The quality of the grapes you put into wine are the greatest determinant of the quality of the wine made. Basically, doing a great job of growing grapes is the key to producing great wine.

It All Begins with The Location

The first step to grape planting is planning. The most important planning step for growing grapes that are of good quality is selecting the right area. One of the keys to a good location is plenty of sunlight, spread evenly across the grapevine. This allows your grapes to fill up with natural sugars, which will be necessary for the output of alcohol in the course of the fermentation.

Choosing good soil is another important aspect of location choice. Your soil should not have sitting water. So your soil should drain very well. It is essential to dig your planting holes deep so that the soil will be loosened for proper drainage. Also, avoid the common mistake of enriching your soil. You shouldn't make use of fertilizers at all, as these will only help the weeds. Compost should be used only when even weeds don't develop in the soil. Wine grapes need to be small, so it is essential to keep soil nutrients to a minimum.

Your vines should be planted at least 6 feet apart. If you plan to have a large vineyard, 8 feet apart is even better. If you do your grape planting effectively, one healthy grapevine should be able to provide a gallon of wine. Then again, even if you do everything right, there is the chance of losing part of your grape crop to disease, pests, and birds. This is a good reason to do more grape planting than seems necessary.

Tips on Growing Grapes

Needless to say, grape clusters are pretty heavy and hang from vines. So these vines are going to need to have a trellis to grow around and use for support. Throughout the first year of growth you will need to choose the strongest shoot from each vine to tie to the trellis for direction and support. String or any other soft material is a much better choice than wire for tying, as wire can damage the shoot. The weaker shoots should be clipped. During dormant growth periods, you have to prune the vines as well. When the vines start growing again, usually during the spring, choose the toughest new vines out of the shoot to softly 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 can help you with harvest period. A wine making store will carry a hydrometer. It is used to test the gravity levels of a liquid. The fundamental idea is that you want to make sure for the proper sugar content in your grapes before harvesting them. Typically, a gravity of approximately 1.105 is ideal, though it can be as low as 1.095 and still be fine for harvesting.

It may take years for your grape planting efforts to pay off, but it will be truly worth your effort when it does.

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