family project

chelois on the way

This is a photo of our tiny "chelois" (pronounced shaywah) grapes, just beginning to grow. These little buds are a good sign for our multi-generational family project: the vineyard. Here's how it breaks down:

• my brother, Karl, enjoys making wine,
• my mom and dad are great and enthusiastic gardeners,
• kids and cousins shall pick and mush grapes,
• my brother, Dan, will write and perform a gorgeous grape-picking song,
• LaDonna, Chrissy and David will lend a hand with the critical task of tasting,
• I love the idea of family projects,
• and we happen to have a very sunny hill in the backyard.

So we're all set. This project began last spring, when Karl suggested we try a vineyard here in our yard, since his is rather tiny. He offered to select and purchase the vines, my dad and I agreed to plant them and care for them. In May of 2008, a package arrived with 24 vine cuttings, chelois, foch and frontenac varieties, ready to plant. The digging began. There were some setbacks: the soil is clay-filled and stony. Digging holes and trenches big enough for the roots took days and days. Many times I collapsed with laughter as a half hour's hard digging and scraping yielded a cute little hole only 1.5 inches deep. Two months in, sheep and goats escaped from the pasture and ate off all the leaves. And then there was winter.

the "vineyard" one year ago

still looks pretty much the same

This spring, we had nearly 1/3 of the vines showing signs of life. I ordered replacement vines for dead ones, gave them all a good shot of chicken manure compost and we're back in business. I predict that one day we'll have a nice little vineyard with actual living grapevines. This summer, we will need to put up trellises--that job will fall to Dad and me. In a couple of years we will actually harvest grapes for winemaking. I'm very happy about this little project.