How many people on here own vineyards?

[Robert_in_NY]

I am curious how many other TBN members own vineyards? I have 10 acres currently, 2.5 acres of Niagara and 7.5 acres of Concords. I am expanding and am looking at buying another established 50 acre vineyard here in WNY.

It would be nice to see how many others have vineyards though and compare farming practices as they can vary drastically region to region.

 

[schmism]

ive considered putting one in. Central IL is one of the best place in the midwest for grapes.

My neighbor down the road has about 15 acers or grapes. Chardonnel and one other i cant remember right now. He helps run the Piasa winnery in the area. I helped him pick this past fall.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I would love to refer to my vineyard in acres

I have 50 vines planted for a year or so, learning the trade.

 

[Egon]

Will my two backyard vines count?

In the local area there are two or three vineyards that produce wine. I'm ignorant as to their size or types of grapes grown.

 

[allenr]

Barrossa Valley, South Australia here.

I have about 80 acres comprising, in decreasing area, Shiraz, Merlot, Chadonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Semillon, Traminer, Grenache, Pinot Noir and planted last year, Albarino.

Newer plantings are 10' rows and 8' spacings, older plantings are 12' x 8'.

Most are permanent cordon on a single wire and the foliage allowed to sprawl ie no foliage wires.

Nearly all are on rootstock for resistance to nematodes (mainly rootknot) and phylloxera, should it arrive here in SA (it is currently expanding slowly in Victoria).

Older plantings were on Ramsey, then Ruggeri 140 (both claimed by wineries to be too vigorous), later plantings include 101-14, Paulsen, Richter 99 & 110.

All watered in summer with drippers, old plantings 4 litre/hr (1 gallon/hr) Key Clips @ 8', newer plantings 2.3 litre/hr @ 4' inline drippers and newest 1.4 litre/hr @ 2' 8".

No longer use underground water as it is about 1700 ppm salt and without the wet winters of years ago it builds up in the soil.
Now use Murray River water which costs about 60c per 1000 litres (about 250 US gallons) from a private (Barossa Valley) irrigation scheme.
However due to drought we are limited to 18% of normal allocation in SA so have to purchase additional water, currently 20c KL but has been as high as $1.00 Kl.

I still rotary hoe the cover crop at the end of winter then disc after frost danger is passed and blade plough after rain in summer (usually only once or twice).

 

[allenr]

Dunno what happened, I wasn't finished.

I spray under the rows near the end of winter with a knockdown, usually glyphosate or sometimes Illico (glyphosate & amitrole) and follow that with a residual herbicide, simazine or Stomp. Simazine on loam & clay, Stomp on sand but Stomp prevents germination of a wider range of weeds.

Many neighbours only mulch their cover crops then follow with a knockdown or two over summer but that has resulted in my vineyard being flanked on two sides with vineyards full of burrs - Caltrop, Innocent Weed and Three Corner Jack and numerous other hard to control weeds.

Have harvested Semillon and Traminer in the last couple weeks, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will be dropped on the ground soon (still no buyer at any price) and then I'll move onto the red, most sold but Merlot will be pooled and only paid for when the wine is sold in 12 - 18 months.

Prices from my wineries range from AU$300 for Semillon to $1000 and $1300 for Shiraz. Top quality Shiraz can pay up tp $8000 per tonne but mine is always classed as standard ie. bottom end price.

My grapes are sold to BVE (Barossa Valley Estates), PLW (Peter Lehmann Wines) and R Wines (Dan Phillips USA).

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

Don't own a vineyard but own 5 acres in the middle of a "bunch" of them on Seneca Lake in NY...

 

[Chuck52]

Dunno what happened, I wasn't finished.

I spray under the rows near the end of winter with a knockdown, usually glyphosate or sometimes Illico (glyphosate & amitrole) and follow that with a residual herbicide, simazine or Stomp. Simazine on loam & clay, Stomp on sand but Stomp prevents germination of a wider range of weeds.

Many neighbours only mulch their cover crops then follow with a knockdown or two over summer but that has resulted in my vineyard being flanked on two sides with vineyards full of burrs - Caltrop, Innocent Weed and Three Corner Jack and numerous other hard to control weeds.

Have harvested Semillon and Traminer in the last couple weeks, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will be dropped on the ground soon (still no buyer at any price) and then I'll move onto the red, most sold but Merlot will be pooled and only paid for when the wine is sold in 12 - 18 months.

Prices from my wineries range from AU$300 for Semillon to $1000 and $1300 for Shiraz. Top quality Shiraz can pay up tp $8000 per tonne but mine is always classed as standard ie. bottom end price.

My grapes are sold to BVE (Barossa Valley Estates), PLW (Peter Lehmann Wines) and R Wines (Dan Phillips USA).

I was under the impression that my wife, daughter and daughter-in-law were supporting the Australian Chardonnay production rather well! They mainly drink Black Opal. Why the poor market for that variety?

Chuck

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Will my two backyard vines count?

Well, why not. I originally thought this thread might be useful for people on here to be able to ask questions and even learn about growing grapes from around the country and world. I know I am interested in learning different farming practices from other areas as I am always looking for ways to improve my own farm.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Dunno what happened, I wasn't finished.

I spray under the rows near the end of winter with a knockdown, usually glyphosate or sometimes Illico (glyphosate & amitrole) and follow that with a residual herbicide, simazine or Stomp. Simazine on loam & clay, Stomp on sand but Stomp prevents germination of a wider range of weeds.

Many neighbours only mulch their cover crops then follow with a knockdown or two over summer but that has resulted in my vineyard being flanked on two sides with vineyards full of burrs - Caltrop, Innocent Weed and Three Corner Jack and numerous other hard to control weeds.

Have harvested Semillon and Traminer in the last couple weeks, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will be dropped on the ground soon (still no buyer at any price) and then I'll move onto the red, most sold but Merlot will be pooled and only paid for when the wine is sold in 12 - 18 months.

Prices from my wineries range from AU$300 for Semillon to $1000 and $1300 for Shiraz. Top quality Shiraz can pay up tp $8000 per tonne but mine is always classed as standard ie. bottom end price.

My grapes are sold to BVE (Barossa Valley Estates), PLW (Peter Lehmann Wines) and R Wines (Dan Phillips USA).

I have looked into planting wine grapes but the more I learn the more I realize I am too busy to dedicate the time required to grow high quality wine grapes. Plus in this area it is a huge gamble. By the time you get a variety established that all the wineries want they change their mind and you have a crop you have to give away. It is a real fickle market here and the prices are no where near what you guys get or even the Niagara on the Lake regions.

Our bread and butter is Concord. It is very tolerante to the conditions here and is rather easy to take care of. The most work after establishing the vineyard is trimming each year. We are a no tie system so once their trimmed I don't have to touch the vines except to repair posts or wires and to scout for problems. Everything else is done with machines right through havest.

I looked at your profile and if possible could you post some pictures of your equipment you use on your farm? I enjoy seeing vineyard equipment from different areas as I never know what is available in different markets. Most of our equipment comes from Europe but slowly. They lead the industry and it seems most of the equipment is built in Italy and tested there.

Right now the main tractors used in this area are the Case-IH and New Holland vineyard tractors and John Deeres 5000N series. Massey doesn't have much market at all which is discouraging. There are a few SAME and Landini tractors also and Kubotas. I would love to see Claas and Fendt bring their vineyard tractors to this area but I doubt that is going to happen anytime soon.

The main sprayer used locally is TurboMist. The JD dealer brought on Jatco which looks like a nice cheaper sprayer. Almost all the sprayers here are trailed sprayers in the 400 gallon size. The large farms have gone to multirow sprayers. And there are some Gregorie mounted sprayers also.

The top harvesters used are Korvan and Gregorie. Korvan is a bit cheaper then Gregorie and is built in the US so it is easier to get and the guys like the fact it is a US built machine. It is a nice machine but I prefer the Gregorie unit as it seems to do a little bit better job. If I harvested 300+ acres then I would go with Gregorie, less then the Korvan is easily good enough. Both make the Chysholm Ryder look like a dinosaur in terms of speed of harvest, harvest quality and ease of use.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I would love to refer to my vineyard in acres

I have 50 vines planted for a year or so, learning the trade.

Well, you can. It is around what, .15 acres? .12acres? Everyone starts out somewhere. My first vineyard was 3.5 acres.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

ive considered putting one in. Central IL is one of the best place in the midwest for grapes.

My neighbor down the road has about 15 acers or grapes. Chardonnel and one other i cant remember right now. He helps run the Piasa winnery in the area. I helped him pick this past fall.

If you are serious about putting in a vineyard get in touch with your local grape extension office and see if they have any coffee pot meetings, conferences and seminars. You can learn a lot going to these things and it will be very useful to you to determine if or what you want to do.

We have a grape growers conference coming up in March that has a bunch of experts from around the country come here and discuss a ton of topics with vineyards. The second day deals specifically with wine grapes. Then later in march there are about 4 seminars about planting and establishing vineyards. Some are specific to wine grapes and wineries for this area while others are general vineyard establishment seminars. I would imagine your area would have something similar and they are invaluable to anyone getting started in growing grapes.

 

[charlz]

This part of Idaho has some local vineyards and wineries. Table grapes are pretty new but there are some trying to make it an industry here. I put in 10 vines year before last but we had a really hot spring and I didn't have the irrigation in yet... most didn't make it... then a really cold winter and only one made it past that. I re-ordered cuttings this year so will try again. I am trying Saturn, Jupiter and Neptune. Figured going off the beaten path might be more interesting.

 

[cisco]

Vineyard?? Hmm, my 4 muscadines probably wouldn't count. I put in 2 rows with 6X6 end posts, a 4X4 in the middle of the runs (30') of 9 gauge galvanized wire, one at 3' and the other at 5'. I've watered, fertilized, CA nitrated (a word??), mulched between the 2 rows, obliterated weeds with RoundUp and such, but still am trying to get the pruning right 3 years into this process. HOW does one prune a large vineyard? Must take a bunch of time.
I'm not complaining, as aside from the intial construction the work is very brief and easy, but 5 acres of grapes would be more than I could handle, unless I wanted to quit my day job and give up most recreational activities. Yeah, I like wine as well as the next guy, but not THAT much. Home brewing beer, which I do, seems much easier.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Vineyard?? Hmm, my 4 muscadines probably wouldn't count. I put in 2 rows with 6X6 end posts, a 4X4 in the middle of the runs (30') of 9 gauge galvanized wire, one at 3' and the other at 5'. I've watered, fertilized, CA nitrated (a word??), mulched between the 2 rows, obliterated weeds with RoundUp and such, but still am trying to get the pruning right 3 years into this process. HOW does one prune a large vineyard? Must take a bunch of time.
I'm not complaining, as aside from the intial construction the work is very brief and easy, but 5 acres of grapes would be more than I could handle, unless I wanted to quit my day job and give up most recreational activities. Yeah, I like wine as well as the next guy, but not THAT much. Home brewing beer, which I do, seems much easier.

The big farms have full time employees and they trim starting after harvest and work through winter. If they have more then their employees can do they hire migrants. The migrants are amazingly fast trimmers.

Some guys have started using mechanical trimmers but they pose problems of their own. They are fine if you use them every other year but if you use them year after year you end up with a bush running down the top wire. The vine is so thick up top and bushy you have to stay on top of scouting as these vines are more subsceptible to disease. Also, a heavy snow will fold a row right over breaking posts and vines.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Well, you can. It is around what, .15 acres? .12acres? Everyone starts out somewhere. My first vineyard was 3.5 acres.

Cultural difference here. My relatives over in Moravia refer to vine in heads - they say I have 300 heads of Frankovka (Blaufr舅kisch or Lemberger).

Here is just bit of information about viticulture in my old country: Vineyards. They grow it mainly for wine, in that region it is somewhat of a miracle to reach the sugar level growers in America take for granted. I believe in days of Ludmila and Charles the 4th, the climate was somewhat warmer in Europe.

 

[forgeblast]

I have two vines to start with ontario and hardy woden. I wanted cold hardy varieties and i didnt want to have to worry about spraying for disease. Last year i planted and put in the supports. will be a three wire system. If they do fine I think i will add more. These were just a test.

 

[Egon]

Ludmila and Charles the 4th,

Was that not the same time the Vikings were populating Vineland and farming in Greenland.

Was there not a mini cold period in the 1600's and for a period of several years there were many crop failures.

I really enjoyed seeing the vineyard's on the bank's of the Donau and the Rhine.

 

[MossRoad]

Well, why not. I originally thought this thread might be useful for people on here to be able to ask questions and even learn about growing grapes from around the country and world. I know I am interested in learning different farming practices from other areas as I am always looking for ways to improve my own farm.

Well, if that's the case, I have three vines. They were supposed to be seedless red, white and concord. All of them have seeds.

My fruit gets frozen off almost every year. The one year it did not get frozen off we made some very good freezer jam and I would really like to keep them from freezing.

I had them trained way too low to the ground (only about 4') and plan on raising them up higher this year. I pruned them out pretty harshly a few weeks ago and left some nice stems for training up higher.

I tinker with the grapes and also have several fruit trees. Growing anything is quite enjoyable, especially if you get a good harvest.

 

[Egon]

Ice Wine?

On my lonely vines the the birds manage to arrive the morning before I am prepared to pick.