My setup in Staten Island, NY

[Dominick]

Here are some pics of my grapevine. I have made a wired Wall they can grow on. I never made wine before, this will be my first year trying with my home grown grapes, which are a mix of Red and White. Sorry I forgot the name of the grapes. Last year I had tons of bunches but didnt know what to do with them so we just ate them as they tasted better then the ones you buy in a supermarket.

I havent purchased any wine making equipment yet.
Im looking to make chemical free wine if that is possible.

Yesterday I have removed a lot of the leaves you see above.

This is my 2nd year with this grapevine.

Any advise would be great for a first timer.


Thanks!

 

[Dominick]

more photos..

 

[Joanie]

Wow! You're going to have quite a crop!!! Very cool!!

Welcome to the forum!! Appleman is the resident grape man! He will be able to answer your questions.
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[Wade E]

Looks real good Dominick. I dont think you will want totally chemical free wine but what we add is very little compared to what is added commercially. Ask any questions you need.

 

[Canadian1]

I gotta ask Dominick is that a NL flag you have with the US flag?

 

[Dominick]

I gotta ask Dominick is that a NL flag you have with the US flag?

IT

Yesterday I cut most of the leaves off the vine, the ones that were blocking sunlight to the grape bunches. I also cut the vine at the ends where it grows quick. This way maybe the energy will go into pushing the grapes out.



Edited by: Dominick

 

[BonnieJoy]

Welcome to the forum, Dominick. There are some really gracious &amp; knowledgeable members here.
You've got some nice looking vines there. I'm trying to go as organic as possible in my small vineyard, too.


Wade is right, a small amount of chemicals in the winemaking process will help stabilize it.

 

[grapeman]

Welcome to the forum Dominick. Sorry I couldn't answer yesterday. My internet connection quit responding yesterday afternoon so I couldn't check your post out. I have a couple questions for you to. Did you say this is one vine? You say you have red and white grapes so that would tell me more than one vine. Did you plant the vine and if so when.


A couple points for you. Don't worry quite yet about leaf pulling- you want the vine to be able to feed all those grapes. What I am seeing is the vine is in bloom right now. Wait until the individual grapes are pea size to remove leaves. Second point- don't remove shoot tips early in the season. That will make the vine stop growing in length, but it will form side shoots(laterals) out and make the vine even bushier. Last year you got a lot of bunches of grapes but if they came from one vine and you had red and white grapes, some were getting ripe and some weren't. My guess and this is only a guess is that you have a Concord with vigorous growing conditions. They will grow a lot in one year and soon get overgrown- perfect for a yard screening wall, but not so good for getting wine grapes. You need to ripen the grapes as much as possible to increase sugar levels and decrease acids for a good wine.


Let me know about if it is a single vine and when first planted and we can go from there. It certainly is off to a good start. Good job.

 

[Dominick]

Hey appleman:


Yes I have 2 vines, one for red, one for white. - I really wish I remembered the names of the variety, I know for a fact it is "not concord", I remember it was a fancy italian name of one of the grapevines. I will try to see if i have the vine tags still.When I was reading the tags, they specifically said these grapes were for making wine. - I will try to find out.


Thanks


PS: I had planted both of the vines 2 summer's ago (same day).
The 1st summer I got nothing, last year I got alot of grapes, this year looks like double/triple the amount of grapes I had from last summer.

Edited by: Dominick

 

[grapeman]

Good to know you have one of each so they probably were pretty ripe then. You should try to start somewhat training the vine before it gets too bushy. The grape buds forms potential clusters this year for next year in the presence of sunlight. If it gets too bushy and shades large areas of the vines, they won't get many blossoms next year except right on the outside. Let me know how it responds to the trimming of the ends and the leaf pulling and have fun!

 

[Dominick]

Appleman I found 2 tags, and confirming I have 3 Vines total.

I cant find that italian variety tag, all I found was 2tags.

1. Uva Niagara Blanca - Vitis labrusca "Niagara" (White)
2. Catawba - Vitis labrusca "Catawba" (Red)

...would love to find the 3rd tag. Thanks again-
Edited by: Dominick

 

[Joanie]

Ooooh! Those should make some good wines, Dominick!

 

[grapeman]

Those are both old American varieties and have been around for close to 100 years each. The Catawba are probably what tasted so good. They are a really good eating variety. It's too bad they are seeded varieties or they would really be outstanding. You can make wine from both varieties. It takes a lot of grapes for a gallon of wine- about 15 pounds. You should be able to make a gallon or so from each.


Are you able to grow them without disease without spraying- or do you use some sort of sprays?

 

[Dominick]

No sprays here for bug control or disease, i take a look at the vines for the most part usually everything looks good, I have few leaves chewed up but nothing major cant complain..few ants...a catapilla..etc..

Can you mix/blend these 2 varieties?
Would they be better off alone?
What can i do as far as flavoring these wines?
Can I throw some almonds in, or whatever i like into the must?
Cant you just use a blender to crush/blend the grapes instead of pounding/crushing them?

Edited by: Dominick

 

[grapeman]

I have never tried to blend these two varieties so I can't speak of that. I'm not sure it would make a good blend. The Niagara is relatively early ripening in September and the Catawba will ripen in Mid to late October. You would need to freeze the Niagaraif you wanted to blend since they mature at different times. The Niagara is a white best sweetened and the Catawba makes a rose an is also good sweet or semi-sweet.


I wouldn't think almonds would be good, but who know? I would let them get mature and use their own flavors.


A blender is out. That would pulverize the skins and seeds, both a no-no for these varieties. You can do those small batches without fancy equipment. A bucket and a pair of good clean feet will work well(I have even done that in the past).


Good to know you haven't had a need to spray. Keep an eye out for Black Rot,Downey Mildew, Powdery Mildew, Phomopsis and Antracnose- for diseases. You will know it if you get Japanese Beetles, Steeley Beetles, Rose Chafers or any other of the multitude of insect pests. The longer you have the vines, the more pests you will get. Hopefully natural controls will continue to work well for you.

 

[Wade E]

If you wanted to you could try blending after you have made the wine in very small quantities just to see if its to your liking.

 

[uavwmn]

Dominick, welcome to the Forum. Lots of free advice and tons of knowledge here. Your vines look healthy and happy.

 

[Dominick]

Thanks for the replies!


I was wondering being that I do not have any wine making equipment what would be best for me to start with. Would the "Beginners Wine Equipment Only Package" be good enough to start with?


I wont mix these grapes, ill make them straight and see how that goes being that this is my first time making wine. Someone gave me a sicilian wine recipe to try but I dont want to hurt my first batch of wine, id rather keep it natural. -

 

[OilnH2O]

Welcome to the forum, Dom

With regard to the type of wine kit and your questions, don't hesitate to just give George a call. He will be happy to help, and will NOT sell you anything you don't need. Plus, he can give you a discount and might even suggest a kit wine to try just as a way to break in your equipment and get a little experience before your own grapes ripen.

Best of luck, and keep us all posted with your experiences!

 

[Dominick]

Sounds like a great idea, thank you, I will george a call this week.