Q: When is the best time to plant grapevines?

Answer: Recommended planting time is before or around April. However, customers have been successful planting all times of the year, as long as vines are available.

Q: How many vines do I need to make wine?

Answer: 1 ton of grapes will result in approximately 150 gallons of wine. From a typical three ton/acre crop, you can expect around 450 gallons of wine/acre. Typical vineyard spacing is 9x6, but many growers prefer high density planting, which decreases the amount of fruit per vine, and some say ultimately increases quality.

For backyard growers, each vine should produce around 7.4 lbs of fruit/vine resulting in around a half gallon of wine/vine. To make a 5 gallon carboy of wine, you’ ll need around 12-15 vines. It is often cost effective to order a bundle of 25.

Q: What is a clone?

Answer: AA: A clone is defined as a genetically uniform group of individuals derived originally from a single individual by asexual propagation (cuttings, grafting, etc.). All grape varieties are propagated by asexual means to preserve the unique characteristics of the variety. But slight genetic variations commonly occur among the many billions of cells that make up a grapevine. If a new vine is propagated from a cane that grew out of such variant tissue, it may exhibit somewhat different characteristics than the original vine. If the difference is desirable, for example, the new vine ripens its fruit a week earlier, the vine could be further propagated to perpetuate the new characteristics. Thus, a new clone is born and it is assigned a number or given a name to distinguish it from other clones.

To be considered a distinct clone there must be a unique difference from other clones, although sometimes the difference is slight. Keep in mind that differences among clones of the same variety are vastly smaller than differences among varieties, but sometimes the difference can be important. Clones may have differences in time of budbreak, time of ripening, cluster architecture (loose versus tight), fruit yield, fruit quality, or other characteristics.

Hartmann, H.T., D.E. Kester, and F.T. Davies, Jr. 1990. Plant Propagation Principles and Practices. 5 Edition. Prentice Hall. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Q: How do I calculate my Growing Degree Days?

Answer: Growing degree days are calculated by taking the daily average of the maximum and minimum temperatures, divide by 2 and compared to a base of 50 degrees. Calculations are taken daily for the length of the growing season beginning in April until the end of October.