How to Plant a Vineyard, Part 29: Epilogue
This journey is slowly coming to an end. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that this is the first stage of this journey. Three years since the first plantings, and a total of four years of work on this project. From the stumps of cut corn that stood out boldly when the fields were taken over, to the first bottles of wine that are already being produced.
For those who are tormented at night by the crazy idea of starting their own vineyard, here are my two cents of summary:
Everything costs twice as much and takes three times as long
Yes, a business plan is an important guide, but in real life, unexpected or unaccounted-for costs arise. This is true when building your own house, and it’s no different when establishing a vineyard.
Not all cultivation is the same
When sharing experiences, I’ve learned to ask how much acreage someone has. Because running a 20-are or even 1-hectare vineyard is a completely different story than running a 4-hectare or more vineyard. The scale is simply different, and the cultivation methods are radically different.
The winemaker won’t tell you the truth
Every winemaker has their own truth. It’s based on their experience in the field. However, the soils are so diverse that, in fact, there are as many opinions on a given aspect as there are winemakers. What works mid-slope on heavy clay won’t work on flat or sandy terrain.
Mother Nature is tolerant
What often saves us is that the next season offers a chance for a new beginning. Not everything turns out the way we want. The earth isn’t always pliable either. But the knowledge that we can start over often provides much-needed encouragement.
If you had to do one thing before planting, lime it.
Without the proper pH, the bushes won’t develop optimally. Yes, you can lime them after planting, but it’s labor-intensive and ineffective.
For us, these four years mark the end of the vineyard establishment phase. Now we begin a new one, the winemaking phase. Time will tell if I’ll describe it.