LAKE GEORGE — The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program will present an update on the latest research surrounding cold-climate grapes on March 9 in Lake George.
Delicate grape varieties do not do well under harsh winter weather in northern New York, so the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has funded research on cold-climate grape varieties to support increasing interest in northern New York grown table grapes and wines.
Input from regional growers, private grape breeders, and representatives of the Cornell-USDA and University of Minnesota grape breeding programs was collected and winnowed to a list of 20 potential new varieties for planting at the research nursery.
The list includes varieties from the Cornell and Minnesota programs, one each from the USDA ARS grape breeding trials in California and at the University of Arkansas, and from Ontario, Canada, and private breeders.
An update on the most recent work will be offered at the Second Northeast NY and Vermont Winter Grape School at the Holiday Inn in Lake George. The report summarizes work in 2016 to revitalize the cold-climate grape nursery at the Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro.
Registration information is available online at enych.cce.cornell.edu or by calling 410-6823.
