[Growwine] Blattner vine info

Fri Nov 30 19:11:37 EST 2007

Hi Per, 

Here's the information you requested about the Blattner vines. 

I can tell you what I know, but not necessarily all of what you want. Shipping to the USA is impossible. If the material shows up via 'suitcase' in the USA it will create problems for these varieties in the future. I have 5 varieties at the CFIA for virus testing and I will make those available to USA growers when the clearance comes. 

Overall I have 60 varieties, most of which are numbered. The first few numbers I've listed may be a bit puzzling but there is a story, for another time. 

#1,2,4,8,9 plus Petite Milo, Cabernet Libre, and Cab Foch are from a first selection of Blattner vines on the west coast of Canada. To the best of my knowledge, all these eight crosses of earlier Blattner Cabernet crosses X various secondary parents, some of which are also Blattner Cabernet crosses. 

#2, 8, and Petite Milo are white the rest are red. 

The other 51 varieties are mainly but not entirely, Cabernet crosses, about half white and half red.  These are second selection vines, chosen in Ontario in 2002 for disease resistance, early ripening, and commercial production potential. These plants were in 4th leaf this year in my vineyard. None have had any spray of any kind!  Small lot winemaking has taken place. By spring time I'll post a full report on what I've learned. 

For those interested in cuttings or grafted vines there are some available, but ONLY in Canada. Please contact me offlist. 

What I should be able to ship this year are: 

Cab Foch
Petite Milo 
Cabernet Libre

There is limited material so it will be first come first serve. All wood will be shipped in 3  or 4 bud cuttings depending on internodal lengths and pricing will include a $1 royalty to Mr. Blattner. All plants come with a non propagation/breeding agreement. 

I have included a small desciption of the three varieties. 

Cab Foch -- Red

There is some confustion about the Blattner vines in particular the Cab Foch vine. There is only one Blattner Cabernet (numbered variety) X  Foch cross in Canada I am aware of and it has gone on to be generally called Cab Foch. This is a mid season variety and is quite disease resistant. It is somewhat vigourous. Clusters are on the small side and loose. On the BC west coast it can acheive up to 26 brix in good years and in poor years should make 22 or more. Acids tend to be slightly high and pH low. If grown well in VSP you could achieve up to 4 tons per acre but most would struggle to get more than 2 1/2 tons. To get the best results attention must be given to shoot placement, leaf and fruit sun exposure. This is not a variety for lazy vineyard practises in a marginal area. Valentin Blattner claims it has some phyloxerra tolerance. There is a fair amount of lateral production so trimming is required. Flavours develope fairly early so while longer hang times would be a benefit they are not a necessity.  I have not needed to spray fungicide on this variety in our location. 

Cab Foch wine tends to be very dark, full bodied, with subdued tannins and moderately high alcohol. Flavours show nuances of Cabernet and Foch.  Barrel aging is suggested. Blending with more tannic varieties produces complex wines. 

Cabernet Libre -- Red

This vine can produce an good crop, up to 6 tons, of long, almost full clusters, but in most places crops are between 3-4 tons. It has very late bud burst, and is one of the first to veraison. It has shown very good disease resistance to powdery mildew and botrytis. It is has moderate vigour and produces well on its own roots. In cooler situations it may benefit from grafting to 3309, 101-14, Riperia or Swartzmann. The fruit has the flavour of green peas until ripe so care must be taken to allow the fruit to mature. VSP is the preferred trellising system. There is marginal lateral production and it has small Cab like leaves. No fungicide required here. 

The wine tends to be dark, somewhat tannic, with balanced acids and cassis, cherry and blueberry notes. If an extracted wine is made it could take 2-4 years for release. In some years it can taste much like a Loire Cab Franc. I recommend barrel aging. 

It is a good choice for a site that is susceptable to a late spring frost. 

Petite Milo  -- white

This is one of the earliest varieties in our region. It has early bud burst and early veraison.  Petite Milo will ripen reliably, retain acidity and make a range of wines, from a late harvest Riesling style to a delicate floral dry wine. It seems to have done well in the past two Nova Scotia winters.

In our region we can easily see 25 Brix with 9 grams of acid by late September although this year it was only about 23 Brix at that time. In Nova Scotia this year it was reported to achieve 23.9 Brix, TA 12.25 pH 3.09. 

Petite Milo has small tight clusters that require good sun exposure to ripen. For the first time this year we saw botrytis however it happened in a dry spell and  that enhanced the wine. The leaves and wood tend to get powdery mildew at the end of the season but I have never seen any on the fruit. It might require one or two sprays of fungicide in locations that do not have good air flow. VSP or Scott Henry would seem to be the trellising choices. 

The vine performs well own rooted but might show increased fruit production if grafted. We have some grafted Petite Milo coming into second leaf this year so it will be another two seasons before we see if it responds positively to grafting. We have put it on 5 BB to enhance fruit set and delay maturity, as well as 3309. 

Contact me for more information.

Paul
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: PER GARP 
  To: growwine at littlefatwino.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 8:41 AM
  Subject: Re: [Growwine] What do we grow

  PAUL

  CAN you tell us abut this "60 varieties of Blattner vines" and perhaps show us somew photos of the best and gratest types.

  best
  Per
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Paul Troop 
    To: growwine at littlefatwino.com 
    Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 9:01 AM
    Subject: [Growwine] What do we grow

    The idea of sharing info on the varieties grown is excellent. 

    Out here on Salt Spring Island I have  60 varieties of Blattner vines,  Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, St. Laurent, Foch, Leon Millot, Zweigelt, Regent, New York Muscat. 

    Paul

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