Advise for Vineyard Establishment

Here are a couple thoughts:

Go to a nearby commercial vineyard and talk to the winegrower. They are terribly busy this time of year but I think that after the harvest madness, you should be able to find someone to talk to. Most growers are glad to offer advice and talk winegrowing.

Contact your county agriculture extension office. They can be of invaluable aid and help to you. They can also refer you to others who have expertise.

400 vines is a lot for a beginner or hobbyists. For a vineyard that size, you will probably need to drive between rows with tractor or truck etc. Are you sure 6 feet between rows is sufficient?

I know nothing about the area you live in - except for passing through there once last summer. There is a company called "Peaceful Vally Farm & Garden Supply" located in California that advertises a lot about organic growing and lists a lot of different cover crops for vineyards. The web address is:

GrowOrganic.com

Good luck Paul

"For someone with so many questions , how the hell can you say I don't know what I'm talking about? You're a dope. "

I just read From Vines to Wines cover to cover so now I'm a leading expert in the field of Viticulture! ROFLMAO!

"if you don't don't know what you are talking about you should keep your mouth shut" funny I never mentioned who I was directing my comment to...maybe I meant it for Paul....I don't know why you took offense....funny you start calling me names and Paul offers advise and references, maybe I expected you to give me some good advise and references and Paul to call me names...

Paul thanks again for the advise, "400 vines are alot for a beginer" I want to plant enough to at least get a barrel of Regent and enough to determine the quality of the other vines at my sight, plus I can order three times the vines for the same price if I order 35 or more of each variety/root stock and I have ten acres ...so space is no issue...and I will be a stay at home dad full time starting this winter so i will have the time for the endevor......... As far as driving between vines the area that I will be covering will not be very big, a few hundred feet by a few hundred feet so I am not planning on driving between rows. Other than walking and carrying small amounts of equipment am I missing something that I will need to drive between rows for? there may be a gator in my future since my truck is kinda wide.

thanks again jay

One other source of information:

Check to see if there is a Growers Association in your area.

In Maryland there is the "Maryland Grape Growers Association". Virginia has a similar organization. There is probably one near you. They are very good and offer educational short courses and provide meetings and bring in guest speakers who have expertise in Viticulture.

I don't know about the conditions where you live but here in the Mid Atlantic, we have to do a LOT of spraying to control all the fungus problems. You may need to pull a sprayer with something. I have two small vineyards and I am able to do the spraying with a motorized back pack sprayer but this is something for you to consider.

You got something against the Military? I spent five years in the Army and two tours in Vietnam. Perhaps you missed out on a lot of growing up if you never served.

And YOU. Where do you live? What varieties do you grow? How big is your vineyard? I have REPEATEDLY asked you these basic questions and you never answer and you claim to have credibility???

Paul, thanks again, and thanks for serving back in the day, what was your MOS? if you don't mind me asking I'm an 18A ...keeps me busy.

Yeah we have serious downy mildew issues in the Puget Sound AVA but people that grow Regent don't have to spray it, but the Pinot family grapes I plan on putting in is another story. According to growers here Regent has been extremely disease resistant, rot and mildew resistant and a good producer. One great source of help has been Hollywood Hills Vineyard, they make the only commercial Regent in the U.S. so if anyhome growers are interested in that grape you try some... they are super busy right now so I have am leaving them alone... There is a Puget Sound Growers association which I have investigated a bit but haven't contacted.

I think I might try a backpack sprayer in a few years if I can't walk a few hundred meters with it by then I don't need to be growing grapes.

do you have any suggestions for breaking up the sublayers of the soil down deep enough without getting a tractor to rip it?

thanks again jay

oh yeah....Thomas Volney Munson good guy,

Obviously, you believe your way fits every area of the world. You obviously do not have the ambition to look at a map of where Jay lives. Here is a hint. He does not live in the desert region of Washington State.

Hardly, I believe where you live determines which varieties one grows and all the other parameters involved in viticulture. YOU are of the opinion "Do what doublsb does"

You won't even tell us where you live, what varieties you are growing and how many vines you have. For all we know, you are growing native American species.

You obviously do not understand rootstock selection and why it makes a difference.

From ignorance from people who might be foolish enough to follow your advice.

I'm not sure weather to pick 3309 or 101-14 so I am picking a mixture, but I am pretty sure its going to be on of those two, is there a method to propogate new rootstock for new grafts from grafted vines that are already established ?

for those who may benefit from reading this thread in the future.......Heavy cold damage is not a problem in the Puget Sound, what is a problem is that the wet/cool weather starts just around harvest so some years you might be ok others and early frost or rains can damage your crop. The reason I am going to use rootstock is that WSU trials have shown rootstock ripens the clones I have chosen 1-2 weeks earlier by redusing vine vigor, the grapes also show more complex flavor, (Moultan et al ) on top of the fact that losing years worth of work when I go wine tasting in Oregon and kick off Oregon vineyard dirt in my gravel driveway only to end up in my vineyard and killing my self rooted vinefera is simple not a course of action I will take period.

The best wine is made from grapes that just fit into the growing season for that particular variety.

Where is this vineyard and how far is it from you? Where do you live? What varieties are you growing? How many vines do you have?