Back in the 1800s, most people with large country homes had glass houses in which it became stylish to grow grapes. Ross House, Alex's ancestral home has one, a delicious white grape. The roots are outside while the vine grows through the wall into the greenhouse. That was the standard method then. Now we know that vines grow massive root systems that, if planted into the ground inside the greenhouse near the perimeter, will extend well beyond the greenhouse into the garden. We haven't tried making wine from that grape but I made a delicious jelly out of some last year.
Landowners knew each other and shared cuttings of grapevines for propagation. Many of the vines from the early-to-mid 1800s around the UK and Ireland were propagated from one legendary vine grown in England.
Originating from Germany where it is known as Trollinger, Black Hamburgh found fame and favour in the UK after Lancelot 'Capability' Brown planted a vine at Hampton Court Palace in 1768. More than 230 years on, the vine is known as the Great Vine as it is now over 120 feet (36.5 metres) long and produces an annual crop of 500 to 700 bunches of grapes weighing 500-700 lbs (220-320 kg). It is purported to be the oldest grapevine in existence. The Guinness Book of Records, however, lists Žametovka or modra kavčina (Bleu de Cologne), confirmed at 400 years of age, as the oldest vine in the world still producing fruit. This vine was planted in Maribor at the end of the Middle Ages during the Turkish invasions.
Often recognised as the easiest of greenhouse grapes, Black Hamburgh or Vitis vinifera 'Schiava Grossa', is a reliable, self-pollinating and strong-growing variety that produces a consistently good quality crop of delicious black dessert grapes ripening in mid-season. In Italy, it is used for making wines, producing a delicate rosé. We believe Black Hamburgh is what we rescued a few weeks back.
The Great Vine (From their website.)
Cultivation of the Great Vine
"In February the buds begin to break. A fertiliser is applied to the soil inside the glasshouse and the vine border outside. Once the new shoots are 2.5-5cm or so long, it is time for disbudding to reduce the number of new shoots. The remaining shoots grow until they are 30-45 cm (12"- 18") long. They then have their growing point pinched out and are tied in with raffia.
Immediately after flowering, the number of bunches are reduced and the remaining bunches are thinned. During the growing season the Vine is given liquid and foliar feeds. Later in the summer some leaf thinning is carried out to allow sunlight to fall upon the ripening fruit. In November and December when the plant is fully dormant, the fruiting spurs are pruned back to one or two buds."
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