Garden Gab

With this year’s emphasis on home grown food and the growing popularity of the staycation, an outdoor space centred around a beloved hobby such as wine making is a perfect option for entertaining and unwinding.  A home vineyard isn’t hard to create and requires surprisingly little space.  Add a mediterranean storage and tasting area to add vibrant, welcoming color and warm hospitality to your home.

Grapes can be grown in many regions, so no matter your growing zone you will be able to find the right wine making grape for you with a little research.  Experts say that once your vines begin to produce you can expect to get up to a gallon of wine from each vine, and a good average number for a home winery is about 10-12 vines.  This may sound like it would take a massive amount of space, but grapevine is actually very space friendly since it will grow from one central, woody vine up.  If your space is very small, consider replacing privacy fencing with metal trellis screens- it will be just as sheltered once the grapevines are trained up them.  You could also utilize a pergola or arbor- even a metal gazebo can be trained with grapevine.  Make lots of use of your garden structures and you can pull it off.

Gazebos like the Rococo Arbor from www.gazebosonly.com feature latticed sides perfect for training grapevine for cool shade

There are just two important points to remember when laying out your home vineyard.  Grapevines need full sun as often as possible and metal trellises will be better in the long run, as grapevine is a strong grower and eventually will pull apart a wooden trellis.

The Vintner Trellis is a good, sturdy choice for long term grape growing. www.thetrellisstore.com

Once your vines are set up, you will need a place to enjoy both your space and your wine.  Most tastings are small, casual affairs and a furniture set reflecting this will set the perfect mood.  If you are going with a mediterranean theme, a comfortable leisure set with rich red or deep gold cushions will match nicely.  A dining set will work, but will give your space a more formal feel.

The comfortable round barrell shape and casual coffee table of the Graycliff Seating Collection from www.thepatiofurnitureshopper.com echo both the mediterranean and wine theme.

Your planters and lighting options should also echo the rotund curves of antique wine bottles and casks to keep the flow.  Reproductions of ancient olive oil and wine casks like these from Pottery of Tunisia.

Wine Amphora flower pot

And for lighting, these Madeira lanterns:

The Madeira Lantern from www.gardentorchesonly.com

Wine tastings go best with colder foods to cleanse the palate, so your outdoor kitchen can focus on an outdoor wine cellar and small refrigerator rather than an elaborate oven and grill set up.  Outdoor wine cellars range in size from 5-10 bottles all the way up to 50-60 so you can keep a selection on hand and in easy reach of your gorgeous home vineyard.

This dual zone wine cellar from www.lifeluxurymarvel.com is built for outdoor kitchens

Once your vineyard is set up and you have mastered the art of wine making for yourself, stepping into your garden can transport you to the sunny south of France, the beautiful Napa Valley or the rich hills of Italy, with all the sights, sounds and comfort of your favorite getaway.