# Vineyard in the Granite State



## HillPeople (Apr 20, 2013)

I was thinking of the pictures that Rich posted when he was first starting his vineyard. A few people noted the peculiar soil and lack of rocks. I just plowed a previously forested piece, cut 6 years ago and planted with prairie grass, in order to put in my next 100 vines this year. NH is bony, to put it mildly. Attached are a couple of pictures to show what you have to deal with up here in the White Mountains of NH. No wonder there was a mass exodus to the Midwest in the mid-1800's!


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## Runningwolf (Apr 20, 2013)

My wife would be in heaven if I plowed up a field and collected a pile of rocks like that. We go through a lot of work and several quaries to collect rocks like that for our garden beds.


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## grapeman (Apr 21, 2013)

All those rocks you found is one reason I chose the location of the first vineyard. I have stones on the farm, but not quite that big of a run, unless you just picked the bigger ones. Our area has been farmed a couple hundred years now so most of the bigger ones have been picked out. Many fields in my area have rock walls around them where the farmers picked the stones and made fencing out of them. Where I planted the vineyard, it was beach deposits from the ancient Lake Vermont, later replaced with an inland sea and then more recently Lake Champlain. There are no stone walls at this side of the farm where the beach was and yes, I feel blessed when I am working in that vineyard. The second vineyard has even fewer stones in it- three to be exact - LOL -(and those were carried into the field 20 years ago as part of a firepit my nephews built out of the brook a couple hundred feet away). The latest vineyard has the most, but only few dozen your size on 4 acres. Most of them are smaller than a baseball so they don't bother anything.


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## jswordy (Apr 24, 2013)

The things we go through for a glass of wine!


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## HillPeople (Apr 24, 2013)

Ya Jim- this plowing and rock picking is turning into a multi-six pack job! Just got off the tractor- getting dark-plow, rock pick, backdrag, plow, rock pick, backdrag, etc., etc. forever.
I thought you all would get a kick out of these two links:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJkbEPbjqOc[/ame]
And the spoof:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGgY74HYjdM[/ame]
Best to you all.


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## HillPeople (Apr 28, 2013)

More plowing and rock picking in the fledgling vineyard. The rocks seem to grow overnight, but a few more passes and it will be time to run the tiller down the rows.


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## JohnT (Apr 29, 2013)

So have you decided what variety you are going to plant?


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## HillPeople (Apr 29, 2013)

Yes- Louise Swenson, Prairie Star and Marechal Foch are going in here. Have 1 year vines in another field. Marquettes, Prairie Star and LaCrescents.


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## HillPeople (May 13, 2013)

*Planting Holes*

Planting holes are bored, vines arriving 5/15, and a picture of last year's LaCrescent leafing out on Mother's Day


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## grapeman (May 13, 2013)

I see secondary buds pushing also already. I hope you stay above freezing tonight as it is expected to be lower than 30 here for 2 days.


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## HillPeople (May 13, 2013)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed Rich. Expecting 36 here tonight, but there were flakes in the air today so we've got some cold upper level air. My apples are all blossomed out now and a hard frost about this time last year really hit New Hampshire's apple crop hard.


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## HillPeople (May 18, 2013)

5-18-2013
Got all 100 vines in the ground today. Excellent looking bareroot stock from Andy Farmer at NE Vine Supply.


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## DoodleBug (May 18, 2013)

Looks fantastic!
Hopefully the frost is behind us for the North East.
I covered the three vines I have a couple days ago and luckily the frost in my area didn't amount to much.
I hope your young vines bring you pleasure for years to come!
-- DoodleBug


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## joshs (May 19, 2013)

Where in the White Mountains are you? That is where I grew up!

-Josh


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## grapeman (May 19, 2013)

And so your new busy life begins - tending to the vineyard. Nice quiet looking spot.


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## HillPeople (May 19, 2013)

joshs said:


> Where in the White Mountains are you? That is where I grew up!
> 
> -Josh



I'm on the south slope of the Sandwich Range in North Sandwich. That is Flat Mountain in the background looking north, and Young Mountain to the south.


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## joshs (May 20, 2013)

Very cool. I grew up more towards Franconia Notch. I will be following your thread and hoping for the best.


Josh


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## HillPeople (Jun 1, 2013)

Well I mowed and weed whacked the vineyard I established last year and managed to whack off not one but two LaCrescents. I did a grafting splice and splint on them. Don't know if they will heal or not. Also kicked up a stone that shattered the screen on my Casio Commando phone which was clipped to my belt. Amazingly it still works. Also picked ~20 ticks off me after I was done. Not a good day all and all, but the vineyard looks nice and the vines are doing well.


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## HillPeople (Jun 2, 2013)

This is one reason an electric fence around the vineyard is essential in this area.


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## yakhunter (Jun 2, 2013)

Moose goes really well with Zinfandel.


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## grapeman (Jun 2, 2013)

Sounds like you had your share of bad luck yesterday.............. Better luck is coming.
I had three moose go around the vineyard 2 years ago. They don't like the trellis wires.


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## dfoley (Jun 8, 2013)

*NH Rocks*

Those rocks are what we would say add to the wines terroir 
Adding great mine reality to the taste 

A sip of New Hampshire - my daughter lives near Derry and of course we visit often. Wherever we go we like to see the local wineries - and compare them to our Finger Lakes wines. We visited a local winery there and found out all the juice came from California and Italy. I have nothing against those areas and do enjoy their wines but I was looking for a sip of wine with a little NH soul in it. When I asked they told me grapes would not grow in NH ! 

Bull - there are apple orchards everywhere and if they can survive then so can a large number of grape varieties. 

Happy planting - the rock harvest looks fantastic


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## grapeman (Jun 8, 2013)

DFoley even here in true Upstate NY we cannot grow Finger Lakes Wines and I don't try. Other vineyards inport the juice, but I only make wine from grapes I truly grow in Northeastern NY State way up near Montreal and Burlington Vt. It is a challenge but they do well here.


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## HillPeople (Jun 9, 2013)

*Rocking Out*

Here's a sample of what we picked for 4- 100' rows. Lots of unique flavor there.


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## HillPeople (Jun 20, 2013)

*Out of the Blue!*

Vines we put in the ground on May 18th have escaped their blue tubes!


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## HillPeople (Jun 22, 2013)

LaCrescents on 6-22-2013


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## HillPeople (Jun 30, 2013)

*Putting in Trellis Posts*

My permanent companion and I (no-not the John Deere) started constructing the trellis for the upper vineyard today. More boring into rocks and a lot of pry bar and manual labor, but these vines are all coming out of their blue tubes and growing fast. so they are going to appreciate a little support.


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## HillPeople (Jun 30, 2013)

*NH Wineries*



dfoley said:


> Those rocks are what we would say add to the wines terroir
> Adding great mine reality to the taste
> 
> A sip of New Hampshire - my daughter lives near Derry and of course we visit often. Wherever we go we like to see the local wineries - and compare them to our Finger Lakes wines. We visited a local winery there and found out all the juice came from California and Italy. I have nothing against those areas and do enjoy their wines but I was looking for a sip of wine with a little NH soul in it. When I asked they told me grapes would not grow in NH !
> ...



http://www.nhwineryassociation.com/members.html
Most NH vineyards produce and market wines from grapes they grow on site, but almost all also buy wholesale grapes as well.


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## HillPeople (Jul 15, 2013)

*7-15-2013*

I hated to do it, but I had to resort to spraying the rows with Roundup. Turns out that wild blackberries (my nemesis) just love it- it eliminates all their competition. So I just finished hand pulling them. Now to hit up the bottle of Osteo Bi-Flex tablets!
On a side note, I've found that a product called Organicide, which is primarily sesame oil mixed with fish oil, works very well on Japanese beetles, not well on Rose Chafers, and sort of OK as a fungicide. I'm assuming at some point I will have to pull out the big guns, but for now will try to stick with organic sprays.


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## Boatboy24 (Jul 15, 2013)

The rows look nice.

We have wild blackberries coming in from the wood line in back of our house. I was going to hit them with glyphosate - was it not effective for you?

Also - I just hit my veggie garden with Organicide yesterday. It's certainly not as strong as the more potent chemical cocktails, but it helps and is definitely better for you.


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## HillPeople (Jul 16, 2013)

The blackberries thought the Roundup was just another summer rain...


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## HillPeople (Aug 3, 2013)

*Late July Vineyard Update*

The heavy rains in July and then a 95+ heatwave really took a toll on the 1 year vines in the blue tubes. Lots of wilting and mold problems, so we took the tubes off a couple weeks early and they seem to like that. The Japanese Beetles also hit full force in July. We have been hand picking them at the rate of 100-200/day between the 1 year and 2 year old vines for a month. The number of skeletonized leaves on the 1 year vines did much more damage than on the second year vines. The Marechal Foch fared better than the Louise or the Prairie Stars.


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## HillPeople (Aug 16, 2013)

*2nd Year Vines*

The lower vineyard with the 2 year vines was mowed and trimmed today-hopefully for the last time this season. The few clusters we left on to mature are slowly ripening. The LaCrescent appears to be slightly ahead. The Marquette's are still green.


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## UBB (Aug 16, 2013)

looks really good!


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## HillPeople (Aug 16, 2013)

*Japanese Beetle Damage*

They were having mating orgies this year. We've been hand picking them every morning and night for a month.


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## HillPeople (Aug 22, 2013)

*Marquette Verasion*

Marquette verasion on August 18th on a two year vine.


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## HillPeople (Aug 28, 2013)

*Brix on 8/27/2013*

Took some brix readings after some very nice late August weather.
Marquette- 15
LaCrescent- 15.5
Prairie Star- 17

Hope to see them climb into the 20's in the coming week or so.

Tried spraying with a mix of hot pepper/garlic/soap to control the Japanese beetle infestation. We had been getting 100-200/day (hand picked into detergent water). After spraying I got 39, so it had some effect. We ordered beneficial nematodes Hb to cut down the grub population. We'll see what effect that has next year.


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## yakhunter (Aug 30, 2013)

total rookie question:

If you introduced some chickens when the grapes were green, would they eat the beetles before the grapes? Too late for an experiment? ALso, chicken poop makes great fert, and if it doesn't work...Coque au vain!!

Thanks for sharing the pics.


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## HillPeople (Aug 31, 2013)

Chickens indeed will eat Japanese Beetles- if they could get to them 3-5' up on the vines! I hope the 5 million beneficial nematodes we spread yesterday will interrupt their life cycle enough to get the population under control.


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## yakhunter (Sep 1, 2013)

3-5 feet, eh? So you need to get yourself an emu....

For what it is worth, consider getting some bantam chickens and trying it out. They will have no problem getting up to the 3-5' trellis, and will be light enough, I suspect, to do no harm to anything. Also, they produce eggs, and failing that, are tasty in themselves.

What sort of nematodes? Are they a predator/parasite of the beetles in their native range, or are they a GMO beastie? Just curious. I am a biologist and invasive species issues have always interested me.


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## HillPeople (Sep 1, 2013)

*Brix on 9/1/2013*

Brix measurements on 9/1/2013:
LaCrescent- 17
Prairie Star- 17.8
Marquette- 15.5

Yakhunter- here is a link for beneficial nematodes Hb:
http://www.arbico-organics.com/prod...yard/1220300?gclid=CK7Q85rgqrkCFQcB4godvCQADA


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## reefman (Sep 19, 2013)

what's the purpose of the blue tubes? I assume it's for protection, but from what?
and...Where do you get them?


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## HillPeople (Sep 20, 2013)

Blue tubes:
http://www.growtube.com/products/


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## reefman (Sep 20, 2013)

thanks for the reply!


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## HillPeople (Oct 4, 2013)

*Updates 10/4/2013*

Bottled 6 gal. of this year's dandelion wine. It turned out good enough to motivate me to make another batch(or two) next spring. It's really a lot like semi-sweet Reisling, but has tastes of grass, tangerine, peanuts(yes peanuts), has a little bite- these according to guests at a dinner party.

Racked a 6 gal. batch of Valpolicella, SG at 1.045.

Crushed and pressed a couple tubs of pears and got 3 gal. juice

Crushed and pressed a few bushels of Cortlands and Macouns for a 6 gal. batch of dry hard cider(Apfelwein). 

Racked a batch of local Frontenacs, SG at 1.037

Drank a couple bottles of Jewell Towne's Marachal Foch- it's Excellent.
http://jewelltownevineyards.com/


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## HillPeople (Oct 4, 2013)

Oh- Brix of our Marquettes was 21.3 on 9/25.


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## HillPeople (Oct 9, 2013)

*Frontenacs*

Crushed Frontenacs on 9/25


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## Snafflebit (Oct 14, 2013)

yakhunter said:


> total rookie question:
> 
> If you introduced some chickens when the grapes were green, would they eat the beetles before the grapes? Too late for an experiment? ALso, chicken poop makes great fert, and if it doesn't work...Coque au vain!!
> 
> Thanks for sharing the pics.



If you want to get all sorts of 6-legged critters gone, buy a flock of guinea hens. They are relentless.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/home...g-guinea-fowl-zmaz92aszshe.aspx#axzz2hlAsaeh9


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## HillPeople (Apr 18, 2014)

*Broke sod for another 100 vines.*

4-18-2014. Unbelievably rocky. This was forest 8 years ago and was cleared with a D-9 and rock rake, but most of the 200 lb. or less rocks were just ground in with the tracks. Planted it up with prairie grasses and wildflowers. Marquettes and LaCrescents are going in here.


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## HillPeople (May 12, 2014)

Planting 100 more vines- Marquettes and LaCrescents- in the vineyard we are now referring to as Middle Earth, It sits halfway between the Lower Vineyard and Upper Vineyard. Beautiful Mother's Day up here for planting. 72 degrees and bright blue. Hummingbirds have arrived- and the black flies. Leaves are popping out fast. Honeyberries are blooming. Moose are wandering down off the ridges to the swamps. Very rapid transition from winter to summer this year. Spring was kind of a 5 day season.


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## ibglowin (May 12, 2014)

Looking like things are moving along nicely!


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## grapeman (May 12, 2014)

Little 200 pound rocks? Why not just move them by hand with little ones like that?????

Good luck with the vines!


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## sour_grapes (May 12, 2014)

grapeman said:


> Little 200 pound rocks? Why not just move them by hand with little ones like that?????



Yeah, you could have called WineForFun! He'd do it for you!


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## HillPeople (Jun 7, 2014)

*LaCrescents on 5/6/2014*

3rd year vines are looking good and have a lot of young clusters.
Here's a picture of a LaCrescent yesterday.


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## ibglowin (Jun 7, 2014)

Thats gonna be some awesome wine soon!


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## grapeman (Jun 7, 2014)

Things are growing like weeds at 80 degree now. Looks good.


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## HillPeople (Jun 24, 2014)

*Cluster thinning*

Cathy was out clipping and snipping and tying up. The 3rd year LaCrescents and Marquettes had about twice as many young clusters as they should.


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## GreginND (Jul 1, 2014)

Everything looks great!


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## HillPeople (Jul 2, 2014)

So far so good Greg. Some Rose Chafers now and the Japanese Beetles will be hitting soon. We inoculated the soil with beneficial nematodes last year, so hopefully that will put a dent in the populations this year.
Our second year Marechal Foch are really growing out of control. I'm having a hard time with figuring out tying and training. The first year Marquettes are out of their 42" blue tubes already so I've got to get the bottom wires in this weekend.

How are you doing with your post planting?


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## HillPeople (Jul 6, 2014)

*Happy 4th!*

People are telling me that the 4th weekend is all about swimming and boating and picnicking.
I thought it was about planting trellis posts.
But I did get them all in.
Also a picture of our 1 1/2 month old Marquettes reaching for the wire.


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## GreginND (Jul 6, 2014)

Looks great. I'm struggling with my posts. 3pt auger broke, holes full of water and wet clay that needs to be dug out by hand and it tooky all morning to get 4 of the 200 posts in. I need some real equipment and help. 


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making


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## HillPeople (Jul 7, 2014)

20 posts in really rocky ground was bad enough, but having 200 to get planted in wet clay? Uffda!
I'm sure you'll get them done somehow Greg.
We probably share some of that Upper Midwest "Get 'er done" ethic. I grew up in West Central Wisconsin.
Aren't you putting in a lot of new vines and trellis too Rich? 
Here's our 2nd year Foch:


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## grapeman (Jul 7, 2014)

I was just trying to get the posts in and the trellis up this spring for vines that had been planted 2 years ago. It was just too wet to get it done before. We got the last of about 650 post in this spring and the vines are growing like gangbusters now. Good luck getting them finished up guys.


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## HillPeople (Jul 12, 2014)

*Special Report*

Last mid-August we inoculated the soil with beneficial nematodes to control Rose Chafers and Japanese Beetles. I can report now that these little guys did their job and must have eaten up a whole slew of larvae. The populations of both this year are way down- drastically. I have to put in a recommendation for using them.
Mulched the second year Marechal Foch today.


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## HillPeople (Aug 17, 2014)

*Mid August 2014*

Grapes are coming along nicely. Fair share of black rot and Japanese Beetles. Lots of rainy, cloudy weather here in the Northeast. Installed a top wire on the trellis for running netting today. Attached are pictures of LaCrescents and Prairie Stars. On a side note, which I think is rather interesting and might be a help for organic growers out there, the last application of Potassium Bicarbonate(Armicarb 100) wiped out 90% of the Japanese Beetles. I don't believe Armicarb is listed for Jap Beetle control, but it seems to work very well.
We also have evidence of phylloxera lesions, which is the last picture. We removed all the infected leaves and put them on the burn pile, but phylloxera attacks the root system and is extremely difficult to eradicate from what I've read. Crossing my fingers that we don't lose any vines to it.


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## grapeman (Aug 17, 2014)

Foliar phylloxera really is mainly a cosmetic issue. In extreme numbers it can affect the total carbohydrates produced, but seldom gets that bad. American varieties are resistant to the root form of phylloxera so there is no need to worry about destroying the leaves affected to try to reduce the root ones. This is why the French adopted the American rootstocks to save their vineyard and wine industry - a natural resistance to phylloxera (which was an invasive non-native (to France) pest imported into their copuntry with vines).


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## HillPeople (Aug 18, 2014)

*Phylloxera*

Thanks for that info Rich.
I was just reading up on the history of that louse. Incredible damage when it got to Europe.
http://blog.lot18.com/2011/06/phylloxera-the-bug-that-almost-wiped-out-wine/


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## HillPeople (Aug 25, 2014)

*Early fall*

Veraison in the Marquettes. Ran smart net in the 3 year old vineyard.


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## HillPeople (Oct 10, 2014)

*LaCrescents and Prairie Stars*

Ready for crushing and pressing.


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## HillPeople (Jan 22, 2015)

*Blue Lagoon*

Bottled some Blue Lagoon today, a blend of Maine Blueberries, Wayside Farm Honeyberries and Young Maple Ridge Sugarhouse Maple syrup. 13.1% dry wine that managed to retain all the ingredient tastes. I'll definitely double or triple the quantity this year


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## HillPeople (May 27, 2015)

*10 Days after Bud Break*

Healthy little wine eggs forming on our LaCrescents. The vines are loving this hot, dry spring.


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## HillPeople (Nov 30, 2015)

*Update on our little vineyard*

Haven't posted in about a year, so I thought I'd throw out an update.
We have 300 vines now; 50 Marechal Foch, 100 Marquette, 50 Prairie Star, 75 LaCrescent and 25 Louise Swenson. 100 of them are 2 yr. vines that we didn't let produce this year. Of the 200 3 and 4 yr. vines we got around 600 lbs of grapes. Not jaw dropping, but not too bad either considering that they are young and we are the most northern vineyard in NH at an elevation of around 1300'. 
I've been busy this year with the harvest, winemaking and finally building a real winery. As I'm sure a lot of you realize, winemaking can gradually take over your house. In addition to our own grapes, we make Dandelion, Blueberry/Honeyberry/Maple Syrup, Aronia, Elderberry, Pear, Chilean Chardonnay and Apple. All dry. Attached a few pictures from this year.
Best wishes to you all.


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## ibglowin (Dec 1, 2015)

Looking good! How do you like your Flextank? Is that a 30G? I just got a 15G and really like it (so far). May get another 15G to keep it company!


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## mgmarty (Dec 2, 2015)

Nice pictures! Planted some Prairie Star this year too, yours look good!


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## HillPeople (Dec 2, 2015)

ibglowin said:


> Looking good! How do you like your Flextank? Is that a 30G? I just got a 15G and really like it (so far). May get another 15G to keep it company!



I like the 30 gal. Flextanks a lot. We have 6 now. I made a 2-hole screw in stopper to use with the All-In-One pump, so filling, racking and bottling goes pretty smoothly. Even with 30 gallons in them they can be rolled around on the bottom edge. We got floating skins for them, but stopped using them in favor of keeping everything under CO2.


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