Plantings this year.

 

So what did we plant this year to fill the gaps in both Red White wine grapes?

We had two rows of Rondo and had never made a micro-vinification of it until last year. It turned out quite well. This was a surprise because some have said that Rondo is a worthless grape other than adding some colour to lighter reds and we had tasted out fair share of unsuccessful English Rondos in our time. 

On the other hand we had also tasted two excellent wine made entirely from Rondo; both Welsh by chance. Those producers were Montgomery and Hebron.

Anyway, it was Rondo we chose to fill our gaps between the Cabernet (Cabaret) Noir grapes we had planted over the last two to three years and which have been producing only small berries and so far weird wine in tiny quantity. It may come round with age. Odder things have happened.

Last year we planted Muscaris to fill gaps between Soreli vines which although 3-4 years old have underperformed so far producing hardly a single grape actually.

Why Muscaris? Because at our Dutch wine tasting earlier in the year it was a Muscaris that stood out as the most interesting and enjoyable wine. Muscaris doesn't make the pages of 'Wine Grapes' even though it was first crossed in 1987. The parents consist of Solaris and Muscateller (Muscat Blanc a petits grains). Coosing Muscaris might not be the best idea for our British climate as it ripens at the same time as Chardonnay which is late for us. It was obtained by Norbert Becker at the Staatliches Weinbauinstitut, Freiburg.

Nero

Cuttings planted last year and wineterd in a greenhouse included Nero, another variety that doesn't make it into 'Wine Grapes.' Nero is an early ripening table grape now used for wine. It grows well and we are happy to have more than one Nero plant in our collection.

Also this year we have planted vines bought as cuttings from Sunnybank Vine Nursery including Acolon, Chambourcin and Baco 1.

Last year's cuttings all died by the way. We know not why. 

At least they were not eaten by the wallabies that have adopted us. 

We have two moms, two Joeys and one solitary large wallaby who we think must be the dad. He lives at the top of the garden with the others in a thicket on the other side. It is charming to see the joeys greet the dad. The moms pay no attention to him. Mostly they eat grass but as you can see above, have taken a liking to vine leaves as a side dish. 

They have started eating the tops of the young vines that peep above the rabbit guards. Our friend Paolo Addis from a neighbouring vineyard suggested placing a second rabbit guard on top of the first. We are trying that out but to do it for every young vine would be expensive and would take a great deal of time.

Not a lot of UK vineyards can boast of having Wallabies as a pest. We love them otherwise because they are shy and completely silent. 

Also planted are two amazingly large dessert grape vines bought at a local market for an incredibly reasonable price. This has pink berries and was planted on a terrace to give shade for all these blistering hot days we have been having lately.

Here's another from Joerg Wolf of Bad Dürkheim who seems to have cornered the market in grapevine sales in UK garden centres: Fanny.