New grape growing in Kansas - What type grapes?

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brew69er

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I'm a moderately experienced all grain homebrewer of beer. last November my wife and I purchased some acreage for a future home build and want to take a stab at grape growing / wine making. I am in Northeast Kansas west of Kansas City. I have ordered the following from Double A Vineyards in NY:

Wine grapes:
7 VINES OF CAYUGA WHITE
7 VINES OF SEYVAL BLANC
7 VINES OF STEVEN
7 VINES OF VIDAL BLANC

Juice grapes
3ea. CONCORD
3ea. NIAGARA

My order won't arrive till early March and I am think of expanding my order. Any suggestion of what other types of grapes or more of the above I should order?

I enjoy beer, don't drink wine but my wife likes German and California wines such as Rieslings. I understand it will take 2-3 years before we get any real grape production. So this will give us (me) time to develop our personal wine preferences but in the meantime I need to plant to.....any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!
 
If you have any other vineyards around, I would check with them and see what varieties grow in your area. Find out what soil the grapes need and take soil samples. Have them checked to make sure you have the right nutrients in the soil. Your local county extension office might have some ideas what grows best around you. Arne.
 
the Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc good grapes for wine making. actually all of the grapes you have listed are good wine makers. I would add Chambourcin a red grape to our mix it is a good grower and provides plenty of grapes. Norton is also a good grower, but I would check with neighbor wineries on this one as it can be difficult sometimes.
Where are you exactly, I presently live in Overland park but used to reside in KCK.

Visit the Kansas Grape Grower web page and they will have listed wineries and grapes growers in your vicinity that you can visit and get good tips
 
I am glad a few others chimed in here, especially the ones close to you. I could give you recommendations but they might not be best for your area. Local growers will know.

I will add a couple whites for you since she likes German wines and Riesling. Traminette is a fairly hardy hybrid much like a Gewurztraminer. LaCrescent is a very nice aromatic wine similar to Riesling and makes many award winning wines. It can be finished anywhere from bone dry to semi-sweet.

Definitely have her try a few bottles of these wines and see what she likes.
 
salcoco said:
the Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc good grapes for wine making. actually all of the grapes you have listed are good wine makers. I would add Chambourcin a red grape to our mix it is a good grower and provides plenty of grapes. Norton is also a good grower, but I would check with neighbor wineries on this one as it can be difficult sometimes.
Where are you exactly, I presently live in Overland park but used to reside in KCK.

Visit the Kansas Grape Grower web page and they will have listed wineries and grapes growers in your vicinity that you can visit and get good tips
Click to expand...

Thank you all for the replies! We have a whole acre I can plant but want to get something in the ground this year. We have a kido and no near family so getting to a local winery will be difficulty but is on our to do list. I will visit some over the next year and make some selections based on our (her) preferences for spring of 2017. These will do for 2016 planting.

I'm between western Olathe and De Soto on the south side of K10. Thank you!
 
there are a number of wineries on the west side of Olathe and Wyandotte County. Stone Pillar on College Blvd is in western Olathe, can't think of cross street right now. Holyfield is on 24 /State Ave in Bashore, western Wyandotte county. the Wine Barn and Rowe Ridge are on 119th and on Leavenworth Road in KCK.
I would also have a soil test done to confirm what you will need for additives for grape growing.
 
salcoco said:
there are a number of wineries on the west side of Olathe and Wyandotte County. Stone Pillar on College Blvd is in western Olathe, can't think of cross street right now. Holyfield is on 24 /State Ave in Bashore, western Wyandotte county. the Wine Barn and Rowe Ridge are on 119th and on Leavenworth Road in KCK.
I would also have a soil test done to confirm what you will need for additives for grape growing.
Click to expand...

Do you have a suggestion who I should call for soil testing?
 
I did my batch of 2014 Cayuga White Bone Dry, with some chaptalization to up the Alcohol % to 14%. It's tasting right now like a good Sauvignon Blanc. So that and the Seval and the Vidal should be really good.

I'd look at some of the Hardy Reds to plant, like Marquette and St. Croix (The Minnesota ones are hardy well in the negatives, yet still make decent wine). With you living in Kansas, I'd also look into the vine burial techniques used on the northcentral and northeast US to protect the vines in the winter.
 
This is great info for me as well as I am planning on extending my lone single vine to 3 or 4 different varieties next spring! I'm in KCK and plan on visiting Holy-Field this week. Didn't know about the one on Leavenworth road! We should have a get together one day and share tips and tricks!
 

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