I just moved to Vancouver from San Francisco, and will be buying a place in vancouver west hopefully soon. Right now I brew beer but would like to get into wine making, and eventualy grow my own grapes. Can you recomend vines that do well here in this area. Thanks!
Concord grapes are very popular here and do very well. They are dark purple and make good wine. I don’t know exactly where to get them, most garden centres I guess. IF they sell grapes at all, they will sell concords. Michael
A few recommendations via Tony Maniezzo, UBC's horticulturist who maintains the Food Garden: thread one and thread two.
Tony's list is a good starting point. Try to find Vinifera (european) varieties if you want a traditional wine grape (and therefor traditional wine flavors). Concord is a native North American vine type (labrusca) and has lots of growing advantages (as in bullet proof compared to many of the viniferas) but wines will retain the characteristic labrusca flavor. That's not necessarily a bad thing - lots of great results with the right recipes. Ralph
You would like to know that UBC has a new wine library called the Wine Research Centre. Look them up on Google. Your questions can partially be answered with this link and you should be able to get a list of specific grape vines. Their mission statement is as follows: Wine Research Centre at UBC Mission The WRC's mission is to conduct pioneering research in enology and viticulture and to develop highly qualified human resources with relevant scientific expertise and enterprise who will promote the technological advancement of the wine industry in Canada. This new initiative is based on a concept of collaboration with researchers at UBC, at other educational and research institutions and all facets of the wine industry.
