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Starting a winery: See http://www.marylandwine.com/mwa/startup/startwinery.shtml http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/pb1688.pdf http://www.commerce.state.il.us/NR/rdonlyres/E24BD84D-6D4F-4C95-B48C-E7AFB869F526/1760/Winery.pdf http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/pb1688.pdf
Calculator
for wine additions. Use at your own risk; Ron has not vetted their math,
and as I often say, "Winemaking is witchcraft, there are no recipes." We strongly recommend that you join Wine America. It is worth it just for the aggressive insurance program, which saves us a lot of money every year.
Benefits and Services
Considerations for Starting a Winery. Click
here for the University of
Arkansas 84 page paper by Justin Morris. |
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Ron's Top Ten List of Viticultural Mistakes "The
reason that site and variety selection are so important is because if we
get it right in the vineyard, we are able to make honest wines in the
cellar. Honest wines are wines in which the winemaker does very little,
with no additions of acid, tannins, concentrates, sugar, enzymes, etc.
Honest wines reflect terroir." At least once every several weeks someone inquires about planting a vineyard, or having planted a vineyard wants advice on improvements and/or marketing. I’ve managed to save more than a few people from making grievous mistakes, others have failed or are failing due to their having made irreversible mistakes. The following list is not meant to be all inclusive and it is in no particular order. One error by itself may not ruin your project, but several combined will guarantee its failure. Click here for Ron's Top Ten List of Viticultural Mistakes. So you think owning a vineyard is glamorous? Saturday, July 30, 2005. A Japanese beetle decides to explore Ron's ear. It died in the far reaches of his ear next to his ear drum. A visit to the emergency room was required. Growers
Corner: Ron on hybrids: We
really want to grow vinifera, but we think our weather is just too
rough. We have 200 Riesling
that we are very hopeful will thrive.
We are considering planting some French hybrids to offset our
vinifera risk and valued your opinion on whether we should consider
“own rooted” to reduce the hilling up labor.
Is this going to spell trouble in the long run? What
are the advantages or disadvantages of planting own rooted for French
hybrids? As far as hilling up goes it is so problematic on anything but flat sandy or sandy loam soils that I don't recommend it. The graft union in my experience is not the problem. The lack of viable renewal buds at the base of the vine is a bigger problem. As far as French hybrids go, in my opinion, some of the whites are well worth considering. For reds I would concentrate on making Cabernet Franc work. I am coming to the conclusion that part of the reason why hybrid wines lack quality is poor cultural practice. Bill Skvarla at Harmony Hill is a pioneer of sorts in that he is growing Vidal, Seyval and Traminette in an upright well-managed. VSP system. The results are outstanding. I would suggest you try all three. Traminette must be grafted due to phylloxera risk. Seyval and Vidal probably should be. I suggest 3309C rootstock. Bill's vines are grafted. Incidentally, Sevval can make a fine dry white wine if it is crop controlled and grown in a VSP. I still remember a Seyval I tasted at the Missouri grape conference several years ago. Traminette makes a nice off-dry wine with excellent aromatics. Vidal is widely grown and needs some residual sugar to counter its slightly bitter-herbaceous (hybrid) back palate. Virginia Wines - On the Verge of Mediocrity The article above (click here to read) is excerpted from the quarterly newsletter of the Virginia Vineyards Association, Vol. 19, No. 3 for October 2003. The author Jim Law, a native of Cincinnati, grows grapes and makes fine wine in Virginia at Linden Vineyards. I have asked and received his permission to reprint his remarks because of their relevance, poignancy and value for midwest wineries in general. Bravo Jim for your candor. Preferred Vendor List for Growers and Winemakers A problem faced by anyone trying to grow grapes in soybean country is the lack of local suppliers of vineyard material. The problem is compounded by the fact that many would be suppliers fail to deliver on promises. Grapevine nurseries, in my experience, are particularly irresponsible in this regard. In part that is why I used to do much of my own grafting and plant propagation. Now that we are making wine, I have discovered that the (mostly) European equipment is generally overpriced and poorly represented in this country. Often it is poorly designed and manufactured. Motors burn up, gauges and seals fail, and spares are often hard to find. Documentation is limited or missing entirely. Buyer beware! I offer the list below with a caveat - people and organizations do evolve and change. For that reason you may experience trouble where I have previously had good luck. If things don't work out with any of these vendors, let me know and I will consider removing them from the list.
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