Selfsufficientish.com

Ok not sure if I am having a laugh with this one.

I want to plant a grape vine along my fence for making wine. The site will get sun all day (east-west), but the soil is thick clay. I also want to plant at the bottom of a slope then train the vine to go up. The ground does get a little wet, its certianly not free draining and I'm pretty sure its alkaline soil.

So any varieties to recomend or any tips?

It's not likely to be alkaline and clay. Clay soils are usually more acid, lime soils alkaline.

What about digging out a box and lining it with pavers, like I've seen recommended for growing figs. Then you can fill it with whatever the ideal soil mix needed for good grape growth and if it's a bit boggy it'll help keep that area freer draining.

I don't know what varieties to suggest but isn't there a big vineyard not too far south of you? A day out mayhap?

Most of the vine yards around here, have the stoniest, hardest soil you can imagine, and it is mostly limestone. My few vines seem to grow and produce, and all I do is prune them in Feb ( normally ) and in spring run my rotovater between the rows. I only get about 30 lt of a reasonable plonk but" hey its free"

Not sure about the south west but when I lived in the south east all the wine grapes planted were Muller Thurgau.
Apparently they put up with the less than ideal weather and produce a passable hock style wine.

Edit ... http://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/vine ... r_thurgau/

Merlot grows well in damp clay soil, which is why they grow so much of it to the right of the Gironde in Bordeaux.

I'd go for a white orion on UK soil (about £3 a plant). The reds don't make such a good wine in our climate.

But the man to ask is: Derek at: http://www.winegrowers.info