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I distill also so I have an alcohol meter. Same as a hydrometer, it measures specific gravity and scales it compared to pure alcohol rather than water. Might not work in finished wine. Actually just tested some commercial wine. Also measures zero alcohol. not sure why this is, gotta think about...

Update. I made this wine with a mix of merlot and reisling. I just crushed and pressed the grapes, not enough Merlot to ferment on skins. The resulting must measured 18 brix using a refractometer. Finished wine measures 1.00 with hydrometer, a little high, but not bad. Should be about 9.5% ABV...

Thanks all. Seems a decent plan. As soon as the apples are done I’ll make some wine from my own grapes!

I planted 25 merlot vines three years ago and I have my first crop. Very small, only a handful of vines made grapes, and grapes that did mature were heavily predated by birds. Anyway, I have about 10 pounds of merlot averaging around 20 brix. I also have several small harvests of Riesling from...

Thanks all, I’ve found a source locally on the island. I’ve read from UC Davis that foliar application has little impact, I will try it anyway.

Thank you, that is a good link. These are Merlot grapes and I’ve seen the reddish leaves on several plants and usually one or two leaves each plant. This is not a grape growing region, there are a few vineyards around but not many. It is difficult to find the right fertilizers from suppliers...

I’ve planted 25 merlot vines on 3303 rootstock. My soil is clay rich derived from glacial till. It is pretty rocky. I live on central Vancouver island. I haven’t done a soil test, I will, but published soil surveys indicate that the pH is around 4.5 to 5 and that it has a low cation exchange...

Another question if I may. What is the difference between sulphur spray and sulphur-lime spray?

I found a sulphur dust fungicide that claims to control powdery mildew, rust, black spot, scab and mites. Also bought some nematode terranum which hunts and kills Japanese beetle larvae and other beetle types. Might help. I’ll spray the grapes and apples on Saturday and see what happens.

Thanks for input. Is Serenade a sulphur spray? By frequent, do you mean weekly or monthly? I do not know the pest or fungus pressure here either. Generally not a wine growing area.

Hi all, posting here to introduce myself and my new vineyard. I’m new here and new to growing grapes. We are in central Vancouver Island. Wet winters and some heat in summer. We planted 25 Merlot 181 on 3309 rootstock last year. We didn’t get them into the ground until late may. Pandemic...