Fall 2007 Tattler

Winemaking Notes

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Step by Step Winemaking Instructions
Download our Simplified Winemaking Booklet

Our new grape crushing facilities are extremely popular!
Many people took advantage of our grape crushing area last year. We acquired a crusher-destemmer that was originally used at “Bailey Vineyards” in Troy many years ago by our friend Karl Bailey. Karl & the vineyard (now a subdivision) are no longer with us but his crusher lives on!

You provide your own pails and buckets and crush the grapes yourselves, we provide the crusher-stemmer and a hose for clean up. We are not responsible for spilled grapes or juice. The cost is .05/lb to use the crusher-destemmer.

Large amounts of grapes are quite easy to pick and you get the best price. Most pickers (depending on variety) can pick from 1 to 2 or more bushels per hour. Bring your friends and get quantity discounts.

Since we no longer have grape juice available, many people now use the crusher and strainer bags that we have available at the vineyard, these are also part of our “Beginners Winemaking Kit”.
We will have some 8 gallon pails available this year - great size to use with our strainer bags.

The strainer bags are very useful if you do not have a press. You can ferment right in them for red wines or for whites you can still squeeze the juice out using them. Sometimes people ferment a day on the white skins to soften them in the strainer bags.
If there is still juice left in the bag, you can also try making a second run wine. Add more sugar and water and let it ferment. It will make another batch of wine - but much lighter in flavor and body.

White Wine Notes - I have had good luck the last few years with making a soft (or slightly sweetened) white wine with Cote Des Blancs yeast (available at the vineyard.)

This yeast doesn’t like to ferment very much past 12%. Adjust your juice sugar level for 12% alcohol & ferment with Cote Des Blancs yeast. One month later add 8 oz. sugar per gallon of wine, then crush and add two cambden tablets per gallon, let stabilize 6 months. Many people also add one gram per gallon potassium sorbate at this time to keep it from re-fermenting.

Download our Simplified Winemaking Booklet

COMMODITY PRICES

U-Pick Grapes
1-19 lbs. .80/lb.
½ bu (20 lbs.) or more .73/lb.
5 bu (200 lbs.) or more .68/lb.
10 bu. (400 lbs.) or more .58/lb.
Crusher/stemmer rent: .05/lb.

(An average person can pick from
1 to 3 bu/hr - bring lots of friends)

1 ½ - 2 bushel (60-80 lb) makes 5 gal wine

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Honey Farm Notes

Bulk Raw Honey Price - $2.10/lb

Good News ... When you experience the fragrance of a field of wildflowers or an orchard in full bloom, envision this captured in a jar of our pure Michigan honey. The aroma emanates from the nectar in each flower. The bees collect this sweet nectar, return it to the hive and remove the excess moisture. This distilled nectar is honey! Because of the variety of clovers, trees, wildflowers and vegetables that grow in Michigan, our bees produce a honey of exceptional quality. We then extract, lightly strain, and package the honey into the many fine products marketed by Honeyflow Farm.

Observation Hive ... Did you ever wonder where the honeybees put all that nectar in those wooden boxes (hives) that beekeepers use? Our observation hive has plastic sides, safely keeping the honeybees in, while you watch them storing pollen and nectar. Sometimes you may even see the queen bee laying eggs. Come see nature at work.

Bring your own containers and we will fill them from our 50 gallon barrel. $2.10 lb. for any amount. Please - NO SMALL MOUTH CONTAINERS LIKE POP BOTTLES OR MILK JUGS - They are very hard to fill at the sales stand! New two gallon pails are now available for sale at the vineyard for bulk raw honey. (Holds 24 lbs)

Wildflower Honey ...
Our wildflower honey has been warmed only to 135 degrees. Many large packers filter and heat at much higher temperatures to retain a longer shelf life. We prefer a more natural product that may only stay liquid for three to six months. If it solidifies, it is easily converted from it’s granular state by placing the honey container in hot water for a few minutes.

Since most of the honey from our bulk tank is raw, remember that it is normal for it to granulate in a few months. Some honey may take longer depending on what type of flowers that the bees harvested the nectar from.

Observation Hive ...
Did you ever wonder where the honeybees put all that nectar in those wooden boxes (hives) that beekeepers use? Our observation hive has plastic sides, safely keeping the honeybees in, while you watch them storing pollen and nectar. Sometimes you may even see the queen bee laying eggs. Come see nature at work.

Beeswax Candles ...
We make Hand-dipped 100% Pure beeswax candles every winter. Each candle has been dipped 20 to 30 times into melted beeswax. Beeswax candles emit a distinctive scent and are longer burning. We produce more than 100 types of candles. Visit our on-line Candle Shop at www.honeyflowfarm.com to view our candle selection.

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Honeyflow Farm
4939 Mill Rd. PO Box 275
Dryden, Michigan 48428
(810) 796-2344 (Phone & Fax)

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