Norton or Chambourcin

[lefluers]

I live in Raleigh, NC. I have been looking/studying for a wine grape I could grow in my yard that is not Muscadine or Scuppernong. Does anyone live in this area who has tried the Norton or Chambourcin or any others with success?
thanks.

 

[Deezil]

Have you checked for local vineyard/wineries & what they offer/grow?
That's what I would do, if I wasnt sure

I would get my feet on the ground & try to walk the vineyards and ask questions, look at training styles and ask about spraying programs/pest or disease issues

 

[deboard]

I'm not in North Carolina, but Kentucky. We have a lot of the same problems though. Nortons grow well here, they are pretty resistant to the diseases that thrive in humid areas. I do not like Chambourcin wine (just my personal preference, don't want to start a war!). But there are a lot of local wineries that grow it.

2 years ago, I bought some Noirette vines to see how they would do. If anything, they are more vigorous than Norton, although they seem to need more spraying for fungus problems. I like the Noirette profile though, it's a lower acid grape that I hope to use to balance out the high acid Norton. We'll see how that works out when I actually get enough of both to make something.

 

[bigdrums2]

Either of those should work well or you, and I like both of them. Norton is usually

 

[7oakacres]

I'm in southwest Missouri, both varieties can thrive in this soil but... I would call your local ag extention and see if they can come out and test your soil to find out which would grow better.

 

[lefluers]

thanks for everyone's advice.

 

[REDRUM]

As well as seeing what's popular locally, you could look at regions that have a similar climate profile to NC, elsewhere in the world, and see which grapes thrive there. Being on the east coast of the continent, with a fairly humid subtropical climate, there might be parallels with places like the Hunter Valley (Aus), where Semillon makes some great wines, or Uruguay with its Tannat (where the high humidity softens tannins).