Hi Antonv. You might try posting in the fruit forum. There would be more grape growers there. You will probably find that grapes are easy to grow. There is a lot of information on the web about growing them. Just google on "table grape growing new york" or something like that. New York is grape heaven (upstate, anyway). If you really want to be obsessed about them, check the link below. I have the book & have spent more time reading it than actually growing grapes! For the first year, about all that you need to worry about is let them grow without restriction. You just want them to grow good roots and a sturdy main stem. Next winter you will prune to one main vine each - the style that you use depends on whether you want arbor or trellis. I was intimidated by all of the information on pruning styles, but finally decided that it isnt rocket science, and I think that I got the gist of it. When you receive the vines they will look puny (at least mine did) but in a good climate, they grow fast. Dont over fertilize - too much nitrogen makes them all leaves and no grapes, and rampant vines are not as winter hardy. I just use some compost on mine. My parents had grapes in the midwest, never fertilized, and we always had plenty of grapes. One more thing - you might want to build your arbor or trellis before planting the vines. I planted the vines first, and built the arbor a year later. They did fine, but the placement isnt exactly what I would have done if I had started with the arbor first, then planted the vines. Before long, you will be sitting in the shade of your vines, picking juicy grapes from above the table. Hope that helps. Daniel Here is a link that might be useful: Grape Resource

I have had no problems either. My wines make in the kitchen where it's warmer. I don't put them in the cellar until I bottle them. I have never had a problem with the CO2.

Hi, The peach raspberry sounds delicious! From what I've done, peaches aren't as bad as pears but they're not the fastest to clear and how long will also depend on whether you heated the peaches and / or used pectic enzyme. I've also never racked that frequently so it might influence the clearing time. Since you've used isinglass, I'd expect clearing in a week to two. I'd wait at least that long to taste and see if you're in the general area of what you like ... if it's still going or just recently stopped, the first thing that you'll taste is the yeast. If you can look past that, you'll be able to taste whether it's sweet or dry, has an alcohol bite or is rich / thin and it's a good time to taste and get an initial impression of how the wine's going to turn out. As it ages, the wine will definitely change character but the sweetness shouldn't change too much and with any luck, it will taste much better in 6 months to a year than it will now. Taste it now and as it matures and only then decide when it's ready to bottle and give to your friends. When to bottle your wine is somewhat a matter of preference. Some people like to bottle as soon as it drops clear while others like to bulk age it for a while and taste every couple of months to see how it's going. I'm more in the latter camp since it allows me to really know whether to spend my time doing dishes (i.e. cleaning many bottles) for keepers or mulling it and serving at holidays. I don't add anything prior to bottling since I'm usually waiting a year or more after fermentation stops but many people add potassium sorbate before bottling to inhibit additional fermentation and others add bisulfite - especially to reds - to sanitize the wines. I'd recommend letting the blackberry sit at least 4-6 months before bottling unless you're going to filter it. While it looks dark in a 1 gallon carboy, it'll look like a Pinot Noir or a bit lighter in a glass and the color looking through it into a light is really special. If you were doing a pyment or heavy red, I'd say don't worry but many of the berry wines are just great to see when perfectly clear in a glass. If you're seeing mold and it's not just spots of yeast fermentation, you've got a problem. If so, I'd smell it first to see if it's off and then probably dump it and start again by getting the fruit to at least 165-170 degrees before adding to the fermenter. I've tried to siphon off just the liquid on a couple of berry melomels and the bacteria is pervasive - they both got infected and resulted in dumped batches. Lots of questions keep this forum active ... please ask away! Good luck.

In his vinting links the second link Is The Home winemakers Manual,(it's free) It is also on Jack Kellers blog. HAve you heard of free cycle, that is a site, about people trying to get rid of things in your area, that cluttler up the house, you may find some demi john's(1 gallon jug) or if your lucky like me a carboy(5 gallon jug) alot of people drink carlo rossio, and throw the jugs in the recycling bin, maybe a person on freecycle would drink it alot. you can also get bottles, for a resturant, recycling center(if you have one) I could tell you more, but Im sure lots of information can be found. One thing though is you could freeze the fruit, it breaks down the cell walls, and the fruits practicaly, juice themselves.(if you do it with a apple it will be softer then a tomato when thawed) Oh And some recipes call for a high percentage of alcohol,(ORIGINAL GRAVIETY) or even just to be finished sweet (BECAUSE OF ORIGINAL GRAVIETY), and the yeast will die, leaving you with a sweet wine, you might want to modify them to 12 to 13 percent. higher alcohol takes longer to mature also.