Northern Winework

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Chapters 5-8

Chapter 5
Sites for Northern Vineyards

If you already have the regional climate going against you, just what do you need to look for in a vineyard site? This chapter describes some specific analyses of site that the perspective grape grower should perform while investigating real estate for a vineyard.

Chapter 6
Training and Pruning Vines in the North

Training and pruning are the topics that most confuse the typical grape grower. This chapter discards most conventional training methods and focuses on just a handful of approaches that have been proven to result in high quality grapes under growing conditions in the far North. Dormant pruning is reduced to easy-to-compute and understand formulas that have proven successful in northern regions. Careful observation of vine growth and productivity are emphasized.

Chapter 7
The Ripening Grape: Veraison to Harvest

The best grape growers outshine lesser growers in the northern grape growing world by their attention to the vines and fruit during the period from fruit set to harvest. Optimal exposure of the fruit and vegetation to the sun yields grapes that make the best wine. Special vine management techniques are described to produce uniformly well-ripened grapes. Deciding when your grapes are optimally ripe for winemaking, using some unconventional measures of ripeness is described.

Chapter 8
Getting Started

What can a cold climate winemaker reasonably hope to achieve? What are the winemaking considerations in working with specific hybrid grape varieties? What lessons can be learned from vinifera winemaking and be applied to cold climate grapes? What equipment do you need?