Great but what do I do post harvest? Back off on the water? Taper back slowly? California weather so very little rain during the dormant season. When should I test my soil? I am a glass case of emotions. Haha. Ok you don't need to answer all of this. But a post harvest winter prep video would be a good addition to your playlist.
I’m in central NY and grow Marquette and Lacrosse as they are better suited to our location. I checked my Marquette’s today with my refractometer and depending on the location they range from 16 to 21 brix. I’d like to average closer to 23 or. My vines are netted to protect the grapes from the birds. However, as the sugar increases, I always have problems with yellow jackets. Do you have any experience using yellow jacket traps? Usually I pick in late September.
Some day I would like to have a vineyard but I'm not quite ready to quit the day job. To help prep myself I would like to get a little lab vineyard going something real small like 6 - 12 grape vines. I live in zone 6B and I would like to grow/produce a Montepulciano variety. I'm thinking going with a Concord root stock would be a good choice for my growing region. Once established I would look to graph with the desired vine crop. What are your thoughts on this approach? Where do you suggest I go to get my root stock? Should I get 2 year vines to start? How soon would I be able to graph - I assume several variables have to be considered on this one. When I ready for the Mpulciano where is a good source. Love your channel and look forward to hearing your thoughts.
i am in central ny and have a small grape vine in my yard the grapes are purple but i do not know the variety. was trying to determine if they are ready to be picked they are sweet but not all of them are purple yet some are still green
Hiya. Love your videos. I'm a back yard grower with 20 plants Muscat, Glenora and Pheonix. UK weather is so unpredicatable (it's 26°C in May?) but I've always had good yields from these. They taste great but I've never made wine with them. Do you think wine is possible from these grapes? I've also 5 Syrah plants in pots but Im reluctant to plant them due to UK weather. Keep up the brilliant work. Thanks
First year growing grapes, Wisconsin. I was just wondering, for example, if near the beginning of fall my grapes have the right pH, but not the brix I’m looking for. Is it bad to raise that brix up using sugar when starting to ferment? Will the quality lower without the natural sugars? Thanks!
It is okay to raise the sugar up a bit. It is very common in France to add sugar and very common in California to add acid. What kind of grapes are they? It is a little more common go have to reduce acid in the colder climates
Not really. Wild American grapes have very high acid and very low sugar. The flavors are not particularly good either. If you are very skilled in winemaking and looking for an extreme challenge, you could have a shot at making something palatable but you would need to be a master at steering a wine which takes many years of experience. Normally wild grapes do not produce a whole lot without intentional pruning. Have they recently been cut back? I'm assuming you know what a wild grapes vine looks like, but I'd just mention that. There are a lot of wild fruits that are poisonous and resemble a cluster of grapes. Not sure where you are located but it is getting really late in the year to have any grapes in most areas.
@@TheHomeWinemakingChannel I'm pending in your Facebook could send pictures. We are located in Ontario Canada yesterday when I tock pictures they were small but full body. I just started. All where purn back and grow back.
After crushing the grapes, I'm letting the seeds fall out, removing them, roasting them in the oven, then throwing them back in the must, which is at the beginning of fermenting. The roasted grape seeds have a nice nutty flavor and are no longer so astringent. Is there any reason you could see that this might cause some kind of problem? This is my first time making wine--there was an explosion of grapes in the yard of the house I just moved into. They are a dark purple, and the previous owner said they are "wine grapes", but no idea which variety. In north California.
It is definitely an interesting idea. I would recommend maybe splitting the wine to two batches and doing that with half since it is pretty much up in the air if it will actually be any good. A little seed tannin is okay and will help protect the wine from oxidation and smooth out over time. If the seeds are green then you really might want to consider some unconventional techniques.
3.3-3.45 would be a good place to be during harvest for a pinot noir but it is really a balancing act. Your vineyard might not hit all the numbers right on at the same time so you may need to make some compromises on brix or acid. You can always add sugar or acid, or reduce acid if needed. Your pH should rise a bit during primary fermentation and a bit more during malolactic fermentation leaving you about .2 to .3 higher than the harvest pH.
This is my first year making wine so my expectations are low. the house we just bought has some Wild Grape Vines growing along the perimeter. They've started to change to what looks like a ripened grape but I plan to leave them up for another couple weeks.
Hi there. This is a little off topic but I have Started a white wine kit Which a 10l of juice. I added a grape concentrate to improve flavour and up the abv. I took the s g which was 1.13 which is very high. Will it affect the flavour or qulity or am I ok? ta x
One trick, no one says you have to pick your entire vineyard at once. I am going to make multiple batches this year to hedge myself on ph, brix and TA variations.
Good call! At least until you have some years in on your vineyard and can figure out what works best. If you can keep the wines completely separate for as long as possible it could really help you learn what works for your grapes. Plus then you can blend the batches to dial things in. You might still end up with some wine that doesn't quite make the grade. That's where the friends that will drink anything come in.
I have some vines here in california that are cuttings from great great great grandpas vineyard, they are now 40 years old and i know most of the varietals but holy heck, one was at 30Brix today, another 18 and another 17. And last one was 22 brix.
Why do you tell us to leave comments in the comment section when you never reply anyway? I've asked you questions before in the past, but never got an answer. I'm thinking of unsubscribing!
Very helpful! I'm a back yard grower, just starting down this path. That's a nice smattering of info. Thanks.
Great videos, would love to see a video on purchasing grapes. What to look for in grapes, how much to purchase, etc.
Great but what do I do post harvest? Back off on the water? Taper back slowly? California weather so very little rain during the dormant season. When should I test my soil? I am a glass case of emotions. Haha. Ok you don't need to answer all of this. But a post harvest winter prep video would be a good addition to your playlist.
I’m in central NY and grow Marquette and Lacrosse as they are better suited to our location. I checked my Marquette’s today with my refractometer and depending on the location they range from 16 to 21 brix. I’d like to average closer to 23 or. My vines are netted to protect the grapes from the birds. However, as the sugar increases, I always have problems with yellow jackets. Do you have any experience using yellow jacket traps? Usually I pick in late September.
Some day I would like to have a vineyard but I'm not quite ready to quit the day job. To help prep myself I would like to get a little lab vineyard going something real small like 6 - 12 grape vines. I live in zone 6B and I would like to grow/produce a Montepulciano variety. I'm thinking going with a Concord root stock would be a good choice for my growing region. Once established I would look to graph with the desired vine crop. What are your thoughts on this approach? Where do you suggest I go to get my root stock? Should I get 2 year vines to start? How soon would I be able to graph - I assume several variables have to be considered on this one. When I ready for the Mpulciano where is a good source. Love your channel and look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Great information, informative and interesting.
How about Merlot with ph 4.
i am in central ny and have a small grape vine in my yard the grapes are purple but i do not know the variety. was trying to determine if they are ready to be picked they are sweet but not all of them are purple yet some are still green
Best guess in Concord. Compare your cluster to known varieties at a vineyard. You must be with a short distance of the Finger Lakes.
Hiya. Love your videos. I'm a back yard grower with 20 plants Muscat, Glenora and Pheonix. UK weather is so unpredicatable (it's 26°C in May?) but I've always had good yields from these. They taste great but I've never made wine with them. Do you think wine is possible from these grapes? I've also 5 Syrah plants in pots but Im reluctant to plant them due to UK weather. Keep up the brilliant work. Thanks
First year growing grapes, Wisconsin. I was just wondering, for example, if near the beginning of fall my grapes have the right pH, but not the brix I’m looking for. Is it bad to raise that brix up using sugar when starting to ferment? Will the quality lower without the natural sugars? Thanks!
It is okay to raise the sugar up a bit. It is very common in France to add sugar and very common in California to add acid. What kind of grapes are they? It is a little more common go have to reduce acid in the colder climates
The Home Winemaking Channel The grapes are Frontenac and Concord.
Have grapes 🍇 that are wild but there is alot of them, will get these products. Can I make wine from these grapes.
Not really. Wild American grapes have very high acid and very low sugar. The flavors are not particularly good either. If you are very skilled in winemaking and looking for an extreme challenge, you could have a shot at making something palatable but you would need to be a master at steering a wine which takes many years of experience. Normally wild grapes do not produce a whole lot without intentional pruning. Have they recently been cut back? I'm assuming you know what a wild grapes vine looks like, but I'd just mention that. There are a lot of wild fruits that are poisonous and resemble a cluster of grapes. Not sure where you are located but it is getting really late in the year to have any grapes in most areas.
@@TheHomeWinemakingChannel I'm pending in your Facebook could send pictures. We are located in Ontario Canada yesterday when I tock pictures they were small but full body. I just started. All where purn back and grow back.
After crushing the grapes, I'm letting the seeds fall out, removing them, roasting them in the oven, then throwing them back in the must, which is at the beginning of fermenting. The roasted grape seeds have a nice nutty flavor and are no longer so astringent. Is there any reason you could see that this might cause some kind of problem? This is my first time making wine--there was an explosion of grapes in the yard of the house I just moved into. They are a dark purple, and the previous owner said they are "wine grapes", but no idea which variety. In north California.
It is definitely an interesting idea. I would recommend maybe splitting the wine to two batches and doing that with half since it is pretty much up in the air if it will actually be any good. A little seed tannin is okay and will help protect the wine from oxidation and smooth out over time. If the seeds are green then you really might want to consider some unconventional techniques.
I grow Pinot Noir in B.C. Looking to target my brix at around 26. What pH do you recommend?
3.3-3.45 would be a good place to be during harvest for a pinot noir but it is really a balancing act. Your vineyard might not hit all the numbers right on at the same time so you may need to make some compromises on brix or acid. You can always add sugar or acid, or reduce acid if needed. Your pH should rise a bit during primary fermentation and a bit more during malolactic fermentation leaving you about .2 to .3 higher than the harvest pH.
This is my first year making wine so my expectations are low. the house we just bought has some Wild Grape Vines growing along the perimeter. They've started to change to what looks like a ripened grape but I plan to leave them up for another couple weeks.
Hi there. This is a little off topic but I have Started a white wine kit Which a 10l of juice.
I added a grape concentrate to improve flavour and up the abv. I took the s g which was 1.13 which is very high. Will it affect the flavour or qulity or am I ok? ta x
One trick, no one says you have to pick your entire vineyard at once. I am going to make multiple batches this year to hedge myself on ph, brix and TA variations.
Good call! At least until you have some years in on your vineyard and can figure out what works best. If you can keep the wines completely separate for as long as possible it could really help you learn what works for your grapes. Plus then you can blend the batches to dial things in. You might still end up with some wine that doesn't quite make the grade. That's where the friends that will drink anything come in.
I have some vines here in california that are cuttings from great great great grandpas vineyard, they are now 40 years old and i know most of the varietals but holy heck, one was at 30Brix today, another 18 and another 17. And last one was 22 brix.
have any of you home winemakers used table grapes to make wine?
I have used table grapes to make wine
sugar content is not a problem ,good hybrids can get up to 27 brix or more
Why do you tell us to leave comments in the comment section when you never reply anyway? I've asked you questions before in the past, but never got an answer. I'm thinking of unsubscribing!