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Plenty of time Yooper. I'm 65, started my vines when I was 62. First harvest of our own grapes in a few weeks. You've got a jump on me!

Recipe Here's what we ended up with: 17 lbs cleaned and washed Elderberries. Simmered in 3 1/2 gal. spring water at 140 deg. for an hour and left overnight. 8 lbs. sugar boiled in 1 qt water 1 tsp pectic enzyme 6 lemons, juiced, for 1 c. pure lemon juice 1 pkg EC 1118 in 100 ml water at...

Let me clarify (no pun intended). We didn't boil them, we simmered them at 140-150 for an hour. There are several good methods for Elderberry, and they all work. You can simmer them, steam them, crush and just use the juice or crush and put the berry pulp in a strainer bag. And as Jack...

Ya- 7.7 is too sweet. If it's heavy clay I'd try to till in some straw or pine bark to loosen it up and go with a sulfur treatment to get it down to at least 6.0. This might be helpful: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/permacult/msg011105231043.html

While waiting for our grapes to fully ripen, we decided to try a batch of Elderberry, since they are plentiful in these parts and are currently ripe. Wanted to pass on a recipe and maybe some helpful tips. We harvested around 17 lbs. of Elderberries by cutting off clusters. After reading...

I have a Culligan HF-360A with a 1 micron. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQUPZ8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

You might be glad you did (cut them back to 2-3 buds). First year vine trunks can be kind of wimpy as a lot of energy goes into establishing the root system. Second year shoots from near the base will produce much better trunks the second year and you can usually hang on to those and train them...

Ditto to what Rich said. Frontenac is a good producer and easy grower but kind of hard to tame into good wine. Marquette and Marechal Foch are good cold hardy grapes and much more manageable in the winery. Very ripe Frontenacs can be added to other reds for some interesting flavor profiles...

Yes- if the SG numbers are correct that would be 12.57% ABV. In my experience even EC 1118 will die off before complete fermentation with a starting SG of 1.140. I try to start at 1.085-1.090 for grape wines. Ending at .992 gives you a ABV of 12.7- 12.8, which is a good number to shoot for...

Well Elmer, I have no vodka in the house, so bourbon it is. Nothing tastes quite like drinking the bourbon after the ferment!

Early fall Veraison in the Marquettes. Ran smart net in the 3 year old vineyard.

I actually use bourbon. I like the color.

Phylloxera Thanks for that info Rich. I was just reading up on the history of that louse. Incredible damage when it got to Europe. http://blog.lot18.com/2011/06/phylloxera-the-bug-that-almost-wiped-out-wine/

Mid August 2014 Grapes are coming along nicely. Fair share of black rot and Japanese Beetles. Lots of rainy, cloudy weather here in the Northeast. Installed a top wire on the trellis for running netting today. Attached are pictures of LaCrescents and Prairie Stars. On a side note, which I think...

Nice job Greg! We certainly have the complete opposite soil types. You get clay- I get rocks- Rich has something completely different. It's a lot of hard work no matter what soil you have. But it sure is nice when you can finally tie off those young vines. Gotta go pick Jap Beetles...

This is about all we use now: http://www.orchardvalleysupply.com/ovsstore/pc/AgriFlex-Tube-Tie-c105.htm

Special Report Last mid-August we inoculated the soil with beneficial nematodes to control Rose Chafers and Japanese Beetles. I can report now that these little guys did their job and must have eaten up a whole slew of larvae. The populations of both this year are way down- drastically. I have...

From the looks of the vines you got them in none too soon! Quite a few hundred feet of that nasty high tensile wire to string now! Glad you got them planted. I think I'd prefer clay over rocks, but I wouldn't know.

We're not far off the trail Dave- if you make it this far North. 135 Bennett St., North Sandwich, NH.(bordering White Mountain National Forest) 603-986-9769 I'm almost certain we'll have something drinkable. Stop in! Gunnar

Oh man, I hate it when that happens Jeri. I've had to bury way too many of my best friends over the years and your post broke my heart all over again. It's a shame that our best friends can only be with us for a decade or two and then move on without a word. But, the good memories and fun times...