Plant Propagation

To ensure a long lifespan, all wine grape varietals are grafted onto rootstock that is native to America. In a strange twist of nature, there is a mite (phylloxera) that eats the roots off of all nonnative grape plants. To counter that, several universities including Michigan State, Oklahoma State, and UC Davis have developed resistant rootstocks comprised of grape plants native to America. On our site we use one called 101-14. There are numerous clones of Pinot Nior available to be grafted onto rootstock. The ones we chose are 777, Pommard, Swan, and 667. They each bring unique flavors to the wine that is made from the grapes they produce. 

The process we use starts with cutting rootstock and the scion wood that will be grafted to it. Scion wood consists of one bud on a stem of the Pinot Nior clone that is being grafted onto the rootstock. This happens in February when the vines are still dormant. We use an Omega-Star bench mounted grafting machine. The rootstock and scion wood are joined together with the help of jigsaw puzzle styled cuts made with the grafting machine. The graft is dipped in paraffin wax to hold it in place. The grafted vine is then dipped in root hormone and packed in a box filled with a mixture of peat moss vermiculite and pearlite. Our boxes hold approximately 1,000 grafted plants. Each box is placed in a dark room at 80 degrees and 80 percent humidity for 3 weeks. Here the graft union forms a callus so the two pieces can grow together. A callus also forms to help facilitate root formation. 

Coming out of the dark room, the plants are potted and placed in the greenhouse. After 3-4 months, the plants showing good growth are placed in our nursery where they will continue growing roots and developing healthy stems. 

A crew of 8 Kuenzi Family Vineyard family/friends can graft on average 375 plants in an hour. A 5 member potting crew can pot on average 400 plants in an hour.