Anyone Growing Marquette Grapes?

Great Thread Guys and Great Info!

I am in the infancy stages of thinking about maybe getting some grapes in the ground. I have been sampling various local wines in West Central WI and have really liked some Marechal Foch wines and the La Crescent has been good. I am yet to find a straight Marquette but the blends I have had, have been good.

Question I have is regarding row orientation and the Mod. GDC. My slope mostly goes from NE to SW. Am I correct in thinking the purpose behind the Mod GDC is to get the back curtain up into the sunlight more? If I ran an east-west row orientation, that would get the back row up above the shade of the front curtain?

Also, the area I am looking at converting to a vineyard is the same area that I have raised several thousand pheasant for the last few years. I haven't done any soil samples yet, but I am hoping this area would work. Thoughts?

Thanks!

You are correct about the Mod GDC. That was the exact reason for the one side being higher than the other and so far it is working well for me. It should work fine for your orientation.
The area may be a bit fertile after the pheasants being in it pooping for years now.
Best of luck in you planning stages and eventual planting.

Does anyone have advice on when I should be thinning the vertical shoots on my vines?

We planted bare root vines last spring and pruned back to 2 or 3 buds per plant in early May of this year. We've since seen explosive growth, with several vines nearing the 6' wire on our trellis. Many have 3 or more vertical shoots. I know I'm supposed to thin these to one or two vertical shoots per vine, but I can't find any information about when that should occur. Now? Later in the summer? I've found a lot of information about shoot thinning on established vineyards but hardly anything on new/2nd year plants.

Assuming the vines are healthy and the extra shoots are not sapping vigor from them, I would be tempted to let them all grow this year and select the best one or two for your trunks when you prune next spring. That's what I was thinking with my vines.

But, Grapeman should be able to provide you with better advice than me. I'd listen to what he has to say.

I agree with Greg. Let them grow for now. Select the best one or two next year for trunks. The extra growth this year will help feed root reserves for continued good growth next year.

Ok, thanks for the advice. Should I attempt to train anything this year or should I just keep them tied up and let them grow? A few are nearing the point where they'll be taller than the top wire.

You can keep them tied up and growing straight (bamboo helps). If you want to experiment a bit when some get above the wire and are pencil size at that point, cut the shoot just below the wire. That will force some laterals to grow. You may get enough growth to begin forming cordons at that point for next year. If they don't form good candidates to use, then just prune it back off at that point again next year and try to form them again with the added vigor of another year.

Thanks very much for the advice and for all your input on this thread; it's been an invaluable resource. We have stakes on each plant, so I'll continue to keep everything growing upright.

Another question for you guys...

I think the best place I have for grapes is a west facing slope. Has anyone tried a variable height trellis system. I was thinking of having groups of 4 rows. The eastern-most row at 4', the next row at 5', then 6', and then 7'. This would minimize the shade in the early morning so all rows would be about the same height. I was also thinking of using the modified GDC. Waste of time doing this approach or beneficial?

Thanks!

Here's a little Marquette advice I've picked up this year.

Several books and forums mentioned using a balanced (10-10-10) fertilizer in spring, especially if growing on infertile soil (which I am).

The growth is totally out of control. I do not plan on ever fertilizing again. Both the foliage and the fruit production are about double last year, and I dropped about a quarter of the fruit pre-bloom, and will probably have to drop more.

I'm growing marquette on a 10 degree south slope in Montana.

I'm still experimenting with the marquette. I have different trainings of TWC, VSP and MWC systems. Which training system can better protect against spring frosts? In the photo there are two bushes of the marquette with the TWC(top wire cordon) training system.

My marquette today one of the bushes

My marquette yesterday. Clusters completely colored start to ripen.

Where are these vines located?

semenn said:

My marquette yesterday. Clusters completely colored start to ripen.

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ibglowin said:

Where are these vines located?

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Kursk, Russia.

How many hectares do you have planted? How old are your vines? Is there already a wine industry in the area , or are you the first?

While this is an experimental vineyard of about 100 bushes of grapes. I'm about 50 years old. And I plan in case of a successful experiment to plant several hectares of vineyard in our region, I'm not the first viticulturist, but probably the first who wants to plant an industrial vineyard for making wine.

Are you only growing Marquette or do you have other varieties as well?

Hi Grapeman,
I think you said that you have been replacing your Frontenac with Marquette as it is a better wine grape (less acidity). I'd like to do the same but wonder how it's done. Do you just pull out the Frontenac vine and then put in a Marquette in its place? I've only got 4 Frontenac vines (and 4 Frontenac Gris). They are 4 years old now. They are definitely vigorous and cold hardy. It looks like Marquette hold up to the cold pretty well according to what I've seen on the University of Minnesota website. The cold weather strength is why I originally planted Frontenac. I'm in Wisconsin.

Masbustelo said:

Are you only growing Marquette or do you have other varieties as well?

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Yes, I grow different varieties and try to find the most suitable for our region and the weather, especially so that you can grow grapes in a non-sheltered culture.
Today measured sugar Marquette showed 19-22 Brix