A high-level overview of the process affirming commitment requirements. Making wine is a long, slow process. It can take a full three years to get from the initial planting of a brand-new grapevine through the first harvest, and the first vintage might not be bottled for another two years after that. But when terroir and winemaking skills combine, the finished product is worth the wait.
With all the excitement of harvest and crush in the air, it’s easy to forget about planting. But if you’d like to start a small, backyard vineyard next spring, there are some important things to do before winter arrives. It’ll make it easier to get your vines in the ground when the weather warms up. The most important elements in any vineyard development project are research and resources. And the most important resources are other grape growers.
Many people dream of turning their love of horticulture and fruit growing into a vineyard, and others simply want to start a backyard vineyard to make a few bottles of their own wine. Whether a vineyard is your hobby or a potential money-making investment, it’s essential to start off on the right track. Prepare your land, family, and pocketbook, choose the best grapes, and start growing. It may sound simple, but there’s a lot more to it than many first time grape growers know.
In this eight-and-a-half-minute video, we will explain the basics of growing a vineyard in your backyard. This vineyard is in the Pittsburgh area and will produce around 500lbs of grapes once mature. The vines planted are Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Lemberger, Riesling, and Traminette. The vineyard should start producing grapes in the third year.
Row orientation is one of the first decisions a grower makes when planting a new vineyard. How much does this decision matter, and what should you consider when choosing row orientation? For generations, many have touted north-south orientation as a best practice because it exposes the canopy to the most direct sunlight. But modern research suggests that, it is more complicated than this.
Many people are interested in growing grapes for homemade wine. This PDF worksheet should help you predict your production capabilities. Grape crops vary from year to year, but it’s important to estimate yield in order to plan for your required winemaking equipment.
The importance of water and its management for grapevine quality and yield cannot be overstated,” said Randy Heinzen, president of Vineyard Professional Services in Paso Robles, California. “When it comes to irrigation,” said Heinzen, “vineyards depend on drip irrigation for the most part.
In this 11-minute video, Greg Ison from Ison’s Nursery and Vineyard demonstrates how to train a newly planted muscadine vine up to the wire, and how to install a drip irrigation system to support the vines. These are important steps in establishing your vineyard.
There are several options available to a backyard grape grower when considering which trellis configuration and which training system to use. How do we focus on what’s important in a trellis and training system and avoid getting caught up in the mire? Let’s look at the basic requirements and select a trellis system that has practical trellis design and installation parameters for the backyard grape grower.
In general, wine grapes of the Vitis vinifera family grow between the 30th and 50th parallels of latitude where the average temperatures are between 50 and 70 °F (10 and 21 °C). Grapes are grown on stony hillsides with almost no soil, the vines clinging and fighting for every inch of purchase. Grapes are grown in deep, fertile soil where they produce astounding amounts of vigor (and hopefully fruit!).
Depending on what region of the country your vineyard is located, you may be faced with many different animals that love to wander into your grapevines. Some of the most common wildlife species that negatively impact vineyards are deer, rodents, birds, and raccoons. Birds, in particular, are notorious for pecking through fruit and damaging it so that it cannot be used for winemaking.
