Anyone Growing Marquette Grapes?

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vinividivici

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I'm considering this variety for planting in my zone, which is 5a. Just curious if there are others already doing this.

Also, I've been scanning wine kits for this variety but haven't seen it listed yet. Is it because there's a royalty to be paid to the U of Minn.?

Cheers!
Bob
 
I've got marquette but the oldest are only 2 years in the ground here. I'll be trying to form cordons on them next year. I'm xone 5a also just 40 miles south and west of Chicago.
 
I've got marquette but the oldest are only 2 years in the ground here. I'll be trying to form cordons on them next year. I'm xone 5a also just 40 miles south and west of Chicago.

Interesting. Did you use vine shelters for the first two years? I've seen AA selling Blue-X vine Shelters to protect the young plants and also to accelerate the growth due to the blue light rays.

Cheers!
Bob

PS: I'm also looking at Frontenac
 
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I had just typed in a small book about the subject and then accidentally hit the back button and lost it.

You should be happy with the Marquette. I have had it growing for seven years now at our Cornell Research farm in Willsboro NY. I have it in my personal training system trial and can give you tons of information as you need it.

It makes a decent red wine being medium body and can have lots of berry and black cherry flavors with some tannins but they are light. This years batch (have made 3 years now) had tons of cherry to it and nice hints of vanilla and chocolate along with hints of leather. Overall very good wine this year.

Go into Frontenac with open eyes. It is very cold hardy, but an acid monster that needs taming to be drinkable. It can also be excessively vigorous if undercropped. Hang a heavy crop on it to subdue growth and then as the dry hot weather sets in and veraison hits, start thinning to two clusters per shoot.

I can give you tons of info, but I'm too wiped out after putting on bird netting all day again for the fourth day now. I will answer your questions as you put them forth.
 
Interesting. Did you use vine shelters for the first two years? I've seen AA selling Blue-X vine Shelters to protect the young plants and also to accelerate the growth due to the blue light rays.

Cheers!
Bob

PS: I'm also looking at Frontenac

I've never used vine shelters at all but have read good and bad on using them. If used correctly they can help you get good healthy vines. Just don't leave them on the vines too late into the season(one of the bad things you can do with the shelters).

Grapeman, I've got frontenac gris too (very small amount) that started ripening the second week of july. Today I did a small sample and see that their at 23º brix.Just curious whats the highest brix you've seen on frontenac or gris at your place of work or vineyard?
 
i have two phenomenal blended wines made w grapes from this hybrid category ....as well as others...if you can think outside the box and be patient, you can do some wonderful things w all these grapes ...today i released a classic red table wine that i call Classico ...in fact every gallon made from what i harvested last year will be sold...i strongly suggest you make the effort to track down wines made w grapes you are thinking of growing...taste them...and EVEN IF you dont like those wines..go buy the grapes themselves and make wine...then grow what you like

even if people here tell you...hey grow it..it is GREAT....its only words because what i say is great be terrible to you....you gotta go wet your own tongue
 
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Good advice Al. You need to like the wine or there is no sense in growing the vines.

Racer, Frontenac will go up to around 26 brix and even higher if left on the vine long enough. Last year was so cold and cloudy that it barely made it above 20 brix. When it gets in the 25-27 range it starts to get a nice jamminess going on in the red. I wouldn't let gris get too ripe though. Also monitor your acid if you can.
 
Grapeman, sorry your long posting was lost. I've also had that happen, but usually when I submit and "server busy" shows up and the OP was lost. Now I copy before clicking on the submit button. I really appreciate your effort, though.

Thanks for the initial info on the Marquette, also to Racer and Al for their comments.

I've order the book "From Vine to Wine" and should be receiving it soon. Yesterday I plotted my initial vineyard with stakes and ruminating over preparing the ground.

Here's a basic question: I've noticed on various member's' pics where the young vines are planted but no trellising system is up yet. Is that standard for the first year? It would be helpful if so as I could do this in stages.

Al: I've been looking for Marquette wine kits but no luck so far. I think I'll buy the grapes somewhere and try my first batch that way. There's also a small winery up north of me in Lowville that lists Marquette grapes, and I hope they sell the wine. Will call them today to find out.

Will be buying the vines from AA as I've read numerous good things about them.

Cheers!
Bob
 
Whenever I read or hear of someone buying Jeff Cox's book I cringe............. He has some good information, but a lot of his stuff is for very specific situations that often don't pertain. I can't tell you how many people rent a backhoe and dig a three foot trench and mix all their soil before planting. 9 out of 10 times this is totally unnecessary. If you have soil you shouldn't be planting in, that might help, but not normally. Read the book with an open mind.

If you want to try a nice Marquette wine, order a bottle from Chris Granstrom at Lincoln Peak in Vermont. It won the first international cold hardy wine competition in Minn last year.
http://www.lincolnpeakvineyard.com/wines.php

I find it easier to plant the vines first so the trellis wires aren't in the way. It depends on how may you are planting and what you are using to dig the holes with etc.

You likely will not find any kits made from Marquette. It is too new of a variety.

We have had it planted at the Willsboro Cold Hardy Grape Trial at the Cornell Baker Farm where I maintain the vineyard for the last three years. The Marquette are beautiful this year with clusters twice as big as usual and above 20 brix already. If you are ever over this side of the state, PM me and I may be able to arrange a visit. We have a field meeting at the vineard on the 24th from 4-8PM this month. Tim Martinson- the head of the Viticulture program for Extension will be there to speak along with myself and the program director. We will also have samples of a number of the wines grown there.
 
Hmm. I was looking forward to playing with a Bobcat to prepare the ground!

So, it seems that I can roto-till the rows where the vines will be planted, and deeply till the spots for the vines? A dairy farmer that hays my adjoining acreage offered to bring in some composted cow manure. Would that be good to work into the soil before planting next year?

A real fundamental question: how many plants do I need to make 3 or 4 cases of wine each season?

Bird netting: a winery I contacted for Marquette told me they lost their entire crop to birds. It seems like netting would be good insurance against this, especially since I'll have a micro-vineyard without too many sacrificial plants .
Any suggestions for a supplier or the type of netting?

Thanks,

Bob
 
If you are growing Marquette and unless your soil is absolutely horrible and full of clay - DO NOT ADD COMPOSTED COW MANURE. Marquette is very vigorous and needs no soil ammendments. Our first vine at Willsboro is still way too vigorous after 6 years because a bit of chicken compost was added the year prior to planting in that spot. We prune of 4-6 pounds of one year growth each year at pruning (way too vigorous).

Just work the soil with the tiller and like you say a bit deeper where the vines will be.

Figure 5-6 bottles per vine, so 10-12 vines will be enough for you. Last year I made 12 gallons from the 12 vines at Willsboro and the coons and squirrels had eaten a lot of them.

You can get 3/4 inch mesh netting 14 feet wide for use over the top. Lowes should have it. Larger amounts are available cheaper than there, but if you only need a small amount you don't want to buy a lot. Orchard Valley Supply (online) sells it in smaller increments for a small markup.
 
Thanks again, Grapeman.

Our property was formerly a farm (years ago) and the grass and other plants have no problem growing in this soil. I checked the soil acidity yesterday with a meter probe and it was 7.0

I put in my order for 1x vines from AA today and for the blue vine shelters.

BTW, I ordered a couple of bottles of Marquette from Lincoln Peak, per your suggestion.

Cheers!
Bob
 
Good luck with it all. Be sure to keep asking questions!

P.S. - if you are putting in enough vines you can still play with a Bobcat- just get one with an auger for digging the holes to plant in and set the posts. They work great if you need to dig a hundred holes or so at a time.
 
Standing Water in my Vine Holes

Good luck with it all. Be sure to keep asking questions!

P.S. - if you are putting in enough vines you can still play with a Bobcat- just get one with an auger for digging the holes to plant in and set the posts. They work great if you need to dig a hundred holes or so at a time.

Okay. Asking another question regarding ground prep.

I tilled/dug holes ~ 3' in diameter and about a foot or more deep, all thirty of them for the vines I ordered. We had that torrential monsoon rain about a week ago and the holes held water in them for about a week before draining. Then we had more rain a couple of days ago, and four out of five rows have water in them. Very slow percolation as the ground is saturated.

Should I be real concerned for next spring when the vines are delivered and I plant them? I've read that the young roots can drown with that much hydration.

I'm wondering if I should get a backhoe to dig down two-three feet to loosen up the soil before I start planting? Or am I being overly concerned?

The five rows with eight holes each are on a slope. The grass around them and on the entire five acres is very lush and thick. Everything on the property grows like crazy without any amendments whatsoever.

I also think there are underground springs as the grass was also very lush and green during the extreme heat this past summer.

Thoughts? Always appreciated!

Bob
 
Tough call on that one Bob. Your ground may just be super saturated and in normal times not be wet, but then again, you may have poorly draining soils which might benefit from deeper working. Since it was a working farm, maybe it just has a hard plow pan. Anything to penetrate that would help.
 
A thought occurred to me this morning as I looked out at my deck trellis: the previous owners planted Concord grapes to grow up the trellis. It's situated no more than twenty feet from the planting site.

The trunks on them are 1.5 to 2" in diameter and the canes are very vigorous, with lots of grape clusters present. And very tasty, I might add!

My theory is if they survived and thrive with no problem, maybe I'm worrying too much.

Thanks for your thoughts, Grapeman.

Bob
 
i can tell you this....as i had a huge water issue in 09 and 08...w stretches of 18-20 inches of rain in 30 days....and a VERY organic topsoil that is up to 3 feet deep.....puddling......did i mention knee deep? did i mention that it didnt drain for weeks? did i mention that it was DURING the growing season...not during dormancy?

you will be fine...from this vantage point....make sure your land is pitched./slope at least a little to assist in letting the heavier of storms run off a bit

you can endure some time under water...but sooner or later the lack of O2 getting to the roots will suffocate your vines..

i had that occur next to one of my greenhouses where a row of vines reside...distinct lightening of the leaves occurred and growth was less than that of other vines of the same variety in the same row, away from the greenhouse...simple drainage techniques such as very gentle sloping and such made a difference...one yr later they performed very well and that area was my worst of worst
 
That's good to know, Al. And yes, my entire ten acres is on a fairly steep slope. The spot I picked for the vines gets sun the entire day, so that should help.

I'm getting a delivery of a sandy loam dirt this week for backfilling/planting the vines. Hopefully that will aid the drainage.

My other concern is the amount of snow we get here. It averages 10-12' each winter with a few over 20' recently. So then there's the spring melt of the 1-2' of snow each April.

Thanks, and it was good to hear from you again.

Bob
 
Hi Bob...1-2 feet of snow, on average, only means 1-2 inches of rain

take your very worst area and add in that delivery...that will give you the most effect for your dollar...spreading it around much is going to have little effect on a wide area
 
Hi,

Any suggestions on where i should buy Marquette grapes? I have tried Frontenac and Marquette, the Marquette wine was much better IMO.
 

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