Grape growing, newbie questions about variety

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bambbrose

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Hello all

I'm in the middle of home construction on a new lot and the wife and I are discussing our orchard and grape vine layout. We are avid gardeners and have been discussing the orchard for some time but have been very indecisive.

About wine making. We have zero experience, it's just something we want to do and have wanted to do for years. We are very self-reliant and grow/build nearly everything we use.
We drink reds almost exclusively. Our go-to wines are always Pinot Nior and Cabs. Reading on those two, the Pinots seem to be harder to cultivate.

I'm posting to get some opinions. We are wanting to start our orchard asap (as in immediately), but honestly haven't put in the research on wine making that I need to nor the background. I have read a few books and online instructions, but the focus is more on the wine making process itself, and not the selection of varieties.

We will have years to learn the process, but want to plant now. I'm reaching out to hear suggestions from those who have been down this path prior.

Based on 7' spacing, we have room for anywhere from 100 to 150 trees conservatively. We will probably start with something much smaller and scale up after we learn what we are doing. Wanting to plant a row or two this year (25 to 50).
We have the water rights to support the acreage fortunately so that is not a concern.

A plat of our lot site plan is below, with my proposed vines laid out in blue although nothing is set in stone.
The lot is gently sloping east to west, with a small creek that flows along with the trees on the west end (drys up on the driest years and late in the summer).
The soil tests show we are heavily alkaline. Sandy loam for the soil with reasonable drainage. We plan on installing a drip system to supplement during the summer where our rains to not support. The sunshine is VERY high here, much higher than national averages. The lot is in USDA climate zone 7A (0 - 5 F), although I personally feel its more like 6B (-5 to 0 F). The frost lines can extend down to 30" on the hardest of winters, so pipes are buried low.
We are in New Harmony, UT, about 5 minutes from the entry to the Kolob section of Zion National Park.


Any input on what specific varieties we should consider, and where to obtain them, would be very much appreciated! We are looking not just for a family of cultivars, but the specific variety and reason you recommend.

Thank you so much!

lotlayout.jpg
 
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I would plant the vinifera grapes 5 feet apart and 7 feet between rows. That is of you're doing a cordon spur training system.
 
some missing info you should probably let us know where north is (ie) n and s etc and your location, its important for grape growing to ensure the right growing enviromment, other than that congrats (im fairly envious, in a friendly non confrontational manner ofc) that looks a nice plot there ;-)

Alkaline sandy loam is probably good grape growing soil, i would guess, (in fact its fairly close to optimal from my research) although, they may need some shading from summer sun possibly, im not experienced at growing grapes but have read their requirements and am generally ok at gardening. I would expect your plot of land to grow good grapes, provided they don`t dry out on hot summer days and have some soil reserves of water.

For varieties choose ones which do well in your area, if grapes aren't generally grown in your area then, choose grapes that do well in a similar climate, based on day light hours and minimum winter temperatures etc, other than that I suspect you have good soil etc already.

Lastly, good luck with your venture ;-)

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/soil-types-grow-grapes-48928.html
 
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Grapes do NOT do best on heavily alkaline soils. They prefer a slightly acidic soil around a pH of 6.2 to 6.5 for Vinifera varieties and a bit lower for hybrids. They will grow in it , just not to their full potential. If you give us a general location we could offer more help.
 
Thank you to everyone for your input thus far. I can't believe I forgot to put in a location, complete oversight on my part.

We are in New Harmony, UT.
North is up in the image I attached previously.

Looking forward to more input. We will keep on researching!
 

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