# Wine recipes for Concord and Fredonia grapes



## grstie (Jan 18, 2013)

I have access to 30-40 lbs of Concord or Fredonia each fall. I'm looking for good wine recipes to use them in. I have a recipe that is dry. I used the same recipe a second time, but with the addition of oak, and sweetened. I'm looking for something different this next year. Any recipes would be appreciated.


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## JDC (Jan 18, 2013)

*Black Cherry*

I typically add Black Cherry juice - @ around 15% to my Concord (I added Montmorency Tart last year instead) I normally finish this dry.


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## grstie (Jan 20, 2013)

I'm interested. Does the cherry jump to the front pf the flavor profile, or at 15% is it still kind of subtle?


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## Runningwolf (Jan 20, 2013)

Sounds like a lot of work for that amount of grapes. Can you get anymore as it'll be the same amount of work for for bigger rewards. I enjoy blending Niagara with Concord and Catawba with Fredonia. I enjoy both of these varieties sweetened rather than dry.


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## BobR (Jan 20, 2013)

Runningwolf said:


> Sounds like a lot of work for that amount of grapes. Can you get anymore as it'll be the same amount of work for for bigger rewards.



Agree with Dan. When I buy Concords from the vineyard, they figure 12 pounds per gallon. Last year, 144 pounds gave me 13 gallons of juice.


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## JDC (Jan 21, 2013)

*Subtle*



grstie said:


> I'm interested. Does the cherry jump to the front pf the flavor profile, or at 15% is it still kind of subtle?


 

If you keep the cherry 10-15% it just makes the concord more complex. Concord by itself does not make a good dry wine IMO, but add the cherry and it is OK. I have done 2 years with the black cherry add and have been pleased - 2011 was the first year I used the tart cherry juice, so it is now at the 1 year mark and I am getting ready to bottle (have not tasted recently) the 2009 batch turned out really well (I also oaked) 2010 I did not oak & was not as pleased with it.


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## Chateau Joe (Jan 21, 2013)

I like to blend my concord with baco noir. It makes a really nice red table wine.


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## JDC (Jan 22, 2013)

Chateau Joe said:


> I like to blend my concord with baco noir. It makes a really nice red table wine.


 
I have some Baco & Foch vines started, but they are a couple of years away from producing enough to make much wine yet, what little I got this year got thrown in with the Concord - my grape crop was not good this year, so everything was frozen with hopes to add to this years crop, that I hope gets some Baco & Foch to blend with. I have not had good luck with getting Chardonnel to grow & am now trying Traminette for white.


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## grstie (Jan 23, 2013)

I live in northern Indiana close to southwest Michigan. Are there vineyards near me that would sell some of these other grapes?


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## novalou (Jan 23, 2013)

grstie said:


> I live in northern Indiana close to southwest Michigan. Are there vineyards near me that would sell some of these other grapes?



Check out Corey Lake Orchard. They have a great u-pick on Concord and Niagara.


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## BobR (Jan 23, 2013)

grstie,

Lucky you living close to the vienyards/wineries of southwest Michigan. Here is a southwest listing and I'm sure that you could call or email them about your grape needs. St. Julian is the oldest and largest in the state. 
http://www.michiganwines.com/page.php?menu_id=39


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## Piotr (Jun 21, 2013)

Hi,
Greetings from Poland.
I have here a few vines that I suspect are FREDONIA. The juice has rather low Bx, up to 15° and high TA, 11-13 g/L (1.1-1.3%). What are the typical Bx and TA of this American variety in the country of origin?
Thanks, Piotr


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## novalou (Jun 21, 2013)

Piotr said:


> Hi,
> Greetings from Poland.
> I have here a few vines that I suspect are FREDONIA. The juice has rather low Bx, up to 15° and high TA, 11-13 g/L (1.1-1.3%). What are the typical Bx and TA of this American variety in the country of origin?
> Thanks, Piotr



Brix and TA are similar to the comparable American climate and variety. It's probably why it is traditionally a sweet wine, due to the high acid.


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## Piotr (Jun 22, 2013)

novalou said:


> Brix and TA are similar to the comparable American climate and variety. It's probably why it is traditionally a sweet wine, due to the high acid.



Thank you very much. It's what I suspected but having found a description of FREDONIA that states it's a low-acid variety, I wasn't sure.

I guess, information from a very reputable German database www.vivc.de that this variety has female flowers is another mistake - my vines get pollinated without any help from other varieties.


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