WineMaking FAQ's

Grape Blossoms What do grape blossoms smell like?

Walking through the vineyard when it is in full bloom is a unique experience. The scent is slightly more subtle than other fruits. Each flower blossom will develop into a separate berry. The flowers are wind pollinated. Most people assume that our honeybees pollinate the vineyard, but I rarely see a honeybee in the grapes during full bloom

More grape bloom images....

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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.

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American Heritage

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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Seyval Blanc

A White Wine Grape
Similar Varieties: Vignoles

Ripens Mid September -- One of the most widely planted hybrid grapes east of the Rocky Mountains.

Usage Notes -- Wine

(Seyve-Villard 5276) - Produces white wine with attractive aromas of grass, hay and melon. A beautiful grape for superior Chablis or champagne.

President Ford has used Michigan Seyval at some of his Presidential Events.

Click here for Seyval Blanc winemaking info .....

More Seyval info on the Winemaker Magazine Website....

Harvest Notes -

Ripening Information for Week 7 (and Last), Oct 14, 15 & 16, 2011

Most of Seyval is gone.

Click here for a ripening summary and grape prices for the whole vineyard .....

Variety Info -- Well suited to cool climates, this popular French-American hybrid is the second most planted vine in England, behind Müller-Thurgau.

seyval3 The variety is also popular in Canada and the eastern U.S., particularly New York State. Reliably productive and an early ripening (usually mid to late September) Seyval Blanc is made into crisp white wines, with no foxy flavor, or sometimes into off-dry versions where the tart nature of the variety is balanced with residual sugar.

Some producers have employed such enhancing techniques as barrel fermentation and/or aging, and malolactic fermentation to improve the quality of its sometimes neutral character and lack of intensity. The fruit is highly susceptible to Botrytis bunch rot.

Sadly, Seyval Blanc (like all other hybrid varieties) was outlawed for “quality wine” designation by vinifera-obsessed European Union authorities, ostensibly, for quality reasons. This is a controversial issue for the English wine industry, where the variety has proved to produce some very notable wines.

Where are the Seyval vines located in the vineyard?

Rows 31 & 32

Each row of Seyval has about 60 vines.

Seyval is planted a little closer in the rows, 6 ft spacing - all others are planted 8 ft apart.

These vine are on their own roots and are not always as vigorous as I would like, however they are a good producer. Our daughter likes to eat Seyval grapes as a table grape.