Feature Story in Edible Finger Lakes
April 7, 2021–Silver Thread’s sustainability and biointensive story is the featured in the spring edition of edible Finger Lakes magazine. Read the full article.
Liquid Assets: Reaping the Fruits of Sustainable Winemaking
In 2018 Finger Lakes wineries faced one of the most challenging growing seasons in recent memory; many vineyards saw heavy disease pressure from sour rot and Downy mildew, two common grapevine diseases. Silver Thread Vineyard on the east side of Seneca Lake was no exception. To deal with it, winery owners Paul and Shannon Brock did what they always do during harvest: walking the vineyard daily, picking fruit as needed and dropping damaged grapes.
The couple kept an especially close eye on one Riesling block they’d been farming differently from the rest. In the end, the fruit from this block was “pristine” with no split skins or rot. What made it so special? Paul and Shannon had spent the last three years farming it using only biological disease and pest controls as part of their painstaking nine-year transition to biointensive viticulture. As Paul says, nothing is fast.
