results poured

in I noticed that relationships started to dissipate and by the end it wasn’t noticeable to anyone

that hadn’t watched the numbers from the beginning. Again that is one of the reasons I can infer
Horticulture & Enology 22

that less people used the juice they thought tasted better as their roadmap to determine which

grape juice was mine.

Overall when people were asked to rank my senior project product in relation to others

they had heard about I was given an average of 9 out of 10 (this data table is not included above

to avoid confusion with grape juice data). This was mainly a question I threw in there to gauge

general interest in my idea as a whole, especially amongst a population(seniors) that is knee-deep

in senior project material at this point in the year. I was happy with where the number came out.

In general, the feedback and data I got was exciting to look at and I have to admit I am surprised

I was able to get 43 responses considering my original goal was a much more conservative one at

20.

As discussed earlier, juice A was the more well liked grape juice. Extrapolating a score

from the feedback juice A receives an average of an 8 out of 10. From what I saw as results came

in this is slightly lower than what I calculated it being about halfway through trails(at one point it

was averaging about 8.5 out of 10). This result doesn’t surprise me and an 8 is a good score to be

sitting at considering this is the stock grape juice most similar to one you would buy at the store.

What was intriguing is that when it came to the question asking respondents to click on

adjectives describing the Juice's sweet/sour taste characteristics it got the most varying

results(first graph under “Juice A” heading). It had 2 respondents call it bland, 9 call it mildly

sour, and 2 considered it too sweet. Those were not results I was expecting from the stock variety

although in some of those cases those seemingly objectively negative views on the juice might

have actually fit the tasters preferences better. Of the 9 respondents that considered it sour, 5 still

liked it better than juice B. Most of those were the people that enjoy the taste of sour things as

was apparent with their feedback, describing it as: “pleasantly sour”, or describing how the sour
Horticulture & Enology 23

taste wasn’t overpowering as to negatively affect taste. The 4 that thought it was sour and chose

juice B indicated that the sour taste was a factor. Interestingly, the respondent that had not tried

grape juice was one of those 4. Unsurprisingly that person was unimpressed by juice A as it is as

close to store bought as I could get. They went on to say that juice B was better because it “tasted

more like grapes”. They noted their feedback seemed dumb but it was actually what I was

looking for, more on this in juice B analysis.

Looking at the open response question where I asked respondents for any adjectives or

sensations(under the “specific feedback for juice A” heading) was interesting. The most common

adjectives were things relating to sweets(“sweet”, “sweetness”, “semi-sweet”). Those that used

those kinds of adjectives to describe this juice tended to believe it was the sweeter juice which is

untrue as juice A has only 14 brix of sugar compared to the 18 brix of sugar in juice B(more on

this disparity in Juice B Analysis). I found adjectives referring to sweet in some capacity in 10 of

the feedback entries. The other point I noticed that was discussed in some frequency was the

“aftertaste”. 6 entries referred to this with most seemingly viewing it in a negative light with

exact words like “strange”, “weird”, or “unique”. These words are usually in reference to the

sharp and sudden nature of the aftertaste. Only one of the people who noted the aftertaste in their

specific feedback seemed to like it. The last thing I noted even though it wasn’t mentioned as

frequently was there were 4 entries that referenced the taste of regular grape juice, like Welch’s

Grape Juice. I found those references interesting especially in reference to juice A as it is close to

Welch's Grape juice as it is the stock variant. After looking through the other responses the

aforementioned things were the themes I could pull from multiple entries. Everything else was a

general varying description of various flavors and sensations. Overall the feedback for juice A
Horticulture & Enology 24

while good I didn’t have as many stand out reactions as I was hoping for and as was more

prevalent with juice B.

To start this analysis there are some editorial remarks that will help explain some of the

perceived differences between the grape juices. After the Vermentino was harvested it was put in

a tank and allowed to settle. They filter out all of the large pieces of stems, skins, and all of the

seeds as they crush the grapes. But since it had not been finely filtered or racked(more on this

later) little particles are still present and overtime they settle out. When I filled up my bottles

with the vermentino grape juice the juice had been racked once. Racking is where they scrape the

solids off the bottom that have settled out. It helps to take away a big chunk before it’s filtered.

Because it hadn’t been filtered and because it was only racked once, solids from the stems were

going to inevitably settle in the bottles. Now, in the large 500 gallon tanks that isn’t as much of

an issue as the container is large enough that the solid pieces aren’t there long enough to affect

taste. The big tanks were filtered and racked more times within a week or two of harvest. My

bottles of grape juice within the first week had solid particles settle to the bottom of the bottles.

This solid matter starts to affect taste when the liquid amount they are with is proportionally

smaller. I can attest to this because the vermentino juice I tasted 4 days after harvest was

noticeably different from the same vermentino juice when I started the taste trial. The results of

the juice sitting in the solid matter is they have a more earthy, or grapier, taste. The taste of the

skins and stems seeps into the grape juice giving it a unique flavor. This is why I was pleased to

see people notice this difference with comments like “tastes grapier” or “more muted”. This also

explains why some people wrongly assumed that juice A was the sweeter of the two. The more

grapy taste dulls the edge of the sweetness making it not as prevalent for those with a less

developed pallet.
Horticulture & Enology 25

Looking at graph one under the “Juice B” heading it can be noted that no one out of the

43 classified juice B as “sour”, “mildly sour”, or “bland”. While this didn’t correlate to people

liking juice B on average more this is the feedback I wanted from juice B. If blindly shown the

results for both the one I would classify as succus based on what I knew getting started, would be

the juice B results. Juice B had a more consistent spread of thought relating to its sugar content

while juice A had such wide ranging feedback I don’t know if I could consistently say that there

is one particular pallet that it would fit with. Juice B on the other hand seems to fit with people

that like a more muted and unique sensation of taste that goes along with sweeter products. This

more consistent outlook is another reason why I think juice B succeeded in my assessment and

why I was very pleased with the feedback I got from it.

Interestingly, when looking at the average rating assigned to juice B by respondents it

lags behind juice A, coming in with a score of 7.3 out of 10. I was hoping for a score closer to 8

out of 10 as I received with juice A but I did note that as respondents continued to answer the

form that the average rating slowly ticked up. At one point I remember it being just below 7 out

of 10.

The specific feedback is really what pulled it across the finish line. As mentioned earlier

the juice B feedback was precisely the kind of in depth pleasantly surprised reaction I was

hoping for. What was interesting is that while the open response prompted entries for both juice

A and juice B averaged about 13 words a response the feedback from B seemed more in depth. A

few that stuck out were ones that found the “flavor profile” “exotic”, with many expressing

surprise as they had never tasted something as unique as juice B. While there were some that

were fooled by the dulling of the sugar, many more cited “sugary”, “sweet”, “very sweet”, and

“sweet like syrup” in their responses. A total of 13 responses contained language specifically
Horticulture & Enology 26

highlighting the noticeable sweetness difference. 1 person went as far to describe that it was too

sweet for them, a phenomenon that I think explains why some found juice A more appealing.

This is one of the areas where it would have been interesting to have participants taste the grape

juice and its eventual wine. As I would assume many would prefer that sweeter taste in the

presence of alcohol. Young people tend to like sweeter wines and they eventually mature into

dryer ones. Looking at another trend that I noticed, 5 respondents directly cited a “grapier” taste

or they mentioned they could almost taste the grape and the “grape skins”. Some even mentioned

how they were not sure if that feedback made sense, which is ironic because that was the main

thing I was curious to see if people picked up on.

My initial criteria for success was to see if the feedback and results from juice B put it on

par or had it run ahead of juice A. About halfway through my collection of feedback I noticed

that because of noticeable profile differences of the juices(explained in the “Juice B Analysis”

section) a direct comparison based simply on which one was more liked was disingenuous. I

revised my criteria(initial criteria along with the notes suggesting the revision to them can be

found in my action plan) to look specifically at the results for perceptions and descriptors that

affected their perceptions. Using this revised criteria I noted that juice B had a greater

consistency of results and was in the realm of sweet that I was hoping both juices would have

fallen into. Additionally, because of juice B’s more exotic and unique taste many results were

extremely positive and impressed with how different its taste was. This kind of feedback was

exactly what I wanted from my final product. Some even noticed that difference as one being

“grapier” tasting which increased my satisfaction with juice B’s results even further.

With all of the aforementioned in mind, I consider juice B to have met my success criteria

for my senior project final product. The juice produced was widely cited as a unique taste and
Horticulture & Enology 27

many of those who didn’t like it simply had a different preference. This unique taste ended up

being the exact thing that I wanted as I was hoping to produce a unique product. It was extremely

insightful to hear feedback from a wide range of students and teachers. It also goes to show why

there are so many different wines as adding alcohol is a whole extra layer to the already complex

flavor profile that grape juices sometimes have. The intricacies of people and their pallets is a

very fascinating avenue. One that makes me even more excited and curious about the wine

business as a whole.

I learned that knowledge alone isn’t enough to sustain a thriving business. Knowing

everything there is to know about grape growing or wine making doesn’t ensure your success in

the industry. It takes a connective tissue to bring them together, a tissue that requires an agile

ability to think on your feet. This isn’t something that you learn in a book or from school, it is

something that only comes from legitimate experience and often failures. The intricacies of any

business or career are far beyond those that you can learn on paper. If I have learned one thing it

is that learning takes time in the field, it takes time with the subject matter, and it requires failure

so you can learn how to do better.

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to get as deep as I wanted in the subject

matter with enough trust and freedom so I was allowed to work on my own in some cases, I was

allowed to fail. I don’t think I have ever had another time in my life where I was allowed to and

successfully did, learn as much as I did while shadowing at Salted Vines Vineyard and Winery.

Nothing could have prepared me better for the real world in which activities there, as intrinsic

and monotonous as they might seem, have true undeniable value. I had to learn the value of those

activities and understand and relate their importance back to enology, back to viticulture and

back to the business.

Horticulture & Enology 28

Having a skill or knowledge is useless if one doesn't know how to apply it. This was one

of the first times in my life where the learning of the skill was taught and heavily tied to its

application. My takeaway going forward will no longer just be to learn about the things I am

interested in, it won’t be to just study them, it won’t be to just develop a passion for them. It will

be to intentionally learn how to apply that knowledge into tangible and real world ways. My

mentor taught me something that I very much needed to learn on my own: I don’t want to be the

one who just knows the subject and simply follows the trajectory of events, working for someone

else and following what they are told. I want to be in charge, I want to be in command, I want to

apply myself because that is where I find myself in my most successful state. So going forward I

will endeavor down this path grateful for the lessons this experience taught me.
Horticulture & Enology 29

Appendix A

^Image A - example of how vines are pruned

Image B - layout of guide wires and growth of

vine with the method used at Salted Vines:

Vertical shoot positioning

Horticulture & Enology 30

Appendix B

Image A - circled are the spurs that needed pruning

Image B - Vines needing to be put behind the

netting

Image C - netting before it is unraveled

Horticulture & Enology 31

Image D - unraveled netting,

you can see the clothespins

keeping the bottom closed

tight

Image E - Young vine properly growing straight up

along the metal guide rod

Horticulture & Enology 32

Appendix C

Image A - the

setup for

tastings juice

A & B along

with the

water

Image B - the stock diamond grape juice; juice A

Image C - my vermentino grape juice; juice B

Horticulture & Enology 33

Appendix D

Image A - Salted Vines Vineyard & Winery overview

Horticulture & Enology 34

Appendix E - Product Feedback Results

Horticulture & Enology 35

Appendix F

Image A & B - Red grape varieties starting veraison

Image C - White grape varieties(the vermentino grapes used for my grape juice) in veraison
Horticulture & Enology 36

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