Wine making from fresh grape juice

[mwonnacot]

Hello, very new to wine making. Have my first few kits going now. I know I am not prepared to make wine from grapes yet, I definitely want to get a few batches under my belt before I give it a try. However I did recently find out that an Italian market near (Cantoro's in Plymouth, MI) imports grapes from Italy in September and you can purchase the juice. I would like to work my way up to this but I need suggestions on where to obtain good information. So far this forum has been very helpful. Any suggestions on books, blogs, videos etc etc where I can begin research on this type of wine making? How different is it then kits? All input is appreciated

 

[Kiwisholland]

There are some great resources here:

http://morewinemaking.com/content/winemanuals

There is a good manual on working with frozen juices, which might help, as well as the manuals on making red and white wine.

Good luck!

 

[ColemanM]

I nearly dropped my cigar when I read this post. I thought you stated Plymouth MN!! I'd love to get my hands on some fresh Italian grapes. Good luck on this venture [emoji3]

 

[heatherd]

That Morewinemaking book is a good reference.

Making the transition from kits to juice meant a few things for me:
-Needed kmeta
-Needed a way to test the juice's pH, which can be strips or a meter
-Need tartaric acid
-If you use betonite and superkleer, you'll have to have that on hand
-If the juice is not already innoculated, you'll need yeast

The process is the same, takes more time than a kit, but the results are definitely worth it!

Heather

 

[mwonnacot]

I nearly dropped my cigar when I read this post. I thought you stated Plymouth MN!! I'd love to get my hands on some fresh Italian grapes. Good luck on this venture [emoji3]

Thank you! And I hope you can eventually come across grapes near you!

 

[JohnT]

Mwonnacot,

I looks like you have the ultimate goal to make wine from fresh grapes imported from Italy. Is this because of your heritage, or do you think that the fresh imported Italian grapes will be better?

For what it is worth, I found that the Italian grapes were very expensive and not of very good quality. You could do much better with Chilean grapes or grapes from California. This is just my own experience.

I tell you this because I want to set the right expectation. I would hate to see you go through a lot of effort and money and be disappointed in the end.

 

[ostensibly]

California Wine Grapes in Detroit will also have Italian grapes in the fall, they also get Chilean grapes in the spring.