My wife and I are thinking about starting a trellis of grapes this spring, we are contemplating growing Sauvignon blanc grapes. It will be a single row, probably 12-20 feet, depending on how much yard space I can convince her to spare.
I’ve done a fair amount of research and I feel these grapes are a good fit for my climate, I live in the willamette valley of oregon. An alternate choice for me would be pino noir.
Before I embark on this endeavor, I wanted to ask you guys a few questions about these guys.
1. How long do these grapes take to start producing a decent amount of fruit? My goal would be to get 5 gallons of must per year + more for the kids, chickens and wild birds.
2. How are they for table grapes? Are the ridiculously sweet? I read that the grape must will make wine between 12.5-14% abv. Does that mean the SG of the juice is 1.095+ or do wine makers add sugar to their must?
3. How resistant to disease are they? I also have peach trees, cherries, apples and pears. The peach and cherry have disease issues due to neglect from past owners. I refuse to take them down though because they are such good producers.
P.S. the pears and apples are all slated for cider next year. The kids can keep the cherries. |