So you think you’re interested in growing your own grapes and making your own wine? Carrie Crews, VESTA Missouri Coordinator, and Martin Kaps, Graduate Program Coordinator, offered much advice and information on viticulture, the growing of grapes, and enology, the making of wine. Sonny McMurtrey of Mtn. Grove, Mo., offered a vineyard owner’s perspective.
What is VESTA?
VESTA is an acronym for Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance. VESTA is an “online program of study for traditional and non-traditional students interested in viticulture and enology.”
What are the benefits of enrolling in VESTA?
“In addition to sitting in front of your computer and learning this, you are required to go out in a local vineyard and put in 36 hours in the vineyard. That way it gives (students) a good idea ‘this is for me’ or ‘this is NOT for me’ before they have totally invested their time and finances,” said Crews.
What if I choose to start my own vineyard without going through VESTA?
“A lot of people choose to start without going through VESTA,” Crews said. “We have excellent resources here at the Fruit Station in our faculty and staff. Publications are available; people are available to talk to; people are available to come out to your place. In addition to us, you have University of Missouri Extension.”
How does raising grapes differ from more traditional Ozarks farming?
Martin Kaps advised, “It’s a whole lot different than cutting grass with a tractor and baling it with a round baler. Grapes don’t work that way. There’s an inordinate amount of physical and hand labor involved with setting up, lining out, planting, constructing trellises and then training and pruning the vines. It’s heavy in the hand labor operation. For the traditional farmer, who does a lot of his farming from the seat of the tractor, it’s a whole different type of work.”
Do I need a large amount of land to start a vineyard?
“Generally we advise people getting into the business to start small, so that you can figure out if this is something that you really want to do,” Kaps stated. “Small acreage is really the way to tell. Cultivating small acreage is the way to see if: (1) you’ve got the time; (2) you’ve got the money. Obviously you don’t lose as much if you decide to make it on small acreage and you decide to abandon it down the line.”
Sonny McMurtrey observed that the amount of acreage required depends on whether the owner wants to make a living from it or use it as a hobby. “If you’re going to make a living at it, and don’t have other sources of income, you’re going to need, I’d say, at least 30 to 40 acres of grapes to justify the cost of equipment that you need to run a vineyard,” he said.
How much money should I expect to invest in beginning a crop?
“It’s an expensive proposition to start a vineyard,” McMurtrey remarked. “I have seen figures of $6,000 an acre to get vineyards into production. That takes you through the first three years. It takes most people that are just starting out four years because they always make a few mistakes. It’s never as cheap as you think it will be. Of course everything’s always increasing in price every year.”
McMurtrey suggested one way a vineyard owner might cut down on expense would be to have the fruit custom harvested. “If you live in an area where there are other vineyards, there’s a possibility you can get custom harvesting done. Harvesting is a real big issue for most small vineyard owners because they can’t justify the cost of a harvester, which is quite expensive. But if you live in an area where there’s one or two operating, you can usually get some custom work done. That saves you a lot of money.”
What are the best varieties you grow?
For the McMurtrey Vineyard, “Catawba over the years has been the best variety. It’s one of the easiest to grow and it’s one of the most in-demand grapes in the state, along with Concord. For many years there was a demand for Concord, but no one wanted to pay a decent price for it. The American grapes, Catawba and Concord, seem to be what sell best at the local wineries in this area.”
What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a vineyard?
Sonny McMurtrey advised potential growers to do a little research before they get started. “The market is not what it was ten years ago,” he said. “It seems like it’s getting harder to find a home for grapes. You need to find a market before you start planting grapes. That would be the main thing, just to find a home for them.”
For further information on VESTA, and starting a vineyard, contact Carrie Crews 417-547-7509 or visit www.ozarksfn.com.
