Grapes
Resources on grape production in Ontario, including how to plan a vineyard, available pest control options, irrigation and crop load management and more.
Overview
Ontario is a national leader in wine and table grape production accounting for 60-70% of Canada’s wine grape production and 60% of table grape production. Ontario grows a wide array of grapes for products such as:
- wine
- juice
- grape products (jams, jellies, preserves)
- fresh market consumption
Planning a vineyard
Preparation of the vineyard site is very important since establishing vineyards is costly. Once established, vineyards are maintained for many years. To learn more, refer to:
- Crops and livestock budgeting in Ontario
- Preparing for planting a new vineyard
- Vineyard site selection
- Site selection for grapes
Vine nutrition and soils
Vine nutrition and soils play an important role in grape production. Learn about the use of soil sampling and tissue sampling to optimize fertilizer programs.
- Soil management, fertilizer use, crop nutrition and cover crops for fruit production
- Adding compost to grapes
- Soil management for orchards and vineyards
Irrigation management
While grapes need less water than other horticultural crops, access to adequate moisture through irrigation is essential to the establishment of young vines and fruit quality in mature vines. To learn more, visit:
- Irrigation management of wine grapes in Ontario
- Irrigation scheduling for fruit crops
- Permits to take water
- Prepare for irrigation during water shortages
- Agricultural best management practices
Crop load management
Learn about the relationship between grape yield and the quality of wine produced using the Impact of grape yield on wine quality fact sheet.
Weather
Weather has a significant impact on grape production drought and excess rainfall can have negative impacts on vine growth and fruit quality. Learn more about the impact of weather on grapes in Ontario:
- Freeze protection methods for crops
- Impacts of cold temperatures on wine grapes
- Strategies to mitigate the risk of frost
- Strategies to mitigate the risk of winter injury
- Strategies to mitigate the risk of insufficient moisture
- Strategies to mitigate the risk of hail injury
- Strategies to mitigate the risk of wind damage
- Strategies to mitigate the risk of excessive moisture
- Strategies to mitigate the risk of excessively hot temperatures
- Strategies to mitigate the risk of cool growing Season
- Wind machines for minimizing cold injury to horticultural crops
Pest and bird management
Pest control
Pests can cause significant damage to vineyards. The Ontario Crop Protection Hub provides pest control information.
Learn more about the insects, diseases and weeds that are a problem in vineyards and techniques to manage them.
Bird control
Learn about bird control strategies in vineyards:
Harvesting and storage of table grapes
Learn about managing cold storage to avoid grape crop spoilage.