New jersey winemakers talk

[CDrew]

@Ajmassa - You do sound permanently damaged by your epic combat with the fruit flies.

Good luck this year. Is your original family red all gone?

 

[Ajmassa]

@Ajmassa - You do sound permanently damaged by your epic combat with the fruit flies.

Good luck this year. Is your original family red all gone?

Not just by the flies themselves, but also the brutal assault from the wife- since every fly now seems to trigger her deep seeded resentment! Lol Apparently not enough time has passed for it to be a funny anecdote to recall just yet. Will revisit this after an issue-free wine season (hopefully).
And yeah, 2018 “family” red is just about done. Was a big hit with the family. Especially this past summer when it really started to shine. Couple bottles stashed but that’s it. Time for more!

 

[dizzy]

Finally decided on my plans...going with Procacci's after all, it's just too close (10 minutes!) and our pickup day is gonna be this Monday or Tuesday, at least for the white (might wait another week or two to try the red). Sticking with a simple Chardonnay to learn the ropes, and then an Italian Chateauneuf du Pape blend which sounds weird enough to try. I wonder where the grapes are from- just over the border in Italy would be pretty similar conditions to the Rhone? They also grow a lot of Grenache in Sardinia too. I hope to put a lug of grapes in that- either Grenache or Syrah both of which they have American apparently. Any thoughts here? Grenache is usually the larger percentage, but the Syrah has more tannin/acidity. I guess French oak on that one and American on the Chard. The bf is letting me choose varietals/plan which is awesome. I am very excited.

Totally unrelated note but finally decided to get back on track with getting my Italian citizenship paperwork in order. Maybe then I can be truly legit enough for Gino's or Procacci's...lol.

 

[Ajmassa]

Finally decided on my plans...going with Procacci's after all, it's just too close (10 minutes!) and our pickup day is gonna be this Monday or Tuesday, at least for the white (might wait another week or two to try the red). Sticking with a simple Chardonnay to learn the ropes, and then an Italian Chateauneuf du Pape blend which sounds weird enough to try. I wonder where the grapes are from- just over the border in Italy would be pretty similar conditions to the Rhone? They also grow a lot of Grenache in Sardinia too. I hope to put a lug of grapes in that- either Grenache or Syrah both of which they have American apparently. Any thoughts here? Grenache is usually the larger percentage, but the Syrah has more tannin/acidity. I guess French oak on that one and American on the Chard. The bf is letting me choose varietals/plan which is awesome. I am very excited.

Totally unrelated note but finally decided to get back on track with getting my Italian citizenship paperwork in order. Maybe then I can be truly legit enough for Gino's or Procacci's...lol.

Very nice! And you’re already more legit than majority of the neighborhood people making wine just from the amount of thought you’ve already put into it.

Also, I’m pretty sure they just specify Italian varietals- that is, varietals of Italian origin. But it’s not necessarily juice from Italian grown grapes. Just Italian varietals grown in Cali. Don’t quote me on this. But they’re all the same brand of juice and the company is Cali-based. So the Chianti is just a Chianti style blend. Same as du Pape I believe. (tho listing du Pape as Italian is a head scratcher if indeed the case). Made that in ‘17 btw. Tossed in some sangio, cab, & merlot grapes from another batch. Aged amazingly. Down to 1 bottle!

Deciding on the juice/grape blend ratio is half the fun. You really can’t go wrong since it’s ‘your’ wine. We just went over today. Picked up a pail of Cab Franc and Zinfandel with a lug of Petite Sirah. Crushed it and split it between the 2 pails.
Good luck next week. Here’s some pics.

 

[joeswine]

I see them to can't figure it out also?

 

[BMarNJ]

I just called Gino Pinto to order spring chilean grapes and they said that they have none of any red variety! Did anyone get an order in for them? Where else can I go for spring grapes?

 

[mainshipfred]

I just got this email this morning didn't call but not sure why they would have said that.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?t...TPMzmdwTTVxJbDFgRRnTDsLQgVlvlNPnplVLFfWVlTXTB

 

[BMarNJ]

I just got this email this morning didn't call but not sure why they would have said that.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?t...TPMzmdwTTVxJbDFgRRnTDsLQgVlvlNPnplVLFfWVlTXTB

I can't see your email, did they say they had grapes? I think they have grapes for commercial wineries, but not home winemakers.

 

[mainshipfred]

The link opens for me. It says to call to place your order. It has 7- or 8 reds.

See if this one works?

https://ginopinto.com/wine-grapes-juice/chilean-home-grape-juice-prices/

 

[BMarNJ]

The link opens for me. It says to call to place your order. It has 7- or 8 reds.

See if this one works?

https://ginopinto.com/wine-grapes-juice/chilean-home-grape-juice-prices/

I know, but I called and she said there were no red grapes, only juice. I am so disappointed because I just tasted my 2020 Spring Cab and it was really good...

 

[heatherd]

I know, but I called and she said there were no red grapes, only juice. I am so disappointed because I just tasted my 2020 Spring Cab and it was really good...

Maybe try wine grapes direct, they have really nice ones and will ship: Shop — Wine Grapes Direct
Or Brehm: Brehm Vineyards - Fine Wine From Fine Grapes

 

[mainshipfred]

I know, but I called and she said there were no red grapes, only juice. I am so disappointed because I just tasted my 2020 Spring Cab and it was really good...

I just called myself and got the same response, really disappointing. I'm going to call CFP when they open Thursday to see if it's the same for them. I did find this article though.

https://www.thepacker.com/news/produce-crops/heavy-rains-chile-hurt-grape-crop

 

[Ajmassa]

I just called Gino Pinto to order spring chilean grapes and they said that they have none of any red variety! Did anyone get an order in for them? Where else can I go for spring grapes?

Well that sucks. they didn’t give any reason??


luckily there’s another local joint that brings in chilean grapes and juice. Keystone Homebrew in Montgomerville PA. i’m about 45 min from both GP & Keystone. Not sure if they are the same source as GP though but they are def doing spring grapes this year. i just called and confirmed.

It’s the biggest homebrew shop i’ve ever seen. Have used them for supplies, equipment rental and last fall bought even my grapes from them. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Keystone.
https://www.keystonehomebrew.com/

 

[Ajmassa]

The link opens for me. It says to call to place your order. It has 7- or 8 reds.

See if this one works?

https://ginopinto.com/wine-grapes-juice/chilean-home-grape-juice-prices/

that’s the spring menu for 2020.

 

[BMarNJ]

Well that sucks. they didn’t give any reason??


luckily there’s another local joint that brings in chilean grapes and juice. Keystone Homebrew in Montgomerville PA. i’m about 45 min from both GP & Keystone. Not sure if they are the same source as GP though but they are def doing spring grapes this year. i just called and confirmed.

It’s the biggest homebrew shop i’ve ever seen. Have used them for supplies, equipment rental and last fall bought even my grapes from them. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Keystone.
https://www.keystonehomebrew.com/

Thanks @Ajmassa, it will definitely be worth the drive for me to get fresh grapes. I’ll give Keystone a call. I looked at your other Philly place (Procacci?) too, but it looks like they only do fall grapes.

 

[BMarNJ]

I usually do a combo of juice pail and grapes. Keystone said their grapes are most likely coming mid-May, and their 2nd shipment of juice pails is also supposed to be mid-May (their first shipment of pails is the end of April). They have no real firm schedule, but I guess I will go for it and hope the grapes and juice arrive close together.

 

[mainshipfred]

CFP was able to get Chilean grapes but everything coming in is accounted for. They did say they were concerned about the quality but were told they were harvested prior to the rains.

 

[justsgm]

Hi guys, I just found your interesting thread. I've been making wine for over 40 years. I'm up to Bergen County, NJ. I manage a group of about 20 of us that make wine out of an old Carriage House in Elizabeth. I've bought grape from Corrado's in Clifton, DiDonato in Newark and Europa in Elizabeth. 2 years ago, DiDonato and Europa partnered up and I get all my grape from them in Elizabeth. I've entered and attended just about every year of the Corrado's contest. It was cancelled this year due to Covid. I hope they bring it back. It is a tough competition but I have over 100 medals and then stopped counting. Our group does anywhere from 8 to 14 barrels a year. Mostly red blends but now we are also making Rose, Chard and Sauv Blanc. The reds are always aged in oak barrels.
Whites and Rose in stainless tanks. We do between 3,000 to 4,000 bottles a year. So I get supplies in bulk. Bottles from Waterloo by the pallet. Chemicals, cork, capsules from L.D. Carlson. etc. Sanitation, barrel maintenance and good wine logs are the key to making great wine. I look forward to gaining and sharing knowledge with other NJ winemakers and hopefully meeting some of you soon.

 

[Mario Dinis]

Hi guys, I just found your interesting thread. I've been making wine for over 40 years. I'm up to Bergen County, NJ. I manage a group of about 20 of us that make wine out of an old Carriage House in Elizabeth. I've bought grape from Corrado's in Clifton, DiDonato in Newark and Europa in Elizabeth. 2 years ago, DiDonato and Europa partnered up and I get all my grape from them in Elizabeth. I've entered and attended just about every year of the Corrado's contest. It was cancelled this year due to Covid. I hope they bring it back. It is a tough competition but I have over 100 medals and then stopped counting. Our group does anywhere from 8 to 14 barrels a year. Mostly red blends but now we are also making Rose, Chard and Sauv Blanc. The reds are always aged in oak barrels.
Whites and Rose in stainless tanks. We do between 3,000 to 4,000 bottles a year. So I get supplies in bulk. Bottles from Waterloo by the pallet. Chemicals, cork, capsules from L.D. Carlson. etc. Sanitation, barrel maintenance and good wine logs are the key to making great wine. I look forward to gaining and sharing knowledge with other NJ winemakers and hopefully meeting some of you soon.

So Europa is still in business? heard they had closed the wine suply department.

 

[justsgm]

Yes, I got grapes there in 2020.