I have 6 vines in the back that I am experimenting with, but I would like to
grow wine quality grapes for my home winery. Any idea of what grapes I can
use in Wisconsin. Considering we are currently getting 12+ inches of snow
as I speak (type??), I wonder what can survive in the frozen wastelands. I
am looking for a red grape. Any help would be appreciated.

I also, hopefully, plan to experiment with grafting with my 6 vines. That
is the reason I planted them. I know a little about grafting, but if anyone
has experience in this, I would love some advise.


Thanks!

Joel R Anderson wrote:

> I have 6 vines in the back that I am experimenting with, but I would like
> to
> grow wine quality grapes for my home winery. Any idea of what grapes I
> can
> use in Wisconsin. Considering we are currently getting 12+ inches of snow
> as I speak (type??), I wonder what can survive in the frozen wastelands.
> I
> am looking for a red grape. Any help would be appreciated.
>
> I also, hopefully, plan to experiment with grafting with my 6 vines. That
> is the reason I planted them. I know a little about grafting, but if
> anyone has experience in this, I would love some advise.
>
>
> Thanks!

You might want to check out Frontenac

Here is one web link:
http://www.grapes.umn.edu/frontenac/

Here is a nursery that sells them:
http://www.concordnursery.com/history.html

I have no experience with the grape but I have heard that it is an excellent
variety for cold climates. I know there are commercial growers who are
growing it in Michigan. I have ordered vines from the above nursery and
have been satisfied with them.

> I have no experience with the grape but I have heard that it is an excellent
> variety for cold climates. I know there are commercial growers who are
> growing it in Michigan.

There is a good book for Northern winegrowers, I have it but can't
recall the title. I'll post when I get home. It's Northern Winemaking
or something like that.

Joe

I live in Wisconsin myself. I have some Frontenac Gris but unfortunately I
only planted them this year so I don't have a lot of output on them but they
were created by a fellow Wisconsinite. A good book is "Northern Winework:
Growing Grapes And Making Wine In Cold Climates"

Walter


--
"The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. This explains why
some people appear to be bright until they open their mouth."

That's the book! I like it too.

Joe

Walter Venables wrote:
> I live in Wisconsin myself. I have some Frontenac Gris but unfortunately I
> only planted them this year so I don't have a lot of output on them but they
> were created by a fellow Wisconsinite. A good book is "Northern Winework:
> Growing Grapes And Making Wine In Cold Climates"
>
> Walter
>
>
> --
> "The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. This explains why
> some people appear to be bright until they open their mouth."

Joel R Anderson wrote:
> I have 6 vines in the back that I am experimenting with, but I would like to
> grow wine quality grapes for my home winery. Any idea of what grapes I can
> use in Wisconsin. Considering we are currently getting 12+ inches of snow
> as I speak (type??), I wonder what can survive in the frozen wastelands. I
> am looking for a red grape. Any help would be appreciated.
>
> I also, hopefully, plan to experiment with grafting with my 6 vines. That
> is the reason I planted them. I know a little about grafting, but if anyone
> has experience in this, I would love some advise.
>
>
> Thanks!
>
>
Dont worry about the snow, if you can bury the vines in Snow this will
protect them from extreme cold. What you need to worry about is
temperatures below 0 degrees F. These temps cause winter bud damage as
well as wood damage to trunks. Can you get hold of historical
temperature data from a recoding station near where you live?

Do a google search. Put in: grapevine cold winter hadiness as a search
sting. This will bring up lots of information. American species are
generally the most cold hardy (Concord, Niagara), then Hybrid varieties,
such as Cayuga, Seval blanc, traminnette. The lest cold hardy are the
European Vitis vinifera varieties (Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet etc).
In some places they bury the vines in soil, such as in Mongolia, and the
Ukraine, so they can survive the winter. It all depends on what you want
to grow and how much effort you want to put in.

James.

.. Put in: grapevine cold winter hadiness as a search
> sting. This will bring up lots of information. American species are
> generally the most cold hardy (Concord, Niagara), then Hybrid varieties,
> such as Cayuga, Seval blanc, traminnette. The lest cold hardy are the
> European Vitis vinifera varieties (Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet etc).
> In some places they bury the vines in soil, such as in Mongolia, and the
> Ukraine, so they can survive the winter. It all depends on what you want
> to grow and how much effort you want to put in.
>
I've made those hybrids and all of them make great wine. As to the
vinifera; Dr Frank was from the Ukraine and they grew them there
regularly. When he came to New York he did the same thing. People
thought he was crazy. He 'mounded up' like you mentioned. Granted,
that is a lot of work but for a home-winemaker it might not be as bad.
He is dead but his sons still run the winery, Frank winery in the
Finger Lakes.

Joe

Another good place to look for info is http://www.mngrapes.org/index.html
you can also email them questions and they will be very helpful.

Walter


--
"The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. This explains why
some people appear to be bright until they open their mouth."

Thanks! I remember seeing that book a few years back at Harry W Schwartz
in Shorewood.
Need to pick it up.
"Joe Sallustio" > wrote in message
ps.com...
> That's the book! I like it too.
>
> Joe
>
> Walter Venables wrote:
>> I live in Wisconsin myself. I have some Frontenac Gris but unfortunately
>> I
>> only planted them this year so I don't have a lot of output on them but
>> they
>> were created by a fellow Wisconsinite. A good book is "Northern Winework:
>> Growing Grapes And Making Wine In Cold Climates"
>>
>> Walter
>>
>>
>> --
>> "The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. This explains why
>> some people appear to be bright until they open their mouth."
>

Joel -

In addition to Frontenac, you might consider planting the new red
variety just released this year by the Univ. of MN, called "Marquette".
It is supposed to be as cold-hardy as Frontenac, but with lower
acidity and a more complex flavor profile. I've made Frontenac wines
the past 4 years (I pick the grapes at Great River Vineyards, in Lake
City MN). The high acid level is always a challenge to deal with. The
color is very dark, but Frontenac has relatively low levels of tannin,
and a distinctive, "one-note" flavor profile. A lot of folks here have
come to the conclusion that it works best either as a Port-style wine,
or as a very dark rose. I haven't tried the Marquette yet (it will be
a few years before there is enough of it around) but the U of M folks
that released it were quite excited about it. You should be able to
find out a bit more about Marquette on the U of M enology website:

http://www.grapes.umn.edu

There are a number of nurseries growing Marquette, so you should be
able to find some to plant this spring.


Doug