I'm in northern Illinois. Have around 35 varieties planted, of which most of those are cold climate varieties. I do have a few vines of Cab Franc, Cab Sauvignon, Riesling, Petit Verdot, Regent, Zweigelt, Petite Sirah, Gewurztraminer, Tannat and Merlot planted that i have to cover in the winter to avoid heavy bud damage. Large rose cones work well if you can prune the vines down in December and grow them like a shrub. I grow mine in an area of the yard that is heavy clay & limestone, but the vines still over grow, so the fruit is best used for grape jelly.
What grapes are you growing??
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Would think the southern Rhone varieties are ideally suited for your area.
They are ideally suited for my area, but I planted all the Bordeaux grapes. And most of the Italian reds.
I'm adding Nebbiolo. And Malbec.
Really I went with the Bordeaux 6 because of blending quality.
As I read these posts, I am impressed by the knowledge and vocabulary used throughout. I say this as an ignorant, very new enthusiast to the world of wine and wine making. To the point - I am in Phoenix, AZ., growing Vitis Vinifera, it has seeds and is very sweet to the untrained pallet. In your opinions, can I make a palatable wine? What type of grapes would be a good choice for red wine making here? If you have read this far, thank you.
What kind of soil do you have? Sand? clay? I'm assuming probably sandy. I will look up the Growing zone you would be in and see what varietals would grow where you live. Vinifera means European common grape or really any wine grape from Europe which are the ones that make the best wines.
You are in USDA zone 9A or 9B which is actually less than I am so you could probably grow a lot of what I could. My zone is 10A
I would start with something simple, like Cabernet Franc. Because its easy to grow, and I would recommend checking out NovaVine for getting your vines, and I would also recommend going with rootstock 1103P
Phoenix is too hot for 99% of the vines. Arizona wine country is up north by Flagstaff where it is a little cooler. Still, there are some vines that do well in warmer climates, stuff like Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignane, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, the Portugese varieties, probably Nero d'Avola, Syrah, Zinfandel, Alicante Bouschet....
Maybe I cold share some of our 'too cold' and we could split the difference?? What a splendid grape we would grow!
Alicante Bouschet grows in the California valleys that hit 115 F so yeah it would grow where you are because it's parent is grenache and petit Bouschet.
Hank
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We have about 400 Grenache Noir vines that are loaded and already reading 25 Brix. We are in Valley Center Ca and the heat has caused a lot of early ripening. Should make for a great high sugar harvest. Looking for someone interested in trading grapes for wine. We bought this vineyard this spring with no time to plan for a harvest. Plants are bird netted and will be ready to pick in a month. Any amateur winemakers near San Diego?
I wish that San Diego wasnt a 6-8 hour drive cause i would love to get some grenache grapes. Im getting some Sangiovese from a local vineyard this month.
Thank you, The best wines!? Now the pressure is on. My soil has a lot of clay in it,
Sorry, lap top died. Love your suggestions on varieties and thank you so much for the root stock id.
Yeah, you should try to plant a spanish varietal as most if not all of them are heat tolerant. Mourvedre,Tempranillo,Alicante Bouschet which is a french grape but heat tolerant. Carmenere like warmer climates as well. Zinfandel does tolerate high temps.
Check out Novavine, they have a wide selection of grapes on various rootstocks, and can help you to get some grapes.
Vinekpr
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Such a sad story I have. I started planting my vineyard (Chardonel, Traminett, Chambourcin, Concord and Thompson seedless) about 7 years ago. Fought the deer year after year and finally found a defense using a multi-layer electric fence. Then to my dismay the Japanese beetles attacked with a vengeance. At year 4 they defoliated 500+ vines (out of 680). Year 5 they took out the rest. I've given up grapes and replanted with Blackberries. Brewing my first batch of Blackberry wine. Only about 95 vines producing this year. Planted another 250 this spring. I'm getting a little older so it takes a little longer to plant in this Missouri clay and rock.
Keep planting you will win in the end, you just have to spray them frequently, dont wait to spray untill you see the bugs spray beforehand.
As to deer, just put netting over the vines. They cant get to them.
Maynard123
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I am growing six vines, all Muscadine, Big Red, Ison, Black Fry, Cowart, Noble, and Higgins. I am a hobbiest and wanted to make wine from our native grape, also since it is the most disease resistant for where I live. (Northeastern North Carolina) I have been making Muscadine wine now for about six years and can't wait for my vines to produce enough grapes to make a batch from each one. They are three years old this year and last year I got 65lbs from them, it looks like I may get double that this year.
Nice, I haven't dabbled much with native grapes because most of them have a average wine making quality. Or strong grapey flavor like Concord. Although Norton does not, that's probably the only grape I would plant native grape wise.
I’d like to plant them all. This little hobby I’ve started is growing like a you know what. Made a possible fatal wine making error yesterday so I’m reading a bunch to see if can I can or need to fix anything. In the process of my research I’ll read about Spanish varieties. Thank you
Is that typical for a vine? Seems like that is what happened to me.
