Selecting Grape Varieties

I spend more hours on the web, researching grape varieties. The nearest nursery with grape rootstock is Quality Nursery in Zillah ( http://www.grapeplants.net/ ). I send an email to David the owner, telling him I’m new to the wine game and would appreciate recommendations for what might do well in the Moses Lake microclimate. He emails me back his inventory list and lets me know he is not in the recommendation business. Maybe I should use a wine consultant, he says. I don’t feel like hiring a consultant. David’s inventory is pretty mainstream. Cabs, Chardonnays, Syrahs, Riesling. For awhile I’m leaning toward Riesling. It does well in cool climates. But I learn it is a late-harvest grape, which brings autumn frosts into play. My number one priority is a vine and grape that will survive and thrive. Don’t bud to early, don’t ripen too late, don’t die if we get a cold winter. (I’m comforted by the thought of global warming. I just hope it gets here soon.) Cameron at White Heron suggests I plant Gewürztraminer, but I don’t know who would want it. Cameron seems a little skeptical of my vineyard. He has a friend down on the lake who is struggling with his plants. Well, someone has to prove it can be done. Might as well be me. I finally settle on mostly Cabernet Franc and some Chardonnay. Hardy plants, don’t ripen too late, and a market for the grapes. Not a lot of Cab Franc being grown, but a lot needed for blending with Cab Sauvignon and Merlot, and beginning to be used as a stand-alone varietal as well. I order from David in Zillah, despite his lack of helpfulness. $1.60 per plant for certified (disease & pest-free?) vines. I consult my vineyard book and my plat map and do the math: 2.5 acres, 10’ spacing between rows, 6’ between plants, etc. It adds up to 1,500 plants.