How do I make wine out of 4 gallons of squeezed grapes?

Posted in: Grape Growing by admin on January 25, 2010

Squeezed purple grapes, got 4 gal of juice and cooked the skins down. How do I make wine out of this?

To make wine you need two things sugar and yeast. Mix your juice with yeast, let it ferment, you have wine.

you’ll need a bucket large enough to handle the fermentation process.

more info on making wine at the link below.

What cities, counties, or regions in Texas are best for growing grapes?

Posted in: Grape Growing by admin on

What cities, counties, or regions in Texas are best for growing grapes?

Do you have a source website where fruits grow best in Texas? For example, I know oranges and grapefruits are best grown in the Rio Grande Valley by Mission, Edinburg, McAllen near the south border by Mexico.

I was unable to find which region is considered most well suited for grapes. However, I am a firm believer in local country ag extension agents. They are experts. They will gladly help you with whatever you need, and the service is free.

I found a couple pretty good article on the subject (listed under sources).

If you would like to speak to someone call George Ray McEachern at the AgLife Center in College Station (979) 845-7341. His name came up when I searched for "grapes" on http://texasextension.tamu.edu/

You could also call of visit your local agent and have them direct you. Good luck.

what kind of wine do i use when i make pasta in a garlic sause?

Posted in: Grape Growing by admin on January 24, 2010

im making dinner for my boyfriend im gonna make pasta in a garlic and olive oil sauce..what kind of wine do i use for us to drink?

white wine

white wine with white meat
Red Wine with red meat

since you are having a light meal go with the white

What stages do the grapes we eat go through?

Posted in: Grape Growing by admin on

when you eat a green grape is it just a red grape in an earlier stage of development? i was just wondering because my sister and i were eating a bag of red grapes and the little ones were green. then my sister said that she had always asumed that the greens were actually young reds!

No, it depends on the variety what the color is.. Most fruit and vegetables start out as green and will turn color when ripe- strawberries, tomatoes, apples, peaches, berries, cantaloupe, the list goes on and on. If you’ve seen a grape on the vine, they look rather opaque green until they are mature. Then they start to become more transparent and take on their intended color.

Ok People Challenge for you, Grape vine Disease or Pest What Is it & how to get rid of it?

Posted in: Grape Growing by admin on

Ok people, challenge for you. It’s closing in on mid-June and that means in MI the grape vine leaves will start having something either happen to them or get to them. I’ve searched the web, taken samples to nurseries, and no one can tell me what the thing is or how to stop it. On the top of the leaf it looks like a pucker and on the underside of the leaf a pimple.

This has been going on for over 40 years and being married Arabic grape leaves are important to us. Please help us.

me to . my name is MAHFOOD.
it is a parasite native to the northern us. harvest the leaves in may before the temp gets to be 80 for 3 days in a row.
they would do better in a green house, on a trellus. if you want fruit you have to pollinate them your self.
control the acess to the plants by the bug.
it is like a mite and just that size.
i have seen this also as a genetic defect like a cancer,but thats rare.

We will be growing grapes for the first time. We have a sandy loomy?

Posted in: Grape Growing by admin on

soil so I know that we need to mix in a bit of compost and richer soil. In order to up the nutrients we are using our compost mixed with lime (due to having a lot of oaks on the property), We will also use Charcoal and magnesium concentrate. Can anyone give me us tips on successfully growing our grapes in our soil conditions. And how often should we sow in fresh compost, Charcoal etc?

your doing the right thing but do not use to much lime it will destroy your vines you will only get a small crop the first year then after that it should take off…..make sure it gets plenty of water

How long before a grape vine will fruit?

Posted in: Grape Growing by admin on January 21, 2010

A couple of years ago a wild grape showed up in my yard. The vine was pretty big last season and is huge this season, but It hasn’t set fruit yet. This year there are tiny chartreuse clusters and I’m wondering if this is the start of grapes.

Yes, it will produce fruit. Depending on what type, anytime between August and October the fruit will be ready. The best way to keep the vine going is to have something for it to climb up. I have grape vines that are 20 years old and produce beautiful grapes. I only keep two main shoots coming up from the ground and I prunee them as needed. Depending on what kind you have will decide on when you prun it.

How to make an inexpensive wine fermenter?

Posted in: Grape Growing by admin on

I am wanting to put together a homemade wine fermenter. I do not want to buy the $70-150 kits they sell. I’ve also already seen the pages where they list about 100 supplies you need to buy to make them but I have also seen the pages where you can use household items to make wine. I am wanting to assemble a kit that will make a quality taste but does not have to be great. If anyone knows information or where I can find information it would be very appreciated. Thanks.

Start with the yellow pages and look up “Beer and Winemaking Supplies.” Ask what it costs for a ‘carboy’ (a 5 gallon water bottle), and an airlock. Should be around $20. This and the grape juice are the minimum you need.

From there, you might get a wine kit, purchase fresh ‘must’ (the crushed grapes and fresh juice), yeast and acid blend.

The hardware is the major starting cost, after that you own it and only have to buy the ingredients. Considering that you will be making two or three cases of wine that are worth $60/case and up, it’s a pretty good deal.

Most of those kits include the carboy, sanitizer, cleaning brushes and other essentials to make it easy for you. Some even include the bottles, corks and cork inserter.

What city, counties, or regions in Texas are best for growing grapes?

Posted in: Grape Growing by admin on

What city, counties, or regions in Texas are best for growing grapes?

Do you have a source website where fruits grow best in Texas? For example, I know oranges and grapefruits are best grown in the Rio Grande Valley by Mission, Edinburg, McAllen near the south border by Mexico.

Hey Alli,

My bet is if your soil tests proper for your grape type, you can grow grapes. Grapes have grown naturally along rivers and streams in Texas for thousands of years. A wide diversity of genetically unique grape species have been identified as native to Texas. The legendary T. V. Munson of Denison, Texas was one of the most important grape taxonomists to classify the grapes of the world in 1909. However, one does not need to be a grape scientist to realize how abundant native grapes are in Texas. Every river, stream, road or fence row in the state is not without a native vine. These native species have played an important role in providing genetic resistance for grape rootstocks used around the world. A large contrast exists between native grapes and commercial wine grape production in Texas.

Rootstocks are hybrids of native American species, most of which were hybridized in southern France during the phylloxera epidemic. Rootstocks are used when a special root or soil problem can be corrected by their use. The most common needs in Texas are iron chlorosis which is corrected by using Fercal or 41B, nematodes which are corrected with SO4 or Dog Ridge or Freedom. Cotton root rot problems can be reduced by using Dog Ridge. One rootstock, 110R can address more than one problem and is the leading choice for Texas today. There are 21 native grape species according to Michael O. Moore in Flora of North America and 15 grow wild in Texas along fence rows, in forests, and on trees. Therefore 70% of the grape species of the world are native to Texas. The most dominant being Vitis mustangensis (Vitis candicans) wild mustang which grows in all of central, east, and south Texas from the Red River south to the Rio Grande rivers. In the acid soils of east Texas the wild muscadines Vitis rotundifolia are very common. Vitis monticola and Vitis cinerea var. helleri (Vitis berlandieri) are common in the high pH soils of the Hill Country. Vitis cinerea is common along the alluvial flood plains of the Brazos and Colorado rivers. Native species are different from cultivated varieties in that the vines are either male or female; with most of the vines being male with no fruit.

Can I use green grapes instead of red grapes for a chicken salad?

Posted in: Grape Growing by admin on

The recipe calls for red grapes but I only have green grapes. Any suggestions?

A always make my fruity chicken salad with green grapes, pineapple and almonds. Add a little celery, mayo, salt & pepper and you’re done!