Does anyone know how go get a hold of California grapes in Georgia? I'm in the Atlanta area and looking for some place that imports for wine makers.
I checked out a few of the local vineyards and while I appreciate what they are trying to do, I didn't find much that I really liked. I made wine for a few years in California and was able to pick my own.
Thanks in advance!
Find out where the produce comes in and check with those wholesalers. We get hundreds of truckloads in here in Pittsburgh.
Joe
Hey Joe, We get a lot of grapes in to Baltimore also. My question is have you been able to find a variety (red) that is not really high brix. It seems as if most of the grapes shipped into Baltimore are from the hot Central Valley and very high brix. I do not like rocket fuel wine. One year I got some Sangiovese that was decent but last year it was like the rest.
I believe there's a wholesale produce center in Hot 'Lanta...I know the USDA used to have a list of regional wholesale center. A google may be in order OR ask a local produce merchant if he knows who sells wine grapes down there. I'd look for older Italian or Latino dudes to ask; perhaps they make a little rocket fuel too... HTH, regards, bob
We get a lot of grapes in to Baltimore
Hi Paul, To be honest, no. I can tell you both Grenache and Merlot are usually
probably going to get some Zin and Cab this year too. I can get grapes in Erie to blend in, you usually get the opposite there; lower sugar and higher acid. I know they grow Cab Franc down your way, maybe you could give that a shot. Hotter ferments blow off some alcohol too.
Joe
Central Valley fruit in general is high brix lower acids. I'm
1.09 is pretty low for reds these days, we routinely get red grapes over 1.1 and not just from Central Valley, also from Napa and Washington. We sometimes reduce the alcohol by taking off some juice and adding water and acid instead.Pp
I have not tried that approach as of yet. I may try it in the future. I think I am going to be able to get enough fruit from here in North Central Maryland and Northern Virginia. My back yard vineyard fruiting spurs froze this year during Easter week freezes. Other growers in the area fared a lot better. I guess I am in a micro climate - on the side of a hill but near a ravine where the cold air must collect.
I don't understand why the growers of high brix grapes let them hang so long. Two years ago we were out in the South West. We sampled some wines from the Grand Junction, CO area. They were all very high alcohol. We then went down to Moab, Utah and sampled some wine at their winery there. It was a LOT better than the Grand Junction Rocket Fuel. I asked the wine maker about his procedure and he said they picked at lower brix. It made all the difference in taste. If they had not picked early, they would have had rocket fuel like Grand Junction.
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