Growing wine grapes at home requires patience and a willingness to learn basic vineyard management skills but is well within the capabilities of many amateurs. A growing number of people find growing wine grapes and winemaking at home a rewarding hobby that can be affordable and also a cost-effective pursuit for those who enjoy more than the occasional glass of wine.
Planting Grape Vines
Growing enough grapes to make wine does require some garden space, but less than many might imagine. About twelve pounds of grapes are needed to produce a gallon of wine. A single grape vine managed properly can produce up to ten pounds of fruit but the actual amount of grapes harvested depends on weather, the location of the vines, grape varieties and proper care.
Typically, space for 8 to 25 grapevines can yield sufficient grapes for at least several gallons of a personal vintage. Vines are best spaced 6 feet apart in rows 8 feet wide. Wine grapes can be grown successfully in almost any part of North America. The presence of regional commercial vineyards is a good indication that an area will support grape growing. Commercial vineyards can also be resources for learning about the wine grape varieties that are most adaptable to local conditions and growing seasons.
Grapes need full sunlight and sufficiently warm temperatures to ripen, so grape vines should be planted on southern slopes or on the south side of windbreaks or buildings. Loose, gravelly soil that provides good drainage avoids standing water in the spring and encourages good growth.
After choosing a vineyard site, it is a wise idea to have the soil tested, especially if the site has not been used previously for gardening. Soil tests will determine whether lime and other inputs are needed before planting grape vines.
Vineyard Management
Properly maintained grapevines will last for decades, so it is important to start by choosing grape varieties carefully and investing only in high-quality stock. Only certified disease-free rootstocks from a reputable nursery should be purchased and planted.
Wine grape vines need to be carefully pruned and trained using trellising for best results. Annual pruning of the vines is essential to promote peak production. Grapevines should also be weeded regularly and protected from frost when necessary. Grape vines usually begin bearing fruit in three years and reach full production in five.
Grape Harvesting
An important principle to remember is the better the grapes, the better the wine. Unlike other fruits, grapes do not continue ripening after being picked so grape growers must micromanage grape development and pick them at the moment of perfection. For the backyard viticulturist, tasting the grapes is one good way to know when to harvest them but investing in a hydrometer, an instrument available at winemaking supply shops that measures the specific gravity of liquids is the best way to know when grape harvesting should be accomplished. A hydrometer reveals the sugar content of the grapes and a specific gravity between 1.095 and 1.105 is an ideal reading for winemaking grapes.
Wine quality depends both on picking the fruit when it is ripe and on taking the fruit immediately after grape harvesting to the winery, in this case perhaps a garage or basement, to begin the winemaking process.
Larry Darter - Larry Darter is a freelance writer and published author with three books to his credit. He is a graduate of the Univ. of Central ...
