October to March is apparently the best time to plant a grape vine in Britain. Unfortunately I missed this window when I ordered the vines. They did arrive earlier than expected when I was still building my greenhouse that will house the Pinot Noir vine. The Pinot and Chardonnay have been sitting in a pots patiently but as Titus Amdromadon sang, “Pinot Noir, leather bar. Oh, so close and yet so far. Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir, Pinot, Pinot, Pinot, Pinot Noir, you’re a star,” it seamed I might never get things sorted and have two dead vines on my hands and have to wait till next season.

Both the Chardonnay and Pinot vines are self fertile so they can be divided between two locations. The Chardonnay will be outside in my back garden against an ideal wall. The Pinot Noir will be grown under glass in a green house on my allotment. If you are lucky enough to have two vines together plant them 1.2m apart. If you are spoiled rotten and have lots of vines then the rows need to be 1.5 to 1.8m apart.

The greenhouse faces into the morning sun so the vine will have the maximum sunlight to get the maximum sugar from the grapes. Sunlight rather than heat is needed for the grapes to mature. Temperature will be controlled though ventilation in the base opened to allow cold air if needed and roof vents to allow warm air to escape if the greenhouse becomes too hot. These vents can also be used to control airflow for pollination and moisture control too. The vines will have to be trailed using a Guyot system over the next few years but I already have allotted a space for them with 2.2 x 1.8m of wall then the roof as space for them to trail against. Although the training system is not yet in place I intend to get this done well before it is actually needed and may start building the base next month.

While the vines are inside the roots are not and have been planted externally with the vine slanted to grow into the greenhouse through a hole in the wall – a method favoured by thinking ladies man-crumpet Monty Don. This allows the thirsty roots that were grafted to the fruiting vine to get all the water they need externally and not have a complicated watering schedule to screw up if I planted wholly on the interior. The roots will fan out and downwards searching for all the water they can spanning for at least a meter and a half and maybe far far more if they are happy.

At least two other vines are within three allotments of mine so it seems it is possible to grow them but preparing the ground was a back breaking work. My soil is thankfully acidic as grapes prefer a pH of about 6.5 to 6.8 though can tough it out in a range of soils but the drainage was not as great as I was hoping. Although grapes are thirsty they need to be in freely draining earth so they roots do not get waterlogged or promote botrytis – a wine hating fungus that ruins the fun.

Rather than just double digging the soil I dug down till I hit clay and then lined this base with gravel so water could soak through. If you do this go at least two feet (60cm) deep and further if you can. A mixture of the original soil, extra compost and a little well rotted manure was added for nutrition as well as horticultural grit to aid drainage further. After the earth was level a small depression was made with blood and bone meal added to give the newly establishing roots a good feed as they acclimatise to their new home. The vine had a dark mark where it had been planted previously which acted as a handy guide. A further thick layer of compost was added and compacted around the base to keep it stable with a layer of wood chip to keep moisture in the soil and away from the graft where the top reaches the root stock which could rot. Manure was not used as a top dressing as this could “burn” the young stem though well rotted manure or compost will be added next season.

Over the next few days the exterior of the greenhouse will be finished to enclose the vine as it enters the greenhouse and I may build a drip guard to ensure that too much water does not drip down the greenhouse sides onto it encouraging botrytis. Ms Vintner then added few bricks to demarcate the lovely prepared earth and keep us from stepping onto it. Now all I have to do is get the Chardonnay planted next to the wall, create the supporting structures for both and then prune, nurture and love them enough to get fruit!

Click here to read about choosing a wine grape for a British climate

Resources used:

https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-establish-a-grapevine/

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/fruit/grapes

https://homefarmer.co.uk/how-to-grow-grapes-in-britain/