Kennell Estates Vineyard & Winery

[fivebk]

Here's a little update on my vineyard

All of my Edelweis, Frontenac Gris and Brianna vines have grown together on the top wires. Most of the St Croix and vignoles have grown together. A couple of vines are just a little behind the rest. Some of the vines have run 16 ft along the top wire both ways from the main trunk.

I can't believe how many bloom clusters I have picked off the vines this year to keep the vine from producing grapes. I hope that is an indication of what's to come next year.

It has been smokin HOT !!!! here the last two weeks with 90% humidity.

Here are some pics

BOB

 

[fivebk]

I tried to get the pics to come out side by side but it didn't work and I don't know how to change it. SORRY

BOB

 

[AlFulchino]

wow...wonderful...come a long way..great job.....soon you will be eating outside, sipping some wine, right in the rows themselves.....wont be long til thats your new home...i eat breakfast and lunch at mine every day...

 

[ibglowin]

So my only question is with all that land, why only 4 little rows of grapes!

They look great Bob!

 

[Waldo]

Awesome buddy !!!!

 

[grapeman]

They are looking great! You sure keep the grounds well manicured. The corn looks super this year also. You keep the ground under the vines spotless and even have square ends and cut edges in the grass!!!!


You should be rewarded next year with a good crop of grapes.


The pictures are coming out side by side on my screen.

 

[fivebk]

Thanks everyone!!!

Mike, You would be surprised how much work is involved in keeping those 4 little rows looking like they do.
I have a couple of reasons for having such a small vineyard. First - I have a very bad back, steel rods and 4 vertabre fused. Second - I have had people tell me that you can't grow good quality grapes on flat land little less Missouri river bottom ground. Me being Me I had to put in some vines and see if I could prove them wrong. This is also the SHOW ME STATE so we most often don't believe anything unless we see it with our own two eyes.

2 1/2 acres of the corn ground belongs to me, so there is plenty of room for expansion at a later date ( if I would happen to go totally crazy )!!!!!!

BOB

 

[fivebk]

My vines have now run the whole length of my trellis. Some of the suckers have reached the ground and I have had to cut them back. The vines have not decided to slow down any. Every time I walk through the vines I find clusters of grapes trying to grow. I am so ready to see what they will do next year.

 

[fivebk]

Here are some pics

BOB

 

[ibglowin]

Those are some nice healthy vines Bob!

Fruit next year for sure!

 

[grapeman]

Great looking vineyard Bob, and I sincerely mean that!






I am glad you decided to go with GDC to possibly tame the vigor on your site. Those are as big as three year old vines in most commercial vineyards. Keep up the great work. Oh and if you want to practice picking- I hear Al is about all set to bein in NH. I am a bit behind, so go help Al, then you can come help me and then maybe stop in the Finger Lakes and help somebody there finish up their season!

 

[AlFulchino]

ditto all that Rich said...and i MEAN that too! and i will add in a WOW

 

[fivebk]

I know it's early to be thinking about pruning grapes, but I have some questions about the upcoming pruning of my vineyard.

Everything I have is on the Geneva double curtain trellis system. this will be the third year for most of my vines. and the fourth year for three Edelweis vines. I did not let anything bear grapes last year.

How many feet of cordon do I allow each vine to have?
When I prune this spring do I prune everything back to just the cordon?
My vines grew very well last year. will I be able to let them produce a full crop or will I have to drop fruit and only produce a smaller crop ( 1/2,2/3, 3/4 etc. )

I know that there are alot of variables when growing grapes, but on average what amount of juice per vine can a person expect to get. The reason for asking this is so I make sure that I have more than enough carboys/ fermenters and supplies ready by harvest time ( I don't care for surprizes ).

I guess that's enough questions for now

BOB

 

[AlFulchino]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um9p1eiGiwI[/ame]

is a great series

do not prune too close to the vine because they can dry out in the prune area...i always leave 1/2-1 inch...this is contrary to anything you do in ornamental pruning

each vine should meet the next vine halfway

its not too early to be thinking about it..i walk thru the vineyard every so often thru the winter to get a grasp of what i will be looking at when i do start...in case something shows itself out of the ordinary...

as far as dropping fruit.....if its a nourishing and adequate moisture year then i would let them go...that is opinion on my part...i would easily do this if the vine has shown itself to be vigorous..if it has not ( as some whites can be...then i would consider one cluster per shoot as a limit in this fourth year

as far as juice...it could be anywhere from 12-18 pounds per gallon and anywhere from 15-30 pounds per vine depending on vigor and number of clusters

invest in tanks/carboys that meet your best guesstimate and then plan ahead for a local supplier of food grade barrels that can be had for free or 20-30 bucks each so that you have an escape/relief valve without blowing the budget

this past yr my harvest exceeded estimate....i bought 8 fifty gallon food barrels for the over flow and later was able to rationally purchase more flex tanks based on what i could see in terms of gallonage in front of my eyes

 

[fivebk]

Thanks for the info and link Al. With me using the trellis system i'm using would it be correct to state that I want my spurs pointing downward or can some point upwards and then train them downwards.

BOB

 

[AlFulchino]

you would PREFER to have them all point in the direction that you want...but an achievement of 100% perfection is impossible as they often have a mind of their own...what you can often do however is give them a good two fisted grip and bend them before they lignify....guide or training wires also help...forget perfection that can only happen at a certain Chateau in Los Almos New Mexico

( just kidding Mike)

plus each year even the perfect spur may throw a bud on the new growth that leads to a bad direction the next season....correction and adjustment will never end...you do the best you can and work w what you have been presented...look for buds that give you what you want...you will be fine

i use a scott henry system on everything...but there are some vines that are better trailers so while they work great on the lower wire they are horrible to train on the upper fruiting zone which would be similar in scope to vsp trained......others that work great in terms of loving to be trained upright in a vsp give me issues w the lower zone which need to point out and down.....sometimes you might get a lower shoot pointing up and there is room so i just let it go up rather than fight city hall

do what you have time for...do what works best for the vine and for you to produce the best cluster(s) on each shoot

 

[ibglowin]

I will probably have about as much luck training my vines as I have had to date trying to train my wife!

 

[Randoneur]

Al,
Just wondering how many buds you leave on young vines vs. fully mature vines?
I start with 20 on 3rd year vines and work up to 40 (Vinifera vines). Let's not get into pruning weight

 

[grapeman]

I know it's early to be thinking about pruning grapes, but I have some questions about the upcoming pruning of my vineyard.

Everything I have is on the Geneva double curtain trellis system. this will be the third year for most of my vines. and the fourth year for three Edelweis vines. I did not let anything bear grapes last year.

How many feet of cordon do I allow each vine to have?
If I recall corectly Bob you are training every other vine to the same side and the next- to the opposite side. In that case, let the cordons grow 8 feet or whatever it takes to reach each other. Naturally this depends on the length of the current canes you have to prune. Cut them back to no smaller than pencil size.
When I prune this spring do I prune everything back to just the cordon?
You can cut back to the cordon, or if you have well formed canes coming off and pointing downward, you can clip them back to spurs.
My vines grew very well last year. will I be able to let them produce a full crop or will I have to drop fruit and only produce a smaller crop ( 1/2,2/3, 3/4 etc. )
Vines that grew well should be cropped fairly heavily this year to rein in the vigor somewhat. Ones that struggled to make growth should be thinned accordingly.

I know that there are alot of variables when growing grapes, but on average what amount of juice per vine can a person expect to get. The reason for asking this is so I make sure that I have more than enough carboys/ fermenters and supplies ready by harvest time ( I don't care for surprizes ).
Figure on at least a gallon per vine and you will be close. The slow vigor ones will yield less, while the vigorous ones will ripen out well over a gallon.

I guess that's enough questions for now

BOB

 

[AlFulchino]

Randoneur,
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Al,
Just wondering how many buds you leave on young vines vs. fully mature vines?
I start with 20 on 3rd year vines and work up to 40 (Vinifera vines). Let's not get into pruning weight

____

most of my vines are set at eight feet apart ( although i do have a number at 5-6 ft)....so i essentially have four 4 ft cordons..i shoot for about 5-6 inches between spurs.....reality is often different..but never do i go under a fist size separation....on each spur i shoot for 2-3 fruiting buds...unless its a white that needed another season...on that one i will only leave 1-2 buds....but as a rule because of vigor and having to worry about a late frost, 2-3 make most sense
______

Rich.....i have witnessed what cutting back to teh cordon can do...you can dry out some buds and then lose that spur position.....i choose to leave 1/2 inch or so...let it all heal up and if its an issue i can cut it back closer to the cordon at a later safer date...