Harvested this weekend two small rows of Chambourcin grapes – a red grape suited to a less sunny English climate. Even harvesting the grapes in October – they dont seem to be so sweet but told by the person who planted them that they will produce higher sugar levels than other grapes over here. We grow them organically and do little except prune them in early winter and harvest them around now.
A lot of vineyards have been recently planted around our area as the climate has warmed but it is the chemicals they are sprayed with that worries me as it finds its way into the water table and small streams that flow down to the nearest village.
More interesting to me is our area has same geology as the Champagne area in France – not because of the sparking wine we could produce but would suit the Gesloten kas technology used in Holland – Closed Green houses which store heat from the summer in the ground in aquifers returned to the surface to heat winter crops – saving energy and money and extending the growing season environmentally.
sunnypolarbear 
You must be logged in to post a comment.