Growing grapes (for wine) in Maine?

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Permalink Reply by Kristin W. on May 4, 2008 at 8:46pm

That is so true! I'd certainly appreciate education a lot more at this stage in my life than I did as a young(er) adult. I could be in college forever and be perfectly happy. What a fun major THAT would be. Cornell is a bit of a haul, however....

Thanks for the link. I wasn't able to locate anything in the Portland book. I'm really getting a little excited about this idea! I wonder what my neighbors would think of thirty (or more?) vines in my back yard?

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Permalink Reply by Ian on May 5, 2008 at 2:59am

"I wonder what my neighbors would think of thirty (or more?) vines in my back yard?"

If they get to taste your produce - they'll love the vines!

Ian

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Permalink Reply by Kristin W. on May 5, 2008 at 12:47pm

Ah, positive reinforcement. It is a lovely thing.

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Permalink Reply by zic on May 5, 2008 at 12:22pm

HI,

The folks at Ricker Hill Orchards, in Turner, ME, grow grapes. You might talk to them about their success, etc. People Places Plants had a story on grapes in the fall '07 issue, as well.

Finally, check with MOFGA for what information they have. While it is possible to grow grapes for wine here in ME, I believe that the climate is too moist to due it organically -- to many fungi problems.

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Permalink Reply by Kristin W. on May 5, 2008 at 12:50pm

There is a Ricker Hill Orchards in Standish, too. Same Ricker's? I will check it out. Thanks. What's MOFGA?

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Permalink Reply by Maya on May 5, 2008 at 1:11pm

Maine Organic Farmers' & Gardeners' Association.

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Permalink Reply by zic on May 5, 2008 at 2:05pm

They're on the web at mofga.org.

They run the Common Ground Fair every year. Great group.

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Permalink Reply by Kristin W. on May 5, 2008 at 8:06pm

Oh, THAT MOFGA! I'm with you now.....

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth A & Michael P. Hofmann on August 15, 2008 at 3:03pm

We live a bit north of you, in Skowhegan...we started with Concord's, but it does make wine that smells a tastes like Grape Jelly---but dry!...From our single vine, we harvested 50 pounds of grapes in the 3rd or 4th year--the main trunk now approaches 2" thick!

Later we planted a white (green table) and a pink grape (Niagra, and Canadice, I believe). The white or green grapes, crushed, made a delightful dry chardonnay--clearly the best single wine we ever made.

This spring, we planted 2 varieties of red wine grapes developed by the U of Minnesota for Northern climates...Frontenac and Marquette---we found the retail nursery on line by searching for University of Minnesota Grapes, and ordered from NE Vine Supply, Putnam, Vermont.

Have also made wine from Rhubarb and Strawberries and Rhubarb mixed together. We get our supplies and yeast from Klein Beer and Wine Supplies....

good luck!

Michael and Betty Anne

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Permalink Reply by Kristin W. on August 16, 2008 at 1:31pm

Thanks for the info! It's nice to hear of someone trying this out in Maine. I haven't got around to buying and planting vines this year (somehow this rainy, cold summer is passing by quickly), but it's still in the front of my mind. I did look at some of the varieties from Uof Minn back in the spring, and there are quite a few varieties that look viable for this area - or at least fun to experiment with. How many vines do you have in total? I was thinking I'd need at least 20, but it sounds like you are getting a huge yield from a small number of vines.

Kristin

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Permalink Reply by Maya on September 25, 2009 at 9:10am

Kristin, did you ever plant your grapes? I'd love to hear how it's working out.

I'm wondering about my grapes. I started out with Canadice, which are wonderful and sweet, but teeny-tiny! Last year (I think their 4th year?) there were dozens of huge grape clusters, but the grapes themselves were tiny. I thought it was just the variety, but this year the seedless Concords, in their third year, started bearing, and their grapes are tiny too. Also, both varieties produced very few bunches of grapes this year. I must be doing something wrong. Underpruning? Do I need to be more ruthless in the spring? Would this summer's six weeks of cold rains have interfered with budding and pollination? I didn't notice a lot of blossoms. Is Maine just one of those places where inconsistent weather = inconsistent harvest? It was certainly true for the rest of the garden this year! I'd love to be able to correct this (the grape crop, not Maine's climate) for next year, so if anyone has any answers, it'd be nice to hear the wisdom.

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Permalink Reply by Kristin W. on September 25, 2009 at 12:31pm

I didn't end up planting them this year, but it's still on my list for "one of these years". :)

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