Sourcing Grapes

[Cxwgfamily]

I am a member of a wine making group in south Louisiana. Our group is interested in sourcing grapes directly from a vineyard/winery this fall. I am looking for ideas, advice, and recommendations. We are not opposed to flying to Ca. buying, freezing and then loading the grapes on a truck to drive back. This is just one option we are looking at, but open to better ideas. I am aware of a broker in Dallas, which I will persue and doing the same thing as mentioned above with Texas Grapes. Thoughts,
Cxwgfamily

 

[Nebbiolo020]

I am a member of a wine making group in south Louisiana. Our group is interested in sourcing grapes directly from a vineyard/winery this fall. I am looking for ideas, advice, and recommendations. We are not opposed to flying to Ca. buying, freezing and then loading the grapes on a truck to drive back. This is just one option we are looking at, but open to better ideas. I am aware of a broker in Dallas, which I will persue and doing the same thing as mentioned above with Texas Grapes. Thoughts,
Cxwgfamily

Honestly your in a tough spot, the best option probably would be to reach out to Texas wine grape growers and try and see if anyone will sell to you in the fall, The wine grape industry in Texas is small and they may not be willing to as a lot of wineries or growers want to keep the grapes. Aside from that going to California would give you the best chance of finding good ripe grapes but the cost of trucking them back would be significant you would need to buy a lot of grapes to make it worthwhile cost wise if you did come to California I can help you find grapes, I have a lot of connections from working in the industry and should be able to get you grapes.

 

[Cxwgfamily]

Honestly your in a tough spot, the best option probably would be to reach out to Texas wine grape growers and try and see if anyone will sell to you in the fall, The wine grape industry in Texas is small and they may not be willing to as a lot of wineries or growers want to keep the grapes. Aside from that going to California would give you the best chance of finding good ripe grapes but the cost of trucking them back would be significant you would need to buy a lot of grapes to make it worthwhile cost wise if you did come to California I can help you find grapes, I have a lot of connections from working in the industry and should be able to get you grapes.

I would like to continue the discussion with you. One of our guys is in the trucking industry and says he has contacts. Also, one idea was to fly out, purcure the grapes, get them to a frozen food warehouse for freezing and then rent a uhaul and drive straight back. It’s a whirlwind trip but with two guys with more time than sense, it maybe a fun trip.
cxwgfamily

 

[winemaker81]

Research shippers. My local group (central NC) works with Musto which is located in CT. Gino Pinto is another located in NJ (I think). While these are in the wrong direction for you, it's likely there are other shippers between you and the west coast.

FYI -- my group negotiates a better price because of bulk purchasing -- making a large bulk order may provide bargaining power. Our shipping costs are far from cheap, but it's a far better price than making individual purchases.

 

[mainshipfred]

If your trying to have fun and price is no object your plan may work. The issue with flying to California is you just don't know when the fruit will be ready for harvesting so you will be making last minute flight plans and hotel reservations $$$$, but you do get to see the fruit hanging and know what the numbers are. Then the fruit won't freeze overnight so you'll have to stay several nights but then again if it's just for fun no problem.

It gets awful hot in the back of a box truck so I don't know how long they will stay frozen. Plus will you be getting smaller amounts of different varietals ( which all ripen at different times) or a ton or 2 of the same. This will determine what you will have to pay for lugs or t-bins.

In Virginia, our group get our grapes shipped on a refer truck at 34* that leaves on a Monday and we receive them on Friday for distribution on Saturday. Last year the cost was $38-$43 per lug. The problem is we get our grapes from Lodi whom I'm convinced are more concerned with quantity than quality and although they generally come in fine there are times the fruit is not the greatest. BTW, we normally get 2 truck loads of grapes and juice.

There are several brokers that can help you procure and ship the grapes but you really need a truck load to make it cost effective. Most local wineries, at least in my area, supplement their crops with fruit from the west coast and most don't want to deal with home winemakers. I would recommend developing relationships with the locals and piggyback off of their orders. This will by far be the most cost effective approach. Plus they have the option to reject fruit that is not as promised.

I'm not trying to dis your plan and it sounds like it might be fun. I just wanted to share what I thought might be options and consideration you might want to think about.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Like Fred’s group Wisconsin Vinters does a bulk grape buy and group crush. Grapes are a commodity and the story is that in the old days a fruit and vegetable vendor in downtown Milwaukee was the drop point. Currently it is someone’s garage. (New Orleans and Houston should have a similar fruit vendor)
Frozen buckets is another option. They travel well and are available for a longer time than fresh crop. Prairie Vinters here does group buys. ,,, When the semi comes there are other pallets that go to other customers, If you are big enough bulk totes of juice for wineries sometimes are our semi.
Our regional winery has juice shipped in by the tanker truck. They source both eastern (finger lakes) and western (Washington state) suppliers.

 

[Fencepost]

From following @Johnd, I know he has bought, crushed and made wine from grapes that were shipped in... and he is from South Louisiana (as I am). He may have some insight.

 

[user 35751]

I am a member of a wine making group in south Louisiana. Our group is interested in sourcing grapes directly from a vineyard/winery this fall. I am looking for ideas, advice, and recommendations. We are not opposed to flying to Ca. buying, freezing and then loading the grapes on a truck to drive back. This is just one option we are looking at, but open to better ideas. I am aware of a broker in Dallas, which I will persue and doing the same thing as mentioned above with Texas Grapes. Thoughts,
Cxwgfamily

You may try googling the Texas Wine and Grape Growers association. Dig around there website for the classified section.
There are some East Texas vineyards that will sell in bulk. Some you pick what you need.

 

[The Dutchman]

A good option might be the grapes from Colavita. Local Distributors — F. Colavita & Son probably your closest distributor is in Gainesville TX. I have picked up from him for several years now. he will have a reefer truck deliver it, and I usually drive down from Northwest Arkansas to pick it up from his winery.

 

[doubt3]

following

 

[heatherd]

Another option would be frozen must from one of these guys and get it delivered to you:
-Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate | Fruit juice Purees for Brewing and…
-Wine Grapes Direct
-Brehm Vineyards - Fine Wine From Fine Grapes
-Juice Grape - Home of Musto Wine Grape Co.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

Another option would be frozen must from one of these guys and get it delivered to you:
-Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate | Fruit juice Purees for Brewing and…
-Wine Grapes Direct
-Brehm Vineyards - Fine Wine From Fine Grapes
-Juice Grape - Home of Musto Wine Grape Co.

And...
Www.grapemust.com