40 year old grapevine needs a new hoose!

[Stan79]

What a wonderful problem to have. Have you tried a dehumidifier?

[Fisherscot]

Thanks for the new replies -- all these gardeners with hidden artistic talents, very impressive! I guess it goes without saying gardening is quite creative

That makes me feel a lot better Printemps, merci! It was a lovely 21 degrees here today, and I don't think we get -8c in the winter so hopefully the vine would suit being outdoors. I've always liked the idea of having a more Mediterranean look; when I was in Turkey I visited a restaurant with a wooden pergola hanging with grapes -- it was really lovely. The only thing is that to take down the existing lean-to would mean I'd have to redo all those inside lean-to walls and adjoining doors to be outdoor walls/doors. It'd probably still be cheaper than building a conservatory, though.

I'm just not really sure what to do with that part of house/garden really, now I know from you all that I have options because the vine would likely survive whatever I got up to. The garden is really big, and there's already a big patio area at the back door. I'd heard recommendations recently that building conservatories isn't a great bet for housing because they're too hot in summer and too cold in winter. I want to do something that will make the house more attractive and still keep the vine. I'm a bit stuck! If anyone is a budding landscaper and wants to give me some advice I'd be happy to post some overhead pics of the area so you can see where the vine is situated!

In any case, thank you for the advice, it's much appreciated.

PS - The grapes were red with seeds, and just tasted like normal table grapes to me.

[Fisherscot]

Oh, haven't tried a dehumidifier, I'm just leaving the windows open all day! The old windows are literally about to fall out the bottom of the rotten window frames so because I have to rebuild or repair, perhaps I can come up with another idea (like those self-opening greenhouse windows) that will vent without electricity...

[FB.]

I don't think we get -8c in the winter so hopefully the vine would suit being outdoors.

Hardiness isn't the problem; in the UK the problem is managing to get enough strong direct sunlight and enough warmth to produce grapes of usable quality.
I have a Black Hamburg thriving on the sunny South-South-West wall of my house, mostly left to do its own thing, growing in 'soil' that's mostly dry infertile sand and builders rubble.
The grapes ripen adequately most years but didn't ripen in the cold/wet summer a couple of years ago and shrivelled in the very dry summer a few years ago (a little water would have solved that problem).
But the vine itself didn't suffer any damage from the very dry summer or very cold winter a couple of years ago (we were well below -10'C for several nights and didn't get above freezing during the days in between).
The fruit benefits from cutting-back excess leafy growth to let more light to the grapes.

[Printemps]

. . . . .
The fruit benefits from cutting-back excess leafy growth to let more light to the grapes.

Absolutely! It always amazes me how little the leaf growth is on rows of vines in professional vinyards.