How to Grow Grapes for Making Wine

Select a grape variety. The type of grapes you grow will depend on the type of wine you want to make. You will need to choose between white or red wine, which will use either green or purple grapes.

Purchase grape vines that will grow in your climate. Cool-climate grapes like Pinot Noir and White Riesling are hardy. While warmer locations will grow Chardonnay and Merlot grapes best.

Prepare the growing location. Find a location that will have adequate drainage for the wine grapes. If you want to grow a grape vineyard for your wine, you will need to decide how large you want the vineyard to be, and how much space you can allocate.

Choose an area close to the top of a slope, and find a location that has plenty of sunlight. Remove weeds from the location, and add nutrients such as fertilizer to make the soil well-balanced. You can test the soil with a test kit that can be purchased at most garden stores.

Plant the grapes from north to south in rows. You will be able to get 1 gallon of wine from each vine, so plan accordingly. Leave 6 feet between each plant, and 8 feet between each row. Plant them in the spring once the threat of frost passes.

Place the grape vine root balls into a planting hole. You will need to loosen the soil and make the planting hole as large as the root ball. Fill the hole with back soil, and pack it down loosely.

Place a trellis into the ground at the end of each row. Keep the posts 2 feet into the ground, and 6 to 8 feet apart for the trellis. You can build a trellis yourself or purchase a kit at a home and garden store. Tie the grape vines to the trellis. Tie the strongest shoot on each grape vine to the trellis with string. Prune back shoots that grow from the vine roots, but keep the side shoots.

Harvest the wine grapes when they are ripe. Grapes are ripe when they pull away from the stems easily, and the seeds are tan in color instead of brown. Locate the grape vine. The stem will meet the cluster of grapes. Use a knife to cut the stem at the top of the grape cluster. Place the cluster of grapes gently into a basket. Wash the grapes before you prepare to make your wine.