# Finally got a deal!



## jswordy (Aug 14, 2013)

Bought frozen muscadines from last year @ 50 cents/lb. It's an unplanned wine, but at that price already picked, it's gonna happen.


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## Boatboy24 (Aug 14, 2013)

Sweet. Score!


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## jswordy (Aug 14, 2013)

Well, there's 109 pounds of white muscadines, or scuppernongs, of two varieties. That took every dollar I happened to have in my pocket. Generally it takes 120 pounds to make 10 gallons finished first run. I suppose I'll wind up topping with a little second run or maybe I'll get lucky.

Two runs on these should net me about 16-20 gallons of wine, depending on how the grapes look after the first run. Not bad for $54.50, already picked and frozen! I'm thinking of fermenting them on the skins with the Moonshiner's Muscadine recipe and see what happens. Probably get a weak rose.

Plus I got to meet the folks who are growing the Nortons I am going back to get later.

Whew! Time for a glass!


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## Arne (Aug 15, 2013)

Hey, I'll trade you. Muscadines with no stems, concords with stems. I think you best go find your yeast and get the Brute trash can out. Them little buckets ain't gonna hold em all. Good luck with it, Arne.


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## Julie (Aug 15, 2013)

Jim,

I make a Carlos/Bronze blend. I ferment on the skins for a good week to a week and a half. This is one of our favorite wines, actually liking it better than the red muscadine's. It should come out with a deep golden color.


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## jswordy (Aug 15, 2013)

Julie said:


> Jim,
> 
> I make a Carlos/Bronze blend. I ferment on the skins for a good week to a week and a half. This is one of our favorite wines, actually liking it better than the red muscadine's. It should come out with a deep golden color.



I asked for Carlos but she didn't have any. I got Fry and another one I forget that she said is sweeter than Fry. Whatever I get, it'll be fine for that price. They probably had more than 50 cents/lb. in the electricity to keep them frozen since last fall!


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## seth8530 (Aug 15, 2013)

Wow, sounds like a steal.. Good luck!


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## bkisel (Aug 15, 2013)

I'm impressed. A wine making adventure for me is buying a different kit wine variety.


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## jswordy (Aug 15, 2013)

Arne said:


> Hey, I'll trade you. Muscadines with no stems, concords with stems. I think you best go find your yeast and get the Brute trash can out. Them little buckets ain't gonna hold em all. Good luck with it, Arne.



 The Brute is off camera to the right! There's about 15 packs of yeast in the fridge.


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## jswordy (Aug 15, 2013)

bkisel said:


> I'm impressed. A wine making adventure for me is buying a different kit wine variety.



If you're doing kits, you are just two steps away from using real grapes.


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## winointraining (Aug 15, 2013)

Good deal!! Do they have any more?


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## jswordy (Aug 16, 2013)

winointraining said:


> Good deal!! Do they have any more?



Yeah but not enough to be worth the trip from Nashville. They have tons of grapevines for fall harvest, though. I did find out that they have to charge an Alabama "farmer's sales tax" of 5% on top of their $1.50/pound price when it's u-pick. They didn't charge me on the frozen grapes cuz that was a private deal.

The guy in Taft, TN, will be cheaper by far for muscadines, at $6/gallon (1 gallon = 6 pounds last year), but he doesn't grow Norton. I called and he will call me when they are ready.

The grapes are in strainer bags and in the Brute with some pectic enzyme now. That was some cold crushing action! About half were still frozen last night. It'll take awhile for the must to warm up and then I'll get things rolling. Maybe Sunday I can pitch yeast, Monday latest.

I'm projecting 9 gallons of first run wine, so it looks like I'll be closer to 15 or 16 total when the second run is done. At 15, that's still only $3.63 grape cost per gallon.

It's actually the only thing that went right this whole week, so... :>


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## olusteebus (Aug 16, 2013)

jswordy said:


> They have tons of grapevines for fall harvest, though. I did find out that they have to charge an Alabama "farmer's sales tax" of 5% on top of their $1.50/pound price when it's u-pick. They didn't charge me on the frozen grapes cuz that was a private deal.



whoa whoa whoa here. Are you saying you did not pay the two bucks or so Alabama tax because it was a "private deal". Send it to the state or I am rattin on ya.


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## jswordy (Aug 17, 2013)

Well... there it is, chaptalized to final volume and k meta added. Looks kinda "urp"-like, don't it? 

By tomorrow the must ought to be warm enough to throw in the taters, cornmeal and yeast. Grapes were low at 1.055. I expected 1.060.

In order to stir in the sugar, I had to remove most bags. Something popped in my neck putting the last one back in, and that made quite a splash when it hit. Ow.

I pay enough in payroll taxes to the danged state, olusteebus, and I don't even live there.  When they started taxing farm supplies for everybody except huge operations, I moved my farm buying to Tennessee - no taxes on 'em there. They said my small farm was a "hobby" at the Alabama Co-Op. I said it sure don't FEEL like no hobby when I'm out working it!


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## Runningwolf (Aug 17, 2013)

I don't know Jim....11 more posts are you gonna make 'er!


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## jswordy (Aug 17, 2013)

Runningwolf said:


> I don't know Jim....11 more posts are you gonna make 'er!


 
Dunno about this weekend. I am about to start drinking and watching old "Miami Vice" episodes. (I know, 9 to go after this!)


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## Runningwolf (Aug 17, 2013)

Oh I'm sure something will pop up. I thought for sure you'd be watching Andy Griffith or The Rifleman reruns.


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## jswordy (Aug 19, 2013)

Runningwolf said:


> Oh I'm sure something will pop up. I thought for sure you'd be watching Andy Griffith or The Rifleman reruns.



I did stream a couple Andy Griffith shows off YouTube, as a matter of fact!

Highly recommend:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iad4N1mmNOM[/ame]

After viewing the above, I'd like to say that today is National Aviation Day!

We have liftoff. Sprinkled yeast Sunday morning, bubbles by Sunday afternoon. Hard to stir, though, with 4 bags of grapes in there.


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## wineon4 (Aug 20, 2013)

jswordy said:


> I did stream a couple Andy Griffith shows off YouTube, as a matter of fact!
> 
> Highly recommend:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iad4N1mmNOM
> ...



Man I wish I could get Muscadine grapes here in Pennsylvania. My wife and I just Love that southern wine just can't find it north of the Mason/Dixon line I guess they don't want to share with us Yankees. When we go to Myrtle Beach each year we pick up a case from Duplin and friends bring us it back also when they go to the beach. I like the old sitcoms also I have all the seasons of Hogan's Heros, F Troop, Gilligan's Island, on DVD.


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## LoneStarLori (Aug 20, 2013)

It looks like they were individually frozen then bagged. They are in great shape. I'll have to try that next time I freeze my overload.
Awesome find!


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## chrisjw (Aug 20, 2013)

Great episode. Thanks for posting it and congrats on the score.


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## jswordy (Aug 22, 2013)

Well, fermentation has been happy, happy, happy. But I have hurt my knee, just in time for coming pressing duties on Sat. or Sun. and starting the second pressing wine.

Nursing the knee along because pressing has to get done. That's the one place I can't procrastinate.

House smells good. My hands smell so good after punching the bags down that I don't want to wash them.


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## jswordy (Aug 22, 2013)

Well lookee here, I crossed the line! 2,002 posts now.


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## jswordy (Aug 24, 2013)

Got the grapes pressed and the must in carboys. Sorta disappointed in the yield, I only got 8 gallons out of it. I can see from the top that it will indeed be golden.





Tasted some right out of primary, and it tasted awful. Added a bit of sugar, and it tasted fabulous! Got the second pressing wine going, too...


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## jswordy (Sep 1, 2013)

Got my second pressing done and everything is in carboys now. Total yield: 20 gallons.


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