grapevine mildew

[retropants]

how do I stop this from happening please?

We've had an unloved grapevine on our plot, which is over 20 years old. It was already ancient when we took on the plot in 1993. 3 years ago, my father built a rustic pergola for it to grow up, and I have been pruning it properly since then.

year 1: flowers, a few fruit, all gone hard with mildew
year 2: about 6 or seven bunches, looked good, then succumbed to the mildew
year 3: (this year) at least 30 bunches of fat juicy grapes with no signs of mould until last week. I removed the few bunches that were infected. I didn't go to the plot yesterday, so I have no idea how the rest are doing. I suspct the will all be infected by now.
so:
year 4: what can I do to improve my chances of actually getting a crop?

[Arnie]

Hi
Have read of this as it might help

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/AdviceSearch/Pro ... px?pid=569

Regards

Arnie

[retropants]

thanks arnie, it seems my vine gets powdery mildew with a secondary grey mould infection on the cracked fruits. I am hoping to find an organic-ish way of controlling this, any tips and/or hints? The vine is outside on a southeast facing wall. I have trimmed all leafy growth, and kept long new growth to within 2 buds of each bunch of fruit. It gets water at the roots once or twice a week when it is really hot like it has been. I would have preferred bordeaux solution, but that is no longer available, no?