Vineyard Part One...

Last week we started work on creating our own bijoux vineyard. We are turning the driest and most sheltered spot in the park into a 50 foot x 100 foot vineyard.

With the area we had, and a minimum space between vine rows of 6 feet, We were able to chose 8 varieties of table grape and 8 varieties of wine grape.

Table Grapes, White:

Himrod

Interlaken

Iona

Matakana Gold

Table Grapes, Red:

Black Hamburg

Muscat Hamburg

Schuyler

Robinson

Wine Gapes, White:

Viognier

Chardonnay

Muscato

Gewürztraminer

Wine Grapes, Red:

Merlot

Shiraz/Syrah

Pinot Noir

Pinot Meunier

Until the barn is shifted we can only plant half the vineyard, so we are starting with the table grape half.

Our Table Grape Varieties: 

Red grapes...

Above: Black Hamburg a medium to large juicy black grape. The oldest vine in England is said to be the Hamburg Black vine at Hampton Court planted by Capability Brown in 1768. Harvest: March to April.

Below: The Muscat Hamburg, and medium sized firm skinned black grape with a strong muscat flavour. Perfect for deserts, cheese boards and sweet wines. Harvest: March to April.

Above: Schuyler Grapes, A very sweet purple/black table grape known for its slight current flavour. It is self fertile, and keeps its red and gold leaves well into winter. Harvest: Late February to Mid March.

Below: Robinson grapes. A deep purple mid sized sweet table grape with firm skin. Reliable cropper. Harvest: March.

White Grapes...

Above: Himrod medium sized deep green seedless grape known for its honey like flavour. Harvest: February to March.

Below: Interlaken - a small pale green grape, sweet and juicy. Harvest: January.

Below: A recently rediscovered heirloom variety, Matakana Gold is a NZ variety of table grape, golden and juicy. Harvest: February to March...

Iona, a white grape with a pink blush to its skin. Known as a hardy disease resistant grape, and a heavy cropper, it has sweet pink grapes of a medium size. Harvest March - April

Some of our table grapes ready to be planted...

The preparation begins...

Above: An expanse of rubble and detritus accumulated over the last 2 years next to the barn. Next year the barn will be pulled down to make way for the driveway and for the second half of the vineyard.

After a few hours with a tractor and bucket removing the rubble and old iron; and the grader-blade, contouring the area, we are ready to foot and stay all the posts...

Join us for part two - erecting the posts and wires, planting the grapes and maintaining the vines.