# Atlanta area wine makers



## Wild Duk (Aug 15, 2014)

Just got an email from Wine Grapes Direct. It appears he is trying to get enough interest in the area to send frozen buckets of must to a cold storage facility in the area. This is great news as frozen must is really the only option for us to make wine from California grapes, and shipping is usually the limiting factor....

If anyone is interested give him a call or email. I have made wine twice before from his grapes and was very pleased with the results. 

http://winegrapesdirect.com


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## mvcrews (Jan 24, 2015)

The grapes buckets are finally in Atlanta (actually Gainesville)! We've got frozen 5 gallon buckets of Sonoma Merlot ($120) and Suiun Valley Cab ($110) available for local pickup 7 days a week (with an appointment).

All the frozen poultry made it tough for someone looking to store a few pallets of grapes, but they're finally there. Contact me for details.


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## Buehler91 (Jan 26, 2015)

mvcrews said:


> The grapes buckets are finally in Atlanta (actually Gainesville)! We've got frozen 5 gallon buckets of Sonoma Merlot ($120) and Suiun Valley Cab ($110) available for local pickup 7 days a week (with an appointment).
> 
> All the frozen poultry made it tough for someone looking to store a few pallets of grapes, but they're finally there. Contact me for details.



Any plans on a chicago location?..plenty of cold storage around here.


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## mvcrews (Jan 26, 2015)

We were originally going to send the pallets to Chicago, but there ended up being an abundance of frozen grapes there already from other suppliers!

Hopefully we'll be sending some 2015 pails there and Dallas as well...although I've been saying that for 3 years now :0


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## Boatboy24 (Jan 26, 2015)

mvcrews said:


> We were originally going to send the pallets to Chicago, but there ended up being an abundance of frozen grapes there already from other suppliers!
> 
> Hopefully we'll be sending some 2015 pails there and Dallas as well...although I've been saying that for 3 years now :0



Washington DC's in the house too! Send some our way.


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## geek (Jan 27, 2015)

$225 per 5.25 gallon pail of Chardonnay?? 

Very attractive prices....


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## bosco500 (Jan 27, 2015)

Why are the frozen grapes so much more expensive than the wine kits?


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## mvcrews (Jan 27, 2015)

geek said:


> $225 per 5.25 gallon pail of Chardonnay??
> 
> Very attractive prices....



If you are interested in making quality wine then $225 for 5.25 gallons of Durell Vineyard Chardonnay would seem an attractive price. Durell Chard sells for between $60-$100 a bottle and has the highest ratings of any Chard vineyard in the nation. Making your own for less than $10 a bottle doesn't seem too bad to me...

We also have Clarksburg Chenin Blanc which makes an awesome, aromatic white @ $99 a pail ($4 a bottle). 

But if you're interested in making the cheapest wine possible then concentrate is always going to be answer


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## mvcrews (Jan 27, 2015)

bosco500 said:


> Why are the frozen grapes so much more expensive than the wine kits?



It comes down to the fruit. Most of the fruit that goes into concentrates comes from the Central Valley and costs in the $400-$800 range whereas the fruit that goes into frozen must and juice buckets is going to cost in the $2k- $6k range. 

I'm not trying to talk down kits. I think kits are a great, accessible way for everyone to good make wine. They have a lot of efficiencies in shipping, shelf life, ease, and consistency. 

But they're also a completely different product and experience than grape winemaking.


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## geek (Jan 27, 2015)

mvcrews said:


> If you understand the California grape market or are interested in making quality wine than $225 for 5.25 gallons of Durell Vineyard Chardonnay would seem an attractive price. Durell Chard sells for between $60-$100 a bottle and has the highest ratings of any Chard vineyard in the nation. Making your own for less than $10 a bottle doesn't seem too bad to me...
> 
> We also have Clarksburg Chenin Blanc which makes an awesome, aromatic white @ $99 a pail ($4 a bottle).
> 
> But if you're interested in making the cheapest wine possible then concentrate is always going to be answer



Sarcasm is obviously not needed here, you don't sound like a *real *sales person, to me...and my guess is that you're not.


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## mvcrews (Jan 27, 2015)

geek said:


> Sarcasm is obviously not needed here, you don't sound like a *real *sales person, to me...and my guess is that you're not.



You spoke sarcastically and ignorantly about my livelihood. Don't be surprised that you got a passionate reply instead of a " real sales person" response.


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## geek (Jan 27, 2015)

You have a real poor judgement, as a site sponsor, and for someone that is trying to sell products on this site coming with such harsh comments/attacks? 

No doubt who is the real ignorant here and obviously you don't need me as a customer.


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## mvcrews (Jan 27, 2015)

What harsh comment or attack? You sarcastically mocked my pricing and then told me this was no place for sarcasm and seemed offended that I would offer an explanation of why price differences exist. I honestly don't know what you expect me to apologize for or why you're trying to make fun of my business on a thread for Atlanta Area Winemakers.

I probably am a lousy sales person and ignorant of a great many things, but grapes are not one of them. If you're not interested what we sell that's understandable, but you don't need to publicly bemoan what you haven't tried.


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## Runningwolf (Jan 27, 2015)

Ok folks that enough lets move on. I have a question, is this actually frozen grapes or must? Approximately how many gallons of finished product do you end up with? Is this basically the same type of product that Brehm Vineyards offers bt a higher quality?


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## bosco500 (Jan 27, 2015)

mvcrews said:


> It comes down to the fruit. Most of the fruit that goes into concentrates comes from the Central Valley and costs in the $400-$800 range whereas the fruit that goes into frozen must and juice buckets is going to cost in the $2k- $6k range.
> 
> I'm not trying to talk down kits. I think kits are a great, accessible way for everyone to good make wine. They have a lot of efficiencies in shipping, shelf life, ease, and consistency.
> 
> But they're also a completely different product and experience than grape winemaking.



Thanks. I probably don't have enough experience yet for something like this, but will definitely try it out when I get more batches under my belt.


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## Buehler91 (Jan 27, 2015)

I am pretty new to wine making but wine grapes direct has fantastic customer service and products.
don't know how the thread got off topic but there is no denying that the fruit offered is of a better quality than any kit I have ever made.


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## Buehler91 (Jan 27, 2015)

Runningwolf said:


> Ok folks that enough lets move on. I have a question, is this actually frozen grapes or must? Approximately how many gallons of finished product do you end up with? Is this basically the same type of product that Brehm Vineyards offers bt a higher quality?



I have never used brehm but from 2 buckets of pilot noir must/grapes I got 6 1/2 gallons of juice after fermentation.


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## syncnite (Jan 28, 2015)

I just bottled my Durrel Chard from WGD and it's fantastic. I'm proud to serve it to friends. I'll be ordering another pail in the next month or two. 

(San Jose)


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## Runningwolf (Jan 28, 2015)

syncnite said:


> I just bottled my Durrel Chard from WGD and it's fantastic. I'm proud to serve it to friends. I'll be ordering another pail in the next month or two.
> 
> (San Jose)



Did you have a press or did you do it by hand? How long after pressing was it before you bottled? How many gallons or bottles did you end up with? I have no doubt this is a great product I am just looking for details.


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## ColemanM (Jan 28, 2015)

I believe the Chardonnay and Chenin blanc are juice pails, where the Pinot noir is a must pail.


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## HangenOn (Jan 28, 2015)

Buehler91 said:


> I am pretty new to wine making but wine grapes direct has fantastic customer service and products.
> don't know how the thread got off topic but there is no denying that the fruit offered is of a better quality than any kit I have ever made.



I agree with you. I have purchased frozen grape must from Michael and he was very helpful, respectful and professional.


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## syncnite (Jan 29, 2015)

Coleman is right. The Chard is all juice - no skins. If they froze skins with the juice, too many tannins would leach out. But the reds (I have their Zin and Syrah going through MLF now), come with skins - tons of skins - just as if you crushed them yourself. So you get about 3 gallons of wine from the reds and 5 gallons from the whites. I got around 25 bottles from the Chard, which I bottled 6 or 7 months after fermentation; it's super clear without fining/filtering. I put the Chard through MLF as well, and added a small amount of oak cubes.

If you make a red, you'll want to press the skins somehow. I have a small bladder press, but I've seen people make a poor-man's press with a couple of buckets. The guys at WGD can tell you how to do that. They're very responsive to email questions.


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