I measured the hillside and determined that the vineyard will be sixty feet wide by sixty feet high. It has a slope of about 40 degrees which is pretty severe. Trellises will be ten feet apart. Each trellis will have four vines for a total of sixteen vines on four trellises. That's enough to produce about eighty bottles of wine (at optimal yields).
The soil is rocky with large metamorphic cobbles and medium brown dirt. All digging will have to be done with picks. This is some seriously rocky soil but excellent for grape growing.
Any large rocks will be reserved for retaining walls. Here is an existing wall using the same construction method. Each terrace will have one of these walls to hold the soil in place.
I went for a walk down the road to check on the local wild grape population which appears to be thriving. I'll take this as a good sign since this is the same soil from the vineyard. These are vitis arizonica, a native species. I'm considering the possibility of transplanting a couple of these vines to blend into the future wine. Cool.
In case you didn't know it, this is the natural habitat for all grapes: growing in trees where birds can propagate the seeds.
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