Fall Harvest...what to choose?

[mcorey]

I'm interested in buying Red Zin or Cab Sauv grapes this fall. I live in the Albany, NY area and a local distributor offers grapes from the Lodi, CA region such as "Teaser" and "Valley Beauty" among others. Are the quality of these brands good?

I've bought from M&M in the past and I think they offer the same grapes but I'd like to avoid the 2hr drive if possible. M&M's overall selection looks great but I don't even know where to start if I choose M&M (a bit overwhelming)

I heard Lanza grapes are good as well but I think M&M is the only place within my driving distance that carries them.

Any suggestions and/or comments would be great. Thank you!

 

[4score]

Most Zin from Lodi is fantastic. I don't know these sources specifically. I'm also doing a Zin this season - but buying locally in Loomis, CA. Looks like they are going to be quite early too!

Good luck,
Mark

 

[JohnT]

Most Ca grapes that we get here on the East Coast are sourced by just a few packing companies.

A lot depends on the distributor you choose. How long have the grapes been "on the shelf", have they been refrigerated, do they have a fast sell through?, etc, are all questions you should be considering.

That being said, I find that the quality of the grapes varies from year to year and from packing company to packing company, but for the most part is good.