Dear all,

I run a distillery in Chitwan, Nepal and am trying to experiment with a vineyard. The vineyard I am planning to start is located in the Mahabharat range at an altitude of 1030 meters (3400 feet). The weather is cool all the year round and  the maximum temperature in winter is between 18 – 20 degree centigrade while the minimum temperature plummets to 2 degree centigrade. In the summer season, the temperature goes up to 30 degree centigrade and the minimum temperature dips to 12 degree centigrade. The place receives about 1800 millimeters of rainfall annually. Siince its a hill station, the place gets plenty of sunshine during the day, very cool temperatures at night and lots of dry mountain air which combine to provide a very long gorwing season. The soil in rich in calcium and limestone since a large lime stone cave is located nearby. The location is very famous for its oranges and I believe water holding capacity is approriate for grapevines too. The PH level of the soil is much higher due to the presence of calcium. I've sent the soil for lab test and shall write the details as soon as it arrives.

Could you please recommend the type of grapes, given the location, temperature and rainfall in the vineyard. I was thinking more of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Francs, Chardonnay, Malbecs, Riesling and any other variety which can withstand the cool temperature and wind.

Thank you and looking forward to getting updates.

Regards
Abhishek

Dear Abishek,

Indeed the area you describe does sound promising. A good temperate climate with temperatures not often exceeding 30deg Cent or coming below -2 Deg Cent (the temperature at which severe frost damage occurs) - Excellent soils with good drainage materials. The Diurnal temperatures (difference between night and day temp) also sound excellent as does the dry winds keeping diseases such as powdery/downy mildew at bay and also Botrytis. The Clacium deposits are of particular interest. In order to take this to the next step we need to establish the GDD (Growing Degree Days for the area, and also the Humidity (Branas for example - Although rom what you describe I expect humidity to be low - which is good). The Growing season for the vines are from Bud Burst untilberry ripening. Do you have any ideas when vines tend to bud in your area? and also when harvest tends to occurr - what are these dates for the Oranges - This can give us an indiaction.

Basically once we have setablished the GDD and Branas we can match these indices with favoured growing conditions of various varieties - for example pinot noir prefers cooler conditions, so that it can reach optimum phenolic maturity at the same time as maximum flavour from ripening. Cabernet Sauvignon on the other hands prefers warmer temperatures to achieve this optimum state.

Lets start with your thoughts on bud burst dates and go from there

Kind Regards

Puneet

Dear Puneet,
Apologies for the delay. The orange trees start flowering from the 2nd week of March and the trees start bearing fruit from the 2nd week of May. The oranges are ready for picking from October till January.

I've collected the information on rainfall, temperature and soil test which are listed below.

Max - Min. Temperature Mean