What We Provide
Vineyard Oversight
Mochizuki & Associates offers oversight of all vineyard operations including cultural practices, labor, and equipment implementation:
- New vineyard project management
- Fine tuning of existing vineyards
- Vineyard design
- Vineyard installations
- General viticulture
- Pest monitoring
- Irrigation scheduling
- Fertility management
Grapevine Quality Assurance
As vineyards age, popularity in varieties change, or disease starts to have an economic impact, working with reputable nurseries with certified clean stock is becoming increasingly important. Certified clean stock refers to vines that are regulated under the California Department of Food and Agriculture to be free of regulated diseases (More information regarding the CDFA program can be found here). Field grafting from neighboring budwood presents too much of a risk for the knowledgeable grower who understands disease transmission.
Virus management needs to begin before vines are put into the soil. Virused vines impact overall yield, color, and sugar, and may lead to substantial costs for wine grape growers over a vineyard's lifetime (Ricketts et al. 2015). Setting your vineyard up for success early on is critical. We virus test at the mother vine level at nurseries to ensure that you are only receiving high quality vines from the inception of your vineyard.
Our basic testing package includes Red Blotch and Leafroll 3 viruses. Other virus and disease panels can be added for an additional cost. Vines are inspected prior to shipping for quality and insect pests such as vine mealybug. We sample material from most of the major grapevine nurseries.