We always cover them. The only grapes we grow without cover are the Alpha variety from Minnesota (discovered in 1901) and wild Amur grapes. Alpha grows without cover on the coast. There’s only one commercial vineyard in the region—near Lake Khanka. It requires cover.
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In our country, no one measures temperature in Fahrenheit. -18°F is -28°C. Our winters are partially snowless, with temperatures in February dropping to -42°C, and the average is -35-36°C. The soil freezes more than 1.5 meters deep. The fertile soil layer is 25-40 cm, deeper than that – heavy loam, gravel…
And only the varieties of Elmer Swanson, David McGregor, and the University of Minnesota have proven themselves to be the best.
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I dont cover mine. I have a lot of Elmer Swenson’s genetics, seeing as Osceola Wisconsin is similar to Mercer. Elmer must have liked tart wine because many of the varieties are pretty high acid for wine grapes.
The hardy vines put on a lot of growth, 20 feet is not uncommon. I’m redoing my trellis system starting next year and replacing vines that are too tart.
More Itasca, Adalmiina, Petite Pearl, Verona.
Less Fontenac, Marquette, Geneva Red, Sabrevois
Moving trellis to 10 foot apart, top wire at 7’ maybe 8’. That will keep the asiles from growing shut. Bottom wire at waste height so I dont need to bend over to pick. Two cordons from the ground per vine, and 2.5 feet on the wire, so each vine gets about 5 feet of wire. Vines spaced 6 feet. Base of vine in hardware cloth. Stake at each vine to the bottom wire. 4 wires per trellis.
Having the additional high wire allows me to toss the canes over the top and not gro into the asile or shade the grapes.
I got 23 varieties, most dont make good wine, but im probably going to keep 1 of each for now. Crimson pearl, Brianna, Swenson White, might be keepers. Ivan and Foch are good but less hardy and get fungus. Osceola Muscat has some new issue each year… the rest haven’t stood out either way.
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Thank you! This is very valuable information for me!
What variety is “Ivan”?
I didnt get great rooting, but maybe 50% grew and then died. I also ordered some a while back 2nd year vines and they also died over their first winter. Im not opposed to trying them again, but not too hopeful they will survive here, unfortunately. Strange tho because marquette and swenson red both do fine here…
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A great site to get cuttings from, most of my vineyard started here.
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Thats where I got the majority of my starting out cuttings from also. Good that his son kept it going after he died, they have quite a selection of genetics!
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I wonder if they will add new strains as they come off patten.
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Unfortunately, I can’t order varieties from the US due to government restrictions. I also have to use a VPN to communicate with you. However, somehow, varieties of your selection make it to us, even new ones!
My Itasca is highly winter-hardy under snow and requires additional cover. The tips of the vines freeze slightly. It’s slightly affected by septoria, but I’ve seen virtually no mildew, powdery mildew, or anthracnose. I haven’t used a single disease treatment in three years. The cuttings root very well and without warming the heels (the roots form in room-temperature water without callus formation).
I have several Cascade seedlings undergoing testing in harsh northern conditions. EA-K - Cascade seedlings (photos).
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Ya, I’ve had yellow jackets clean my vines.
when Im bored and the wasps are active, Ill go out with a Qtip dipped in termiticide concentrate and gently touch the back of it to their thorax/abdomen. They will carry this back to their hive and spread it around and it will collapse the hive usually within a week or two. They are usually to focused on eating the grapes to get too pissed about it, but I did get stung yesterday because I was wearing a bright yellow shirt and one got under my arm, Im not sure if the color had anything to do with it, but they seem less aggressive when I wear neutral or dark colors.
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A little off topic, but after scrolling through this thread and seeing some photos of young grape plants, I think I have a volunteer grape plant growing in an area that I’ve been establishing native grasses and wild flowers in. Is there native/wild varieties of grapes? Or maybe something else that looks similar to grapes?
Here in ND we have what we call River or Riverbank grape, they are super hardy, small, sour as hell, but make decent jelly. They grow all over along rivers and streams in this area. They arent nearly as productive as something like valiant though.
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Itasca
Quality control: approved by Japanese hornets ®
It suffered significant rot and was ravaged by hornets. The causes are under investigation. The primary factor is high humidity and dampness caused by constant rain during the ripening stage.
It performed very well on a high American-style cordon system, but only when the clusters were exposed to light. Otherwise, ripening under the foliage was delayed; combined with the high cluster density and humidity, this led to severe berry cracking followed by rapid rotting.
In my monsoon-like climate, protection against yellow jackets 
and a more open training system are required. I will likely have to abandon the high cordon in favor of a medium-height one and cover the fruiting zone with netting. Defoliation must be carried out in a timely manner.
The variety has proven to be early-ripening, with high sugar content and low acidity at full maturity. It has not yet been possible to assess the yield.
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