The vineyards in each of the villages supplied everyone with wine. This wine was not only recreational, but was also used for religious purposes. Most of the time, community wine was stored in the basement of the church. This was no different in South Amana. What was unique about South Amana wine making was how the juice was transported to the church from the press house. To find out more about this click here!
The location of the vineyard was directly south of the school building. There were 8 to 10 rows extending the length of the hill (about 50 yards). The rows ran east to west. The South Amana vineyard had three different varieties of grapes. These were Clinton, Cartava, and Concord. The Clinton and Concord were mostly used for wine making. The Clinton grapes are small, purple, and sour to taste. They resemble wild grapes in color and size, though are a little bigger than the wild variety. The Cartava are red. There was only 1/2 of a row of these in the vineyard. The Concord grape is large and a blue/purple color. They are also sweet. My family still has two of the three varieties growing on our property. I believe that these types of grapes made South Amana unique from the other village vineyards. The three predominant types in the other villages were Concord, red Cartava, and a white Niagara. Delaware were a small, red, sweet grape that were grown privately on homes. We also have these on my parent's property. I was unable to ascertain whether or not these varieties were planted in South Amana.
Most Amana houses had grape trellises attached to the walls of the first floor. This acted as a food source as well as a rudimentary form of air conditioning. The vines on the trellises insulated the house from summer sun and thus kept the inside of the building cooler. Grape vines were also popular on the large lawn swings for shade. A framework around the swing supported the vines. Rows were also planted along property and garden edges.
Every spring, the vines were tended to by various community members. The vines needed to be pruned and retied to their place on the trellis or row. Dead shoots and the excess new shoots were taken off with pruning. After this was done, willow shoots were used to attach them to the trellis or wire. Willow shoots were plentiful and were often used green for tying plants outdoors. They served better than twine for the were naturally supple and did not cost anything. We still use willow for our grapes in spring.
The vineyard is no longer there. I don't know when its use was discontinued.
Pictures are from The Palimpest, April 1971.