Best Vines for Omaha?

[Badiali]

I have an acreage here in Omaha with a small orchard and a pond. I want to put in about twenty vines and probably need a cold season grape. Around here there is a lot of Frotenac but I have not been impressed by the wine.

I like italian reds like Super Tuscans and Chianti. I love Amarone and Barolo as well. Primitivos are good, and not surprisingly I also am a big fan of the California Old Vine Zins, Klinker Brick being on of my favorites. Cabernets are okay, but I find them most too tannic for my tastes.

With my tastes in mind, what varietal would be best do you think? Marquette? Some sort of Foch? Something else?

I appreciate all opinions.

 

[TonyR]

Check out Petite Pearl. Kind of a slow grower and small grapes but within 5 years you will get at least 1/2 gal per vine. Acid is really good. Last fall my TA was .77. Nice hardy red.

 

[grapeman]

Keep in mind you are in Nebraska not southern Europe or California. You just aren't going to get huge wines from the hybrid grapes. That being said, Marquette is being successfully crafted into some pretty good wines that aren't by themselves extremely tannic. Petite Pearl is also doing well for more and more growers. That grape is from Tom Plocher and he has a couple more that were recently released that are said to be even better.

 

[salcoco]

Norton might be a good choice, don't know how it would fare in our area.

What do nearby wineries grow that you like?

 

[Badiali]

Keep in mind you are in Nebraska not southern Europe or California. You just aren't going to get huge wines from the hybrid grapes. That being said, Marquette is being successfully crafted into some pretty good wines that aren't by themselves extremely tannic. Petite Pearl is also doing well for more and more growers. That grape is from Tom Plocher and he has a couple more that were recently released that are said to be even better.

I hear that Marquette is very tough to work with due to high acidity and very low tannins. I know some yeast selections can alleviate some of that, but I have no experience with that.

What is your experience with Marquette? Perhaps I should just forget the reds and try to produce a nice white. I have found the whites from the cold season grapes to be superior wines (for my tastes) to the red.

 

[Badiali]

Norton might be a good choice, don't know how it would fare in our area.

What do nearby wineries grow that you like?

Most of the frotenac reds that I have sampled here have been, in my opinion, bad. I did try an Outlaw series wine that was decent but it was semi-sweet and I just would not want to make gallons of a wine like that. I would not drink it.

For the whites, most of them have been decent. The Edelweiss and LaCrescent have been good. I would prefer to make a red at least on par with a Pinoit Noir body wise and structure if possible. Dream would be to make something like a Super Tuscan or Chianti Riserva.

 

[treesaver]

I'm south of you about 2 1/2 hours, just thirty miles south of the Ne border. I grow norton and cataba and also concord. Just landed fwenty five new verona vines for this spring, and can't wait for four or five years to make wine from them! Hope I live that long. I'll be 70 tomorrow, and they better hurry up and grow!. I gotta say that ive been pleased with the wines from the norton vines. The biggest problem I've had has been the wasps biting the berrys and the flys sucking the juice. It always happens during the hottest time in late August and early September, where I'd like to let them hang another couple weeks to get the brix up. Good luck on your choices!

 

[Badiali]

I'm south of you about 2 1/2 hours, just thirty miles south of the Ne border. I grow norton and cataba and also concord. Just landed fwenty five new verona vines for this spring, and can't wait for four or five years to make wine from them! Hope I live that long. I'll be 70 tomorrow, and they better hurry up and grow!. I gotta say that ive been pleased with the wines from the norton vines. The biggest problem I've had has been the wasps biting the berrys and the flys sucking the juice. It always happens during the hottest time in late August and early September, where I'd like to let them hang another couple weeks to get the brix up. Good luck on your choices!

Happy Birthday

 

[Badiali]

I settled on Verona. I am starting small with fifteen vines. We can compare notes!

 

[treesaver]

I settled on Verona. I am starting small with fifteen vines. We can compare notes!

Sounds good. I was pretty dry and was going to work the area that I'm putting my new vines. Soon as I planned to do that, it rained that night, and has been snowing and thawing about every night since. Really looking forward to the new vines. Was pruning today, I'm about a quarter done!

 

[treesaver]

I settled on Verona. I am starting small with fifteen vines. We can compare notes!

I think you made a good choice.

 

[wineforfun]

Most of the frotenac reds that I have sampled here have been, in my opinion, bad. I did try an Outlaw series wine that was decent but it was semi-sweet and I just would not want to make gallons of a wine like that. I would not drink it.

Where did you try the Frontenac? I have been to most of the wineries in Nebraska and yes, some of them make better product than others. Glacial Till (vineyard in Palmyra, tasting room in Ashland) had an excellent Frontenac, 2010 version. They make some of the better reds in Nebraska. Chambourcin and Marquette (depending on the years) have been good ones there too.
The predominant red grapes in Nebraska are Frontenac, Chambourcin, St. Vincent and Dechaunac. Further south around the Kansas border I know there are some Baco Noir grapes grown.