At the same time, he expects to be using less water to bring in a grape crop in the future than he used to. That’s one of his take-home lessons of the past four years of drought. “We’ve learned that our grape vines can do well with a bit less water than we were giving them six or seven years ago,” Kautz says.

He’s most concerned about the availability and expected higher cost of labor to grow his grapes in the years to come. To prepare for that, he’s exploring several options for reducing the need for labor to grow the grapes.

In one trial started two years ago, crews are reducing the number of mature vines tied annually by tying the mature vines every second or third year. “Every reduced pass through the field helps reduce labor costs,” Kautz says.

Another approach uses a tractor-drawn implement equipped with a spinning solid rubber hose-like flail to remove suckers early in the season.

Also, instead of making three trips down the rows with a disk to control weeds and work cover crops into the soil, he’s reduced it to two passes – one with a disk; the other with a toolbar fitted with shanks to break up the soil. He’s experimenting with using the shanks first followed by the disking operations and vice versa, Kautz says.

He reports grape prices being offered to growers in his area this year are similar to last season.

While it’s too early to assess the size of his grape crop this year, Kautz is already seeing some differences in vine development. “In some fields, the vines appear to have a decent number of clusters,” he says. “In others, they look light.”

Kautz and other growers will get their first significant clue following the bloom in May when they count clusters and assess their size and the number of berries that set.