Since I was convinced that I wouldn’t learn how to make good wine until I learned how to grow good grapes, in the Spring of 2009 I persuaded my sister to lend my a few feet of her nearby sunny property to plant my first, very own vineyard, by which I mean 6 vines. Add to that the one I planted in the least shady spot in our city dwelling and I was feeling optimistic that I could someday harvest a crop yielding dozens of glasses. 
Next thing you know, I’m a farmer. I usually avoid yard work like the plague, so the fact that I was excited about renting a tiller was definitely new to me. I bought the vines online from a specialized nursery and they literally arrived the next day in a FedEx tube. They basically look like twigs, but the good news is they only cost $9 each. Of course, once you throw in the tiller rental, posts, wires, grow tubes, and other necessities and I’m in for another $500. The woman at the nursery talked me into planting Corot Noir. It is a hybrid developed at 
The first two growing seasons are focused on developing the roots and trellis system, and are not expected to yield any actual grapes. That means if all goes perfectly, I should get my first small harvest in the Fall of 2011, meaning I could be enjoying my wine by Christmas…of 2013.
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