Anyone Growing Marquette Grapes?

[grapeman]

Welcome to the forum. The 10 foot from the fence should be fine, unless it is so it casts a shadow on the vines.

 

[vinividivici]

Welcome, Vino. I assume you prefer dry reds? Marquette has a different taste than Merlot, Cab, etc. Good idea to taste a couple first. That's what I did before planting Marquette.


Bob

 

[vinoago]

Grapeman, thanks for the input, sunlight shouldn't be a problem. I'm just wondering how close i should plant to the fence, so I can maximize the space I have. 10 feet from the fence will limit my ability to add another row of vines down the road. But I don't want to compromise the quality to cram in more vines.

Vin, thanks for the welcome, you really started a great thread here. I do prefer dry reds; a good Merlot is actually what got me started drinking wine. My wife and I shared a bottle of Ledge Rock Hill Marquette last night. You are absolutely correct when you say it has a different taste. Still a nice dry red... just different. This was the only Marquette I could find locally, if you have any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them.

 

[vinividivici]

Vino,

Re the space between the fence and the closest row to it, you'll still need room to mow/maintain the weeds on the other side of the row. Unless you've got something to reach back there. But like Grapeman said, shade is a factor. I would also add air flow as another component.

Re the Marquette wine, I bought a couple of bottles from Lincoln Peak in Middlebury, VT. My wife and I have also tasted wine from Thousand Islands Winery in Alexandria Bay, NY. They are just north of us about 60 miles. Also Tug Hill Vineyards in Boonville, NY. Each winery's version was slightly different, but both were very enjoyable.

I believe we'll be seeing a lot more offerings in the near future as the wineries that planted a few years ago start bringing those grapes on line.

Mine should be ready in a year or two, with the Frontenac and Corot Noir about two-three years from now.


Bob

PS: I didn't know that Grapeman is now selling Marquette (and other fine wines!): http://hipvineyard.mybigcommerce.com/

 

[AlFulchino]

i havent read the whole thread but someone told me someone here was looking for bird netting..i have twelve rolls of vineside for sale..never used..contact if interested

 

[vinividivici]

Marquette Pruning Question - 2nd Year

I think Grapeman said to leave two or three buds on the vines for this year's growth. Should I prune all buds below the top 2 or 3? Here's a
pic:

 

[Duster]

no answer yet vinividivici, Darn I was wanting to see what the experts had to say

 

[grapeman]

When we say leave 2-3 buds the second year we generally mean the LOWER two or three and cut off above that. With the one you show, it looks like the top is at least as big as a pencil so you can leave it the way you have and strip the lower buds off. If the cane you are leaving is really small it will lag behind and leave a weak point in the vine. By cutting back the the lower 2-3 buds, the new shoots for a nice trunk for the following year. Like I said though, if it is big enough just leave it like you have it. Marquette in general has a small diameter trunk.

Sorry guys, I have been busy and just plain missed this yesterday.

 

[vinividivici]

Thanks, Grapeman. I wound up taking off the lower buds yesterday as the overwhelming majority of the vines had a thick upper shoot. A few very small vines were left alone.

As usual, great info and assistance!

Bob

 

[NorthCountryBoy]

I am new to this game and reading through this has been a great wealth of information.

My wife and I are considering growing this variety of grapes as well as maybe La Cresent to make our own wine. Even got my dad hooked on the idea. I have a little over 2 acres of land and was going to use half of that to start my own little vineyard. My dad on the other hand has about 27 acres of farmland of which he is considering using about 1 acre to start with to starting a little vineyard on (something to keep him busy in his retirement). I think his sole purpose is to sell the crop to the local winery who I believe has to buy their crop from California.

Please bear with me as I am a true novice at this. My question has is geared more to the soil on my dad's land. He has primarily clay, damn water will sit on it for days in the hot sun. Think it will actually evaporate before it will absorb into the ground. What would my dad need to do in order to get his land ready to put his first plant into the ground.

Your assistance in this would be greatly appreciated.

Wayne

 

[grapeman]

If the soil is Vergennes Clay, the site may not be very suitable for growing grapes on. Conditions you describe are exactly what you don't want for grapes. Go have a visit with Chris Granstrom of Lincoln Peak Vineyard and he can give your dad an idea if his soil will work for grapes. You can try to adjust the soil, but it is an uphill battle if it is too wet. On the upside, there should be a Market for Marquette.

 

[NorthCountryBoy]

I forgot to mention that his whole property is sloped in on way or another. That would help with drainage.

 

[grapeman]

LOL, most of the land in Vermont does slope one way or another!

When you need to buy more vines, don't forget Andy Farmer right there in Vt at Northeast Vine Supply.

 

[NorthCountryBoy]

Yeah, he is only maybe 29 to 30 minutes south of me.

 

[kwebb]

Anyone have any experience with growing Black Spanish an/or Blanc du Bois near Dallas with hard clay ("black gumbo") soil? Want to get started and based on research these varieties will do ok with soil and conditions in my area.

 

[Corley5]

Has anyone growing Marquettes had issues with the early bud break? I've read they are the earliest of the cold hardy varieties. I had some new growth burn off from frost on some this spring. They're all pushing new growth and not all were affected. Some are just farther along. This is their second year so I'm not looking for fruit just vine development. My other varieties Kay Grey, Elvira, and Valiant had very little damage from the frost. The frost occured after this years planting and those vines were pushing new leaves and suffered no damage at all. This has been a crazy spring weather wise. I'm still planning on at least 400 Marquettes for next year and will keep them on hills and high on slopes.

 

[grapeman]

Marquette is one of the more susceptible varieties to late frosts as they are one of the very first to push buds in the spring. They froze all over the country this year.

 

[vinividivici]

Re-thinking the Trellis

Question (especially for Grapeman):

My Marquettes are in second growth year and now I'm wondering if I should proceed with 4-Arm Kniffen or VSP? Rich, I believe you are using VSP for your Marquettes?

I've been training the lower cordons right now, and they have vertical shoots on them. If I change to VSP, should I train these verticals to the top wire?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[grapeman]

You can use catch wires (one wire on both sides of the post every 12 inches or so) to keep the shoots growing upright. I have the Marquettes on the 4 training systems. VSP works well, but is the lowest yielding out of the 4 systems. It is your call which you use. The second year is easy- wait until year 4 and on for real vigor to develop. VSP becomes a jungle...................

 

[vinividivici]

You can use catch wires (one wire on both sides of the post every 12 inches or so) to keep the shoots growing upright. I have the Marquettes on the 4 training systems. VSP works well, but is the lowest yielding out of the 4 systems. It is your call which you use. The second year is easy- wait until year 4 and on for real vigor to develop. VSP becomes a jungle...................

So, based on your info, I'll press on with the Kniffen system. Re the catch wires, are you saying to use a double, horizontal wire starting 12" above the lower wire so the shoots coming off the cordons are trained vertically?

Thanks once again, Rich.