The quality of the grapes you put into wine are the greatest factor of the quality of the wine produced. In other words, doing a great job of growing grapes is essential to producing fine wine.

It All Starts With The Location

The initial step to grape planting is preparation. 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 area is a lot of sunlight, spread equally across the grapevine. This provides your grapes to fill with natural sugars, which will be important for the production of alcohol during fermentation.

Choosing good soil is one more important factor of location selection. Your soil should not have sitting water. So your soil should drain nicely. It is necessary to dig your planting holes deep to ensure the soil can be loosened for good drainage. Also, avoid the typical mistake of using fertilizers for your soil. You shouldn't use fertilizers at all, as these will only benefit the weeds. Compost must 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 must be planted at least 6 feet separately. If you intend to have a large vineyard, 8 feet apart is a better choice. If you do your grape planting correctly, one healthy grapevine can produce a gallon of wine. But, even if you do everything correctly, there is the possibility of losing part of your grape crop to disease, insects, and birds. This is a good point to do more grape planting than seems expected.

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 on as well as for support. During the first year of growth you will need to choose the strongest shoot from every vine to strap 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 must be clipped. During inactive growth periods, you will need to prune the vines as well. When the vines begin growing again, typically 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 utilized to make wine.

Harvesting Your Grapes

A hydrometer will help you with harvest time. A wine making store might offer 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 just before harvesting them. Generally, a gravity of up to 1.105 is ideal, though it can be as low as 1.095 and still be okay for harvesting.

It might 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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