St. Vincent?

Just ordered more vines from Double A for next spring, I have mostly marquette in my field but figured I'd try a couple of new varieties next year. Ordered a few Chambourcin and St. Vincent. Chambourcin I was able to read up on enough, think I know what I'm getting there. St. Vincent I just picked on a whim, haven't read much about it other than what the website says. Anyone have any luck with it? Pros or cons of this grape?

I used to grow it in Kansas City Kansas. I am in a retirement home now. Anyways it is very vigorous grape. needs summer pruning to insure proper sunlight for proper ripening otherwise you end up with a rose. I had great fun with it.

I've got some, maybe 50 vines. Seem to be slow growing and prone to disease, however I'm new at this. Mine are planted on some land that was not very productive as corn or beans, we'll see how it works for grapes. Some St. Vincents seem to grow better than others (?). Looking forward to a crop two years out. Also have Chambourcin, Japanese Beetles love 'em. Appear to grow better than St. Vincents. We should stay in touch and compare notes on the St. Vincents. Be glad to share my email if you want.

Bruce in Ohio

Sounds good to me Bruce, although it'll take me some time for my vines to catch up. I've got 10 acres that was also corn/bean field. There's 20 inches of nice sandy topsoil, then a layer of stone from all the years of tilling. All my vines are young and growing well, hope that stone layer doesn't stunt the growth as the roots go deeper.

Hi AlamoV. I haven't had any experience with St. Vincent but I do love marquette.

FYI - I was born and raised in Plainwell. I do miss Michigan.

Greg, last night the wife and I went to Joe's for pizza and Plainwell ice cream after. The town is kind of run down in some areas but still some nice places left.

I picked up 100 lbs of St. Vincent about two weeks ago. Wonderful smell and color, slightly tart. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

I'm glad Joe's is still there. Plainwell Ice Cream is really good but Dean's was the only one around when I was young. So I'm partial to them still. I remember their Monster Malts fondly.

I have a row of St Vincent. It takes a lot of summer to ripen. Each year here in the northeast the brix stalls in the teens. Beautiful clusters, but will not ripen. Havent tried summer pruning yet.

I would say for St.Vincent that it is low vigor varietal. You need a really sandy site with no clay for it to get any kind of vigor. Other than vigor, I don't see any major issues. For me, I'd veto it for low vigor but its good in other places. For the wine, imo, its good wine. It has really good tannin for being a hybrid. I've read that it can sometimes lack color. Take my wine assessment with a grain of salt as I've only tried St.Vin from one winery.