You mustn't take it to personally as I know of one small vineyard that had to write off the entire Bacchus crop because it rotted and the Pinot Noir crop didn't even pay for the pickers. Another more substantial vineyard maintains that they are 80% down on the crop this year but had a bumper crop last year and as such the "cellar" is near capacity and wouldn't have taken another good crop. I have a new small vineyard which I am extending next spring and being philosophical and listening to others, it would appear that one good year in four is as much as we can expect in the UK. Good luck anyway and I think you should go for the most disease resistant and cool climate vines you can find , try Regent and Solaris ?.
Hi there. Thank you so much for your comment. It's a little heartening to know that I'm not alone in my problems this year but next year may be a bumper year so Onwards and upwards as they say. I feel very sorry for those folks that rely on our weather here to make a living. Farmers are pulling their hair out here. Thank you for your grape suggestions. I had been looking at those two varieties too
When Chardonnay or Pinot Noir rots in my tiny vineyard, Cabernet Cortis, Solaris and Muscaris thrives. But in my climate conditions low temperatures usually destroy more crop than fungus. You should also check Souvignier Gris.
Muscaris didn't suffered at all from mildew in my small belgian vineyard. Cabernet Cortis & Souvignier Gris +-. Divico, Regent & Merlot Kanthus had a very good year also.
Hi there. That's v interesting, thank you. I will definitely look into those varieties too. Looked at the Solaris too. The only downside as far as I can see is that the side shoots are more prolific meaning more pruning , so your suggestions may well be better. Ae they early croppers?
Would you be ripping out the vines, or grafting in the new onto the trunks? (so you'd already have a root-system in place) Wish you the best, I love following your channel.
I would probably replant entirely rather than graft onto existing rootstocks. For no other reason than the plants I would be buying in have already been grafted professionally. I don't think I would trust my abilities to regraft anything successfully.
Here in the Netherlands there is a big division in grape growers being either pro or against piwi’s. I’m yet to try a piwi wine that lives up to a classic variety wine, but the newer piwis coming from Germany are getting very very close. For my own vineyard I took your approach and did a mix. Some Pinot noir to experiment with and the rest are all piwi to give some crop security. I would highly recommend looking at the more recent piwis as the varieties that have been around longer, like johanniter, are already losing their resistant qualities. Personally I went mainly for souvignier gris. A very resistant variety that can even be used to make rosés. I also planted some Solaris, which I’ll mainly use to blend because of its high sugar content. Also, don’t threat, I’m yet to speak to grape grower here in the Netherlands that is even remotely happy with this year’s crop. It’s been a disaster for everyone - it’s definitely not just you! Thanks again for the great content! Let’s hope for a better year next year!
Thank you so much for your comments. It is truly heartening to find others that are in the same boat. I would be very downbeat if I thought it was just me messing up this year. It means that no one can be blamed for their poor harvests this year. Thank you also for your very useful comments on variety choice. I was looking at the Souvignier Gris too. Do you find that some varieties are easier to manage throughout the year? I heard that Solaris was a bit of a handful with many more side shoots.
@ it’s definitely not just you! This year has been nothing but rain and mildew over here too. The hardest thing to manage with Solaris for me is that it’s a very early ripener. So harvesting is more than a month earlier than our other varieties which can take some planning. And it’s definitely a vigorous grower so needs more pruning. I’m personally not the biggest fan of the wines it produces (kind of like a sweater Chardonnay) but as part of a blend it adds some great body.
The only problem with Chardonnay here, as I understand it, is that it is a relatively late harvesting variety. Not sure about the Chenin Blanc, but anything later than the Bacchus which is considered a mid-season harvest, I think I would run into trouble in them not ripening fully in our climate.
At the end of the video it looks like you have room to expand. Maybe plant a new row with PIWI varieties. Then in a few years you will have lots of free cuttings to root and re-plant into the rest of the vinyard. Planning ahead saves money and lets you wait a few years to decide.
You are definitely right there. I do have a bit of space to experiment and I think I may go down that root. I can always buy more in if required in years to come.
Also about replanting Bachus, that would be a shame, I think you just need more intensive care (fungicides) to prevent such years like this. But i have quite good sucess with Marcheal Fosch variety, which used to be popular in Loire, before they illigalized hybrids in France. Grows like a beast, quite resistant to mildew, possibly one of the best quality grapes for wine (from hybrids ofc.).
Hi there. That's very interesting. I will persevere with the Bacchus for next year and see how we get on. I didn't know that hybrids were illegal in France - very interesting.
I had a very inaccurate scales this year and added too much sulphites. It killed the wine, nothing was fermenting at any point, so it started to get moldy on top. There goes half my wine this year. :D
Hi. You should drip one drop at a time. When you added 3 drops for the second time you had no choise to check if 1 or 2 drops was enough to get stable blue colour. And you shouldn't have any air bubbles in your taster pipette . So it all effects your final result.
You are absolutely correct. I wasn't expecting the permanent blue until I had reached about 4mg/l, so I thought I had a bit more to go. I think it may well have turned blue at the 2nd drop rather than the 3rd. Each drop is roughly 0.5ml, so I think my free sulphite was probably about 20-25ppm. I'll do the test again when I rack and add more potassium metabisulphite. Hopefully I won't be so eager with my dropper next time.
I say give the vines another season or two before ditching them. Here in north eastern US we can have extraordinarily wet summers that ruin entire crops, but then go on to thrive the preceeding years. It would be a shame to undo all the growth until you know for certain you can't make at least a semi-regular decent crop.
Hi there. I think you're right. I'm not going to make any rash decisions. I've been pruning the bacchus this last week so I think I will persevere for another year with them... maybe👀
L'Acadie Blanc, Petite Pearl and Verona have been very disease resistant for me. I've had terrible luck with New York Muscat and Siegerrebe and will likely rip them out soon.
Hi there. The problem with propagating is that I wouldn't have the right rootstock as these are all pre-grafted onto the Orion variety. Without grafting the roots tend to get destroyed by a pesky little mite phylloxera. So I think most european vines are grafted onto the more resistant american rootstocks.
Hi, another extremely interesting video that is showing a little frustration, it would me too. Three to four years of expense, graft and a severe learning curve, but you just keep going and try to brush it off, many others would have given up. You are a bit of a star to be honest. Climate is not your friend, it costs a lot of money to fight against and many times you simply lose. Suggested solution. Don't fight it, control it instead. On a small scale at first because it's expensive, you already have the space, passion and sheer determination, and now the accumulated knowledge. Japanese grape growers are a good place to start. They simply grow grapes at a different level than the rest of us. The thing is environmental control plus skill is their key to success and it works. I have one, yes just one Ruby Roman in a controlled environment, it's three years old, and I have never had a single issue. It's a beautiful vine and produces gorgeous grapes that taste amazing. My other vines outside this system have similar issues that you have but not as bad, my climate is hot and humid. Just thinking out loud, I hope you don't mind. C.
Hi there. Thank you very much for your comments. I've never been called a star before!! hehe. Well we just keep going to be honest, hoping that if I make mistakes along the way, other people can learn from them too. Interesting to hear about the Japanese wine industry, I will have to take a look at that. Controlling the environment would solve a lot of problems albeit probably quite expensive to do in this country. That said, there are a lot of growers (not vines though) in herefordshire that do just that in that they put everything under polytunnels and control the CO2, temperature etc. You Ruby Roman sounds like it is going very well for you - well done. Very satisfying when they do what they are meant to do.
Sorry just an add-on. Don't replant until you have spoken too anyone within your climate area who is growing similar grapes, maybe the RHS or one of the Universities, it could save you time and money plus its winter now so your not so busy , you know what I mean. DONT REPLY TO THIS. C.
Hi there. I know exactly what you mean. I don't like that you need to go through some complicated calibration everytime. Surely there is some thing that gives you a digital read out when dipping it in the juice. Are pH strips accurate enough?
@@mycountrylife810 Sorry for the late reply... I think if you get the narrow range ones, yeah, goodenuff That being said, if you are making wines like "Opus One", that answer is a no, and you'll be spending 50 - 150K $ or Euro per year on lab services. How much do wanna spend on lab services?
Forgive me, how long are the Bacchus in for? 5 years? 7? If not, let em go on. Year 7 is the last chance they get I think, for any variety. Of course, you should always consult a "pro" before planting. Which I of course, ignored...
Hi there. Yeah, they are 5 years old. If I did replant, I probably wouldn't replant all of them, maybe just try a few from a different variety and see. I haven't fully made my mind up just yet. Good luck with your vines too.
@@mycountrylife810 I would suggest you do more research, from some seriously reputable people. I've read 5 years before you hope for ANYTHING good, 7-10 before replanting. That being said, the consultant route, if you can find a good one for your locale, is also an option. But, how do you find a consultant you can trust? They ALL have opinions, and "suggestions" on who you buy your next vine stock from... Personally, I watch the successful folks near me who are ACTUALLY producing and SELLING, and buy vines that they are growing. Usually, they tell me, no problem.
don't get discouraged. I'm on about year 7? I think? I don't look anymore... Be CERTAIN you spray fungicide during bloom!!! If you miss this, you WILL lose the entire crop! And then spray copper, or something, every week, or after every rain. It's a pain.
As is the way in the UK, the government seem to ban anything that is effective. Copper is one such chemical that should be really effective for us, but alas it's on the banned list because it's not safe for certain species of wildlife. Some folks have recommended other things too but they all seem to be banned here. There are other fungicides that I'm investigating for next year though. Do you find that spraying in bloom damages the bloom at all?
You mustn't take it to personally as I know of one small vineyard that had to write off the entire Bacchus crop because it rotted and the Pinot Noir crop didn't even pay for the pickers. Another more substantial vineyard maintains that they are 80% down on the crop this year but had a bumper crop last year and as such the "cellar" is near capacity and wouldn't have taken another good crop. I have a new small vineyard which I am extending next spring and being philosophical and listening to others, it would appear that one good year in four is as much as we can expect in the UK. Good luck anyway and I think you should go for the most disease resistant and cool climate vines you can find , try Regent and Solaris ?.
Hi there. Thank you so much for your comment. It's a little heartening to know that I'm not alone in my problems this year but next year may be a bumper year so Onwards and upwards as they say. I feel very sorry for those folks that rely on our weather here to make a living. Farmers are pulling their hair out here.
Thank you for your grape suggestions. I had been looking at those two varieties too
When Chardonnay or Pinot Noir rots in my tiny vineyard, Cabernet Cortis, Solaris and Muscaris thrives. But in my climate conditions low temperatures usually destroy more crop than fungus. You should also check Souvignier Gris.
Muscaris didn't suffered at all from mildew in my small belgian vineyard. Cabernet Cortis & Souvignier Gris +-. Divico, Regent & Merlot Kanthus had a very good year also.
Hi there. That's v interesting, thank you. I will definitely look into those varieties too. Looked at the Solaris too. The only downside as far as I can see is that the side shoots are more prolific meaning more pruning , so your suggestions may well be better. Ae they early croppers?
i can highly recommend souvignier gris for whites....
Very interesting, thank you. You are not the only one to suggest that particular variety.
Would you be ripping out the vines, or grafting in the new onto the trunks? (so you'd already have a root-system in place) Wish you the best, I love following your channel.
I would probably replant entirely rather than graft onto existing rootstocks. For no other reason than the plants I would be buying in have already been grafted professionally. I don't think I would trust my abilities to regraft anything successfully.
Here in the Netherlands there is a big division in grape growers being either pro or against piwi’s.
I’m yet to try a piwi wine that lives up to a classic variety wine, but the newer piwis coming from Germany are getting very very close.
For my own vineyard I took your approach and did a mix. Some Pinot noir to experiment with and the rest are all piwi to give some crop security. I would highly recommend looking at the more recent piwis as the varieties that have been around longer, like johanniter, are already losing their resistant qualities. Personally I went mainly for souvignier gris. A very resistant variety that can even be used to make rosés. I also planted some Solaris, which I’ll mainly use to blend because of its high sugar content.
Also, don’t threat, I’m yet to speak to grape grower here in the Netherlands that is even remotely happy with this year’s crop. It’s been a disaster for everyone - it’s definitely not just you!
Thanks again for the great content! Let’s hope for a better year next year!
Thank you so much for your comments. It is truly heartening to find others that are in the same boat. I would be very downbeat if I thought it was just me messing up this year. It means that no one can be blamed for their poor harvests this year.
Thank you also for your very useful comments on variety choice. I was looking at the Souvignier Gris too. Do you find that some varieties are easier to manage throughout the year? I heard that Solaris was a bit of a handful with many more side shoots.
@ it’s definitely not just you! This year has been nothing but rain and mildew over here too.
The hardest thing to manage with Solaris for me is that it’s a very early ripener. So harvesting is more than a month earlier than our other varieties which can take some planning. And it’s definitely a vigorous grower so needs more pruning. I’m personally not the biggest fan of the wines it produces (kind of like a sweater Chardonnay) but as part of a blend it adds some great body.
You should plant chardonnay or chenin blanc white grape they don't get sick very easily
The only problem with Chardonnay here, as I understand it, is that it is a relatively late harvesting variety. Not sure about the Chenin Blanc, but anything later than the Bacchus which is considered a mid-season harvest, I think I would run into trouble in them not ripening fully in our climate.
At the end of the video it looks like you have room to expand. Maybe plant a new row with PIWI varieties. Then in a few years you will have lots of free cuttings to root and re-plant into the rest of the vinyard. Planning ahead saves money and lets you wait a few years to decide.
You are definitely right there. I do have a bit of space to experiment and I think I may go down that root. I can always buy more in if required in years to come.
Also about replanting Bachus, that would be a shame, I think you just need more intensive care (fungicides) to prevent such years like this. But i have quite good sucess with Marcheal Fosch variety, which used to be popular in Loire, before they illigalized hybrids in France. Grows like a beast, quite resistant to mildew, possibly one of the best quality grapes for wine (from hybrids ofc.).
Hi there. That's very interesting. I will persevere with the Bacchus for next year and see how we get on. I didn't know that hybrids were illegal in France - very interesting.
I had a very inaccurate scales this year and added too much sulphites. It killed the wine, nothing was fermenting at any point, so it started to get moldy on top. There goes half my wine this year. :D
Oh, that is very frustrating, especially after all the work that you put in throughout the year. Hopefully next year will be better.
Hi. You should drip one drop at a time. When you added 3 drops for the second time you had no choise to check if 1 or 2 drops was enough to get stable blue colour. And you shouldn't have any air bubbles in your taster pipette . So it all effects your final result.
You are absolutely correct. I wasn't expecting the permanent blue until I had reached about 4mg/l, so I thought I had a bit more to go. I think it may well have turned blue at the 2nd drop rather than the 3rd. Each drop is roughly 0.5ml, so I think my free sulphite was probably about 20-25ppm. I'll do the test again when I rack and add more potassium metabisulphite. Hopefully I won't be so eager with my dropper next time.
I say give the vines another season or two before ditching them. Here in north eastern US we can have extraordinarily wet summers that ruin entire crops, but then go on to thrive the preceeding years. It would be a shame to undo all the growth until you know for certain you can't make at least a semi-regular decent crop.
Hi there. I think you're right. I'm not going to make any rash decisions. I've been pruning the bacchus this last week so I think I will persevere for another year with them... maybe👀
L'Acadie Blanc, Petite Pearl and Verona have been very disease resistant for me. I've had terrible luck with New York Muscat and Siegerrebe and will likely rip them out soon.
That's very interesting - thank you. I will have a look at those varieties too. Cheers.
Is it worth propagating the few Orion’s that didn’t go mouldy?
Hi there. The problem with propagating is that I wouldn't have the right rootstock as these are all pre-grafted onto the Orion variety. Without grafting the roots tend to get destroyed by a pesky little mite phylloxera. So I think most european vines are grafted onto the more resistant american rootstocks.
Hi, another extremely interesting video that is showing a little frustration, it would me too.
Three to four years of expense, graft and a severe learning curve, but you just keep going and try to brush it off, many others would have given up. You are a bit of a star to be honest.
Climate is not your friend, it costs a lot of money to fight against and many times you simply lose.
Suggested solution. Don't fight it, control it instead.
On a small scale at first because it's expensive, you already have the space, passion and sheer determination, and now the accumulated knowledge. Japanese grape growers are a good place to start. They simply grow grapes at a different level than the rest of us. The thing is environmental control plus skill is their key to success and it works.
I have one, yes just one Ruby Roman in a controlled environment, it's three years old, and I have never had a single issue. It's a beautiful vine and produces gorgeous grapes that taste amazing.
My other vines outside this system have similar issues that you have but not as bad, my climate is hot and humid.
Just thinking out loud, I hope you don't mind.
C.
Hi there. Thank you very much for your comments. I've never been called a star before!! hehe. Well we just keep going to be honest, hoping that if I make mistakes along the way, other people can learn from them too.
Interesting to hear about the Japanese wine industry, I will have to take a look at that. Controlling the environment would solve a lot of problems albeit probably quite expensive to do in this country. That said, there are a lot of growers (not vines though) in herefordshire that do just that in that they put everything under polytunnels and control the CO2, temperature etc.
You Ruby Roman sounds like it is going very well for you - well done. Very satisfying when they do what they are meant to do.
@mycountrylife810 see that's why you are a star you just keep going.
Cheers
C.
Sorry just an add-on. Don't replant until you have spoken too anyone within your climate area who is growing similar grapes, maybe the RHS or one of the Universities, it could save you time and money plus its winter now so your not so busy , you know what I mean. DONT REPLY TO THIS.
C.
pH strips are easiest. Every pH meter I have is a pain in the Arsenic...
Hi there. I know exactly what you mean. I don't like that you need to go through some complicated calibration everytime. Surely there is some thing that gives you a digital read out when dipping it in the juice. Are pH strips accurate enough?
@@mycountrylife810
Sorry for the late reply...
I think if you get the narrow range ones, yeah, goodenuff
That being said, if you are making wines like "Opus One", that answer is a no, and you'll be spending 50 - 150K $ or Euro per year on lab services.
How much do wanna spend on lab services?
Forgive me, how long are the Bacchus in for? 5 years? 7?
If not, let em go on. Year 7 is the last chance they get I think, for any variety.
Of course, you should always consult a "pro" before planting.
Which I of course, ignored...
Hi there. Yeah, they are 5 years old. If I did replant, I probably wouldn't replant all of them, maybe just try a few from a different variety and see. I haven't fully made my mind up just yet. Good luck with your vines too.
@@mycountrylife810 I would suggest you do more research, from some seriously reputable people.
I've read 5 years before you hope for ANYTHING good,
7-10 before replanting.
That being said, the consultant route, if you can find a good one for your locale, is also an option.
But, how do you find a consultant you can trust? They ALL have opinions, and "suggestions" on who you buy your next vine stock from...
Personally, I watch the successful folks near me who are ACTUALLY producing and SELLING, and buy vines that they are growing.
Usually, they tell me, no problem.
don't get discouraged. I'm on about year 7? I think? I don't look anymore...
Be CERTAIN you spray fungicide during bloom!!!
If you miss this, you WILL lose the entire crop!
And then spray copper, or something, every week, or after every rain.
It's a pain.
As is the way in the UK, the government seem to ban anything that is effective. Copper is one such chemical that should be really effective for us, but alas it's on the banned list because it's not safe for certain species of wildlife. Some folks have recommended other things too but they all seem to be banned here. There are other fungicides that I'm investigating for next year though.
Do you find that spraying in bloom damages the bloom at all?
@@mycountrylife810 PLEASE read the
Disease Cycle
paragraph VERY carefully.