Growing with growers since 1946
  • December 2012 Issue
  • Story by Melissa Hansen
  • The best clone for Washington

    Plant multiple clones, advises Russell Smithyman.

    Don’t get too hung up on planting the right clone, say two noted wine industry members from Washington State. Years of collecting wine grape clonal data from both the vineyard and bottle have yet to show a best clone for the state. “If you’re planting a new vineyard site, we recommend planting multiple clones,” said Russell Smithyman, director of research for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, the state’s largest wine business. Smithyman has spent more than a decade researching wine grape clones, collecting vineyard and wine data from a wide variety of clones grown in replicated trials. He oversees vineyard and […]

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