The quality of the grapes you put into wine are the greatest factor of the quality of the wine produced. Put simply, doing a great job of growing grapes is the key to producing fine wine.
It All Starts With The Place
The first step to grape planting is planning. The most important planning phase for growing grapes that are of good quality is choosing the right location. One of the keys to a good location is a lot of sunlight, spread equally throughout the grapevine. This allows your grapes to fill up with natural sugars, which will be important for the production of alcohol during fermentation.
Choosing good soil is another important factor of location selection. Your soil should not have stagnant water. So your soil should drain very well. It is important to dig your planting holes deep to ensure the soil can be loosened for good drainage. Also, avoid the common mistake of using fertilizers for your soil. You shouldn't use fertilizers by any means, as these will only help the weeds. Compost should be used only if even weeds don't grow in the soil. Wine grapes need to be small, so it is important to keep soil nutrients to a minimum.
Your vines should be planted at least 6 feet separately. If you intend to have a sizable vineyard, 8 feet apart is even better. If you do your grape planting properly, one healthy grapevine can produce a gallon of wine. But, even if you do everything right, there is the possibility of losing part of your grape crop to disease, bugs, as well as birds. This is a good reason to do more grape planting than seems necessary.
Keys on Growing Grapes
Of course, grape clusters are very heavy and hang from vines. So these vines are going to need to have a trellis to grow around as well as for support. During the first year of growth you really should choose the strongest shoot from each vine to tie to the trellis for guide and support. String or another soft material is a better choice than wire for tying, as wire can damage the shoot. The weaker shoots should be clipped. During inactive growth periods, you should prune the vines at the same time. When the vines start growing again, usually during the spring, pick the strongest new vines out of the shoot to gently tie to the wires. These will be the vines that hold the grape clusters that will be used to make wine.
Harvesting Your Grapes
A hydrometer will help you with harvest time. A wine making shop will carry a hydrometer. It is going to be used to test the gravity levels of a liquid. The basic idea is that you want to check for the proper sugar content in your grapes before harvesting them. Generally, a gravity of up to 1.105 is ideal, though it could be as low as 1.095 and still be fine for harvesting.
It may take years for your hard work in grape planting to pay off, but it will be worth your time when it does.
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