Cabernet Franc and Mourvedre

In search of the best vinifera red wine grape for the Midwest has been a long journey.  I have been growing vinifera grapes in the Midwest for over 10 years.  First, in 1997 I planted Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon in my backyard in Leawood, Kansas.  These 10 year old vines are still thriving and the trunks are about 6 inches wide.  The small plot of 40 plants are 3 foot apart and currently being trained like the French with the heads at about 18 inches high and catch wires at 28 inches with another catch wire 8 inches above.  This plot of 40 plants is the laboratory.  Different training and pruning techniques are tried first at the "lab" prior to implementation at the vineyard in Centerview, MO.  I am very interested in the low head training right now.  I am evaluating a couple of advantages that I think might be interesting.  First, the necessity of having about 3 feet of cane-leafs per cluster is easier.  If your cluster is at 18 inches then 3 feet of leaves would have you end up at about 54 inches high.  Second, if you have a maximum height of 4.5 feet, the mid-season trimming and late season netting is easier.  One of the only disadvantages is that your back will be hurting a little more because of the trellis height.

So, with a long history of growing vinifera grapes in the Midwest, I have two suggestions for red wine grapes if you want to grow vinifera.  If you don't want to grow great grapes and choose to grow hybrids or Norton, then don't read on The first grape is Cabernet Franc.  Francly speaking, this grape is very winter hardy and is a grafted vine.  The rootstock should be either 101-14, 3309 or Riparia.  If your site is not perfect with drainage, go with 101-14 or Riparia.  These rootstocks tend to tolerant wet feet a little better than 3309. In addition, these rootstocks are less vigorous which will prevent you from having monster canopies and out of this world overcropping.   Also, research has shown that the 101-14 and Riparia will allow for the plants to harden off for the winter better; thus helping with the winter hardiness.   Cabernet Franc should be planted between March 20 to April 30.  The graft union should be planted at ground level. Ground level graft unions allows the hilling of vines for winter protection.  See http://vinestress.blogspot.com/2007/12/hilling-vines.html for more info on hilling.  The Clone should be 332 or 214.  Consider buying your nursery stock from a nursery in CA versus some out of NY.  The CA nurseries do heat treating and tend to have better plants and a better selection.  Clone 332 Cabernet Franc is a from Bordeaux region and 214 is from Loire Valley.  Both clones are fantastic and beautiful.  Consider using a lot of Magnesium Sulfate (epsom salt) in your spray program.  You cannot over dose the plants with Mg Sulfate, and I have seen that even if your soil has plenty of Magnesium, the plants do not take it up. So you need to feed the leaves.  A rate of 4-6lbs per 50 gallons of spray is where you need to be.  I have a spray program that I might share with you.  With Cab Franc, use the cane pruning and Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) trellising.  The plant responds to these styles.  I am planting some new rows in 2008 with the fruiting wire at 22 inches, this is something you might want to do for the reasons mentioned at the beginning of this rambling.  Trimming of leaves during the season is highly recommended.  I follow the sun approach and do 100% leaf removal in the fruiting zone on the east side or north side if the rows are east-west oriented.  I do a 50% removal on the west side or south side.  Cab Franc loves the Midwest heat and you should have no problem getting to a 23-24 brix level by third week or fourth week in September.  If you don't get there, let's talk about it.

I follow recommendations of Virginia Tech and planted Mourvedre three years ago.  I had my first harvest in the 2007 season.  My experience was outstanding.  Mourvedre is a variety of red wine grape grown around the world.  In Portugal and the New World it is known as Mataró, whilst in some parts of France it is known as Estrangle-Chien ("dog strangler").  It was once the most popular grape in Provence, but is now much less common there. One exception is Bandol on the Mediterranean coast of Provence, where Mourvèdre has found a natural home, producing powerful red wines in the style of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It is sometimes used to produce a fortified red wine in Languedoc-Roussillon.  Mourvedre has very late bud break.  And the clusters of the dog strangler are the largest I have seen in vinifera.  The literature I read on the dog strangler was that it was a late ripener...NOT.  Well, this is what is so fantastic about this wine grape: it was the first to go through veraison.  The Midwest weather maybe has changed this ripening schedule.  At first I thought it was disease, and then it was true.  I had 24 brix on the Mataro by third week in September.  Also, what I liked about the dog strangler was that it didn't require a lot of trimming like Cab Franc or Cab Sauvignon.  Mataro loves the heat.  It was so happy when we got to 90s, I could tell.  I had always bought Old Vine Mourvedre wine from Cline vineyards and loved it.  Well, tasting the wine made from my vineyard made me a believer in the possibility of large plantings in the Midwest.  It is very winter hardy and loves the heat.  The late bud break is a great advantage for areas prone to late frosts.  If you don't plant the dog strangler you will be missing out on a wonderful opportunity to have a lot of tannins and a rich and earthly type of flavors.  If you like Grenache, you will love the Mataro.  Oh, use the same techniques discussed above with trimming, pruning, spraying of this winner.

In conclusion, the two reds Cabernet Franc and Mourvedre are some great reds to consider for the Midwest.  Using some of the techniques discussed you can mitigate the instances of winter kill and push the plant to ripen properly to make great wine.

Cheers.

Michael