Grape planting-In order to achieve a great tasting wine, selecting a good quality grape to grow in your vineyard is essential; making grape planting and growing the foremost important step to obtaining a successful end product.
Establishing Optimum Growing Conditions Location:
One of the first things to account for before grape planting is to determining a good location. The area that you choose to plant your grapevines should be exposed to as much sunlight, as evenly as possible. Always make sure that the same amount of sunlight gets to each side of your vine. The more sunlight, the better the plant will photosynthesize, thus aiding in the sugar development of the grape that will later sweeten your wine and help to ferment it.
Soil Type:
Another important aspect of grape planting is the type of soil your vine will be settled on. Grapevines are benefited from nutrient deficient soils. Since the lack of food in the soil helps the grape maintain a smaller size (optimum for wine making) the use of fertilizers or compost is unusual amongst wine grape growers. A more fertile soil would cause bigger, tangier grapes with lower sugar concentrations that wouldn’t be very efficient for fermentation.
Drainage:
To obtain a healthy grapevine, make sure the area on which they sit is not consistently wet, or puddly. Growing your vines 6FT apart, in rows that are 8FT wide assists the drainage, and yields an average of a gallon of wine per vine. Since vines climb on anything that is in the way, grapevines are simple to plant with the use of a trellis. The trellis will give the space for the vine to climb, as it will loosen up the soil beneath it, also assisting the drainage.
Planting
Grape planting is like in most crops, chances of losing some grapes to birds, insects or other pests, so if you are looking to maximize production, planting some extra grapevines to account, in advance, for the lost ones is highly recommendable.
Basic Planting Technique:
Plant your vines about six feet apart and if you are going to be growing a large crop, the vines should be grown in rows that are eight feet wide. Each grapevine will produce about one gallon of wine. You may loose some grapes due to a small crop or pests like insects or birds so you might want to plant extra grapevines depending on how much wine you would like to produce. Since it is a vine, you will need to supply a trellis for the grapevine to grow on. Dig a larger then normal hole for the vines. This allows the soil to be loosened allowing for good drainage.
The first year that your grapevine is growing, tie the strongest shoot to the trellis with a piece of string. String does not damage the shoot like wire could. Clip any other shoots that grow from the roots. When the vine is in the dormant season you will need to once again prune your vine back. In the spring when the buds have begun to grow again, select the strongest shoots from the upright shoot and tie them loosely to the wire as they grow. These shoots will become the arms of the vine where the grapes will grow in years to come.
Harvesting
When it comes the time to harvest, it will be beneficial to purchase a hydrometer. It can be bought from a local wine-making supply shop. A Hydrometer measures the specific gravity of liquids. It will tell you the sugar content of the berries. An ideal gravity is between 1.095 and 1.105, the latter being the better one. It is then time to harvest the grapes.
The process of growing grapes can take years in order to make wine but with the right amount of effort and preparation with your grape planting process, it can become simple and well worth the reward you will receive in the end.
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