# PA Grape Juices



## ffemt128 (Sep 13, 2012)

I decided to stick with PA juices this fall so I'm heading to Presque Isle Winery this weekend to pick up some juices. I'm going to get the following this weekend;

Niagra - 6 or 12 Gallons
Fredonia - 6 Gallons
Concord - 12 Gallons

I'm up in the air on the Niagra. The stuff I made last year is really tasting good and I'm running low on remaining bottles.

We'll be making a trip up in October as well to pick up Catawba and Chambourcin.


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## djrockinsteve (Sep 13, 2012)

I did a concord niagara blend last year. Turned out great. Also did a Chambourcin equally wonderful. 

Heading to Walkers to get a few juices, meet Sarah and have lunch. Planning on a few buckets from Premiere Produce as well.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 13, 2012)

Found out tonight where we are staying is about 3 blocks from Mazza. They have a few juices that presque isle doesn't sell. May pick up a Foch from them and maybe one other.


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## Julie (Sep 13, 2012)

We are headed to Walkers either the 22nd or the 29th, not sure and then will be headed back up sometime in January for extra's. We will probably head up to Presque Ise sometime in October, when the catawba comes out.

Doug, I noticed that Walker's has Brianna listed in the wine list but not on there price list. It would be nice if they were selling it but not sure if they are. I was thinking of calling and asking, would you be interested in some?


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## Rocky (Sep 13, 2012)

PA juices would probably be a good call this year. With the sun we had all Summer long they should be high in sugar. Does anyone have any sample brix levels?


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## Julie (Sep 13, 2012)

walkers is saying 21 brix.

here is there link

http://www.walkersfruitbasket.com/Retail Prices.html


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## Runningwolf (Sep 13, 2012)

Walkers just posted their prices. A number of juices are already sold out. Doug I'll see you on Sunday! I suggest if you see something you like buy it as soon as it's available.


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## Rocky (Sep 13, 2012)

Julie, thank you for the pirce list. Wow, when we were in New York, we lived right across the street from a winery (Casa Larga Vineyards) and they made a great _Vidal Blanc._ That would be quite a road trip for me (MapQuest tells me it would be just under 5 hours) but I sure would like to surprise my wife and daughter with Vidal Blanc.


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## Runningwolf (Sep 14, 2012)

Rocky said:


> Julie, thank you for the pirce list. Wow, when we were in New York, we lived right across the street from a winery (Casa Larga Vineyards) and they made a great _Vidal Blanc._ That would be quite a road trip for me (MapQuest tells me it would be just under 5 hours) but I sure would like to surprise my wife and daughter with Vidal Blanc.


 Rocky Vidal is also grown in Ohio. Its still a ride for you but not quite as bad if you looked at the Wineries that sell juice up along Lake Erie. There is one in Geneva Ohio that sells juice for sure.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 14, 2012)

Julie said:


> We are headed to Walkers either the 22nd or the 29th, not sure and then will be headed back up sometime in January for extra's. We will probably head up to Presque Ise sometime in October, when the catawba comes out.
> 
> Doug, I noticed that Walker's has Brianna listed in the wine list but not on there price list. It would be nice if they were selling it but not sure if they are. I was thinking of calling and asking, would you be interested in some?


 

If you're heading up there and they have the juice, yes I would be interested. It was listed on their old prices. Let me know if you are going up.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 14, 2012)

Runningwolf said:


> Walkers just posted their prices. A number of juices are already sold out. Doug I'll see you on Sunday! I suggest if you see something you like buy it as soon as it's available.


 

I take it you will be working on Sunday? We'll be stopping on the way home. I have 7 buckets cleaned and soaking in a heavy kmeta solution.


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## Hokapsig (Sep 15, 2012)

Runningwolf said:


> Walkers just posted their prices. A number of juices are already sold out. Doug I'll see you on Sunday! I suggest if you see something you like buy it as soon as it's available.


 
Dan, I'm going to be crusing through on Wednesday afternoon and want to stop in for some Concord, Niagara and Fredonia if available. Would you know how much the containers are if you want to purchase them there? I'm looking at either 5 or 6 gallon containers.


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## Runningwolf (Sep 15, 2012)

Hokapsig said:


> Dan, I'm going to be crusing through on Wednesday afternoon and want to stop in for some Concord, Niagara and Fredonia if available. Would you know how much the containers are if you want to purchase them there? I'm looking at either 5 or 6 gallon containers.


 
Walker's don't open for the season until the 20th which is Thursday. Check their web site under pail prices. The wine will come hot packed in 5 gallon cotainers.


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## Hokapsig (Sep 16, 2012)

Dan, are you working Wednesday afternoon? I'm looking to pick your brain on finishing those juices and any blending that you could recommend.


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## Runningwolf (Sep 16, 2012)

Juice is selling out quick between here and the Finger Lakes if people did not preorder. 
We have Niagara and Concord today but not Fredonia if not preordered. We will have it available again though.

It would be best to email or pm me your questions. Yes I will be working and might have time to talk but no guarantee.. If we're in the middle of a press and I'm helping, I will not be able to stop. I'll do my best to help out. Doug stopped in today as he and his family were vacationing up here visiting PA/NY wineries. I was in the middle of sugar adds and a fermentation culture but it was good to see them.


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## Hokapsig (Sep 16, 2012)

didn't pre-order, but I will take my chances and see if anything's available Wednesday. It figures that I'm always a day off at Walker's...


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## ffemt128 (Sep 17, 2012)

After a wonderful weekend visit to North East, PA I ended up coming home with 12 gallons of Concord that looks and smells even better than last year, 12 gallons of Niagra, and 6 gallons of Seyval Blanc. I wasn't intending on getting the Seyval but did as an after thought. I need to pre-order 12 gallons of Fredonia, 12 gallons of Catawba and 6 gallons of Chambourcin.

We stayed right on Lake Erie about 10 minute from Presque Isle Winery. Here is the link to where we stayed. http://www.vrbo.com/408047 It is located right on Lake Erie. 

We ventured up to New York on Saturday and hit 4-5 vinyards. By far the best was 21 Brix, Thanks Dan for recommending it. 

It was a wonderful trip, with beautiful scenerey. I've decide that when I retire that may be the direction I head.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 17, 2012)

Just called and pre-ordered 12 gallons of Fredonia for pick up the last saturday of September. Will be making one more trio after that for Catawba and Chambourcin.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 19, 2012)

The yeast was pitched on Monday afternoon along with DAP. Fermentation is well underway as of last night when I checked and gave the juice a stir. Such a wonderful smell.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 20, 2012)

Gave everything a good stir this morning, it's got a full active fermentation going. The concord is changing from the dark purple to more of a redish color at this point. Temps in the cellar are at 60 degrees 4' high, probably less than that on the floor. It will be a nice slow ferment. 

Did I mention it's such a wonderful smell that permeates the house when there is wine fermenting.


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## Hokapsig (Sep 20, 2012)

Doug, based on your posts, I stopped by PIWC and picked up 5 gal of Seyval Blanc which I am going to ferment to dry, then experiment with blending the Concord grapes that I picked from a coworkers house in Buffalo. I need to destem the Concord and get that ready for fermenting (which I will also take to dry). It was nice to drop in on Dan and see him in his element. Thanks to him for showing me around the facilities.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 20, 2012)

Hokapsig said:


> Doug, based on your posts, I stopped by PIWC and picked up 5 gal of Seyval Blanc which I am going to ferment to dry, then experiment with blending the Concord grapes that I picked from a coworkers house in Buffalo. I need to destem the Concord and get that ready for fermenting (which I will also take to dry). It was nice to drop in on Dan and see him in his element. Thanks to him for showing me around the facilities.


 
Dan is definately a hell of a nice guy. I enjoyed getting the tour on Sunday when we were up there as well. Looking forward to making the trek back up on the 29th for Fredonia. Wish the Catawba was ready then as well so I could save a trip, but it a nice outing. Dan will have to recommend somewhere to have lunch when we come up.


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## Runningwolf (Sep 20, 2012)

Johnny B's. Excellent food, try their hamburger with a fried egg on it. It's awesome. Thanks for the kind words. Sorry I couldn't give you guys a tour of the entire place but with harvest it's "balls to the wall" until it's over. I left at 5:30 am this morning and got home after 10 pm tonight and back in the same time tomorrow.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 21, 2012)

Runningwolf said:


> Johnny B's. Excellent food, try their hamburger with a fried egg on it. It's awesome. Thanks for the kind words. Sorry I couldn't give you guys a tour of the entire place but with harvest it's "balls to the wall" until it's over. I left at 5:30 am this morning and got home after 10 pm tonight and back in the same time tomorrow.


 

Was that the Itialian/American place? I think we saw a sign for it just up from the Freeport. We will give it a try for sure next time we are up.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 24, 2012)

Per Dan's recommendation I took all the juices to 1.090 (21 brix or there about) when I arrived back home on the 16th. I checked Sg's this afternoon, Niagra was right around 1.004, Concord was at .994 and Seyval Balnc was at .990. Looks like I'll be transferring wine to carboys this evening and also later this week. 

Saturday, I'll be heading back to PI Wine to pick up my Fredonia. Wish they had Catawba ready to be picked up. It would save me a trip in October which may be turning into a really hectic month.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 28, 2012)

I'll be making the trek to Presque Isle Wine tomorrow again to pick up 12 gallons of Fredonia. Lets see, $65 in juice will cost me $75 in gas to pick up. Well worth the trip. I need to call and see if they still have any Niagra left, if so I'll be chopping up Peppers this evening in preparation for tomorrow. 

Will be checking out Jimmy B's for lunch after getting our juice. Plan on being up there around 10:30 or so.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 29, 2012)

Picked up my Fredonia from Presque Isle today. Saw Dan for a brief moment to say hello. Also picked up some Niagra from the fruit place next to Arrowhead. I'll be starting my Jalepeno Pepper wine tomorrow.


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## KatyDinkle (Sep 30, 2012)

Hello from the eastern side of PA! My first attempt to make wine from local grace juice purchased from Vigna Del Monte in Easton. Wonderful people!

Brought home juice yesterday, still letting it come to room temp. A few questions as my experience is mostly with kits. 

Do you hydrate yeast? 
Do you always add yeast nutrient?
Do you hit juice with Kmeta before yeast?

Thanks. Oh, I purchased a white blend, a rose blend and a chardonnel.


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## Runningwolf (Sep 30, 2012)

Katy, I would not add any meta. Does the juice say yeast was added? Some is and some is not. If it is not added go ahead and hydrate some yeast with nutrient and add it.


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## KatyDinkle (Sep 30, 2012)

It did not have yeast added. Thanks. I will follow your advice. So excited to have wine made with locally grown grapes!


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## djrockinsteve (Sep 30, 2012)

Yes you should rehydrate yeast. You can add nutrient all upfront or half and half. Unless I have a problem juice I don't sulfite my juice. 

Welcome to the forum.


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## ffemt128 (Oct 1, 2012)

I agree with rehydrating the yeast, it guarantees a start for the most part. I have just sprinkled the yeast on the juice as well with success. I always use nutrient with all my wines and I tend to add kmeta up front 24 hours before pitching the yeast. Just something I have always done.


On another note, all the juices I pitched the yeast on yesterday were bubbling away this am.


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## ffemt128 (Oct 13, 2012)

Just thought I would give an update. The Niagra and the Seyval Blanc are crystal clear now. The concord is deep color and the Freddonia is still fermenting away. Concord this year looks so much better than last year. The color is a deep redish purple opposed to last year where it finished to an off color orange. This year we got early concord opposed to picking it up in October last year. Can't wait til next Saturday to pick up the catawba and chambourcin.


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## Hokapsig (Oct 20, 2012)

I just started 5 gallons of Stueben and 5 gallons of Cayuga (both from Erie) before I left for vacation. By the time I get home, it should be time to transfer to carboys. I cranked up the brix to yield about 12%ABV and will be looking to do some blending.....


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## ffemt128 (Oct 25, 2012)

I have been checking and stirring the Catawba and Chambourcin juice daily. The Chambourcin has a very active fermentation going 3 days after pitching yeast. The Catawba on the other hand not so much. I added brew belts yesterday to try and warm up the juice a little. Looking forward to spring so that we can do some blending of the PA juices.


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## ffemt128 (Oct 27, 2012)

One bucket of Catawba has taken off and has a very active fermentation. Bucket number two, sg is still sitting at 1080 and has had the brewbelt on for several days. I'm dehydrating another pack of yeast in hopes a strong starter will get this to take off. 

Wish me luck.


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## ffemt128 (Oct 28, 2012)

I took Dans advice yesterday and splash racked the catawba that wouldn't start and also pitched a starter. Happy to say we have fermentation.


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## ffemt128 (Nov 16, 2012)

Going to rack the Seyval Blanc today, pretty much looking crystal clear. Will let it sit over the next few months so any acid that's going to drop out can. Looking forward to trying this as I enjoyed it at the various wineries we tried in North East PA.


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## ffemt128 (Dec 7, 2012)

Racked off the Fredonia that has been sitting since November 2nd. Wow the layer of tartrate crystals was unbelievable. It was probably no less than 3/32" thick covering then entire bottom of both carboys and moving up the sides. It smells absolutely wonderful at this point. From what Runningwolfe said, the Fredonia takes along time to clear. I can tell that is going to be true as I have a laser pointer in the cellar and the beam cannot be seen through this at all where as most of the other reds, you can see it clearly through the wine. Patience will be required with this batch and anything it gets blended with for sure.

Going to see about racking off the Catawba this afternoon.


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## ffemt128 (Jan 18, 2013)

Just for giggles I back sweetened a gallon of the Concord to 1.006. Wow, this is way better than last year's batch.

Now if the Fredonia would start to clear I could do some blending.


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## Hokapsig (Jan 18, 2013)

Doug, did your Concord kick off any crystals? I'm thinking of putting the 5 gallons of Concord that we pressed outside tonight to cold stabilize (There will be a motion detector on, Julie). 

Also, did you do anything to your Seyval? Mine has been sitting and almost all clear, but it might go outside tonight, too.


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## Ricky (Jan 18, 2013)

Hokapsig,how long are you gonna leave it outside?..... I have mine wine in the garadge.... It get 's in the low to mid 40's..... Next week It's gonna get real cold.... Outside temp 's going to be in the mid 20's


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## ffemt128 (Jan 18, 2013)

Hokapsig said:


> Doug, did your Concord kick off any crystals? I'm thinking of putting the 5 gallons of Concord that we pressed outside tonight to cold stabilize (There will be a motion detector on, Julie).
> 
> Also, did you do anything to your Seyval? Mine has been sitting and almost all clear, but it might go outside tonight, too.


 
Bill,

The concord dropped tons of crystals through the 4 month's it has been aging. I haven't stuck it in the cold stabilization unit (outside the basement door under the stair cover) and don't think I'll need to. If you are going to put it outside leave it there for several days to a week. When mine goies into cold stabilization I leave it there for 2-4 weeks then bring in and rack off the crystals almost immediately. I don't think a day or 2 will do much if there is acid to be dropped.

They Seyval has been inside so far. The sample you had, I'm almost embarrased to say I let you sample compare to the carboy and 3 ltr jug. Totally different taste. I sweetened some to 1.006 and had Olesia try, she said it was too sweet. Going to shoot for 1.000 - 1.002 for this I think. It did drop alot of crystals but nothing noticible in the past 2 weeks.

Remember, air temp in the cellar was 55, floor temp is likely 50 or below.

On a side note, I back sweetened a gallon of Niagra withy 145 grams of sugar. Very good. Will blend with some of the Concord I back sweetened with the same amount of sugar. I was shooting for 1.006-1.008 with the concord. I didn't check the SG after sweetening.


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## Hokapsig (Jan 18, 2013)

I'll leave it outside for as long as the temps stay down or until next Friday, whichever comes first. The Stueben, Seyval and Cayuga may join it. I will be checking acids and backsweetening tonight, as I have the house to myself (wife and daughter free).


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## Runningwolf (Jan 18, 2013)

Hokapsig said:


> I'll leave it outside for as long as the temps stay down or until next Friday, whichever comes first. The Stueben, Seyval and Cayuga may join it. I will be checking acids and backsweetening tonight, as I have the house to myself (wife and daughter free).


 Thats the reason you're not coming up tomorrow!


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## Julie (Jan 19, 2013)

Oh yes Bill, leave it out until next Friday, that will give me ......er..... I mean that will give the wine more time to drop crystals


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## ffemt128 (Jan 21, 2013)

I have to say the Catawba is quite nice as well. Great flavor and body. It's a real shame I needed the 3 liter bottle and had to back sweeten it so we could sample it last night.


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## ffemt128 (Jan 22, 2013)

This years Catawba is outstanding.


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## novalou (Jan 22, 2013)

Hokapsig said:


> I'll leave it outside for as long as the temps stay down or until next Friday, whichever comes first. The Stueben, Seyval and Cayuga may join it. I will be checking acids and backsweetening tonight, as I have the house to myself (wife and daughter free).



Question on the tartaric acid crystals: my seyval and niagara have good acid levels, but are dropping crystals like crazy. Should I be concerned that too much acid might drop out?


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## ffemt128 (Jan 25, 2013)

Well I will definately have to place the jiuices outside. I put a bottle of Niagra in the fridge yesterday and a serious amount of acid dropped out over night. I'm thinking rotate them on a 2 week schedule and see what falls out. They will be under the cover of my outside cellar door.


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## ffemt128 (Jan 29, 2013)

Bill,

I have not done any cold stabilization on the juices thus far. They are dropping crystals in the cellar at 50-55 degrees since most are at floor level where it's several degrees colder. This weekend since it is supposed to drop temperature wise again I may start rotating to the stairwell. I can get 4-6 carboys our there at cellar floor level without having to stack on the stairs. I need to see how many milk crates I have available. I like to put them in those to place outside so they are not directly on the ground.

I'll let you know how much acid drops out.


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## ffemt128 (Jan 30, 2013)

ffemt128 said:


> I have to say the Catawba is quite nice as well. Great flavor and body. It's a real shame I needed the 3 liter bottle and had to back sweeten it so we could sample it last night.


 
Well silly me.  Was just in the cellar, apparetly the 3 liter bottle that I racked into a half gallon jug then backsweetened and the extra bottle wasn't actually Catawba afterall. It was my extra Chambourcin.  No wonder it didnt have the acidic tartness of Catawba. My extra gallon of Catawba was on the other side of the bench clearly marked Catawba. 

Oh well, now whether to sweeten the Chambourcin or Oak and leave dry. What to do....


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