Champlain Valley - Grapemans' vineyard - Planting to small winery

[grapeman]

The joys of living in Northern NY in the spring has been evident. Like everywhere else in most of the country this early spring had been very warm and changeable. A few weeks ago we got a good snow, then it warmed up. Last week we set 5 daily record highs in a row with it hitting 80. Then it cooled down again and yesterday it was 18 degrees here, Now this AM I got up and the ground is covered with a light dusting of snow. At least the pruning is ahead of schedule so far.

I have been preparing cuttings to root for my new vineyard expansion this year. I am looking at rooting enough for planting around 3.5-4 acres in late May to early June, depending on speed of growth. After a week on the heat mats, some are showing small calluses. Once they are well formed they go into plug trays and into the greenhouse. As I get things organized and growing better, I will begin showing pictures of the process.

 

[ibglowin]

Another 3-4 acres...... W0W!!!!! :<

 

[grapeman]

That's right Mike. I am beginning the serious expansion now as I have narrowed my grape choices down for expansion. This expansion is going to be a bit mechanized while maintaining a personal touch. It is all based on practical experiments I have done the last several years.

 

[ibglowin]

Which varieties did you decide on for the expansion?

Are you saying your buying a mechanical harvester!

 

[grapeman]

As I have gone commercial, the varieties i chose are confidential as I am sure I am being monitored by others from my area.

No I will never go with mechanical harvest. Heck it's all I can do to afford mechanical harvesting shears! LOL I am just saying that rather than tending the vines mostly by hand, I will be using mechanization where possible. You will see as I start doing it! The mystery builds.................

 

[Deezil]

I could almost pace back-and-forth with anticipation!

Another 3-4 acres brings the total to...?
And is that total including or excluding the trials your doing?

Cant friggin wait

..And if you cant tell us which varieties, can ya tell us how many varieties you're expanding?

 

[robie]

Great to read you are expanding. Since expanding is a good thing, sounds like things are on the rise, since you went commercial. That's great to know.

After thinking about all those holes, posts, wire, hose, and plants, I need a rest.

Just kidding. Hope it all goes well. We are all rooting for you.

 

[grapeman]

So far it will be a total of seven acres. This includes the trials as I am using them just like I do the rest of the vineyard. I am going to use some of what I have learned to expand with. I am looking to streamline the establishment period and costs. Can I suceed? Darned if I know, but I will go out swinging........ I have tried out all the practices before and they are all sound. Now can I translate them into sucess?

I am putting in more varieties than I really should- 5, but I want to expand these varieties. I can tell you two of them are Marquette and LaCrescent. LaCrescent is a keystone to aromatic cold climate wines and almost every blend can benefit from them. I will put in an acre each of those two and the rest will be split among 3 other varieties that although they may not be the best, they sell the best.

If I ever take the rest of the farm back over, I will try to get in about 25 acres. I have lots of options at this point, just not much money. Anybody want to invest? Money goes a long ways here. LOL

 

[Wade E]

Wow Rich, thats great! Sorry, dont have a large fortune to invest into a small fortune. LOL

 

[Runningwolf]

Rich, that sounds awesome. I could send some Concords up your way. Knowing what it costs approximately per acre to put in a vineyard thats pretty awesome your expanding. Glad to hear you're able to start some of your own shoots.

 

[ibglowin]

There is a name for a guy like you.........

Vine Teaser!

 

[grapeman]

I think it is embedded somewhere in these 200 pages of posts, but maybe not because of the size, here is a link to a video I made summarizing two years of progress in the vineyard when I began. It goes from bare ground to a very small crop of grapes and shows wines towards the end. Several of those won medals in the Winemaker Magazine's 2009 contest. Not bad for such young vines.

Here is a link to the video in the Videos section of WineMakingTalk.com
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/video/vines-to-wine-4.html

 

[Runningwolf]

Excellent video Rich!

 

[Wade E]

Awesome job Rich!!!

 

[ibglowin]

Them baby's sure grew up fast! What type of soil do you have? Some of the pics looked to be very sandy. Others not so much.

 

[grapeman]

The soil in the vineyard is extremely sandy in about 3/4 of it and then transitions to a heavier loam with the occasional rock. Yes they did grow very quickly. That's why they were allowed a few grapes the second year to hold them in check somewhat. Anybody that doesn't believe they are the same vines can see the date stamps and landmarks. I thought that it shows the progression of the vineyard through time. Some day I should extend it out a few years and change from the dumb music (that's what was in the slideshow creator).

 

[grapeman]

Dang it is cold outside pruning today. I am still going as I had some feet and leg problems for a few wekks, but it is getting better every day. There was ice on things this AM as it was down to about 28 after hitting 30 by 9PM last evening. Good things only a few vines have reached any sort of budbreak so far. The wind also blew 20-40 mph all day yesterday and overnight. It has calmed town to about 10mph. I had to take a break this AM and come in to thaw my hands. It's a good thing it is sunny out. It will be around 30 tonight and tomorrow night.

 

[grapeman]

A bit of an update here. The vines have really come alive and are in the 1-3 inch stage. I watched the steeley beetles go from an occasional one around the edge to enough that I was concerned because the flower clusters are very tight and they feed on them. I went ahead and applied a spray of Sevin for them and some Manzate for Downy Mildew and Phomopsis. It rained outside today, so I feel my timing of fungicide was right on. I will try to get a few pictures some time in a few days.It really looks great to see things growing again with fresh mowed grass.

 

[grapeman]

Spring is here!

The grapes went through budbreak about 10 days ago and the last week has seen some pretty warm weather so I figured I would give my longtime followers some pictures. Some general shots and then a few with the future flower clusters. They look so cute right now all tight but doubling in size each day now.

 

[grapeman]

More that would not fit.

And here are the rest.