Grape Vines

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Grape Vines

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DorsetScott

Joined: 23 Oct 2011
Posts: 500
Location: Bournemouth

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 12 1:09 pm Post subject: Grape Vines

Going through the plan for the garden I've realised that I have enough room on a south (ish) facing wall for a couple of vines.
Whilst I am a keen homebrewer, I am guessing that most of the harvest will generally be eaten, however I'd like to have the potential to brew with the harvest one year, so am looking for a dual purpose variety.

Does anyone have any reccommendations for a dual purpose variety which would grow well enough outside in the South of the UK?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45421
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 12 1:48 pm Post subject:
Speak to www.sunnybankvines.co.uk

Tania

Joined: 07 Nov 2012
Posts: 95
Location: Dorset

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 12 12:34 pm Post subject:
Why not also add a hop too? Then can add to beer

DorsetScott

Joined: 23 Oct 2011
Posts: 500
Location: Bournemouth

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 12 2:26 pm Post subject:
Thanks Tahir Tania, thanks for the idea. I'm planting a small hedgerow at the back of the garden, and I'm going to get hops running through that. Although down this way there are plentiful supplies in the local hedgerows which I forage every year

Tania

Joined: 07 Nov 2012
Posts: 95
Location: Dorset

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 12 3:10 pm Post subject:

DorsetScott wrote:

Thanks Tahir

Tania, thanks for the idea. I'm planting a small hedgerow at the back of the garden, and I'm going to get hops running through that.
Although down this way there are plentiful supplies in the local hedgerows which I forage every year

Will have to have a good look - I got one that was at mums - poking over the hedge in Kent - now transplanted - so am crossing fingers for next year.

Allegedly the first hop shoots to come through are one of the most expensive edibles in the world

DorsetScott

Joined: 23 Oct 2011
Posts: 500
Location: Bournemouth

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 12 3:24 pm Post subject:

Tania wrote:

DorsetScott wrote:

They are quite nice eating, but I'd suggest it's the rarity as opposed to the taste which creates the ridiculous price tag.
I've had them just sauted in butter, and I've put them in an omelette. Both tasty, and definitely nice considering, for me anyway, they are free.
I put them up there with nettles, which I am a big fan of eating (and brewing!)

Tania

Joined: 07 Nov 2012
Posts: 95
Location: Dorset

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 12 3:32 pm Post subject:

DorsetScott wrote:

Do you have a good nettle brewing recipe?
If my hop takes and I find it in time my try it sauted in butter - what does it taste like?

DorsetScott

Joined: 23 Oct 2011
Posts: 500
Location: Bournemouth

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 12 4:54 pm Post subject:

Tania wrote:

DorsetScott wrote:

Do you have a good nettle brewing recipe?
If my hop takes and I find it in time my try it sauted in butter - what does it taste like?

I have a great nettle beer recipe which I make ridiculous amounts of, I'll look it out and post it when I get home. It's not really a beer in the sense it doesn't involve hops etc, but it tastes amazing and turns out quite strong too

I'd call it Nettle Brew.

The closest taste I can describe the hop shoots to is like a mild asparagus. It's a bit more subtle, less of the earthy flavour and doesn't have the crunch of good spears, but it's definitely worth trying them. My eyes will be peeled on the spots next year for some more anyway.

Tania

Joined: 07 Nov 2012
Posts: 95
Location: Dorset

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 12 4:59 pm Post subject:
Thanks! Both sound good. Said to a friend we ought to have a Nettle Beer competition next year - he has made a few things last year and I fancy my chance as the cider and wine was - to be polite not nice! Have a good evening!

madcat

Joined: 24 May 2008
Posts: 1265
Location: worcester

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 12 5:22 pm Post subject:

all my grapevines arrived as unpromising brown twigs pruned off friends vines,a job that gets done about now when the leaves have all fallen off and a couple of frosts have sent the plant to sleep.
All i did was to trim these twigs a bit into cuttings about 12 to 14 inches long and stick them in the ground in a sheltered spot. Next spring about 75% of then leafed up and grew on.
Transplant them when dormant the following winter,in truth one is growing where I set the cuttings.
Don't let a new vine set fruit in its first year in its permanent position.
I don't know what my vines are but i think the parents may have come from Italy.
I also have half a dozen vines to pot up that were cuttings this time last year,old booked by gardening friends so i hope they all survive.

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Sat Dec 15, 12 6:29 am Post subject:
Ive got to start pruning my polytunnel vines - one is threatening to take over the whole of one side. Anyone done vine pruning?

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Sat Dec 15, 12 10:17 am Post subject:

I have a grape vine: Black Hamburg. Given a pruning (see madcats posting) by my father nearly 30 years ago, present vine is a cutting of that vine.

I spent hours surfing the net to find a grape that is good as a dessert grape and suitable for wine making. Turns out the Black Hamburg meets the bill.

It fills the roof-space of an 8' x 12' greenhouse, but would take over the world if allowed.

I restrict the crop to about 20 bunches each year. I once made a demijohn of wine, quite pleasant.

The only problem is its vigour.

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Sat Dec 15, 12 10:29 am Post subject:
I've found that newly bought vines planted outside in winter tend not to make it - now I grow them on in large pots in the polytunnel and plant them out in late spring after the last frost and they take off much better.

Marches

Joined: 13 Dec 2011
Posts: 171
Location: Nr Peak District, England

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 13 12:13 am Post subject: Re: Grape Vines

DorsetScott wrote:

Bournemouth should be quite warm in summer so you have more choice.

Rondo is apparently a good one for wine and a decent eating variety too. There's Muller-Thurgau as well, but more of a wine grape.
Boskoop glory is a decent eating variety, apparently it can make wine but I've never seen any made from it.

Sunnybank vines as someone have mentioned have a lot of types, many rare ones too. I'd check them out, I've ordered a few from them and they were very helpful in advising me about varieties.

Here's a good Norwegian site in English about varieties which do well there. If they'll grow in Norway then Southern England should certainly be no problem!

https://home.online.no/~l-bentel/Sorter-eng.html

Pay attention to ripening times, berry size, cluster size, flavour, productivity and characteristics. Hardiness isn't important in our climate as all those on that site are more than sufficient for everywhere outside of the Cairngorms.
At the bottom is a useful table for comparing varieties. Most of them aren't widely available in the UK other than from Sunnybank vines. There are a few common ones such as Rondo which are readily available though.
Interestingly they're almost all hybrids and almost none of them are the wine varieties grown in the UK.

Some descriptions of typical wine and dual purpose varieties for the UK can be found on these sites:

Wine & dual purpose grapes:
https://www.winegrowers.info/vines/home.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_from_the_United_Kingdom#Grape_varieties

Some seedless eating grapes:
https://www.winegrowers.info/varieties/Seedless%20grapes%20for%20eating/home.htm

Myself I have Muller-Thurgau as a dual purpose, some mystery £3 one from Aldi (it'll be an ornamental if the grapes are no good - looks fine as a plant). I've also got two on order from Sunny bank - Kempsey Black and Korrinka Russkaja.

I asked for some info on KB since they seem to be the only supplier:

Quote:

Notes on Kempsey Black from my predecessor :

'Came as cuttings from a customer who collected them from a very old vine
growing in the derelict walled garden of a demolished manor house in
Kempsey.
In 1999 the owner of the vine told me it was reputed locally to be at lease
100 years old. Vigorous vine of labrusca appearance , above average sized
berries on medium bunches , mid-season ,good clean flavour and a good vinifera
quality and good disease resistance , very similar to Boskoop Gkory but not identical.
Produced good rose wine in 2006 , it can overcrop - I had 20lb a vine !'

Sounds very good to me.

You might want to check out Sunnybank's collection and search for a few on the internet and see what they're like:

https://vinenursery.netfirms.com/media/sunnybank-fullcollectionlistsept09.pdf

zamoraflorence

Joined: 23 Jan 2013
Posts: 2
Location: California

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 13 10:45 am Post subject: grow your own
thanks to you all. very informative. will try it

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