Nice to hear from another northern grower! I"m in upstate NY in zone 5a, which some years falls back to 4b (like spring of 2023). I lost all my primary shoots, as did most everyone else up here. The secondary shoots did come out, but very few grape clusters grew, and if they did, many didn't have enough time to ripen. I grow Frontenac, but it needs to be sprayed with fungicide for black rot at the proper time. It is also very acidic. I think it gets that from the natic American genes. I have tasted native American grapes and they are super acidic with a similar flavor profile. Another grape I grow is Itasca. It too is hardy up north. However, I messed up last year and picked them too late. When picked late, the grape is too mushy to press well and they had already begun to oxidize. Therefore, I cannot comment on taste yet. It does grow well, being hardy and semi-vigorous. My other white hardy grape is St. Pepin. This is a female-only late blooming grape that requires a pollinator. That makes it difficult. It is also not a vigorous grower, so yields are small. Because of those traits, I don't recommend it. The wine from it is light and neutral. It can only pair well with light tasting food or you will loose its flavor. However, on a hot day and if it is chilled, it is a refreshing beverage by itself. I grow Marquette, but the vines are too young and a late deep freeze in the spring of 2023 killed off all the primary shoots. They did rebound and I got two clusters. The grapes did ripen (they ripen early) and they tasted like a red table grape. I am hopeful for this variety. I have heavy clay soil so it takes longer to get them to size and theyh ate still young. Like many others, I also have Concord. It does well here, but if the primary shoots get killed off by a late frost, the grapes from the seconday shoots will not fully ripen, giving you a very acidic wine. I am also creating new hardy varieties, but the results from those are at least 5 years away. It is a tough process making new varieties. There are so many factors to pay attention to. If I get one out of a few thousand I will be happy. I do it for fun. Otherwise, it would not be worth it. The Universities can make much better headway. I too learned years ago to get my vines up high. Airflow is critical. I don't get powdery mildew, but experience some downy mildew because of of the location of the vineyard (damp area) and the genetics that make two varieties susceptible. With that being said, most grapevines need to be sprayed with some sort of fungicide at some point. Every vineyard I have visted is sprayed. It is what it is. With your own vines, you can focus sprays and not need to spray as much. Happy growing!

@TheIntegratedGarden

8 ай бұрын

Very interesting summary. What a unique issue with the over-ripening you had, as well. Around my area, between danger of heavy frost and especially raccoons, our issue is having to pick them too early and I was almost in the mindset of 'no such thing as too late' (unless the grapes are shriveling, etc.). Your input has corrected my opinion on the matter. Love that you're creating your own varieties for fun. Feel free to keep us posted on here. I hear you, about losing a lot of your crop due to late freezes. I guess we can at least use those times as an opportunity to reset the vine structure. Fungal issues are one thing we do not have here in Colorado. The air is so dry here. We just have many issues with out-of-control weather that produces early and late frosts/deep freezes. Yeah, factors like good spacing, pruning and vine height for air flow, as well as planting in an open, HIGHEST elevation spot as possible and as much full sun as possible should help in areas like yours, but as you mentioned, there is only so much that can be done in many cases. Blessings, Evan

Yes Marquette has excellent wine qualities. Best as a medium bodied red table wine. My neighbor had a good harvest last season. I'm trying to grow this one here in NW Denver. West highlands.

Picked and made wine from Marquette, St Pepin, St. Croix, and Frontenac here in Minnesota. So far the Marquette is favorite.

@TheIntegratedGarden

Жыл бұрын

Good to know. Thanks for sharing!

@thomasmarkgroening2217

5 ай бұрын

Great to hear! I'm exited to plant a few of these varieties in southern Manitoba(north of Minnesoda/Northdakota) this season.

@mdspider

5 ай бұрын

@@thomasmarkgroening2217 Good luck.

I live in southwest suburbs of Chicago, and I planted Frontenac in my garden back in 2020, and have been pleased with it thus far. 2022’s harvest was very tasty as I had used an MLF culture as well as Potassium Bicarbonate to help with the acidity….also used oak chips to help with aging….looking forward to this year’s harvest tho!! All the best to you going forward and please continue to make videos!!!

@TheIntegratedGarden

Жыл бұрын

That's great! Thank you for sharing your experience with Frontenac. Last season we made a blend with Frontenac, Marquette, Leon Millot, and Reliance. Nothing added except for maybe a few cups of sugar (hard to pick the grapes at their absolute peek of ripeness due to raccoons), and wild ferment. It came out really great! Anyway, thanks again, and feel free to let us know how 2023's harvest goes.

@briepower8226

Жыл бұрын

I want to have a vine on my walls. Southern BC. But not for wine. Just to eat. Are there any grapes that are to eat that can withstand the cold 8 months a year? Thank you.

@TheIntegratedGarden

Жыл бұрын

@@briepower8226 My favorite table grape that withstands the cold, harsh weather is Reliance. Check that out with your growing zone and see if maybe compatible. It is so resilient and delicious! Hope that helps.

For those who may be wondering, our lovely pregnant friend was not drinking wine with us! :)

Hi this is a great video! Just purchased a couple acres outside of Winnipeg (Zone 3b) and I was checking out grapes for wine for the property. Could you kindly let me know which options might work in zone 3? I have a list going, but I wrote off any zone 4 grapes. But if you know of any zone 4 that work in zone 3 I would so appreciate it! Great video!!

@TheIntegratedGarden

11 ай бұрын

Hi Katelyn. I'm not too well-versed in zone 3 climate, but this site seems to have a pretty nice list, in case you haven't seen it yet: practicalselfreliance.com/cold-hardy-grapes/ Also, I really like Double A Vineyards. Their site has a search feature by zone, and I believe they are in upper NY and should suffice for a good source too. I have personally purchased from them (once purchased of 4 different varieties) and they were good. Hope that helps at all! Thanks for the kind words and blessings to you and your new property.

@AnniversaryRoad

6 күн бұрын

I live in Winnipeg and have grown Frontenac grapes successfully in my yard for 3 years.

This is the best video about growing grapes in cold climate I'm in Missouri. I'm getting into wine making in very small batches. I'm looking for St Croix grapes for red wine. I can't find where to buy them. Do you have any suggestions where I can purchase this vine.

thank you for this video. I live in Alaska with my elderly sister. She likes doing things with alcohol and I want to grow some grapes for her and was fretting over whether or not to let it be the only thing that grows in the shed/greenhouse. but now I get my fantasy back of having them grow over an arbor that separates spaces in the back yard. It's going to be beautiful!

@TheIntegratedGarden

9 ай бұрын

That's great! Gad it helped!

Great video, we're looking to start a Vineyard at west Bridgewater MA, Looking for help

How about Fredonia? I'm in central Maine and trying to decide what will grow best here

@TheIntegratedGarden

Жыл бұрын

Fredonia is a very tough grape for sure. I believe it is more of a Concord type and may not be as good for wine, so it depends what you are after. As far as wine grapes go, the toughest, most cold hardy, with good wine quality so far in my experience has been Frontenac. It should do great in your area.

I’m in zone 4 in Montana, when is the best time to plant grapes? The variety I bought is seedless concord, which I know is risky.

@TheIntegratedGarden

4 ай бұрын

If it is a leafless, dormant plant, you can plant it now (the earlier the better to get them rooting in). Otherwise, if it has leaves, or even very green buds, wait until after last frost.

@tessmichel7788

4 ай бұрын

Thanks! It has one or two leaves, a couple green buds, so I guess I will wait. Thanks for the quick reply.

@TheIntegratedGarden

4 ай бұрын

@@tessmichel7788 Definitely. :) You don't want it to undergo damage and then put all of its energy into budding back out instead of getting established before next cold season. Blessings

I want to grow grapes . I just want to eat them.

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