[Babstreefern]

Its my first year of growing my vine, and I've got grapes starting to appear. I've lost the tag that went with it.  Do I cut off the grapes that are starting to appear or just leave them to grow, but not pick them? :blink:

[Sideways]

Im no expert but..... If you are growing the grapes to eat, leave them. If you want the grapes for wine making and want to acheive a full, concentrated flavour, thinning back the amount of grapes left to grow will help.

My vine is in its second year and is doing very well, there's a good leaf & bud cover already.

[Babstreefern]

Yes, mine has plenty of leaf, and lots of potential grapes, but do I have to chop them off before they mature?

[Carrotcake]

The only thing I did with my vine (in the UK) was to thin the leaves out a bit during the summer to let more sun get to the grapes. If you prune the stems once they start growing, you will also concentrate the vine's efforts to the grapes rather than leaf growth.

[Babstreefern]

Thanks Carrotcake.  I do have plenty of leaf growth, so I'll start trimming next month.  Its not very warm here at present, so I'll keep the leaf on to keep the grapes sheltered.

By the way, I as over in Cognac a couple of years ago - bought a lovely bottle of Hennessey when we went to the distillary - we stayed in St Emelion - I bought my first vine there, but it died off, so I bought another over here.  Great place. 

[Carrotcake]

I bought four babies (vines!) for €10 in St Emilion and two of them died (more out of neglect than anything), but two survived and have finally made it into the ground.

It is an amazing place. We take all our visitors there, as we love it so much!