Growing Grapevines from the Mercato

As Gourmet Fusion is a vendor at the Little Italy Mercato on Saturdays on Date Street, San Diego, I am often able to go and see what some of the other vendors are offering for sale. This week I was talking to Lissy Keily with Maness Vineyards about growing grapevines in San Diego, and could not resist buying some to try out.

Maness Vineyards of Jamul is selling a selection of grapevines at the Mercato for you to grow at home yourself and are happy to give you information about growing the vines, the wine these grapes produce, and the tours and products offered at their winery.

I live by the coast and have a container garden with many different kinds of plants which thrive all year round, but as every gardener knows, there are also the plants that simply don't make it, so I am keen to see what happens to these three plants.

The vines we chose were Nebbiolo (red), Sauvingon Blanc, and a red Zinfandel. I planted them on Sunday and am trying to find a sunny spot for them, as they like plenty of sun, but also like cool evenings, so the marine climate by the beach may work. Grapevines also like a climate that has more sunny days than rain, so that is not a problem in San Diego county. They apparently don't need a lot of water (also good), and according to the Sunset Western Garden book the vine can grow unchecked for the first summer, and the more leaves the better. They are pretty small at the moment, just 12 - 18 inches tall, but I'll keep you posted on their progress.