Today was another exciting and educational day learning about
agriculture. We started off the morning at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Ornithology is the scientific study of birds. The lab covers 230 acres of
forest, ponds, wetlands, and swamps. Here we were able to walk on over 4 miles
of trails, where we saw woodpeckers, blue birds, dove, robins, Orioles, Red
Winged Black Birds, and Mallard Ducks just to name a few. We also saw
chipmunks, turtles and frogs. It was such a relaxing walk being able to not
just see, but to hear all the birds as well. We then went inside the museum and
research facility to learn more about these birds. The most amazing exhibit was
the hummingbird exhibit, which had almost 100 different species of preserved
hummingbirds. The mission of the center is to learn and watch birds to help us
understand the living world.
Next, we traveled into Ithaca and ate at the
Ithaca Bakery that was established in 1910. The food was amazing and the
interesting part was their menu actually listed local food partners that
included local farms, as well
After lunch we visited Six Mile Vineyard where
owner Mark Renodin explained the growing, processing, storage, and selling of
wine. The vineyard was absolutely beautiful, and the view was amazing. He grows
7 varieties of grapes and most are hybrids. The hybrids are a cross between the
native grapes, for hardiness, and Old World Grapes for flavor. His vineyard is
in the Finger Lake Region. The soil was formed by glaciers and is a great soil
with a variety of minerals for growing the grapes. Some of the grapes in his
vineyard have been there for 30 years. In the last month they have just started
this year’s growth and will be ready for harvest between the 2nd week of
September until the end of October depending on the variety and weather.
Believe it or not, but less rain is actually better once the fruit sets. Too
much rain will water down the flavor. Since they have a tap root that can be as
deep as 6 to 7 feet, they have the ability to get the water they need. In
caring for the vineyard, they remove all but 40 to 60 clusters of grapes per vine,
to allow the vine to produce better quality grapes. They also prune leaves to
allow the clusters access to the sun so they ripen better, especially for the
red grapes.
They also spray with sulfur every 2 weeks to control Downey
Mildew and Powdery Mildew. All the grapes are picked by hand in the fall and
are then ready to be made into wine. He explained the pressing and fermentation
process. We were also able to see the barrels and stainless steel tanks where
the wine was stored. The wooden barrels hold 62 gallons and are expensive.
Barrels can be made from different woods from different regions of the world.
He had oak barrels from Missouri that are $665, barrels from Hungry that are
$1000, and some from France that were $1200. The part that appealed to me was
the fact when they are ready to bottle the wine, a semi-truck actually comes to
the vineyard that has all the bottling equipment on it. They then use hoses to
pump all the wine to the semi where it is bottled and labeled. It was great to
see the whole operation to understand how wine is made.
The last stop of the day was a waterfall tour of Ithaca.
There are 10 waterfalls in the area. We were able to visit three of them.
The
glaciers that created the great soil for the vineyards in the area, also carved
out gorges. These gorges are also areas where the water flows and waterfalls
are created. These falls were gorgeous. Taughannock Falls is actually 3
stories taller than Niagara Falls. The state park here was full of activity,
with visitors not just viewing the falls but playing in the water in the gorge,
as well as sailing, fishing, boating, and swimming in the lake. It was a
beautiful area that surpassed my expectations. We also visited Triphammer Falls
and Cascadilla Gorge which are both located on Cornell Campus, which I found
shocking. That campus is also a sight to see, with all its historic
buildings.
Today was another great day of not just learning but truly
understanding the wide array of agriculture in the region. This day and trip
has just been amazing and I am so glad I had the opportunity to come and can’t
wait to share all I have learned with my students this fall.
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