Brianna

[krafty_kraut]

Does anyone have any opinions on Brianna as a vine and a wine?

 

[Simps]

I don't know anything about the vine or wine, but as an ex girlfriend she was a little crazy. Great sense of humor though!

 

[grapeman]

There are a few guys here growing and using Brianna. I hope they answer for you.

I do have some young Brianna vines. They are a vigorous grower and tend to overbear unless the clusters are thinned. I have yet to make wine from them, but should this year. I have had the wine once and it was fairly good and quite typical of an Elmer Swenson hybrid.

 

[krafty_kraut]

Thanks again for the information, grapeman.

Simps, that's the kind of stuff I like to hear!

 

[rob]

I have one acre of Brianna and like Grapeman says they grow fast. They can be very labor intensive to prune in the spring, however the wine is excellent. I am in my 5th year with them. Last year we harvested 6 ton from that acre, hard to believe, but they grow like a wild weed. The wine has a wonderful aroma and is semi sweet with a pine apple nose. I sold some of the juice to Julie and Steve but have yet to hear how theirs turned out. I have back sweeten with sugar and also have had great success back sweeten with the juice. All my vines came from double A in New York

 

[krafty_kraut]

6 tons is amazing. Double A lists them with medium vigor...so to hear that they grow fast is great information for me.

My problem is that I can't decide which to plant (there are a lot of great varieties out there) on somewhat limited space and try to stay somewhat organized. One of my goals is to have enough vines for people to try out different varieties.

I also look for vines that have a characteristic of making 'excellent' wine. Then I look at resistance. Next, I come here and have you all add your facts from actual experience. My wife likes sweeter wines too and I've had my eye on this variety for a while.

So, I think I'll be looking to find a space for Brianna in my little vineyard!

 

[grapeman]

6 tons is really not high for any of the Elmer Swenson Hybrids. I try to keep them under 10 tons per acre and that can be challenging at times, especially with St. Pepin and LaCrosse.

 

[Corley5]

We put in two hundred Briannas this spring. They sound promissing