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Delaware Grape Information

Delaware Juice, Jelly & Wine Grape

Ripening Season	Ripens Mid September - Excellent quality for desserts, juice and sparkling wines. If pressed without fermenting on skins, gives a pleasant, fruity, dry table wine. An old red cultivar, very sweet and mildly foxy.

Usage Notes Wine	This versatile grape still finds itself commercially valuable in the Northeast and Midwest where it is widely used in the production of everything from dry, to sweet (notably ice wine) and sparkling white wines of good quality, often with spicy aromas. Delaware also makes a sparkling white wine of good quality. When pressed the juice is a rose color which will result in a white or pale-pale rose wine. If used in blending any more than 10% will show its Delaware character. It is popular as a table fruit having sweet, lower acid, small tasty pink-red berries with small seeds and a slip skin. Customers favor it for a rose' drinking juice and for a jelly. If you use it for jelly, add lemon juice for a better balance! Click here for Delaware winemaking info .....

Fall Harvest Notes	Ripening Information for Week 5, October 12, 13 & 14 2007 Delaware grapes are ready now. Very heavy foliage - just pull it back and climb in!. Click here for a ripening summary and grape prices for the whole vineyard ......

Variety Notes More Info	The Delaware grape was discovered in Delaware, Ohio in 1849. Although it is said to be an American variety its parentage is unknown and is thought to have a slight Vitis Vinifera mix explaining the susceptibility to fungal diseases and the requirement for grafting onto phylloxera resistant rootstock for best growth. The skin of the Delaware grape when ripened is pale red almost pinkish in colour that has a tender skin and juicy sweet flesh. It has small fruit clusters with small berries that do not have the pronounced 'foxiness' of other Labrusca grapes. It is a slip-skin variety, meaning that the skin is easily separated from the fruit. The grapes are used to make wines including dry, sweet, icewine but is famed for spicy sparkling wines that do not have much of the objectionable foxiness character that other labrusca grapes attribute to their wines. The wine is light pink to white in colour. It is a commercially viable grape vine which is grown in the North East and Mid West of America and is vigorous when grafted onto a phylloxera resistant root stock. The Delaware grape is susceptible to downy mildew and ripens earlier than Concord. The delaware grape is also a table grape variety sold in supermarkets throughout Japan, where labrusca grape varieties are popular for their fragrance. It is an American type grape with the best fruity notes and the least labrusca foxiness.

Where are the Delaware vines located in the vineyard?	Rows 68 to 70 Each row has about 50 vines. The three rows of Delaware grow very will in our vineyard. They are trained to a "Geneva Double Curtain" trellis, which means there are 2 top wires 4 feet apart (like utility poles) This gives the vines more room to grow. The foliage grows strong and may hide the clusters. Just pull the shoots downward to made them easier to pick.
Where are the Delaware vines located in the vineyard?	Click here or on the image for a better view of their location.

Links & Resources	Jelly Making Grape recipes from the Kitchen Step by Step Winemaking Home winemaking with Eastern Grapes Making Red Wine WineMaking Resources Winemaking Articles Winemaking Resources from our Links Pages A Year in the Vineyard Pictorial

Where can I Purchase Delaware Wine & Vines?	Look for Delaware in white or Rose' blends in Michigan from local wine shops and grocery stores or it may be purchased on line from: St. Julien Winery Peterson & Sons - Natural Wines Due to regulations wine cannot be shipped into Michigan from other states. Stop by these wineries to purchase this style of wine. NY - Bully Hill Vineyard NY - Swedish Hill NY - Hunt Country (Note - If any other winery carries this style of wine and wants to be included here, please let us know) We do not sell wine or vines. Please go to our resource page for a listing of nurseries.

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Delaware Grape Information

Delaware

Juice, Jelly & Wine Grape

Ripening Season

Usage Notes

Fall Harvest Notes

Variety Notes

More Info

Where are the Delaware vines located in the vineyard?

Links & Resources

Where can I Purchase Delaware Wine & Vines?

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Fall
Harvest
Notes

Where are the Delaware vines
located in the vineyard?