Wine Grapes

Where Table grapes are fat and sassy, Wine grapes are lean and mean! Although you can make simple fruit wines from Table grapes, nothing approaches the complexity of flavor and natural richness of wine made with classic Wine grapes.

Wine grapes are small, have thick skins and loads of seeds - the pulp is mealy and not particularly appetizing. That said, their sugars are off the charts when they are grown correctly - a perfectly ripe wine grape will register a Brix (% sugar to solids) of 24-26, whereas a table grape will register a Brix of 17-19 (not as sweet). Getting your Wine grapes to the peak of ripeness is imperative, and this is when variety selection becomes crucial.

For cool summer or short season growers, you must match your GDD (Growing Degree Days) with varieties that will ripen within the heat you have available. GDD is the sum of average temperatures above 50F from April 1- October 31 each year. For example, if an average daily temperature was 65F, that day would have accumulated 15 growing degree days to your total.

For 2021, all the grapes we offer are grown on their own roots, for best winter hardiness and to return true-to-type.