Brianna Grapes

[djrockinsteve]

Doug I always guestimate for a test starting gravity then I can sway either way a few points until we find what is best liked for the family. Unfortunately we always end up with two preferences. A dry and a sweet. Hey it keeps everyone happy and you have two versions to offer folks.

Here is a shot of the Brianna clearing. The darker color is it's true color. It's a bit grainy but you get the idea.

 

[ffemt128]

Just came up from the cellar. Looks like pressure in the airlock of the Brianna is starting to equalize. It's clearing nicely so far.

 

[ffemt128]

Transferred the Brianna out of the 6 gallon carboy into a 5 gallon and 1/2 gallon. Looks like it has dropped a fair number of crystals so far. Smells wonderful so far. Added kmeta and sorbate.

 

[rob]

Brianna

Just did my final racking of the Brianna that Steve and I picked the first of September. It has cleared very nicely, will let it age for 5 more months, sorbate and sweeten. The flash of the camera made the back 2 carboys look darker

 

[UBB]

Have some Brianna in my vineyard. Haven't had a crop yet but I like what I've read and heard about the quality of wine this variety makes.

 

[ffemt128]

Rob,

Ours cleared very nicely as well. Still dropping alot of acid crystals at this point. Smells wonderful and I'll be stabilizing and back sweetening probably around March with bottling in April to free up a carboy for chilean juice.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Yea it has a great color and smell terrific. I may try to plant some Brianna sprigs here this spring.

 

[rob]

here is a picture of my Brianna wine after just 10 days of cs, lot of acid crystals have fallen in just a short time

 

[JohnT]

Geeze. A lot of sediment on the CS.

Question on the briana grapes..

Could you please share where did you got them. These grapes sound perfect for my area.

johnT.

 

[ffemt128]

I looked at mine again last night. Bottom of the carboy is covered with acid crystals again and I didn't CS. Temps in the wine area now are about 59 degrees. Waiting for the temps outside to drop then I'll put the carboys outside under the basement stair cover for CS.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Geeze. A lot of sediment on the CS.

Question on the briana grapes..

Could you please share where did you got them. These grapes sound perfect for my area.

johnT.

Sorry John I thought Rob told you. He got started from a friend near where he lives in Iowa. The Brianna strain was developed in 1997? in Iowa specifically for this region with a shorter season.

The grapes grow in large tight clusters. The aroma really is fantastic even as a skeeter pee I made from soaking the skins in sugar water and fermenting.

Maybe we can get Rob to send us some clippings this spring?

 

[rob]

John- What Steve says is correct they grow in northern climates down to 20 below and when back sweeting you end up with what tastes like or better than a Riesling. We have about 500 vines that were all bought from Double Vineyards in New York. They grow very fast and are almost hard to control, you will start to see fruit after just one year, however all of it needs to be removed until the 4th year. 500 plants in their 4th year will produce 7000 pounds and by the 6th year you will be harvesting close to 9000 pounds

 

[JohnT]

I have been living in my home for 12 years. One of the reasons I bought the place was that there is a field that screams "vineyard". Recently, I decided that I am ready to plant, but am looking to start with, perhaps, just a dozen vines or so. I am new to grapes growing and want to start small.

This brianna sounds just what I am looking for.

How did you go about planting them? Any particular way you prepared the soil / vines prior to planting? what kind of spacing do they need?

 

[Julie]

We just racked the Brianna last night, I stabilized and backsweeten about a month ago, still not totally clear but I'm in no hurry to bottle.

This just might turn into my favorite wine, yes Rob it does kinda sorta taste like a Reisling but different.

 

[djrockinsteve]

John here are 2 links for the Brianna.

http://www.agriculture.state.ia.us/horticulture_and_farmersmarkets/brianna.asp

http://viticulture.hort.iastate.edu/cultivars/Brianna.pdf

 

[rob]

John,

I would plant the vines 10 feet apart and space the rows 8 feet. If you order them from Double A you will get 1 year old plants with rather long roots, about 2 feet. When I planted 500 of them we rented a power auger for the holes, but for just a few you could dig by hand. They like all vines require several spray applications thru out the year. If you are interested I would order soon because they do run out. They will ship them around the first of may. Go to their web site and you will get alot of good information.

 

[grapeman]

From what I have tasted Brianna makes a good wine like you guys describe. However I find the clusters small and takes quite a while picking. St Pepin was also bred by Elmer Swenson and produces much larger crops. They are higher in sugar and just as flavorful as the Brianna, but are more like ripe apricot than pineapple. It is a pistillate (all female) flower, but I have observed quite a few stamens on their flowers, meaning they do shed some pollen. When planted among other grapes up to 70 feet away, they pollinate just fine. I typically get 15-20 pounds per vine with them as 3 year vines and up to 30 pounds per vine by year 5. I have yet to get a crop large enough of Brianna to experiment with, but for me St Pepin is the more user friendly vine.

 

[robie]

here is a picture of my Brianna wine after just 10 days of cs, lot of acid crystals have fallen in just a short time

OK, I give up! How did you get that heavy carboy suspended above the kitchen sink?

Real question: What do you use for cold stabilizing? Freezer, Old frig, garage when it's cold?

At what temperature do you stabilize?

I put mine in my garage this time of year. I use a Better Bottle just to be safe. We have already gotten below zero F!!!

 

[robie]

It is a pistillate (all female) flower, but I have observed quite a few stamens on their flowers, meaning they do shed some pollen. When planted among other grapes up to 70 feet away, they pollinate just fine. I typically get 15-20 pounds per vine with them as 3 year vines and up to 30 pounds per vine by year 5.

I am not at all knowledgeable about plants, vineyards or vineyard practices, so bare with me. The St Pepin is a pistillate flower, so all female. So, it is not at all self-pollinating? Don't know where I got the idea all grapes were self-pollinating. Again, I don't know anything about them.

Since it requires other grape vines nearby, does the type of pollen providing nearby grape matter and does it affect the taste of the St Pepin grapes that end up on the vines?

 

[grapeman]

My point is that it is not truly pistillate but a semi-hermaphrodite. Normally grapes can self pollinate, but some say St Pepin can't. In reality, fertilization can be somewhat reduced, but even with that, the clusters are still 3 times as large as Brianna. And no, pollination from another vine has absolutely no effect on flavors, only the resulting genes of the seeds. I like to tell people the St Pepin wine is like a red, only it is a white. By that I mean it has higher tannins than most whites and has a nice lingering finish. It is also a nice aromatic wine, much like a Reisling, but like Julie said about the Brianna, a bit different. Go to my online store and check out the description on my label (see the banner that pops up sometimes).

Brianna on left-StPepin on right