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Wednesday, May 16, 2012
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FAQ's

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Barrels Do you recommend oak barrels for winemaking?

Oak barrels can be very useful in winemaking, but they can be problematic and I prefer glass carboys.

Oak barrels are excellent for large amounts of wine such as 55 gallons. The ration of air to wine is just right. When you use smaller barrels the wine may easily become over-oaked and oxidized. They also take a lot of care to make sure you do not create vinegar bacteria.

I much prefer gallon glass carboys, they are much easier to clean and sanitize.

You can make multiple batches of different kinds of wine. Each wine is unique. If you make 55 gallons of one wine and it does not turn out the way you want it - you are stuck with it. Our more than 20 varieties of wine make small batch winemaking very interesting.   See All Grape and Wine FAQ's...
Frost Do grapes need a frost to ripen?

Absolutely not. There are early and late season varieties, an early season grape left on the vine until frost will be mushy and overripe. Once a frost hits the vine and all the leaves are burned off, any further photosynthesis or ripening will cease. Due to the high sugar level in the grape it may not be damaged by the frost but will soon start to decay, just like any other fruit not refrigerated.

See Grape and Wine FAQ's...
Honey Production How much honey does a honeybee produce in a year?

Although a colony of honeybees (40,000 or more in the summer) can easily produce over a hundred pounds of honey, a single honeybee produces only about a teaspoon full in her life.

See All Honey FAQ's...
Where does the beeswax come from? Our beeswax is from our own Michigan honeybees and other local beekeepers. The honeybees make the wax from the nectar of clovers, thistles and other wildflowers native to our area. The wax is not filtered, only lightly strained.

From Flower to Flame - How a honeybee makes beeswax...

See Beeswax Candle FAQ's...

American Heritage

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The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' )

Ronald Reagan (1911-2004

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Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. )

Ronald Reagan (1911-2004

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Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States. (1911-2004)

Ronald Reagan

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America will never run... And we will always be grateful that liberty has found such brave defenders.

George W. Bush (1946 - )

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Latest Newsletter

Honeyflow Farm Newsletter
Winter  Issue
  February - March, 2012
In This Issue
At the Candle Shop
Beeswax Candle FAQ
At the Vineyard
Vineyard FAQ
At the Honey Farm
Honey Farm Candle FAQ

This Month's Special Price Items

Extended Through May
15% Discount Sale

 

Through 5-31-12

 

 

 All Ball Candles  

 

 

Tugboat or Schooner

New Tug & Ship

 

 


New Square Pillar

 

 

6 inch Cylinder Pillar  

15% Sale

(use "feb2012" coupon code)

 

 

   

Special Pricing
Through

March 31

 

 

 

Candle Dipping
at
Honeyflow Farm

Wicks for 6 pairs of candles are on a frame and dipped into hot wax.

6 pairs of candles half finished.

The frame is split in half & only 3 pairs are now dipped.

The candles are hanging in a rack to cool between dips.

 

 

 

"The government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."   

 

 Ronald Reagan 

(1911 - 2004)
 

The Quotations Page
Candleshop Creations
Candleshop Creations
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The Holiday Season is behind us and we would like to wish you a happy 2012.

More information about our Newsletter and Farm...
Beeswax Candle Shop
 

Lots of New Candles for 2012

We have revised our series of Ball Candles. An Extra Large one has been added along with the balls little cousin "The Egg". Info...  

 Ball Candles
Tugboat or Schooner We have also increased our Fleet of Candles with a Tugboat and a Schooner. This is in addition to our Lighthouse Pillar.

A pure beeswax 2 inch square by 8.5 inches tall Decorative Pillar rounds out our series of new candles for 2012. ($18.50)
Click here for more info....  
February Super Sale

  • All of the new candles plus Our Most Popular 6 inch Large Pillars are on sale Through February - March!
    15% Discount. 
  • (use "feb2012" coupon code)

Sale ends 5-31-12

 

This is a picture of a series of our 3.5 inch wide by 3 inch tall large pillars in a special set of candle holders in a fireplace. (It belongs to one of our daughters) They do not use the fireplace with wood anymore, but this set of candles makes a very nice visual effect. We made these candles with a wick one size smaller as the heat of the enclosed area made them a little soft.

 

 
BEESWAX CANDLE FAQ 
Where does the beeswax come from?

Our beeswax is from our own Michigan honeybees and other local beekeepers. The honeybees make the wax from the nectar of clovers, thistles and other wildflowers native to our area. The wax is not filtered, only lightly strained.

Recently the price of beeswax has risen slightly due to bee losses in many areas.

From Flower to Flame - How a honeybee makes beeswax  
AT THE VINEYARD  
The vineyard is back to the planning stage. I hope every one made some great wine last year - we still have a lot in the barn that we have to rack.

We are thinking about cleft grafting some of the Delaware trunks over to Niagara - It has been a long time since I tried this.

Please drop us a note about winemaking successes (and failures).

New "Wine Talk" page has been very helpful to many people. This is a new forum style page where we can record various conversations, comments or questions about winemaking.

 

I just started racking the wine that I made last fall.

 

The first was a Frontenac and I was very pleased with it. It still had some acidity that needed to drop out, but it was very nice. I drank a few glasses that night.

 

We still have some more Frontenac, DeChaunac, Foch, Concord, Cayuga, Buffalo, and Canadice to rack and adjust. I will probably sweeten the Concord, Cayuga and Canadice a bit.  

This is the most wine we have made if a few years. Usually our customers pick us out before the season ends.

 


I also received a subscription for Winemkers Magazine for Christmas. One of their articles was about winter hardy vines such as Frontenac.
VINEYARD & WINEMAKING FAQ
Can grapevines survive very cold weather?

Yes - But there are a lot of variables.
Grapevines are rated according to their hardiness. The USDA rates growing areas from 1 to 11 with 1 being the coldest. Most of the vines that we grow have a hardiness rating of from 3 to 6. These kind of vines can survive winters with temperatures below zero, some doing better than others. Typical average minimum temperatures in our Dryden, Michigan (Southern Lapeer County) are -10 to -15 degrees.
The rest of the story...
Click her for more Grape FAQ's... 
AT THE HONEY FARM  
We just started checking a few colonies and they looked very good - but probably will need feeding.
It is still early - I hope they look this good in March.

We are planning to also order some package bees from the South.



5 Great new Recipes from
The Honey Feast Newsletter

Party Franks
Honey-Curry Vegetable Dip 
Spicy Honey Drummettes 
Hot 'n' Honey Dip 
Honey-Graham Fruit Pizza 
 
Check these all out at:   
HONEY FARM FAQ
What do honeybees do in the winter?

Whenever the air temperature drops below 55 degrees or so, the honeybees start to form a ball shaped cluster inside the beehive. The colder it gets, the "tighter" the cluster is. Even with zero degrees outside the temperature inside the cluster may be 90 degrees.

Usually in November the queen stops laying eggs and raising more honeybees. In January the brood raising resumes with sometimes only a small patch of brood (baby bees) and then the bees gradually increase it as the warmer temperatures resume.

Click her for more honey FAQ's... 

Bill & PatWe would like to thank you for your business and being part of our Extended Farm Family.

Sincerely, Bill & Pat Schnute Honeyflow Farm

About our Farm....