The university’s research team provides potential growers with the latest information about growing grapes that they have obtained from their own small trial vines. By experimenting with 27 grape varieties, researchers are assessing the grapes that will grow best in the hot and humid Maryland climate. After state-sponsored tobacco buyouts began promoting the production of other crops, researchers began exploring the alternative crops that participating farmers could grow.
Joe Fiola, a viticulture and small fruit specialist on the vineyard research team, said vineyards could be a good alternative to tobacco because of the similar workload they require.
‘‘[The tobacco growers] are used to high intensive agriculture so we knew they would be a good group to start with,” Fiola said. ‘‘People have a romantic notion about the industry, and we want to make sure people have a very realistic view of what working in a vineyard is like.”
Spending several hours a day trimming and adjusting their vines, the Romanos agree the work is tough.
‘‘Because we are in the start up phase, there is a lot of trimming and training,” said Jo-Ann Romano, who began planting in April. ‘‘Next year may not be quite as much work.”
With a start-up costs running between $8,000 to $15,000 per acre, the investment is for those truly committed. The wine industry is only in its infancy in Southern Maryland with less than 40 acres of grapes, said Fiola.
To promote the industry, the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission has offered grants to match the cost of vines purchased. As part of the grant program, participants must attend educational workshops prior to planting and must report back growth statistics at the end of the year. The Romanos received a grant in 2006 and have so far seen phenomenal growth in four months. They were told to expect only a small percentage of their vines to reach the six-foot cordon height, the height where grapes will sprout in the future. So far 90 percent of their vines have reached that height.
However, it will be another two years before they expect to grow enough of their cabernet, merlot or vidal grapes to make a quality wine.
This year the Vineyard Research Team will be producing its first batch of wine from grapes planted in 2005.
‘‘This is one of our best crops that we’ve had,” said Benjamin Beale, an extension educator with the vineyard project.
Because of the nature of wine production, the slow process and necessary aging, it will take time before the results can be quaffed, sipped and judged. But it will give researchers a better idea which wines they can recommend to growers as they opt in to the industry.
In an industry where it can take up to seven years to just break even, Dave Myers, an extension educator with the team, said the project was really about ‘‘lowering the likelihood that someone will fail.”
E-mail Andrea Noble at anoble@gazette.net.
