The Phoenix last year was harvested on the 11th of september and on the 20th the previous year so this year is around two weeks later than average, as predicted earlier.
The total weight yesterday was 13.5 pounds. Enough to contribute four or five bottles of wine to this years blend.
Despite only producing a few bunches the Madeleine Angevine has proved yet again to be the latest in flower and one of the first to ripen.
The Chardonnay grapes are finally beginning to soften but I don't expect them to be ready to harvest until the end of october or even early november.
What are they like to eat raw? All I got from Muller-Thurgau this year were unripe, embryonic clusters.
ReplyDeleteApart from the bad weather this is the vine's first year here and it's in a small container (I intend to put it in half a barrel in winter).
Nevertheless, it's been a nice plant to grow and I've had no problems so far.
Phoenix grapes are nice and sweet when ripe and their medium size make them an ideal table grape although I use them for wine. This is why they are suggested as dual purpose grapes.
DeleteMuller Thurgau, while having all the right attributes for use as a wine grape, can be eaten fresh. though I can't say exactly how they taste.
In a normal year they ripen around mid october so better luck next year. The embryonic clusters you mentioned may be down to poor fruit set or the bad summer.
I agree that the eastern european varieties may have great potential, particularly in poor summers like the one we have just had. You will probably need to contact the national collection for Agat Donski but will need to root them from scratch which is not difficult.
Deletehttp://www.sunnybankvines.co.uk/
Growing grapes is a fascinating as well as a challenging interest.
Is there much flesh to the amount of seeds in Phoenix. It's a variety I'm really contemplating planting (along with Solaris).
ReplyDeleteI purchased a few from sunnybank, an interesting one called 'Korinka Russkaja' among them - a very early, seedless table grape. Should be good, the only downside I've heard is that the fruit is small.
I want to see English grown table grapes sold on market stalls, in fruit and veg shops and eventually maybe even supermarkets. We will never supply too many, but I think there is great potential if we get the varieties right.
Many of the costs of wine making would be gone and we could plant many hybrids better suited to the climate (outside of Southern England that is).
If I ever have enough money I want to start a vineyard for such purposes, at the moment I'm just researching and experimenting on a small scale.