As the season progresses and we get closer to harvest we will begin to sample the grapes for their sugar content. This testing follows a random cluster sampling method that guarantees accurate results. Using our own Gator and stainless steel crusher we gather whole clusters by the lug to remove the lower sugar inner berry bias.

We begin to send our results to all that have signed up for grapes for the current harvest season. Watching the weather and knowing the progress of ripening from previous years we can begin to get an idea of when the optimum sugars will occur. But, as those who have been with us for several years know, last minute cooldowns or heat waves cause new emails to be sent.

When just the right timeframe is discovered, we email everyone so that we can schedule visits with little overlap. We do pick all the grapes with our small crew…very few people opted to pick themselves…and this makes it easier for us to manage the whole process.

WE USUALLY START PICKING AT 7AM…and hope to have all grapes ready to pick up by 10 AM – we will schedule pickups…but there may be some overlap…so please be patient!

We do have a forklift available to forklift brutes carefully into the back of station wagons and SUV’s and also forklift macrobins into the back of trucks.

We no longer offer crushing services…so please plan to rent a crusher/stemmer to process your fruit at home.

SPECIFIC WHITE WINEGRAPE NOTES

These grapes will be cold from the morning picking but PLEASE bring frozen water bottles to keep these grapes COLD on the way home.

SPECIFIC RED WINEGRAPE NOTES

Crushed red wine grapes NEED to have their skins present during the fermentation to extract those bold red colors and flavors. Please plan on adding the antioxidant SO2 after crushing so that the background microbial level is lowered to a more reasonable level. You MAY decide that you want to COLD SOAK this must, but if you do, it must be kept very cold or ubiquitous vinegar bacteria will begin to produce vinegar even before your yeast fermentation begins!

HOW MUCH DOES A BRUTE HOLD?

You must allow for expansion during fermentation of at least 25% of the volume of your fermentation vessel. Ballpark estimate: FOR EVERY 100 lbs of crushed grapes you will need about 11 gallons of brute space:

* 20 gal brute ~ 175 lbs

* 32 gal brute ~ 300 lbs

* 44 gal brute ~ 400 lbs

PRESS YIELD RULE OF THUMB:

For every 100 lbs. of must, you will need 7 gallons of secondary storage. (for future reference!)

CLICK HERE TO MOVE TO STEP 2!