Anyone have their own vineyard?

[DesertDance]

Vines that Struggle to Survive

i believe it can be done....one things is for sure..a variety that enjoys to struggle a bit would do fine...will yield be small...sure....but what about a couple of those huge 3 foot tall and 3.5-4 ft wide pots at an entry or out in the back yard near a fence or structure.....i bet it could look awesome

As you say, vines that like to struggle will do fine. I look at it like this. The BEST coffee beans are grown in conditions that are harsh. From what I've read, and I have studied this a lot, is the best wines are made from vines that are stressed. The vine thinks it may not make it, and puts out the best fruit it can to propagate itself. There is a lot on the web about high density planting. Google that. Interesting stuff. It's interesting to me because I am forced to plant in that fashion.

A normal vineyard plants vines 6-8' apart. So 2 vines produce 2 gallons of wine aprox. I will place container vines 2' apart, and in the same space, 4 vines will give me 2 gallons of "better" wine.... I hope I hope I hope!

I'll keep you posted on how this little experiment turns out!
Suzi

 

[Runningwolf]

Suzi, You are da woman! I really enjoy reading your posts! Thanks for joining our family.

 

[grapeman]

I don't know how, but I never noticed this thread before.

Yes I have my own vineyard and I know Al and Hammered do also- but I will let you know about mine. I have about an acre of vines producing and planted two more acres last year. These are all cold hardy varieties, since I am in a cold climate. Last winter was especially harsh so I only had about a third of an acre producing well and still had enough vines for about 300 plus gallons. I sell some in the fall and make about 200 gallons myself.

I am currently working on the licensing procedure to become a farm winery. I hope to get things in place by spring to summer, but am not rushing it since I am remodeling the barns to expand the winery. I figure it is easier to include the new areas in the application than need to reapply again to include the new areas.

I am hoping that the winter is more gentle than last year, but you never know. So far the coldest night we have had was about -5F compared to several -22F nights last year. The wine is cold stabilizing now thanks to the winter and come spring I will finish it up and bottle the whites. The reds will follow later in the summer.

So much for me, now some of you other guys, tell the others what you have.

 

[Wade E]

Hey rich, I dont see a member on this site by that user name although I do remember that name on Winepress.

 

[skhnmh]

That'd be me. I screwed up my registration so it's just a subtitle.

 

[Wade E]

Cool, would you like me to fix it so that your user name is Hammered? Glad to have more expertise on here!

 

[AlFulchino]

thats cool...so SKHNMH is Hammered....good to see you again Steve...if anyone has not seen it...ask Steve about his website...you want an inspiration? that site is it...from do it yourself to good techniques....its all there and he has west coast know how too

back to my original reason for posting...Rich, funny you mentione dcold stabilizing..a friend was by the on Sunday w a wine from a NH vineyard and since it was a variety i have we started discussing how to bring that wine *home* so to speak and naturally cold stabilizing came up...he asked me how i was going to get all the wine outside...i laughed..i told him i didnt plan to...instead i was going to open the door to the winery some time in February when conditions were right. especially evening temps and do that for a week or so.....right now the night temps are just too cold to consider doing that...and if need be i will just shut the heat off and let it get cold enough for CS

 

[grapeman]

Yep, Steve (hammered) is like a Mr Fix-it with all his homemade setups. A great inspiration to all. He is also an expert on working the sidehill vineyards in tennis shoes!

I am dreading the job I will soon have of racking off the tartaric crystals from CS. I naturally need to sample each carboy as I do it for quality assurance. By about the 20th carboy sample, I really don't have any ambition left to finish. I then need to finish another day.

 

[AlFulchino]

you mean Steve didnt invent a platform tennis shoe that is higher in the heel and lower in the toe? seems to me that would permit him to stand straight on that hill

 

[skhnmh]

It would certainly make it easier to pronounce! Thanks, Wade!

 

[sirden1959]

hmmm does this count.....

dont have grapes but grows pears, strawberries, rasberry, plums, cherries, red apples, green apples, and rhubarb,,,,,,,,, whch I plan on using in wines....

pear 2009 came out great....

dont think I can grow grape though in montana

 

[grapeman]

If you grow all those things, you can also grow grapes. There are many very good cold climate grape varieties with more coming along all the time. You find your average record low, lets say -25 degrees F aand just match the variety to that. You can lose a crop sometimes due to extreme cold or a very late sprintime frost, but most years they do fine. One other thing to consider is how many frost free days and growing degree days you have. Match the variety and then you can get grapes for your own wine.

What do you think of when you hear Lake Placid NY, and it will probably be snow, cold and Olympics. I live 45 miles away and can still grow grapes and make a decent wine.

 

[DesertDance]

dont have grapes but grows pears, strawberries, rasberry, plums, cherries, red apples, green apples, and rhubarb,,,,,,,,,

dont think I can grow grape though in montana

I had to google Montana Vineyards, and this is what I came up with: http://www.chiff.com/wine/n-america/montana.htm

Like grapeman said, if they can grow grapes in NY, then you can too! Let the fun begin! Here is a link for you too! This is the National Grape Registry. All the varietals are listed here, and when you click on one it tells you where the grape is from, who is selling it, and if it is a wine grape, a table grape, or both (some can be used both ways).http://ngr.ucdavis.edu/varietylist.cfm

 

[sirden1959]

thanks for the insight

cool thanks I will have to check growing grapes in Montana.... never know mght be making grape wines ina few years

 

[djrockinsteve]

I have 5 grape vines in my backyard that grow up and over a trellis/porch I built for that purpose. I have kept them from producing until this year to increase root and vine quality.

Check out what vineyards are growing along your same parallel where you live. Some grapes don't grow everywhere.

As far as deer, get a motion/heat sensor and connect a radio or some noise maker to it. Your neighbors may be agitated but you'll keep the deer away. I also added soap to my apple trees. I haven't seen any more deer but the soap is getting smaller, I guess their are getting cleaned up.

You really need to adjust what you use as most critters are smart. Alternate deoporant soap, hair clippings, dog do-do in a plastic bag hanging nearby, white vinegar, your sweaty t-shirt, and move it around and opened up. Deer tend to get startled and are generally cautious unless they are hungry and brave.

 

[jtstar]

I started my vineyard in 09 so this is the second summer for it I have four different variaties in it at this time I have recieved about one hundred and fifty cutting this spring that I am trying to root at this time, I lost two vines last summer leaving me forty six vines this spring then the rabbits got to my vines this winter so as of today I have forty vines that I know for sure survived all of that out of forty six

 

[Racer]

I live in town so when the rabbits started eating things on me in my first year growing vines I couldn't rename breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Fencing does keep them out though. Once their up on the trellis wire you shouldn't have to worry about that 4 legged creature, you then get to watch for bambi though!

 

[jtstar]

Ived lived in this house for about twenty years now and have never seen any deer even close to it but I do love deer jerky

 

[RMT]

Merlot Vineyard

Does anyone here have their own vineyard and grow your own grapes, or fruits for wines for that matter? I have been thinking of planting some Muscadine vines as these are the only type I can realistically grow in South Louisiana without basically setting up camp next to the vines and nurturing them every minute. I would like to hear about your experiences if you grow your own crop.

Smurfe

Yes smurte, I started a backyard vineyard last year in Kelowna BC, still waiting for bud break this year. I put in 2 different clones, 25 vines of each of Merlot, with 2 different root stocks. I have raspberries at my other house in Alberta that I have made wine from.