Can i start a vineyard
On 36 acres site of my study , we determined it would take the investor approx k to just develop the land including putting in row infrastructure and watering system , BEFORE they could plant the vines, and another 3 years before those vines produced marketable grapes. And those are the numbers we came up with.
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LandWatch is an online leader in rural properties and land for sale, including homesites for vacation, recreation or investment. Linkedin Email 3 Notes from the Field: Representing What do you want out of the vineyard? Pick the grapes There are dozens of types of grapes, each with their own unique aroma, taste, mouthfeel, and climate where they grow best.
Here are a few popular types of grapes and what they are best for: Riesling grape. These grapes do best in cool climates. Vineyard owners love the flowery, sweet scent these grapes give off. Cabernet Franc grape. This is a popular black grape worldwide.
Asking for help is absolutely vital to the success of your future vineyard. Hillsides, especially southwest-facing hillsides in the northern hemisphere, have always been the preferred location for growing quality winegrapes. It has been suggested by many wine writers that this was originally done out of necessity — that infertile hillsides were planted to grapes because other agricultural crops failed to grow there.
Rocky, infertile soil produced small vines with less vigor than vines grown on deep, alluvial soil. Smaller vines meant smaller clusters and crop-load, and the wines showed unusual concentration and intensity.
Hillside sites are generally well-drained and have less frost issues in spring, as long as the cold air has space to flow down and away. Consider the difficulties in farming on a hillside, though. Tractors and equipment take a beating. One has limited choices concerning row direction and row spacing — the slope, exposure and the topography will dictate where you can fit the vineyard.
Terracing might be necessary, which can add thousands of dollars per acre to the establishment cost. Our vineyard is mostly hillside, and I deal with erosion and equipment difficulties constantly.
We have one small section of vineyard that is relatively flat, and I have to admit I love working in it. The spraying is easy, the picking is easy, the pruning is easy. But …. That said, in my experience, putting a vineyard on a slope will nearly double the effort required to maintain the vineyard, and will significantly increase the investment needed to establish it.
It is imperative to know what sections of your property get the most sunshine, wind, and shade throughout the growing season — roughly March to October. Sun exposure on the fruit is key to getting good flavor out of your grapes, so planting a vineyard among shade trees or in the shadow of a canyon is not advisable.
An open, sunny, southwest-facing slope is perfect. Finding the spot on your property that gets early morning sunlight, and keeps that exposure until late into the afternoon, will ensure that the vines get all the sun they need to grow, stay healthy and make sugar in the grapes. Some wind will protect the grapes against mold and mildew. Too much wind will shut the stomata the tiny entranceways that let C02 into and 02 out of the leaf and cause the vine to stop respiring temporarily.
Again, the key is moderation. The fruit needs sun exposure, but not so much that it is burned. The canopy should have air flow, but not so much that the vines are being beat up and shut down. Dig a deep hole a backhoe is useful for this in the center of your vineyard site and take soil from the top 12 inches, from a depth of 12 to 24 inches, and a depth of 24 to 36 inches. These are the depths where the vine will establish itself and grow most of its root structure. Put a few pounds of soil from each depth in large Ziploc bags and carefully label each bag by location and depth.
I chip the soil into the bag from the wall of the test pit to make sure it accurately represents the section. You may also want to find out if there are nematode worms or phylloxera in your soil. Most soil labs can test for these pests. Teach yourself a thing or two about what nutrients a vine needs, and then check your soil samples to see what needs to be added or amended. Take your soil samples to a respected company that sells amendments, and they will help you determine how many pounds or tons per acre of any given amendment your vineyard may need.
Do this after you have spread your amendments so they will be spread through the soil evenly. After ripping, disk the soil so it is uniform and relatively smooth. In most areas there are folks with tractor equipment that can rip or disk for a daily or per-acre rate. A good cover crop grasses, vetch, clover or whatever is appropriate for your soil and locale will help slow the pace of erosion, will add nutrients to the soil, will attract beneficial insects, and if timed right may even choke out potential weed growth.
Irrigation can be the most costly aspect of vineyard development. If it turns out you do need supplemental irrigation for your new vineyard, make sure to install it after disking but before planting cover crop, and install a system that takes elevation, gravity and water pressure into account. Most backyard vineyards are on flat ground. In this situation, and if the vineyard contains fewer than vines, you can hand water the vines with a hose, giving them enough water every week or so to grow.
If you want a more elaborate drip system, this is yet another opportunity to bring a local grape grower a few bottles of wine. Ask how many gallons of water they apply per week in an average season, and how they apply it. Go check out some vineyards in your area, take notes on the measurements of the irrigation system both in the ground, out of the ground and the trellising , and ask who installed it and how it was installed.
Like any startup, the newest vineyards may have trouble securing debt-based small-business loans , so initial funding will likely come largely through a combination of equity financing, friends and family loans and bootstrapping. Also know that, regardless of which type of loan you apply for, you'll have the best chances of approval with a high personal credit score, profitability, time in business and strong cash flow, so the best time to apply for a loan will most likely be after your busy season.
Securing a bank loan might be tough for vineyards since the wine business is inherently risky as is any industry subject to the potentially destructive whims of nature. Even still, be prepared to provide a hefty down payment, and pay a higher interest rate than usual. You can also expect an appraisal of your vineyard. And because of the industry risk, potential lenders will be militant about ensuring the borrower herself is financially secure enough to repay her loan, even if her wine business fails.
According to the Wall Street Journal, due to the increasing popularity of individually owned wineries, some banks have actually established loan programs geared specifically toward vineyards. Live Oak Bank , for instance, offers financing solutions for wineries and other alcohol manufacturers; funds from these loans can be used toward purchasing equipment, construction, expansion, working capital and more. Exchange Bank also disburses vineyard, winery and agricultural loans; its financing products include business lines of credit for purchasing inventory, equipment loans, real estate loans, and leasing.
Your major upfront costs are equipment, so looking into an equipment loan is kind of a no-brainer for winemakers. Startups might have an easier time qualifying for equipment loans than other types of loans, too. Like any other agricultural business, vineyards can expect to experience seasonal peaks and troughs. A business line of credit is ideal for buoying you through those dips, because you can tap into it whenever you need, and you only need to pay interest on the funds you use.
Just consider an alternative business model, instead. Rather than shelling out millions for a vineyard and processing facility, Cannonball co-founder Yoav Gilat decided to build a brand with much less. For many years, Gilat worked in hospitality before joining the Israeli army.
He then moved to the U. In California, he met his Cannonball co-founder, Dennis Hill, who has been in the winemaking business for 35 years and was a top winemaker at Blackstone Winery. His other co-founder, Greg Ahn, is also a veteran winemaker in Sonoma County. Start small and grow the size of your vineyard as your time and ability affords. The truck will come in handy when hauling the fencing. If you have to rent these items, put aside some extra money.
Books There are so many sources for information these days at our fingertips. Take the opportunity to take advantage of them as time permits. You may be surprised at how much information you can quickly discern from competent farmers who share your same passion. Brown lives with her husband on a small hobby farm in Sheridan, Wyo. Her hobbies include raising chickens, gardening and cheese making, and she also loves the peaceful, back-to-your-roots lifestyle of Wyoming.
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