On 10/23/2012 11:35 AM, David Rance wrote:
On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 Charlie Pridham wrote:

Our small veg area has remained fallow all year as yet again we are
too busy at the wrong time to be successful veg growers, we do however
do well with fruit so are planning a small area of grapes for wine
making.
I am after some suggestions for an early ripening (cool summers here)
grape variety and suggestions for suppliers of plants.

Try these people for vines. They are in Devon at Dunkeswell, near
Honiton, and I have used them for years:

http://www.vigoltd.com/

I've tried to find a page on their web site that lists the vines they
stock but unsuccessfully. However they do publish a catalogue of vines
available together with very useful information about suitability for
different terrains which they will send you on request.


This is a question that interests me also. (As with Charlie, we get too
busy to do well with veg but are OK with fruit).

David, what varieties are you growing, you have vines both in the UK and
Normandy, I believe? What does well for you?

There is a village quite near us that has planted gamay noir, which I
believe does ripen although the quality of winemaking is meant to be
abysmal. There used to be (not sure if it exists any more) a vineyard
near Caen that was growing IIRC chenin and chasselas with some success.

But I'd think the burgeoning group of English wine producers would be
the best source of information. IIRC Madeleine Angevine has been quite
successful, but I'm certainly not an expert on English wine, more's the
pity.

-E