When it comes to varieties of wine grapes for growing, it would take an enormous  amount of time. So, let’s look at just a few of the most popular.

Black Spanish Southern Wine Grapes:  This grape is juicy with a blackish-blue skin. This grape is good for making juice, jelly or wine. The vine is a great producer that is resistant to Pierce Disease and mildew. This grape is more suited for hot climates. The wine is similar to a Merlot or Cabernet wine. The grapes usually ripen in August to September

Blanc du Bois Wine Grapes: This grape is best suited for hot climates. This is an award-winning cultivar that makes excellent premium white wine. This grape is very resistant to Pierce disease.

Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Grapes: This grape is a small, round black renowned red wine producer. The fruit ripens in late September to October and can be grown in fairly cold to hot climates (not cold).

Champagne Wine Grape:  This is a tiny grape also known as Black Corinth. The plant is suited mostly for hot climates.

Champanel Wine Grape: This grape can be used as a table grape or a wine grape. The plant is suited mostly for hot humid climates. The plant is resistant to heat and drought and also resistant to Pierce disease. This vine produces large, loose clusters of grapes. The fruit usually ripens in early July.

Chardonnay Wine Grapes: This vine produces a small round grape with a green skin. This grape is primarily used for making white wine. The fruit is usually harvested in late September through early October. This plant will grow in cold to hot climates.

Pinot Noir Wine Grape: This grape is a variety of the famous Burgandy wine region in Northern France.  Some growers say the vine is finicky to grow. This vine grows best in cool to hot climates.

Sauvignon Blanc Wine Grape: This variety is used to make quality white table wines. The fruit is small, well formed in compact clusters and has a greenish color. This grape may produce a natural sweet wine. The plant ripens in mid-August to early September and likes cool to hot climates.

Merlot Wine Grape:  The fruit grows in medium to large cluster. The grapes are medium sized, round bluish-black and ripens in late September to early October. This grape prefers cool to hot climates.

Pinot Gris Wine Grapes: This grape makes a low acid, white wine of exceptional color and taste. The flavor has been described as having a pear and spice cake flavor. The vine is also known as the Pinot Grigio which is thought to be a clone of the Pinot Noir. The fruit is a deep yellow to a copper color. The flavor will depend on the region it is grown in. The vines prefer  cool to hot tempetures.

Zinfandel Wine Grape:  The plant produces a purple to black colored grape. The fruit is juicy and medium size with a round shape. The grapes ripen in August and grow well in cool to hot climates.

This is just eleven of thousands of grape varieties. Therefore, you should check with the agriculture department in your area to find out what type of grape will grow best in your climate.

Happy grape growing,

S. S. Barnett

Like many people, I am fascinated by flying. I love to get on an aircraft not only because it take me to faraway land, but also because it gives me a feeling of being lifted up in the sky. To me, it’s a great way to start the day with peace, tranquility and stunning views.

A few years ago my husband and I and some friends took a helicopter tour over volcanoes national Park on the big Island in Hawaii. Now that was a great time! The flight itself lasted approximately 45 minutes, which does not really seem like a long time. But we got to see a lot in those 45 minutes.

It seems like whenever I want to try a new adventure, I head for smaller and smaller aircraft, as is evidenced by this flight in a hot air balloon over the Temecula wine country. For my next adventure I’m really kicking around the idea of doing some hang gliding on the Oregon coast.

I loved the peace and tranquility of being up in the air with the birds, without the noise of a propelled craft. Although the sound of pumping hot air into the balloon to keep us aloft was quite noisy. Other than that, the absolute solitude was astounding. The views of the vineyards in the Temecula Valley was awe inspiring. I cannot imagine a better way to start the day!

We took the morning flight, which had us up in the air in the while it was still fresh. They served Champagne before the flight, and we departed from one of the Temecua Valley wineries. After the flight, we had lunch on a lovely terrace overlooking the vineyards and rehashed our flight. Then we continued on to the ground portion of our wonderful Temecula wine tour with an open air jeep tour. In addition to the wineries we visited, there was even some off roading to a spot with a great view of the valley from a cliff side vantage point, that was off the beaten track.

It is hard to describe how it feels to hang in the air. It is not quite the same sensation as being in an airplane, because an airplane is rapidly moving through the sky. A hot air balloon, while not motionless, is moving so slowly that it feels as if you are motionless. But, unlike the hang gliding I will try next, with a hot air balloon ride you have the security of a floor under your feet and walls around you.

And the views! I am a big fan of rooftop bars or tall buildings with views. As long as there is some type of railing or barrier between me and the view, my fear of heights does not kick in. My camera had a busy morning of it, capturing the oh so different angle we had of the vineyards. It was impossible to not end up with some great photos. It was also one of the most romantic mornings I have ever had in my life. Since my husband and I were the only passengers, our guide graciously left us alone unless we addressed him.

It was great to be able to see the vineyards from the air, and then to finish up my Temecula wine tours adventure in an open-air Jeep, visiting the wineries that I recently viewed from the air. It’s a good thing we did not do it the other way around. Although it would be great fun to climb into a hot air balloon after a day of wine tasting, since I swallow instead of spit when I am wine tasting, I cannot see them allowing me to do that.