Ethran: Merelan City

[Mark Oliva]

escherndorf.JPG
Photo Copyright (C) 2010, Steigerwald EDV Verlag, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

Ah!

Well...

Hmmmmn... Hmmmn....

My thoughts exactly.

The majority of the vineyard is on a south east slope (north being diagonal from bottom right to top left). That's almost south facing... and the slope is more of a gently tilting plain, so its not really in the shade at any point of the day. Is that good enough?

For grape juice, sure. For wine, never. Best is the all-day sun of a south slope. OK is a southwest slope with late morning and afternoon sun. Minimal is a west slope with afternoon sun. But southeast ... grape juice. However, as you soon will see, the matter is going to get worse.

I don't live anywhere near a hop growing area.

The Middle Franconian hops gardens of Spalt and Hersbruck are near. The best German hops gardens in the Bavarian Hallertau are not distant, nor is Bohemian Žatec (Saaz in Austrian times), where the world's best hops grow. I've been to all of them, and none look anything like your grape-juice-producing vineyards.

The grapes of the Merlish vines (for it is they and not the Blucrans' who refined the strain) are small and very strong - and they are going to need a fairly stiff drink or two when they realise what's about to happen to them.

Then you're really in trouble. One does not get high alcohol content from strong or even very strong grapes but rather from the amount of sugar in the grape which turns into alcohol. The amount of sugar in the grape is, then, determined to a great extent by the amount of sunshine the vines have. In other words, if your wines are supposed to have a high alcohol content, you need a 100% south slope, preferably with a steep incline, most preferably with water at the bottom to reflect sunlight back into the vineyard. See the photo. It was taken in early spring before the vines had leafed out. It shows the Lower Franconian village of Escherndorf on the Main River. The vineyard - Escherndorfer Lump - faces due south. It is one of 5 world-class vineyards in Franconia. Some of the wine in the Lump goes for up to $100 a bottle in New York City.

Do you think I have enough vineyard to keep the wealthy of the city in booze for a year, or shall I do more?

Sorry. You don't have any vineyard at all to do that.

However, I do want to get you out of trouble. Instead of making it a village of winos, you could make it a village of abolitionist grape juice drinkers who will burn anyone at the stake who is caught drinking alcohol!

Nix für Ungut!