Western Pennsylvania/Pittsburgh winemakers

[distancerunner]

Strength in numbers.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Buying in quantity merits a discount.

No one reading these doubts the truth in those statements.

What I propose is assembling a group of home winemakers with the intention of forming a group to make bulk purchases of grapes, juice, and whatever else we might want to buy. Together we can make purchases at a discount. That means you can save money. Or, make more wine with the same amount of money.

It doesn't matter how much you spend annually. Even if it's just a few lugs or buckets a year. More is more. More means discounts.

Reply with your thoughts or send me a message for a private conversation.

N.B. If something like this already exists please let me know.

 

[winemaker81]

Due to location I'm not interested in joining, but can say you're on the right track. The group I belong to (based in Durham NC) purchases 10,000+ lbs of grapes each year, and we are able to negotiate a better price on grapes and shipping because of the volume.

We purchase west coast grapes through Musto in CT. There are other companies such as Gino Pinto in NJ. It's possible there are companies closer to you -- those you'll have to search for.

 

[distancerunner]

Thank you for that.

Hoping to get some response from some local members.

 

[Ohio Bob]

North Coast Wine Club (Northcoastwineclub.net) in Solon, Ohio does bulk purchases. I’m not a member as it’s an hours drive for me. They might give you some leads/advice.

 

[distancerunner]

Thank you!

 

[winemaker81]

North Coast Wine Club (Northcoastwineclub.net) in Solon, Ohio does bulk purchases. I’m not a member as it’s an hours drive for me. They might give you some leads/advice.

Getting grapes is not easy for us who live far from prime growing areas. My group meets in Durham, 45 minutes drive. My next closest choice is the north side of Richmond, 3.5 hours, and after that it's 5.5 hours to NVA (Northern Virginia) to the group that @mainshipfred purchase with.

I've considered frozen must buckets, but the price on those is very high. I'm still looking for a NC grower of Vinifera or F-A hybrids who will sell to home winemakers. I can get Muscadine and Scuppernong easily (and close), but they are not to my taste.

 

[mainshipfred]

Getting grapes is not easy for us who live far from prime growing areas. My group meets in Durham, 45 minutes drive. My next closest choice is the north side of Richmond, 3.5 hours, and after that it's 5.5 hours to NVA (Northern Virginia) to the group that @mainshipfred purchase with.

I've considered frozen must buckets, but the price on those is very high. I'm still looking for a NC grower of Vinifera or F-A hybrids who will sell to home winemakers. I can get Muscadine and Scuppernong easily (and close), but they are not to my taste.

I've been wanting to post this without bashing Gino Pinto too much since I think they are a quality company. For a couple years they have been promoting a location in Ashland VA (Richmond area). Finally this spring I was told they would be supplying grapes to Ashland so I ordered 18 half lugs. When I called about when to expect them I was told the bulk order gets sent to NJ then the allotted grapes get trucked to Ashland. I assumed the Ashland location was another fruit distributor. As it turns out they tried to change me an additional $100 (which I was never told about) to get the grapes to Ashland and the location was not a fruit distributor but a wine and beer supply warehouse that had refrigeration to only 55° although it didn't appear they were every put in the refrigerated storage. To be fair to Gino's when I questioned the $100 charge they without any argument removed the charge but told me they would charge it the next time. They also charged me an addition $1.00 per lug which in this day and age was hard to dispute.

Again I have nothing but high regards for Gino Pinto but I was a little disappointed with this experience. BTW, except for a little (very little) mold the grapes were the high quality I would expect from Chili.

 

[winemaker81]

Thanks for the head's up, @mainshipfred, as I was considering purchasing Italian juice from them. If the price isn't exactly the price, it's good to know that up front.

Unfortunately, shipping is not cheap, and with current fuel prices, this fall will be worse than previous years.

 

[distancerunner]

We can't do much about the crop. The farmers do their best and they sell the best to local wineries. We get the rest.

We can't do much about shipping costs. They are dependent upon fuel costs. Fuel is sky high right now.

Buying in bulk is the only way to achieve a significant discount.

 

[Dan M]

Count me in. I'm a cheap engineer and love to save $$$$$.

 

[distancerunner]

Count me in. I'm a cheap engineer and love to save $$$$$.

Cool. So do we.

 

[Michael Kusenko]

Strength in numbers.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Buying in quantity merits a discount.

No one reading these doubts the truth in those statements.

What I propose is assembling a group of home winemakers with the intention of forming a group to make bulk purchases of grapes, juice, and whatever else we might want to buy. Together we can make purchases at a discount. That means you can save money. Or, make more wine with the same amount of money.

It doesn't matter how much you spend annually. Even if it's just a few lugs or buckets a year. More is more. More means discounts.

Reply with your thoughts or send me a message for a private conversation.

N.B. If something like this already exists please let me know.

Just saw this message. I could be interested in something like this.

 

[Jal5]

does it matter if I only want 1-2 juice buckets? I’m small time compared to most of you!
Joe

 

[distancerunner]

Good question. One of our friends works with juice. He buys rather large quantities. He may be willing to draw some off for you.

What varieties are you looking for?

 

[Edward L Sacco]

does it matter if I only want 1-2 juice buckets? I’m small time compared to most of you!

Good question. One of our friends works with juice. He buys rather large quantities. He may be willing to draw some off for you.

What varieties are you looking for?

does it matter if I only want 1-2 juice buckets? I’m small time compared to most of you!
Joe

does it matter if I only want 1-2 juice buckets? I’m small time compared to most of you!
Joe

does it matter if I only want 1-2 juice buckets? I’m small time compared to most of you!
Joe

Joe, if you love around Pittsburgh, Consumers Produce handles juices, you can get 1 to a thousand buckets there. Both Californian and Italian juices plus fruit juices. Ron Catsertano is a good guy. They also handle Chilean and South African juices in the spring.

 

[CoastalEmpireWine]

Strength in numbers.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Buying in quantity merits a discount.

No one reading these doubts the truth in those statements.

What I propose is assembling a group of home winemakers with the intention of forming a group to make bulk purchases of grapes, juice, and whatever else we might want to buy. Together we can make purchases at a discount. That means you can save money. Or, make more wine with the same amount of money.

It doesn't matter how much you spend annually. Even if it's just a few lugs or buckets a year. More is more. More means discounts.

Reply with your thoughts or send me a message for a private conversation.

N.B. If something like this already exists please let me know.

I am just North of Pittsburgh.

 

[distancerunner]

CFP Winemakers juice order cut off date is 2 Sept.

Here is a link to L'Uva Bella's juice order page. They sent out their grape list today.

 

[Jal5]

I have purchased from both CFP and Luva Bella in the past.
Joe

 

[Dan M]

does it matter if I only want 1-2 juice buckets? I’m small time compared to most of you!

I am also a 1 or 2 bucket guy. I've been a part of several discussions and have decided that saving money (this year), may not be possible with inflation, etc. It still seems like a good idea for the future. Another option for this year is to call Ruffled Brewing in Oakmont, 412-828-7412 as they are taking orders for CA & Italian buckets @ $68-$69.50. Delivery expected by end of September. I bought a Chilean bucket this Spring from them and I was impressed with the product (clean, no fermentation, etc.). Just a thought...