Home Vineyard Wine Grapes in the Maritime Northwest: Success Comes Down to Variety Selection and Climate Hacking

You can grow a wide range of fruiting plants in the Maritime Northwest. I’ve been involved in growing, or attempting to grow, thousands of different species through my business, charity, and home gardening adventures. Among my favorite is grapes. Growing grapes connects you to an ancient tradition while letting you shape living plants into something beautiful, seasonal, and deeply tied to place. They’re both a test of skill and a source of food, drink, and moments worth sharing.

The Maritime Northwest is, roughly, Zones 8a through 9a, with 8a being my precise location: Orcas Island, WA. Here we do not get the same summer highs as other mainland 8a locations, as our summer temps are 10 - 15 degrees cooler due to marine influence, and this presents a greater challenge for growing quality wine grapes in a home vineyard because they love long, hot days.

Success in ecologies with less than optimal temperatures really comes down to two critical factors: selecting the right grape varieties, and employing climate hacking techniques to create thermal mass near the vines to increase heat units.

While the temps are not in our favor, we have a lot of positives here in western Washington. We have a Mediterranean climate, meaning warm and dry summers. (That's why your rosemary and lavender thrive.) We also have some excellent soil in many places, and the ability to catch and store water like few places in the world. 

Terraced Home Vineyard We Designed at Little Farm on Olga Road. Increased Heat Units and Great Habitat for Lizards and Snakes.

Variety Selection and Rootstock for the Home Vineyard

Growing grapes is really fun and satisfying. Whether you choose to eat them fresh or make juice or wine, you’ll find wine grapes to be a worthwhile addition to your home orchard, home landscape, or patio...in 20 gallon pots. And all wine varieties I’ve had taste fantastic, so perhaps eating and drinking is the way to go. 

We won’t talk about rootstock in this article, just varieties. And here we go, my favorite:  

1. Pinot Précoce: (Noir) The Fruit That Came in From the Cold, as it’s known. It can flourish in cooler climates, and this Pinot Noir is a favorite among Northwest vintners. Its thin skin and early ripening make it well-suited to the region's shorter growing seasons. Here’s an excellent article about the variety.

2. Siegerrebe: (Blanc) Another cool-climate super star, Siegerrebe (Zee-gar-RAH-beh) a grape bred in the Alsace region of Germany by crossing the Madeleine Angevine grape with the Gewurztraminer grape. It produces high-quality grapes with balanced acidity and complex flavors. For more, going straight to Wiki on this one. 

3. Rondo: (Noir) This variety loves our climate! Totally reliable. It’s always the most successful for me. It is grown as a commercial wine crop in England where it is blended with other varieties. However, I do not recommend blending. It is much better on its own.

4. Madeleine Angevine: (Blanc) This golden-yellow, thin-skinned grape consistently ripens in the Maritime Northwest and does well in areas with cooler summers, like Orcas Island. It's a heavy producer that makes an excellent white Riesling-type wine, with citrus aromas, and notes of apricot or peach, and honey. 

Climate Hacking: Creating Thermal Mass Near the Vines

What is climate hacking? Well, let’s call it bending the rules of nature. While selecting the right species is crucial, creating an optimal microclimate for your vines can significantly enhance their growth, disease resistance, and fruit quality. Climate hacking, particularly the use of thermal mass, can mitigate the challenges posed by the Maritime Northwest's cooler temperatures.

What is Thermal Mass?

Thermal mass refers to materials that absorb, store, and release heat. By strategically placing materials with high thermal mass near your vines, you can create a more stable microclimate that buffers against temperature fluctuations and increases heat units. Heat units or growing degree days (GDD) is our measuring stick, and each variety has a requirement for heat units. Read it. Learn it. Live it. Love it. 

Implementing Thermal Mass in Your Vineyard - From Rock to Plastic

1. Stone and Rock Walls: Building stone or rock walls around your vines will create a thermal mass that absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night, providing a warmer and more stable environment for your vines. I also use rocks in different ways for other species I grow that can benefit from higher temps, like Loquat, for example. The Little Farm on Olga Road did an excellent job implementing my design for their small vineyard, creating beautifully terraced rows of the aforementioned varieties. Here are some pictures. We also built a pond for light reflection and…
   

A terraced design with stones to increase thermal mass and heat units in a home vineyard on Orcas Island.

2. Water Barrels and Tanks: Placing water barrels or tanks near the vines can serve as thermal masses. Water has a high heat capacity, meaning it can absorb and retain heat efficiently, moderating temperature swings.

3. Mulching: Using dark-colored mulch around the base of your vines can help absorb sunlight and retain heat. Organic mulches also improve soil moisture and health. Some say don’t mulch for reasons of competition; I say do. We’re not creating a James Suckling favorite here, so let's do what’s best for the whole plant, your vineyard, and your water supply. Mulch. I like wood chips: Doug fir, madrone, or a mix. No, it won’t have an effect on your soil ph.  

4. Plastic/Glass: Forget a greenhouse. It would need to be too big to be feasible. Did someone say hoop house/high tunnel? Yes! You can make a big one inexpensively and they work as advertised. The overlooked advantage of a secured hoop is that you can keep the predators, specifically deer, from browsing your vines. Otherwise, you’ll need a fence. Nothing else works. Trust me. 

A hoop design that can significantly improve grape quality by providing additional heat units and protection from deer browse

Write Your Own Wine Story

One thing I will note about grapes is that they can take a beating and suffer: freeze, wind, neglect, bad music, heavy deer browse, crap soils…just don’t let the roots dry out. It’s best not to baby them either. They don’t need it; they don't want it. Relax. They want to live and reproduce. Give them a good start and let them do what they were designed to do: make wine and make you happy. Hope this inspires you to start your own story with win grapes.