Own grapes

Erik Wiechers · Post by **Erik Wiechers** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:13 am

As i was browing through the forum i stumbled upon this thread http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... g+own+port

Very interesting stuff inthere.
The funny thing is, a few years back i got this grape vine from my brother and this year was the first year it actually had grapes. Since then the idea of making my own port/wine keeps haunting me.
The grapes tasted really really good, even better then the ones you buy in a store. Sweet, crispy and well-balanced.
From this 1 vine i harvested about 5-6 kilo's of fresh, pestilence free grapes.

The vine itself is completely surrounded by walls and in summertime it gets sun from 10 AM till 7 PM. Twice a year it gets extra nutritions and during long periods of drought it gets water every week.

The result is very promising so i will get another vine to plant and hopefully that will get me a total of 10 kilo's of fine grapes in 3 years. Maybe enough for 3 bottles of port or wine.

I will keep you informed over time.

Is there anyone else with their own vines or vine-yard ?

Erik

Frederick Blais · Post by **Frederick Blais** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 6:43 am

I wanted to try to plant my own vines this year in my backyard just to experiment the growing of good quality grapes for my region but it was not allowed as I don't have yet my little plot of land.

Eric, good luck making your port :) One thing to consider evaluating the quality of grapes for wines and port... The skins should be very bitter, see uneatable. Some varieties even just a contact with the seeds and tongue gets the latter coated with that bitter tannins texture. Vines needs to be stress so it does not overproduce and it concentrates the flavours in fewer clusters and so the roots go deeper looking for water and having then access to more minerals from the souls that will give more flavours.

Let us know when you have done your first bottle, I'd be very curious about it.

Erik Wiechers · Post by **Erik Wiechers** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:46 pm

I wanted to try to plant my own vines this year in my backyard just to experiment the growing of good quality grapes for my region but it was not allowed as I don't have yet my little plot of land.

Frederick, my little plot of land is only 6 sq. meter behind my house. Enough space for this vine and a extra vine if i want, with room left to sit under its leaves during hot summers while enjoying a cold beverage

You dont need hundreds of acres.

Bryan Robinson · Post by **Bryan Robinson** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:38 pm

Erik,

I have a few vines of Touriga Nacional in the ground, but they are very new. All the grape clusters this year were pinched off so as to force the vines to put their energy into growing roots. I plan to pinch off all the fruit next year as well. The year after that, I’m going to have a go at making some wine with them.

One resource that might help your effort is winepress.us. They have a forum full of winemakers ranging from the complete novice making his first 5 gallon kit, all the way up to operators of commercial wineries. Users there are always happy answer questions.

-Bryan

Marco D. · Post by **Marco D.** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 7:06 am

Bryan Robinson wrote:I have a few vines of Touriga Nacional in the ground, but they are very new.

Hi Bryan,

I was wondering if you had any advice for me. I have a couple of cuttings of Touriga National that I'm going to try to grow. Living in the NorthEast, I assume I shouldn't try putting them in the ground right now. I intend to leave them in water over the winter and then plant them in the spring. Is this the right thing to do?

I assume the twigs are probably in a dormant stage, but I wonder if the warm weather in the house will kick start some growth and screw up their growing cycle. Not quite sure what I should do...

Erik Wiechers · Post by **Erik Wiechers** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 7:40 am

Hi Marco,

i would not leave them in the water 24/7 for the entire winter. I think they will rot eventually. Maybe if you wrap them in damp tissuepaper or cloth and store them in a dark and cool place they probably will survive. What i do with some bulbs is put them in soil and store them. I also dont let the soil dry out completely. In spring i then take them outside and watch them grow again. It always works for me.

Cheers

Erik

Marco D. · Post by **Marco D.** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 7:46 am

Hmmm... good point. I'll try the damp cloth...

Bryan Robinson · Post by **Bryan Robinson** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:12 am

I agree with Erik. Do not store them in water. That will kill them.

If the cuttings were taken from a dormant vine, put the cuttings in a ziplock bag and keep them in your refrigerator until you are ready to plant them. Make sure your refrigerator does not run cold enough to freeze things. If you occasionally get ice in your milk, the dormant budwood will probably die. The budwood should be kept between about 35F and 45F and should never be allowed to warm up. Over the winter, you may want to research rootstocks and grafting.

As for my vines, I had a nursery do the grafting for me. They grafted the Touriga Nacional on a rootstock of my choice and grew the vines in their greenhouse for close to half a year before I took them and planted them. It is the much easier way to go.

That same webforum I mentioned above (http://www.winepress.us) is also a good place to ask questions about grapevines, rootstocks, trellising, and all the questions surrounding viticulture.

-Bryan

Marco D. · Post by **Marco D.** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:25 am

Hey Bryan,

Thanks for the info. I think I'll post on WinePress as well...

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 2:18 am

Marco,

Having just been with you in the Douro ... am I assuming correctly how you came upon these Touriga Nacional vines?

Please do keep up to speed with your progress!

Marco D. · Post by **Marco D.** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 6:40 am

Maybe.... Err... I mean, no comment...

I had a friend who gave me some Pinot Noir and Riesling cuttings from his vineyard in Anderson Valley back in 2005. They suffered an untimely death during the winter. CT weather can be brutal. Let's hope these cuttings can flourish a bit better.

Bryan Robinson · Post by **Bryan Robinson** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:56 am

I could see how winter in CT could be a bit tough. One tip that I have never tried but always remembered was wiring up the vines with bulb-type Christmas lights, and then covering the vines with plastic sheeting. Turn on the Christmas lights whenever the weather gets cold.

If the Touriga Nacional doesn’t work out with your climate, you may not be completely sunk. There are some varietals that do better in the colder climates. Marechal Foch is one that comes to mind. At one time, they had a huge amount of Marechal Foch planted in Canada, so it should work for CT, and you can make port-style wine with it. That is exactly what Forks of Cheat Winery in West Virginia uses to make their Black Jewel Port.

Erik Wiechers · Post by **Erik Wiechers** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:18 pm

Marco,

you are really lucky with those Touriga Nacional, lets hope they can widthstand the harsh winters.
My vine is the Vitis vinifera ´Boskoop Glory´, a vine especially for our climate here. It can widthstand temperature below zero with ease although we hadn't had a good winter here in ages