Yield of different varieties / Blending

[SundownVineyard]

Ok, so I have 16 vines right now on 4 trellises (4 vines per trellis): 4 Cab Franc, 2 America, 2 Baco Noir, 2 Cayuga Whites, 2 Chardonel, 2 Marquette and 2 table varieties. I have room to add 2 vines to each trellis and I am wondering what is the minimum number of vines I need of each variety to make a good amount of wine (I know that I should have given this more thought before planting, but I just went with what does well in CT and what I like). I want to make enough for myself and to give to family and friends, nothing crazy. I am definitely planning on getting two more Cab Franc so I have an entire trellis of 6 of those, and thought I'd get at least two more of each wine variety (I got the table grapes just to have some fruit to enjoy without having to go through the process of making wine). From what I have read I am starting to think that I will need more than two vines of each to warrant the effort of making wine.

The second part of my question is, can any of the red varieties I have be blended? I wanted to experiment, but if there are technical reasons why certain varieties don't blend well I'd like to know. Thanks!!

 

[salcoco]

it is possible to consider one gallon of wine from each vine. however practical yields on vines is 8 llbs where it takes 12-15lbs of grapes for a gallon. yields would depend on pruning techniques, nutrient, spray program etc all elements for growing a good crop.

Any of your reds can be blended with taste test based on bench trials. The hybrids may be more acidic than the cab franc therefore benefiting from a blending program. Good luck

 

[NorCal]

My numbers are similar to @salcoco; 7 lb per plant 15.5 lb of grapes per gallon of wine, so each vine produces a little over 2 bottles.

As far as blending, it's all a matter of taste. Some will add a touch of white wine to red. I would go with the variety of grape you like the best and then use the others to blend. 5 gallons is a common size of glass carboy. 5 gallon = 25 bottles, which would put you at 12 vines, plus. Few for racking.

 

[SundownVineyard]

Thanks a lot for the help. It sounds like I should try to have at least 3 vines of each variety so I can make enough unblended wine out of each if I want. Has anyone here tried blending the varieties I have? I know Cab Franc is a common grape used in blends, but what about the others? I want to avoid wasting grapes...

 

[Ajmassa]

Even if you can't find commercial blends with these varietals I wouldn't let that stop you. Even as @NorCal said, whites and reds can blend together, in any ratio really. I bet you can find some pretty good blends with all those options.
Family would blend 2 part white to 1 part red- and was still a fairly dark wine. It's all game. Sounds like after you make all the varietals separately you should have yourself a "blending party" to see what works what doesn't.

 

[SundownVineyard]

Hell yea, that's a good idea! Thanks.

 

[SundownVineyard]

When exactly is the blending done? Are separate wines blended, the juice prior to fermentation, or the grapes??

 

[user 36973]

When exactly is the blending done? Are separate wines blended, the juice prior to fermentation, or the grapes??

Again this is up to you and the style of wine you plan to make. You'll have more control over the final product if you test trials and blend toward the end. But it really depends on whether they are ready to harvest at the same time, how many containers you have and their capacity, how many varieties you are making, and the batch size. More containers mean more work keeping them separate but it is a lot easier to move a 5gallon carboy than a 30 gallon container.

One advantage of keeping them separate prior to blending is that you can use different strains of yeast for each variety. This can add complexity to the final blend.

 

[SundownVineyard]

Has anyone ordered 3+ year old vines? I was originally planning on doing that so the vines would produce sooner, but ended up getting 1 yr old cuttings from Double A. When I add 8 vines next year, I was thinking about trying to get at least 2 yr old vines so they would catch up to the vines I planted this year. The person I spoke to at Double A said it's kind of a gimmick and survivability is not as good, but what do you all think?

 

[BigH]

Has anyone ordered 3+ year old vines?

I have not tried to plant 3 year old vines and have no intentions to. imo, trying to plant a huge root system may increase the odds of making a mistake: not keeping the roots damp enough before planting, not digging holes wide enough or deep enough, and J rooting the root tips. I prefer to correctly plant a 1 year old vine with a manageable root system.

When I planted my backyard vineyard, I did get some 1-X vines from double A. Those had huge root systems on them. In hindsight, it just made planting take more work. Those vines did exhibit an early advantage in year 1, but by year 3, that advantage was imperceptible. Some of those vines with huge roots exhibited signs of something called Young Esca in the spring of year 2. Lost a few plants all the way to the ground and had to grow new trunks from suckers. That set me back a year. I found a few articles that said incorrectly J-rooting the vines at planting can cause that problem.

H

 

[SundownVineyard]

What do you recommend planting then? All of my 1 yr old clones from double a have been doing great. I did cut back the roots on some to prevent issues like I think you're describing...