Grape Growing Philosophy:

Missouri vintners have traditionally grown the cold hardier French-American hybridized grapes such as Seyval, Vidal, Baco Noir, Chardonel, Chambourcin and to Concord, Niagara, Delaware and other native American species (Vitis labrusca).  Also, popular is the native grape called Norton.  The wines have developed a local following, but their flavors are very offbeat to become much more than regional specialties. 

The tide is not changing yet, but we hope our efforts will inspire others to realize that European grapevines (Vitis vinifera) can be grown in Missouri and the Midwest climate.  Thanks to modern viticultural practices, clonal selection, heat treatment of vines and contemporary winemaking techniques, vinifera grapes can not only be grown but can produce outstanding grapes.  We are currently on our 5th year in the vineyard and realize that this climate has its own unique terroir.  Over the next few years, wines from our estate will be released that will show the characteristics of our limestone and rich soil. 

In the meantime, we will continue working here at the vineyard growing quality grapes and wines. The vineyard managers at Amigoni Family Vineyards believe that Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Viognier are winners right now.  Let the market decide if our vinifera wine can make a market here in the Midwest.

We are still discovering which grapes are best suited to our region.  With the global warming, vinifera is easier than ever to grow in Missouri. Read about the affect of global warming on viticulture. Click Here

Easygoing Chardonnay does very well just about everywhere as long as there are enough hours of sun for the fruit to ripen fully. Chardonnay adapts to both the Alpha and Beta grape zones in that it can be grown in both cool and warm regions.  We are growing the Dijon version of the Chardonnay which is Clone 95/96.  We believe that Chardonnay is far superior to a hybrid version called Chardonel which is currently grown in the Midwest.  Chardonel was crossed with a hybrid grape Seyval.  We will bring to the market pure Chardonnay, no dilution.

We here at Amigoni Family Vineyards have outstanding results from Cabernet Franc. The complexity and full fruit flavors are being achieved.  With earthy and blackberry on the palate, this grape can be full or medium bodied depending on the style of winemaking.   Currently, of the 3 different clones, we like 332 the best and will also be planting clone 214.  Cabernet Sauvignon is comparable to Cabernet Franc.  Cabernet Sauvignon has parents named Mr. Cabernet Franc and Mrs. Sauvignon Blanc.  So Cabernet Sauvignon is just a little more winter tender than Cabernet Franc due to his mother. We have seen that the ripening period for Cabernet Franc to be shorter; however, Cabernet Franc has a little more uneven ripening.  So we are maintaining lower cropping loads and precise canopy management to alleviate this condition.  Cabernet Franc will be blended with a little Cabernet Sauvignon to make our estate wine.  This wine will be aged in American Oak.

Our discovery process continues and welcome your support.  We are learning a new piece to the puzzle each year and having a lot of fun!

Training Method:

The vines are trained on a vertical shoot positioning (VSP) system with a double fruiting wire at 30" and then three sets of catch wires.  The catch wires - these are the wires that set the VSP system apart from most others. These wires are in sets with one wire having another wire parallel to it in a horizontal plane, usually only 4" apart, depending on what type of holding system is used on what type of line post.  We currently have the double fruiting wire at 30", the next pair of wires at 40" and the next higher pair of wires at 52" and finally the last set at 64".  This gives us 34" of leaves to ripen the wine grapes.  Also, to note, we use a double trunk on our plants.  Since we have experienced cracking of the the trunks due to our colder climate, a second trunk acts as an insurance policy for the cracking.  Since we have this double trunk, it is important to have a double fruiting wire so that we can have 3-4 cordons tied to the fruiting wire.  The 3-4 cordons gives us bud counts of 30-40 assuming about 10 buds per condon.
 

Pruning:

In 2005, we have decided to go back to cane pruning.  This method of pruning will provide new wood to the cordon and help us manage some of the vigor.  Our goal is to achieve balance in the vine.  Once balance is achieved the vine can properly ripen the fruit and maintain the fruit load.  This change proven successful and for the most part, balance was achieved.