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Grape Planting For Great Wine
The quality of the grapes you put into wine are the greatest factor of the quality of the wine produced. Basically, doing a good job of growing grapes is the key to producing fine wine.
It All Begins with The Location
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 spot. One of the keys to a great location is a lot of sunlight, spread evenly across the grapevine. This allows your grapes to fill up with natural sugars, which will be essential for the production of alcohol in the course of the fermentation.
Selecting good soil is another important factor of location choice. Your soil should not have sitting 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 proper drainage. Also, steer clear of the common mistake of using fertilizers for your soil. You shouldn't make use of fertilizers at all, 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 vital to keep soil nutrients to the very least.
Your vines should be planted at least 6 feet separately. If you plan to have a huge vineyard, 8 feet apart is even better. If you do your grape planting properly, one healthy grapevine can produce a gallon of wine. Then again, even if you do all the things right, there is the possibility of losing part of your grape crop to disease, bugs, and birds. This is a good reason to do more grape planting than seems necessary.
Keys on Growing Grapes
Of course, grape clusters are pretty heavy and hang from vines. So these vines are gonna need to have a trellis to grow around as well as for support. Throughout the first year of growth you should choose the strongest shoot from each vine to tie to the trellis for guide and support. String or another soft material is a much better choice than wire for tying, as wire can harm the shoot. The weaker shoots should be clipped. During inactive growth periods, you should prune the vines as well. When the vines start growing again, usually during the spring, select the strongest new vines out of the shoot to carefully tie to the wires. These will be the vines that support the grape clusters that will be used to make wine.
Harvesting Your Grapes
A hydrometer will help you with harvest period. A wine making store 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 make sure for the proper sugar content of your grapes before harvesting them. Generally, 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 hard work in grape planting to pay off, but it will be worth your effort when it does.
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