Vines and Birds

Vines produce grapes for birds, not humans. Humans interrupt a natural cycle of vine procreation. Grapevines make their fruit as sweet and flavorful as possible so that the berries are consumed by birds and then pooped out with the possibility of growing into new vines. Other animals such as raccoons, bear, deer, fox, possum, skunks are also involved in this cycle. But greedy winegrowers don’t want to share, so we spend a lot of time and effort protecting “our” vines.

We wouldn’t be too upset if birds simply plucked off individual berries. But instead they peck, leaving and entire clusters riddled with triangular wounds inviting insects (fruit flies and yellow jackets) and rot inducing organisms. This can be devastating, especially in a wet vintage when rot can spread like wildfire. 

Over the years we have tried just about every bird control device invented by mankind. Exclusion netting has worked the best, but with every solution comes a problem. Not only is netting expensive and very time consuming to install, nets hinder air flow and can contribute to rot pressure in wet vintages.

At Hardscrabble Vineyard our Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes are most attractive to birds. This is probably because they are the first to ripen. They are also positioned at the outer edge of the vineyard, close to the woods and our pond. Almost all of our bird control is focused on these blocks. Sparrows are the most persistent and hardest to keep out. They constantly test the netting looking for gaps or holes. Bird pressure is greatest this time of the year. Fortunately once we get into September the bird pressure subsides. I don’t really know why. Maybe they start to migrate south. Late ripening varieties such as Petit Verdot and Petit Manseng rarely have bird pecks.

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Linden Vineyards / Learn More / Latest at Linden | Journal/Field Notes: August 20, 2023