Building a new vineyard

[Marek Fibrich]

Hi, I’m a new kid on this wine growers block.  I have a sunny south-west-facing hill in Moraga that’s big enough for about 150-200 vines.  I’m hoping to plant in early spring.  Can someone please recommend knowledgable reliable people who can guide me through the entire process and help me do the planting?  I have all the typical beginner’s questions such as when to plant, which varietal, where to get the vines, irrigation, what not to do, etc.  Any recommendations are much appreciated.  Thank you.

[Daniel Howsepian]

Hi Marek:

 

Here are a couple to start with:

 

Roberto Corona;   707-696-0615

Dylan Rahn;  707-337-9893

Steve Kotch;  925-525-0073

Please be aware that we are not promoting anyone for vineyard management.  These are people we know about who are currently working for some of our membership.  It is advised that you interview them and follow up on their references before you hire anyone.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.  We would like to know.

Sincerely

Daniel Howsepian

925-858-7000

 

[David Hicks]

Hi Merek,   Daniels recommendations are appropriate for someone who wants to have the work done be a professional service.  Before using such a service I would suggest you use this off time we all have to research  home vineyards, cultivar and root types, sun/vine exposure, irrigation etc. if you have not so that already.  There is a lot of info available on the web sites of UC Davis, Napa College etc.  Better yet you could take one of the weekend intro courses those schools offer on home vineyard installations.  The more you know about what is doable the easier your decision making will be toward getting a vineyard you will like.

David Hicks, grape grower/winemaker.

[William English]

Merik,  If you want to consider planting and managing the vines yourself, another quick, cheap and easy to read source is WineMaker Magazine’s Guide to Growing Grapes, a compilation of magazine articles by Wes Hagen. https://winemakermag.com/product/guide-to-growing-grapes

This is organized by time line from pre-planting decisions, to planting and maintaining the home vineyard and finally picking and post harvest. In 80 pages you get a full overview in bite-sized chunks. They still charge only $7.  If this doesn’t scare you away, dive into what David suggested.

[Bob Eddy]

Marek, a couple suggestions to several of your questions.  Looks like you might have the sun needed for ideal growing conditions.  Which 2 or 3 varietals do you like best–plant those plus about a dozen others complementing those for wine blending purposes.  Make certain you have a steady watering system as each plant could need about 5 gallons per week depending on your soil/drainage during our current drought.  When you plant new plants, put a nice size stone on the base of each plant. The sun heats them during the day, and the stones will provide heat in early evening to enhance the plants’ growth.

Marek, you might try sourcing your plants at duartenursery.com as they guarantee all plants for one year. Last I heard they sell 3 million grapevines per year and all are guaranteed to grow at least one year. They also sell the UberVine, the 3 foot tall vine that reduces your field maintenance costs because it produces good grape clumps for harvest sooner.                Cheers,                                                                                                                                                                Bob Eddy

[Marek Fibrich]

Huge thank you all for all your insights.  I’m working through all of them – calling people, looking at websites.  The UC Davis site and Winemaker Magazine pdf are really comprehensive and helpful.  I’ll be probably back shortly with more specific questions.  Thanks again!

[Karen Maggio]

Marek, thanks for your post. I’m researching as well and going over to see Bill’s vineyard on Saturday.

[William Saupe]

Hi Marek,

I am a new member also. We have just completed the preparation of my vineyard in Walnut Creek. We will plant in March, 2021. 132 vines.

I would be happy to show you what we did, if you think that would be helpful.

Bill Saupe

510 508- 3860

[Marek Fibrich]

Bill, Karen – How about if I join you on Saturday and we can all talk?

[William Saupe]

That would be great

text me for info.
bill

[Gerard van Steyn]

New research from UC Davis on optimum row orientation for grapes to best tolerate heat waves is Northeast to Southwest at 45 degrees. (this is presented at 5.50 minutes). There is also a lot of information in this video about shade nets, trunk disease, phenols in winemaking, etc.

 

 

[Marek Fibrich]

Thanks again to everyone.  A follow-up question:  What’s everyone’s experience with gopher baskets, chicken wire, or other ways to protect young roots from gophers?  Any insights are much welcome!

[Frank Orson]

We have many gophers in our area (Reliez Valley Road) and when I was putting in my vines a few years ago, I was advised to use baskets. I did use chicken wire baskets putting them in. I’ve lost a few vines from gophers chewing on unprotected trunks where dirt had built up over the edge of a basket, but I’m sure I would have lost dozens of vines or more without the baskets.

For context I did lose a substantial fig tree and a persimmon lacking baskets to gophers.

I’d also recommend trunk protection for at least 2 years if you have gopher activity in your area.

Frank

[Gerard van Steyn]

I find these gopher traps and the digging tool to work really well for gophers. The key to trapping the gophers is to place them properly:

The first key is only set traps in very fresh gopher holes/mounds. See the examples from the link below. Then dig out with the digging tool to open the gopher hole just enough so that the trap slides fully in the gopher hole, with the release trigger able to move freely, not hitting the sides of the hole and barely on the edge of release, so that even a slight bump by the gopher releases the trap. With a fresh gopher mound and properly set trap, I have a nearly 100% catch rate, and no gophers on our property any more.

Moles are harder for me to trap, but I don’t trap them too often, because they don’t eat roots. There’s lots of good info on this website, and your traps and digging tool should come with printed instructions as well.

http://www.thegopherguy.com/pages/freshgopher.html#gopherfreshact

http://www.thegopherguy.com/index.html

https://gopher-guy-products.myshopify.com/

http://www.thegopherguy.com/pages/fresh.html#molefreshact

[Chris Ainsworth]

Hello,

I recently moved to Moraga and am preparing my 1/4 acre North East facing hillside for future vineyard development. Is there any special planning or zoning requirements to be aware of in Moraga? The land is already cleared but cognizant of potential issues planting a vineyard on a hillside. If anyone has any thoughts or things to consider please share. Glad to be a new member and look forward to learning!

[Eero Teerikorpi]

Chris, I have 1/2 acre vineyard facing north-east in Moraga. We used a bit non-traditional 5-by-7 grid (instead of the more traditional 3-by-4) for our Cabernet vines. Please come take a look if you are interested. Just ping on my mobile at 408-431-3305

 

The zoning depends on where in Moraga you are. There is along history of town of Moraga trying to restrict residential vineyards…

Eero

[Gerard van Steyn]

Hi Chris,

Welcome!

Exciting vineyard plans. A few suggestions:

If not already, advise soil testing… to guide you with Ph of soils, minerals, etc and any amendments you may want to do before planting.

Check out the soil web mapping.. its generally accurate and can help get an idea not only on soils, but depths: https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/

Vine spacing: 5 by 3 is generally too compact and will result in more mildew issues and potentially excess vigor, particularly if your soils are relatively deep or fertile. 7 by 5 could be better. Rootstock will be a key factor into your decision on spacing.

If you are planning on planting this year, you can still order duarte uber or magnum vines, until approximately mid march.

Row orientation: the best for shedding heat is southeast to northwest, but depending on your slope, its better to have each row nearly horizontal, instead of going up or down slope.. particularly if you plan on cane pruning, which I advise.

VSP is the most common trellis system in this area.

Irrigation: drip emitters are most common. The soil water plume for each emitter is at max only around 18 inches wide, so having emitters spaced every 18 inches is ideal… but when starting vines, the emitters ideally are located right next to the vines.

Overall guidance: One of my favorite general books on planting and maintaining a vineyard is The Organic Backyard Vineyard by Tom Powers (or Vineyard Simple if your not interested in organic options).

I’m happy to advise on other things.. just email me if you have questions gerardvs1@gmail.com