What kind of grape vine should I get?

[iamdave]

Hi!
I have a 10' high, ~180' long retaining wall in my back yard made of staggered blocks and I'd like to grow some grape vines along it. I live in middle Tennessee and the soil in the surrounding area is somewhat rocky but around the wall there is topsoil and sod with some clay around as well. I've never grown any grapes before but I think it would cover the wall nicely and hopefully I could occasionally make wine from the grapes instead of from the juice I buy right now.

So what variety would grow well in these conditions? What do I need to know to successfully train them to grow up (or down) the wall and produce grapes? Any advice at all would be helpful as the only thing I know about grapes is that delicious beverages can be made with them.
Thanks!

 

[Winehaus]

Which direction is the wall facing? Anyway you could upload a picture? That would help with vine support ideas. In that climate you have a lot of options but the direction the wall is facing and general microclimate conditions of your location could cause more or less freezing events and change the minimum temperatures that the vines feel in the winter. Knowing about the air movement around the wall could help suggestions

 

[iamdave]

The wall faces east. The prevailing wind is northerly. The attached picture is from February of this year. It's the best one I could find. Snow is a rarity around here but, as you can see, it does happen.
Thanks!

 

[iamdave]

Anyone have any further thoughts about this?

 

[HillPeople]

I would think they'd get a lot of shading on an east facing wall and limited air flow, both of which grapes don't like too much. But if that's the area you have to use, plant a few and see how they do!

 

[bigdrums2]

Sounds like you are just looking for a cover, no real designs for anything too time involved, then I would just go with muscadine. Try will grow a lot and give you good eating with little/no spray. If you want wine, then I wouldn't do wine grapes on something like that.

 

[blumentopferde]

First of all: An east-facing wall isn't that bad! Sun in the morning dries the grapes up quickly from the morning dew and helps to prevent funghal diseases!

Second: A wall in the back makes a good heat storage and will definitely improve the micro-climate!

Third: I would suggest you to plant american or hybrid varieties. Viniferas are a pain in the *** if it comes to diseases. It is almost impossible to grow them without spraying!

Which varieties you should plant I don't know, but I'm sure you'll get some good suggestions here

 

[blumentopferde]

One more thing:
You might need a trellis system to keep the vines in place. Otherwise they might just grow somewhere on the floor. A top wire cordon could even work on your wall if you place some spacers there and have a wire running though them...