I have this variety in my garden, but it has had a lot of problems starting. This may not be unique to Pinot Blanc. I had two vines of Pinot Blanc, but one just died on me, probably because of drought. In two years I expect to get grapes and hope to mix it with other winegrape varieties like Riesling which also is a slow starter in my garden. I can't say I have optimum growing conditions in my garden, which is the reason why I have planted a lot of varieties. Some French varieties didn't ripen or had problems with mildew. I saw already that many old varieties may not be suitable for my location next to a river, My vertical growing of grapevines do make a difference when a specific grapevine doesn't have to compete for sunlight. With climate change, we get more sunny days in the Netherlands, which is the reason why I am trying to grow grapes. We now have three commercial winemakers in our county, close to the border with Germany. Perhaps more like Northern Nevada. My trials with letting grapevines grow into fruit trees is now producing results. I have less problems with early and late frost. Frost is a big issue when choosing grapevines, mildew is another and as I preserve grapes in other ways, seedless varieties are also attractive for making jams and raisins. I made wine when I lived in Israel. I hope to produce new types of wine in the future. Most wines that I buy are not great. People are becoming picky when it comes to wines. In Israel I made wine with a high alcohol content. I don't trust winemakers anymore as they are often not honest about their wine or simply don't tell. Another problem is that a wine may be great one year and bad the next. When you find out, you already paid for it. Price is not an indication of quality. Young people drink beer, older people drink wine. I get some 200 guests a year who drink wine in my hostel. They like my fruit preserves. I hope to make new combinations between grapes and other fruits, like kiwi. But to grow Kiwi is even a greater challenge than grapevines.
It sounds like your region has difficulties in growing grapes. Your observations about frost are interesting. Let me know what varieties you find are good in your area!
@@grantcramer Every variety that grows vigourously, is decease resistant and that ripens before October are the types that work well for me. I have good drainage sandy soil with layers of grit and peat, as we are in the area of the meandering river Vecht. But most winegrape varieties are not doing well. Actually modern varieties do better, especially less know varieties and new varieties. Typical old world varieties are not performing well. The Netherlands has now the climate of Northern France of twenty, thirty years ago. I water my plants regularly, this makes a difference.
Interesting how grapes evolve: from red skin to white. I wonder if you were to ferment Pinot Blanc on the skins if it would turn out to be like their red skin cousin ? Thanks.
Yes, similar things have happened in apples as well, red apples to green. The ferment as you suggest would be different. Wine is very complex and the colors (anthocyanins) bind all sorts of compounds, making for a different solution and affecting all other compounds, including their volatility (aromas).
Most if not 99.9% of all Pinot Blanc bottled as such in the entire world (be it Pinot Bianco, Weissburgunder, etc) is actually the varietal Melon de Bourgogne, with roots in the Loire Valley. The only true "Mutated" Pinot Blanc is currently being grown and bottled as a single varietal by Domaine Henri Gouges, in the Cote de 'Or. The domaine bottles a Nuits St. Georges Blanc from this varietal as a 1er Cru "Les Perrieres". To my knowledge, this is the premier, most iconic true mutated clone of Pinot Noir being grown and bottled singularly in the world.
Hi Greg, interesting information that you provide. What is the evidence for this? Were there any genetic analyses that were done? See Moser's groups' paper on the genetic analyses of Pinot: Pinot blanc and Pinot gris arose as independent somatic mutations of Pinot noir. Journal of Experimental Botany. 2012 Nov; 63(18): 6359-6369. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23095995/
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I have this variety in my garden, but it has had a lot of problems starting. This may not be unique to Pinot Blanc. I had two vines of Pinot Blanc, but one just died on me, probably because of drought. In two years I expect to get grapes and hope to mix it with other winegrape varieties like Riesling which also is a slow starter in my garden. I can't say I have optimum growing conditions in my garden, which is the reason why I have planted a lot of varieties. Some French varieties didn't ripen or had problems with mildew. I saw already that many old varieties may not be suitable for my location next to a river, My vertical growing of grapevines do make a difference when a specific grapevine doesn't have to compete for sunlight. With climate change, we get more sunny days in the Netherlands, which is the reason why I am trying to grow grapes. We now have three commercial winemakers in our county, close to the border with Germany. Perhaps more like Northern Nevada. My trials with letting grapevines grow into fruit trees is now producing results. I have less problems with early and late frost. Frost is a big issue when choosing grapevines, mildew is another and as I preserve grapes in other ways, seedless varieties are also attractive for making jams and raisins. I made wine when I lived in Israel. I hope to produce new types of wine in the future. Most wines that I buy are not great. People are becoming picky when it comes to wines. In Israel I made wine with a high alcohol content. I don't trust winemakers anymore as they are often not honest about their wine or simply don't tell. Another problem is that a wine may be great one year and bad the next. When you find out, you already paid for it. Price is not an indication of quality. Young people drink beer, older people drink wine. I get some 200 guests a year who drink wine in my hostel. They like my fruit preserves. I hope to make new combinations between grapes and other fruits, like kiwi. But to grow Kiwi is even a greater challenge than grapevines.
It sounds like your region has difficulties in growing grapes. Your observations about frost are interesting. Let me know what varieties you find are good in your area!
@@grantcramer Every variety that grows vigourously, is decease resistant and that ripens before October are the types that work well for me. I have good drainage sandy soil with layers of grit and peat, as we are in the area of the meandering river Vecht. But most winegrape varieties are not doing well. Actually modern varieties do better, especially less know varieties and new varieties. Typical old world varieties are not performing well. The Netherlands has now the climate of Northern France of twenty, thirty years ago. I water my plants regularly, this makes a difference.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Interesting how grapes evolve: from red skin to white.
I wonder if you were to ferment Pinot Blanc on the skins if it would turn out to be like their red skin cousin ? Thanks.
Yes, similar things have happened in apples as well, red apples to green. The ferment as you suggest would be different. Wine is very complex and the colors (anthocyanins) bind all sorts of compounds, making for a different solution and affecting all other compounds, including their volatility (aromas).
Most if not 99.9% of all Pinot Blanc bottled as such in the entire world (be it Pinot Bianco, Weissburgunder, etc) is actually the varietal Melon de Bourgogne, with roots in the Loire Valley. The only true "Mutated" Pinot Blanc is currently being grown and bottled as a single varietal by Domaine Henri Gouges, in the Cote de 'Or. The domaine bottles a Nuits St. Georges Blanc from this varietal as a 1er Cru "Les Perrieres". To my knowledge, this is the premier, most iconic true mutated clone of Pinot Noir being grown and bottled singularly in the world.
Hi Greg, interesting information that you provide. What is the evidence for this? Were there any genetic analyses that were done? See Moser's groups' paper on the genetic analyses of Pinot: Pinot blanc and Pinot gris arose as independent somatic mutations of Pinot noir. Journal of Experimental Botany. 2012 Nov; 63(18): 6359-6369. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23095995/