Visit our Ripening up-Date for for lastest conditions...
Click here for more directions to our Farm..... NEW DISCOUNTED PRICES ON U-PICK GRAPES & HONEY Farm Opens Friday, August 31, 2018 Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays Only 9:00 to 6:00 Check back for up-dates!
The farm will open Friday, August 31st this year. Dust out your baskets, pails and crushers!
We have a great crop of all varieties or grapes this year - and prices have been reduced for larger amounts.
There are over 20 varieties of grapes to choose from when you come to our farm to pick.
There have been many problems with honey bees the last few years in the US but we still have plenty of honey available. We were able to replace many of the ones we lost by purchasing more in the spring, and thanks to many other local beekeepers we will have plenty of honey available at our Sales Stand.
Please visit our site and view the "Grape Pages". Every variety has it's own page with info on wine making, jelly making, crop conditions and lots more. Our e-mail newsletter will keep you up to date about all farm activities.
Did you ever wonder what really happens each month at a "Vineyard," a "Honey Farm," or a "Candle Shop"? Our newsletter describes all of these activities. Each issue is also on our farm website at where you can subscribe to the newsletter.
Visit our on line Candle Shop.
You may now purchase more than 100 types of candles, wax items or gift boxes and have them shipped directly to your house - ALL YEAR! Visit us on line & see what we have available. Our website has expanded dramatically and we have been shipping candles to people all over the US. We will not be able to have everything at our sales stand - so if you are coming out for grapes & honey, you may want to e-mail us a candle order & I will have it ready for you. to pick up at our sales stand.
Extra Value - When you pick up candles at our sales stand, we will pay the sales tax!
PREMIUM SEEDLESS TABLE GRAPES
Marquis - New white seedless grape - Rows 8 & 9
Canadice - A red seedless grape - Rows 16 to 19
Himrod Seedless - White table grape - Rows 20 & 21
Suffolk Red Seedless - Rows 22 to 26
Lakemont Seedless - A white table grape - Rows 11 & 12
SEEDED TABLE AND JELLY GRAPES
Price - Blue table grape - Rows 6 & 7
Buffalo - Large blue grape - Rows 3, 4 & 47
New York Muscat - Excellent blue grape - Rows 10 & 50
Concord - Blue jelly grape - Rows 1, 2, 48, 49, 83 to 86
Steuben - A late ripening blue grape - Row 5
WHITE WINE GRAPES
St. Pepin - White - Germanic style wine - Rows 61 to 63
Seyval Blanc - Popular white grape - Rows 31 & 32
Vignoles - White - In high demand - Rows 38 & 39
Cayuga White - Fruity white wine - Rows 33 & 34
Horizon - A fruity, clean wine - Rows 35 & 41
Niagara - Fruity white wine - Rows 15, 58, 59, 71 & 72
Delaware - A pink Champagne grape - Rows 68 to 70
RED WINE GRAPES
Foch - Burgundy red wine - Rows 42 to 46
Rows 51 to 54 & 64 to 67 have Frontenac in the back half
& Dechaunac (a solid, popular red wine) in the front half
Frontenac - A new red wine variety - Rows 73 to 75
Our new grape CRUSHING facilities are extremely popular. (NOTE - IT IS NOT A PRESS!)
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. You must pay for the grapes before crushing! After crushing you will have crushed grapes with skins in it, you will still need to press it. There is no charge for using the crusher - and we are not responsible for spilled grapes or juice.
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. 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 (or something similar.) 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.
Honey Farm Notes -
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. Our honey is un-filtered leaving all the goodness in it.
Since the honey in our quarts and gallons 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. If it solidifies, it is easily converted from it's granular state by placing the honey container in very hot water for a few minutes.
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 honeyflowfarm.com to view our candle selection.
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