Harvest season at the Vineyard, Grape Crusher Available, Are you receiving our Picking Updates? Make Red Wine the Easy Way!

 

The U-Pick Vineyard and Honey Farm are now open. Our normal hours of operation are 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday - Saturday - and Sundays only.
(NO MON-TUES-WED-THURS)   
Click here for details ......

Click here for our latest Picking Update....

 

If you did not receive your emailed picking update and would like to receive them (there is about 4 or 5 of them), click on the "Update Your Profile" link at the bottom of this newsletter.

Every week during September we hold a drawing and someone wins a bushel of grapes. Check the updates for your name.

 

Click here for a copy of the "Tattler" that we mail out each year with prices.

The past two very cold winters have caused some trunk damage to some of the vines. Some varieties such as baco noir have no crop at all and others have a smaller crop. Most of the other types have from a medium to a very large crop. Check our picking updates for information.

 

 

New Grape Pails (or Grape Bags)

Make Red Wine the Easy Way!

Grape pails are a plastic pail, with a nylon stainer bag in it, tied with a loose knot, filled with crushed and de-stemmend grapes and quickly frozen. These grape bags may be added to grape juice to add color and body resulting in a red wine, or just used by themselves. They are very handy when you do not have a press - just squeeze them by hand or let them drain - And the strainer bags are re-useable!

Grape crushing facilities are now available!
We have established an outside area back by our barn where you may crush and de-stem your own grapes. 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.
Cost .05/lb.

 

Juice Available this year:

This year we are pressing DeChaunac and Foch for a blush wine or you may add a grape bag to make it a red wine.

Eastern white juice is a blend of concord, delaware or other native grapes (sometimes this juice could have a slight blush to it.)

Our white hybrid blend is a mix of white hybrid grapes.

Winemaking juice is sold in 5 gallon plastic pails with a plastic liner. (Pail exchange required) These pails are held in a freezer until you pick them up. This insures that you receive the highest quality juice that has not already started to ferment.

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.

Blush wines are becoming very popular. A blush wine is made by using light red grape juice such as Foch or DeChaunac or adding red grapes to a white juice.
(Think White Zinfandel!)

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. 1 month later add 8 oz. sugar per gallon of wine, then crush and add 2 cambden tablets per gallon, let stabilize 6 months. Many people also add potassium sorbate at this time (1 gram per gallon). (Not foolproof, but often works)

 

COMMODITY PRICES U-Pick Grapes 1-19 lbs. .80/lb. ½ bu (20 lbs.) or more .60/lb. 5 bu (200 lbs.) or more .54/lb. 10 bu. (400 lbs.) or more .46/lb. (An average person can pick from 1 to 3 bu/hr - bring lots of friends) 1 1/2 bushel (60lb) makes 5 gal wine Red & White Wine Grape Juice Foch & DeChaunac blush juice Eastern white & Hybrid white juice 5 gallon pails @ $54.00 ea. Grape Pails (strainer bag included) 2 gallon grape pail @ $22 (16lb of crushed/destemed grapes) 5 gallon grape pail @ $42 (40lb of crushed/destemed grapes) Please order your juice as soon as possible. Although we try to complete every order, we sometimes have a shortage of harvest help, bad weather or U-Pick customers pick them first. Substitutions may sometimes be necessary. Call (810) 796-3253 in the evenings to order juice or order on-line at www.honeyflowfarm.com

Prize winning Wine! Interesting WineMaking Sites:

I just received this note from Paul Sbraccia:

"I wanted to let you know that last October I picked 30 lbs of Concord, 15 lbs of Buffalo and 15 lbs of Steubin grapes and made a 'Concord Blanc" which won a blue ribbon in the Michigan State Fair.

I will be seeing you each week you are open this fall.
Sincerely, Paul Sbraccia"

 

Interesting WineMaking Sites:

Vancouver Amateur Winemaker's Association is a club of wine lovers and home winemakers who strive to create wines they can be proud of. The purpose of the club is to bring together in a friendly atmosphere people interested in the art of amateur winemaking to engage in related discussions, lectures, demonstrations and social events.

Wine, Wine & More! A very good wine & beer making supply site. They even have home coffee roasting equipment!

Harvest Grape Recipe - Oatmeal Grape Jam Squares

A layered treat, with the sweet taste of fruit combined with the crunch and wholesomeness of the oat mixture.

Cooking time: Approximately 25 min.
Ready in: Approximately 25 min.
Makes 1 - 9 x 13 inch pan (16 servings)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packaged brown sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup grape jam, jelly or preserves

Directions:
1 - Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
2 - In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the walnuts. Set aside 2 cups of the mixture. Press remaining mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread preserves over the base and crumber the reserved oat mixture over the top.
3 - Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden. Cool before cutting into squares.

Candle W*nner & Laugh of the Month

Congratulations!

Harvest candle winner: jeff@colloidalsilvernow

Will this months w*nner,
jeff@colloidalsilvernow
please contact us and so that I can ship your candles.

Our list of previous candle w*nners.

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Click below for something silly to end this newsletter with.

Laugh of the month: "I Just Called to Bug You!"

See You Next Month!

 

Honeyflow Farm Main Page

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

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