What varieties to plant?

[Ivywoods]

I recently purchased a home with a small neglected backyard vineyard. I have no idea what varieties are left, but many will have to be replaced. I live in hardiness zone 6B. I am wondering what varieties to plant to make an assortment of different wines. I also hope to have some table, juice and raisins from this vineyard eventually.

 

[salcoco]

visit Double A Nursery they will have recommendations for your zone. investigate local wineries for there best growing varieties. What you chose will be to your taste and likes. some things to consider, it takes 12-15 lbs of grape for one gallon. good growing practices will give you about 10lbs a plant. the tree on the left of your picture looks great bit if it provides to much shade to the vineyard you will have problems with growth and ripening. recommend it be removed to give full sun light to the vineyard. looks like you will have lots of room to expand. Visit Winemaker Magazine on line I believe they have a primer on vineyard growing and management.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Nice looking yard!
. . If it were me, NEW grapes are a four/ five year project therefore I would prune/ clean up existing plants and see what type of grapes they produce in 2021, if research shows there is a variety that is less than ten years old I might plant some otherwise I would assume today that the varieties are what is available for the climate, ,,,, varieties don’t quickly change
. . if you sample local wineries you can find what kind of wine you might produce, also look up the local wine club for your location, they will help you in what works and finished wines (possibly KC Cellar Masters), a club within an hour might know what your vineyard has produced
. . the neighbors probably have some idea what the grapes are and what the old owner made with them, and if you are real lucky a bottle from a year ago,
. . can’t help with favorite varieties for Kansas since I am zone five, FYI mid continent grapes take lots of spraying,
. . a raisin will be a seedless variety, for small scale production you could set up a horizontal screen with box fan(s) and thin bed as one inch, ,, air flow will be essential otherwise you will mold them before they dry

Good luck on the project and welcome to WineMakingTalk

 

[VinesnBines]

Welcome! I completely agree with Rice Guy. Start with the existing vines which don’t look too neglected in the pictures. You may want to fill in the empty spaces but I would suggest only one variety unless you know the varieties of the old vines. As salvo points out, you want probably 10 to 15 vines to make a 5 gallon batch. Do look at Double A website; there is a wealth of knowledge available and they are super helpful.
In zone 6b you have very limited vinifera choices; although hybrids are easier to care for, you still need to spray and be diligent.

 

[Arne]

Don't know how far south you are, but just north of Salina are the Smoky Hills vinyards. If you get up that way, you might stop in and see what they are growing. Maybe talk to the folks and see what they say. Havn't been there for a while but they were very friendly when we stopped in. Arne.

 

[Ivywoods]

visit Double A Nursery they will have recommendations for your zone. investigate local wineries for there best growing varieties. What you chose will be to your taste and likes. some things to consider, it takes 12-15 lbs of grape for one gallon. good growing practices will give you about 10lbs a plant. the tree on the left of your picture looks great bit if it provides to much shade to the vineyard you will have problems with growth and ripening. recommend it be removed to give full sun light to the vineyard. looks like you will have lots of room to expand. Visit Winemaker Magazine on line I believe they have a primer on vineyard growing and management.

 

[Ivywoods]

Thank you. There are a couple vinyards in my area I plan to visit. The two trees at the back of the vinyard will be removed this spring. I will have to look Double A nursery .