Planting grapes for future wine

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

wbhutchins

Supporting Members
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2022
Messages
64
Reaction score
40
Location
Louisville, KY
Hi everyone. I'll preface this with the fact that I've never made wine from grapes, only fruit berries and honey for mead. So please excuse my ignorance. I have a small plot of land and have about 15 -20 linear feet of space available to plant a small grapevine. I'm considering all facets, what variety will grow well in the Kentucky climate. What variety makes good wines. Should I stick with one variety so it will produce enough fruit to make a 5 gallon batch due to the size restriction. Or is 10 feet produce enough grapes for a 1 gallon batch so I could plant a dark and white variety?

Thanks in advance for your tips!
 
- you are in the east,, ie humid area, ,, so fungus will be an issue, native varieties do better than vinifera, but heavy duty spraying could also be a fix
- with one concord I maxed at three gallons, you will take a few years/ 5ish to see full yield
- variety? what is growing in Ky? are there recommendations from the extension office? what do local small wineries use as a grape? Last of all what flavor do you like?
- seeing grapes in Europe changed my point of view, intense growing was on about four foot/ one meter spacing
 
- you are in the east,, ie humid area, ,, so fungus will be an issue, native varieties do better than vinifera, but heavy duty spraying could also be a fix
- with one concord I maxed at three gallons, you will take a few years/ 5ish to see full yield
- variety? what is growing in Ky? are there recommendations from the extension office? what do local small wineries use as a grape? Last of all what flavor do you like?
- seeing grapes in Europe changed my point of view, intense growing was on about four foot/ one meter spacing
I think I want to make something like a German Riesling, or a similar white wine is what I'm looking to make. I guess I need to find a local plant nursery. Maybe they will have some suggestions.
 
Just for reference , I have a 30 foot row of 10 Riesling vines....slightly crowded but it works okay. My yield is always about 3.5 gallons. I also have a 30 foot row of 10 Sangiovese vines that produce 6 gallons . My vines are what many consider to be 'crowded' , planted close together , and if I planted them again I would space them apart just another foot or so ( in the row ) . But they seem to do okay the way they are.
Have fun and good luck in your vineyard!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top