No More Grapes/Juice from Harford

[jgmann67]

Keystone is 2 hrs 9 min from me according to google maps. I also have some friends who moved close to there in the last couple of years. That is my most likely destination if I order grapes this Fall. May go local if I can get another 100+ lbs of Dornfelder.

It’s even shorter for me. Under 2 hours. Guessing this is where we land in the fall.

 

[ceeaton]

It’s even shorter for me. Under 2 hours. Guessing this is where we land in the fall.

Yea, but the Dornfelder may only be 50 minutes away, round trip.

 

[Boatboy24]

Just spoke to Tom at S&S. They do not preorder so it's first come first serve. A better number to use is 410-799-8224. His email is [email protected]. They are in Jessup MD and updating their website. Grapes start coming in August September timeframe and continue until November. The average cost is $40.00/lug.

Thanks Fred! My contact is supposed to be getting me Brian's (owner) contact info. Though I'm not interested in gambling on first come/first served.

 

[Ajmassa]

@gitmo234 @Ajmassa5983 @Boatboy24 @ceeaton @mainshipfred @jgmann67

They do:
"We offer grape crushing as long as we have grapes in stock ($2 per box for Keystone grapes, $0.15 per pound of grapes sourced elsewhere). Please plan to arrive AT LEAST 1 HOUR PRIOR TO CLOSING TIME if you would like your grapes crushed."
https://www.keystonehomebrew.com/central-valley-grapes-juice/
http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/shop/wine/fresh-grapes-and-juice/premium-grapes-juice.html

The Montgomeryville PA location is 2.5 hours from me, so that's viable. They have fresh grapes/juice from Washington, California, and Italy, based on their website.

I haven't ordered from them yet but will try them for fall grapes and juice.

Has anyone else ordered fresh grapes from Keystone??​

Their Montgomeryville PA location is legit. Biggest LHBS I’ve ever seen. Kit Wines and beer on tap while you shop. BIG joint. Attatched to “key and stone winery”. Use their Lab for sample testing. Rent equipment. Very impressive. Never got their grapes tho I’ve utilized just about everything else they have to offer. I’ve ever heard anything negative about their grapes either.
Harford and Gino pinto typically sell the same stuff every year. Procacci sells all Regina and Pia.
Keystone has completely different suppliers than the others. For both spring and fall. Always viewed them as a legitimate option if I ever wanted to change it up.

 

[Boatboy24]

@Ajmassa5983 is it me, or do Keystone's prices seem high? I'm used to paying a bit of a premium at Harford, but for the relative convenience, I was happy to. They weren't buying huge quantities, so they weren't getting the best pricing. Within a few minutes, its the same distance for me to go to Keystone or Gino's. Procacci is a little closer. I think I'd rather go to Gino's and get what I'm used to getting from Lanza, etc.

 

[Ajmassa]

@Ajmassa5983 is it me, or do Keystone's prices seem high? I'm used to paying a bit of a premium at Harford, but for the relative convenience, I was happy to. They weren't buying huge quantities, so they weren't getting the best pricing. Within a few minutes, its the same distance for me to go to Keystone or Gino's. Procacci is a little closer. I think I'd rather go to Gino's and get what I'm used to getting from Lanza, etc.

I haven’t bought from hem so haven’t really looked to hard at the pricing. It looks like all the premium stuff from 2017 is still listed but all the Central Valley grapes are no longer able to be viewed. A while back I photoshopped the pintos menu to see everything in one pic.
And here’s Keystones sans Central Valley too. . Options are great to have

 

[mainshipfred]

Here is last years prices from S and S. They don't let you know where the grapes come from though.

 

[Boatboy24]

Here is last years prices from S and S. They don't let you know where the grapes come from though.

Cheap. But as you said, who knows where they're from.

Looks like Gino's pricing is comparable (some a little higher, some a little lower) to Harford. They carry the same grapes, and then some.

@pgentile : I believe you've purchased from both Procacci and Gino Pinto. Any comments you can make comparing the quality/prices of the two?

 

[balatonwine]

Got the bad news earlier. I need to do some exploring. This sucks and may very well put me out of business.

Self sufficiency. The American way. Maybe time to put a plow into the soil and have your own vineyard.

Or at least diversify.... No business should rely heavily on just one source. Economics 101.

 

[Ajmassa]

Well while we’re at it— here’s the Procacci Bros 2017 list too. This is the joint my family was going to since well before I was even born.
Procacci on pickup day is like stepping back in time. And up until recently Procacci Bros was all I knew.

 

[heatherd]

Their Montgomeryville PA location is legit. Biggest LHBS I’ve ever seen. Kit Wines and beer on tap while you shop. BIG joint. Attatched to “key and stone winery”. Use their Lab for sample testing. Rent equipment. Very impressive. Never got their grapes tho I’ve utilized just about everything else they have to offer. I’ve ever heard anything negative about their grapes either.
Harford and Gino pinto typically sell the same stuff every year. Procacci sells all Regina and Pia.
Keystone has completely different suppliers than the others. For both spring and fall. Always viewed them as a legitimate option if I ever wanted to change it up.

@Ajmassa5983 Keystone is where I'm going to get fresh stuff this year - their crush/destem capabilities make them more viable than the others for me, for now at least. My local homebrew shop closed, so it's nice to have something else to replace it, even though they're 2.5 hours away. Nice to know it's a decent place.

 

[Boatboy24]

Gino Pinto and Keystone are about the same drive for me. I'm leaning toward testing out GP this fall. Its a heckuva drive, but may be worth it. And since it appears they open at 8am, I could be home with grapes at a decent hour. I love the proximity of S&S, but I just have a bad taste from previous attempts to contact them. I may change my mind when faced with a 6+ hour round drip though.

 

[mainshipfred]

I'm still torn and hoping to go local. I think I'm just going to wait and see what they all have to offer.

 

[Ajmassa]

Gino Pinto and Keystone are about the same drive for me. I'm leaning toward testing out GP this fall. Its a heckuva drive, but may be worth it. And since it appears they open at 8am, I could be home with grapes at a decent hour. I love the proximity of S&S, but I just have a bad taste from previous attempts to contact them. I may change my mind when faced with a 6+ hour round drip though.

Well you know what your getting with Pintos since many of us can vouch. And you’re already familiar with the selection since it essentially mimics Harford’s.
Keystone on the other hand I haven’t spoken with anyone who’s purchased their fresh grapes— only the frozen must.
-I’m on their mailing list and they keep us thoroughly updated during the pickup season.
-I’ve used their lab services and they were great.
- I’ve done lots of shopping at their mega store
- And I’ve rented equipment with success. 80L bladder press only cost me $35, no down payment, and I had it 1 extra day w/ no extra charge.
What I mean to say is everything else there is professional and legit I see no reason why their grape services would be any different. I’ll be going to Pintos unless i find a good bulk deal. But I also plan to pick up a few lugs from keystone for a small batch to see how they are.

 

[Johnd]

@Johnd I tried their website and it's under construction, but I'll keep them in mind....

Their website is back up, just visited it. Check out the shipping tab, they can group smaller orders together on one truck if you don’t fill one up......

 

[Ajmassa]

Their website is back up, just visited it. Check out the shipping tab, they can group smaller orders together on one truck if you don’t fill one up......

Thanks for the update. They also say for small orders to contact your nearest local distributor. And then lists all the distributors buying from F. Colavita & Son. Lots of familiar names on that list.

Fine Vine Wines
Label Peelers
Presque Isle Wines
Collingswood Grape Co
Keystone Homebrew

 

[Johnd]

Thanks for the update. They also say for small orders to contact your nearest local distributor. And then lists all the distributors buying from F. Colavita & Son. Lots of familiar names on that list.

Fine Vine Wines
Label Peelers
Presque Isle Wines
Collingswood Grape Co
Keystone Homebrew

You might also call them to see if anyone close to you buys their grapes. I found a small winery near me that buys three truckloads a year. Called em up and the owner was happy to let me put my grapes on one of his trucks. Huge score for me. Now, I get to buy a crusher / destemmer......

 

[Ajmassa]

You might also call them to see if anyone close to you buys their grapes. I found a small winery near me that buys three truckloads a year. Called em up and the owner was happy to let me put my grapes on one of his trucks. Huge score for me. Now, I get to buy a crusher / destemmer......

Congrats! Nice to be able to go right to the source since they supply many of the distributors we use. I’ll be calling for more info as well.
You saved a lot of travel time. But also more than doubled your crush day time! Even with a legit C/D, it’s a lot of work of flying solo. I can attest. So did you decide your grapes and amounts yet?

 

[Johnd]

Congrats! Nice to be able to go right to the source since they supply many of the distributors we use. I’ll be calling for more info as well.
You saved a lot of travel time. But also more than doubled your crush day time! Even with a legit C/D, it’s a lot of work of flying solo. I can attest. So did you decide your grapes and amounts yet?

When I drove to Dallas last year, I used their C/D before I left, into 5 gallon pails, transported home, then loaded fermenters. Now I’ll C/D straight into the fermenters, with only half the drive.

They don’t have the price list yet, so I haven’t decided, but I’m leaning towards either straight Cab or or Super Tuscan type blend, different yeasts in the fermenters, blended after MLF, enough to fill a 60 gallon Frenchie.

 

[Ajmassa]

When I drove to Dallas last year, I used their C/D before I left, into 5 gallon pails, transported home, then loaded fermenters. Now I’ll C/D straight into the fermenters, with only half the drive.

They don’t have the price list yet, so I haven’t decided, but I’m leaning towards either straight Cab or or Super Tuscan type blend, different yeasts in the fermenters, blended after MLF, enough to fill a 60 gallon Frenchie.

Sounds like you got 2 new toys needed for this fall ! Congrats on reaching the promised land my friend.