# Frozen grapes ?!



## hector (Aug 9, 2009)

Hi there !

I've planned to make red wine at home this year and I ordered some Additives such as "Campden Tablets" and "Tartaric Acid" from outside the Country , as there are no wine supply stores in my Country . 

It takes 60 days for the Additives to reach me BUT perfectly ripened wine grapes are coming to stores in about 40 days . 

Is it a good idea to buy grapes in advance and keep them or their juice frozen untill I receive the Additives ?!

Thanks ,

Hector


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## Wade E (Aug 9, 2009)

Are they fresh or frozen grapes. If they are already frozen then it is absolutely fine. If they are not frozen then picking them up at the last minute and keeping them cold would be fine, not sure about freezing the juice but the grapes should be fine to freeze.


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## hector (Aug 10, 2009)

*fresh grapes*

Hi dear Wade and thanks for your Reply !

The grapes which I'm going to buy are fresh and ripe . 

I would like to know if I can keep them cold in refrigerator for 

about 20 days , as you said it's better not freezing them . 

Although , I've heard that freezing leads to more juice at the end . 

Hector


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## Leanne (Aug 10, 2009)

I have often used frozen grapes. Sometimes I have way to many for immediate needs so I freeze them in a freezer bag and then just take them out as I need them for the next batch of wine. Much more juice too.


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## St Allie (Aug 10, 2009)

Hector,

Check the bakery aisle in your supermarket, tartaric acid and citric acids are a common baking item, your local supermarket should have it on their shelves.

Allie


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## Wade E (Aug 10, 2009)

Freezing them wont hurt them and if you dont have a press it might be the better way to go. 20 days might be a little to long unless you are talking about almost frozen temps, not really sure how long they will last at fridge temps so dont want to stare you wrong. Id feel safer with you freezing them unless you can keep them chilled and waych them frequently and once you see any signs of spoilage freeze them.


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## grapeman (Aug 15, 2009)

What variety of grapes are these? Do you have any harvest type numbers for pH, brix or acidity? Depending on the ripeness and variety, you probably don't need to add acid, so the tartaric wouln't be needed. It may also not be necessary to add any k-meta in the form of powder or the tablets(campdens). Depending on origin, they may have been pretreatedwith sulfites to help prevent spoilage. If the acidity was ok, I would just go ahead and crush them and pitch the yeast. This is especially so if you plan on doing a malolactic fermentation (mlf). You want low levels of sulfites for MLF to work. Once the MLF is done, then you add sulfites to proper levels.


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