Like gardening in your backyard, soil composition and structure are important in wine grape production. Luckily, soil maps are easy to access, whether through the USDA Web Soil Survey, or books from your local extension office. (See following 3 images below).

figure 1: soil survey

Gravelly, well-drained soil is ideal in grape production, because grapevine roots do not want to be submerged in water. On the flip side, too-well-drained soil can create an issue with nutrition, as in, the soil organic matter might be too low to sustain wine grape production.

figure 2: A soil map of the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory (CLEREL) in Portland, NY from the Soil Survey of Chautauqua County, New York compiled by the USDA and the Soil Conservation Service

figure 3: A close-up of the CLEREL site shows the different soil types.
The soil is mostly well-drained Chenengo (CnA/CnB).

A CLEREL soil map from the USDA Web Soil Survey site

Soil maps can also provide and excellent base for your vineyard maps. If there are two different soil types at your site, consider planting one block of vines to each soil type, IF this is also practical. Nutrient management will be much easier once you are aware of possible drainage or nutrient differences. Finally, when you submit soil samples, you will need to enter the soil type on the form for the soil tests and for more appropriate recommendations.

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Content by:

Dr. Jodi Creasap Gee
Viticulture Extension Educator
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program

LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting #1 -Special Spotted Lanternfly Focus

May 1, 2024 : LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting
North East, PA

LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting #2

May 8, 2024 : LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting
Irving, NY

LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting #3

May 15, 2024 : LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting
Ripley, NY

Welcome Andrew Holden to the LERGP team!

In case you have not heard yet, we have filled the vacant position of Business Management Educator. We are pleased to welcome Andrew Holden to our team. Here is a brief introduction with a little background. Please stop in to say hello and introduce yourself. Bring questions- he is ready to get to know you and your farm operation!

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program welcomed Andrew Holden, LERGP's Business Management Specialist, to our team on March 1, 2024, filling the vacancy since May 2023. Andrew pursued his education at Ohio State University, earning a B.S. in Agribusiness and Applied Economics and later obtaining an M.S. in Agricultural and Extension Education. In his previous role he served as the Ashtabula County Agricultural Extension Educator with Ohio State University Extension for the past 5 years. Andrew is eager to bring his passion for agriculture, grapes, and wine along with his economic knowledge to this new position and to the growers in the Lake Erie Grape Region. He is looking forward to engaging with growers to help him understand their needs to ensure that his role equips them with the tools needed for success. His office is located at the Cornell AgriTech campus in Portland, NY (CLEREL).

Commercial Vehicle Awareness slide presentation

NYS Trooper, Matt Luft, presented on Commercial Vehicle Awareness at CLEREL on Thursday, August 2nd.  He has given us the permission to share his slides for you to reference at your convenience to share with others or to review. Please reference this link. 

LERGP Podcasts- check them out!

LERGP POD CASTS