# Becoming a Contract Grower in NY?



## vinividivici (Aug 21, 2011)

I have plenty of room for vines and will be planting Frontenac soon. After visiting some wineries in the upstate NY area, it seems they buy grapes from growers all over the state, even trucking them up from Long Island.

Would appreciate any and all info on the process especially licensing by NY State.

This will determine how many plants I buy and plant for myself and for selling.

Thanks,

Bob


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## Racer (Aug 21, 2011)

Grapeman will be able to answer your question on getting permits or not for NY. Here in IL. you don't have to get a license or permits to be a grower. You only need to be certified for pesticide/herbicide application. You need that to get "restricted use" chemicals anyway.

At all of the seminars and meetings I've been to for the Il.Grape Growers and Vintners Assoc. here are some things that new growers are always told. Before deciding what to grow or how much or little to plant visit all your local wineries. Ask at least 2 questions. 1. what varieties are they interested in and have a need for more of ? 2. What is the smallest amount of grapes that they would be interested in buying at any time?
Even though there are a lot of small start up wineries in my state they have to get a crew together to process the grapes. Equipment does have a bearing on how small a load of grapes they would take in all by itself. Around here most all of the wineries have 2 ton presses. So thats what most of them use as a minimum load size for an answer. 

Hope that helps you some.
Ron


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## vinividivici (Aug 21, 2011)

Hey Ron,

Right, I figured Grapeman would address the NY issue.

And exactly right on "what's the smallest quantity they would accept" question. When we were at the winery yesterday, the vineyard manager wasn't available and the other folks were swamped with doing tastings. So, I found out that the weekend isn't the best time to ask questions. 

The two wineries we've been to are either bottling or have Marquette and Frontenac in the near-bottling stage. They do rely on other growers for these two varieties, so mine should be a perfect fit. Quantity minimum? It would seem that my batch, whatever size, would be combined with others for the press. This is all assuming that I can do this, they inspect and certify that I'm an acceptable grower, etc.

I've got about three acres nearby in the picture above and 5.5 acres on our adjoining property. I believe I could satisfy the minimum requirement, just don't know what that is yet. I'll be contacting the three wineries we've visited and see what happens.

Thanks,
Bob


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## vinividivici (Aug 21, 2011)

*No License Requirement For Selling Grapes in NY State*

My initial search revealed no license needed to sell grapes in NY State. However, if they are packaged for retail consumption, there are FDA requirements. This doesn't pertain to selling grapes in bulk containers.

http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pdfs/Guide/MarketingRegulationsUpdated2-10.pdf


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## Racer (Aug 21, 2011)

Bob, Do keep in mind that your site might not be in complete sync. with your neighbors vineyard when it comes time to ripen and pick. If you are working with the winery regarding meeting number standards(brix, ph, ta) or phenolic ripeness you could easily be the only load of grapes needing to be processed if they can't hold them over in cold storage.Another possibility could be to sell to home hobbyists while you continue to build up production to large enough loads. Starting small and planting more as you go might help you see if taking a passion for a hobby still fits for you or has it turned into the dreaded 4 letter word "WORK". Hopefully a little more food for thought there.

I am planning to do the same thing your looking into. I have 6 acres in N.C. that I'm going to relocate to in about 8-10years and plan on opening a vineyard there.

Ron


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## vinividivici (Aug 21, 2011)

Racer said:


> Bob, Do keep in mind that your site might not be in complete sync. with your neighbors vineyard when it comes time to ripen and pick. If you are working with the winery regarding meeting number standards(brix, ph, ta) or phenolic ripeness you could easily be the only load of grapes needing to be processed if they can't hold them over in cold storage.Another possibility could be to sell to home hobbyists while you continue to build up production to large enough loads. Starting small and planting more as you go might help you see if taking a passion for a hobby still fits for you or has it turned into the dreaded 4 letter word "WORK". Hopefully a little more food for thought there.
> 
> I am planning to do the same thing your looking into. I have 6 acres in N.C. that I'm going to relocate to in about 8-10years and plan on opening a vineyard there.
> 
> Ron



Good point, Ron. That will be addressed when I talk to the different wineries. I also thought about selling to local wine shops and home hobbyists, too. 

This is all down the road in about 4-5 years, as the plants aren't in the ground yet. 

We were in Oregon last week and some of the wineries are going "green" with their process. In fact, some are already using draft horses and tillers to keep the in-between rows clear of vegetation. 

Cheers!
Bob


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## grapeman (Aug 21, 2011)

Bob, I would encourage you to slow down a bit here until you learn the process of growing well. Growing vines is a lot of hard work, time consuming and EXPENSIVE. I believe you could sell the grapes, but the price paid might not be profitable for you. Practice with what you have in the ground, get them fruiting and then decide about the future.


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## vinividivici (Aug 21, 2011)

grapeman said:


> Bob, I would encourage you to slow down a bit here until you learn the process of growing well. Growing vines is a lot of hard work, time consuming and EXPENSIVE. I believe you could sell the grapes, but the price paid might not be profitable for you. Practice with what you have in the ground, get them fruiting and then decide about the future.



I hear you, and understand. My dilemma is how many to plant so I have flexibiity to sell to wineries or home winemakers and for my own winemaking. I'll be 64 next month, so the future is shortening up each year!

Wish I had started this twenty years ago, but it wouldn't have happened due to military service and moves. 

Cheers!
Bob

PS: I'd still like to get up to see your operation someday.


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