Oaspiska and characteristics of the variety of grapes Merlot

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Grape Merlot, the name translates from French as a blackbird. It is used mainly for the production of red wine. The historical homeland of this variety is Bordeaux. It currently occupies more than half of all vineyards. Description and characteristics of this variety are presented below.

Description and characteristics of Merlot grapes

This variety has excellent indicators of grapes,and also always gives a bountiful harvest. So let's break it down into its components:

1. Bushes. Stems in the process of growing season reach high sizes relative to other varieties. And at the same time, maintain good yields. The vine is brown, the sheets are large, have five rays of a dark green color, and with the arrival of autumn they become bronze.
2. Flowers. Pollination of flowers occurs by insects, and self-pollination is also possible, as they are heterosexual.
3. Berries. In the process of ripening, the bushes are covered with bunches of grapes, which have an average weight of 180 grams, length - 16 cm, width - 11 cm. The berries are dark blue in color, on top of them lies a patina, which serves as protection. The contents of the berries dense watery substrate. The thin skin has a low tannin content, thanks to which the wine has a mild taste.
4. Taste qualities. Merlot grapes belong to technical varieties, it is practically not used for food. Berry is characterized by its sugar content - about twenty percent. It depends on the duration of ripening and the amount of solar energy produced. Also in the fruit contains acid in the amount of 7 g / l.This grape distinguishes the taste of fruit, aroma of herbs. You can feel currants, cherries, blueberries, caramel, chocolate, black pepper. In the process of maturation and storage of wine appear additional flavors. The presence of certain tastes is determined by the quality of the soil, sandstones introduce softer aromas, and calcareous make the wine strong and tart.

Harvesting

Depending on the type of wine they harvest. So for table wines the ripening period is one hundred fifty three days, dessert wine - one hundred and sixty five days.

Resistance to Disease and Environment

Stems well resist mildew, and moderately withstand rot. Fruits are generally not attractive to birds and insects. Grapes grow in a fairly high temperature corridor, withstanding temperatures of up to twenty degrees. The climate can be both dry and humid.

Wine making

The fruits of this vine are used to prepare high-quality, inexpensive and pleasant wines. The process of growing and preparing wines does not require specific skills and is available even to the beginner. This wine is perfect as a dish of meat and vegetables.It contributes to the normalization of blood pressure and the gastrointestinal tract. So, how to make a dry red wine from Merlot grapes:

1. The container for the pulp is stored indoorsin which the temperature is maintained in the range of eighteen to twenty-three degrees above zero.

2. After we you squeezed and decanted pulp, I got a clean tinsel, which will continue to fake.
3. We strained tinsel and pour it into a glass container.
4. Then these tanks set in a cool room, inaccessible to sunlight, and the process of maturation begins.
5. Before drinking this wine should cool until 16 degrees and pour it into glasses made of transparent material.
6. Merlot wine grapes should not be consumed by those who are allergic to its components.. You should also limit the reception of patients with diabetes, as it contains a large amount of sugar.

Planting and care activities

This variety is grown in both specialized farms and in the conditions of the garden plot. It grows very quickly, does not take a lot of territory and is not capricious.Collect the fruit can begin as early as the third year after the rooting of the vine. It will bear fruit for at least ten years. The advantages of Merlot include:

1. Easy to get accustomed and not capricious to the choice of soil.
2. Good endures cold.
3. Fruit ripen for five or six months.
4. Grows both in wet and in dry soil.
5. Gives abundant the harvest.
6. Not subject to much grape diseases.
7. Great for making delicious and inexpensive wines.

And now let's look at the cons, they also have:

1. Perhaps noticeable reducing the size of berries.
2. Strong susceptible to mold.
3. Infected by a disease like powdery mildew.
4. To some extent depends on weather conditions.

Preparatory work

Before planting grapes should consider the following points:

• Choose the most sunny placethen the harvest will be better.
• Also the site should be protected from the wind. A more attractive place would be the south side of the buildings.
• Merlot does not like sour soil.
• The soil pre-prepared, clean the roots of plants and weeds.
• Should not be near plants from family solanaceous.
• Plant out planting material best spring, but you can in the fall.

How to root the seedlings?

This procedure consists of several stages:

1. In the beginning it is necessary make a hole seventy centimeters wide and the same depth.
2. In the bottom layer we lay out the gravel about twelve centimeters.
3. Install drainage system using plastic pipes that are installed on the edges of the pit. Their top hole is twelve centimeters above ground level.
4. On a layer of gravel laying black soil, humus add a small amount of fertilizer and sprinkle it all with wood ash, mix and level. Then lay out a layer of soil.
5. Repeat this procedure again and all water, to the top layer of the pit should be about thirty centimeters.
6. Thereafter we establish saplingsby orienting the buds to the north and the base of the root to the south.
7. Fall asleep hole by land.

When it is cold, the planted processes are covered with polyethylene, while they themselves can be protected with plastic packaging.

For planting, you can also use the cuttings of grapes, while the procedure of planting is not particularly different. When caring for a vineyard, you should water, loosen the earth and fight diseases. Watering is best done after sunset, the soil to handle as compaction.

When a shrub is formed, the sapling is pruned, leaving the strongest vine, it must be attached to the support. During the summer, it will be good to cut off the branches that thicken the bushes, this contributes to good ventilation and the prevention of the appearance of fungi and mold. Periodically should be processed fungicide, so you can prevent the appearance of powdery mildew. It is important to protect the vineyard from late frosts, because they can destroy the fruit.

Currently there are several grapes of Merlot, which are adapted for development in different climatic zones, while the wine has different tastes, but has a unique aroma that distinguishes it from other wines.