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On Monday I drove to a UPick Vineyard about one hour south of me. What a cool place. For years I wondered where it was and this year I did something about it. I found the place!
This vineyard has been here since the 70's and is very nicely established. The vines are beautifully trellised and well taken care of. This particular vineyard grows Concord grapes.
One can come here to pick anytime during daylight hours and it truly is a serve yourself place.
There are two wagons complete with tall flag to ease finding them. You take your own buckets and pick until your heart's content. Two five gallon buckets equals one bushel. One bushel equals $5. You just mail them the check for what ever you picked. What a great example of trust in folks they don't even know. I seriously doubt that the grape picking variety will stiff them but you never know.
I had actually intended to pick two bushels worth to make grape juice. I got bored one bushel in.
So I picked just the two buckets worth I had and called it a day. Then the real work began at home. I have one bucket juiced and canned and the other bucket will be done tonight. It is amazing how crazy sweet these grapes are. I cringe to add sugar to the recipe the from my canning guide so I cut it way down. Good stuff, and as fresh as it gets.
They look amazing!!! Mmmm, fresh grape juice :) :) And wow, talk about trust. The u-pick places I've been to have all been "pay on your way out". The check in the mail system must work for them though, or I guess they wouldn't do it.
ReplyDeleteYou don't find many 'honor system' places anymore. Those grapes look perfect!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I would love to pick grapes like that. I have four vines in the backyard but they aren't of producing age yet.
ReplyDeleteso cool! I have never seen a upick vineyard. Most the grapes I live near are wine grapes. I actually scout one vineyard in the summer.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you got a great bunch of grapes for your fresh grape juice. Sounds yummy!That is amazing that they are so trusting in this day and age of help yourself to anything that isn't yours, namely stealing! My Mom placed cans around town to get donations to help with all of the surgeries my niece was going to have to have as an infant and organs she needed. Would you believe that people would take the money from those cans and they would be empty when Mom got there? Talk about as low as it gets.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! How nice that you live nearby (sort of) to a vineyard that you can make your own juice! I love fresh grapejuice--sweet and sour to the tongue.
ReplyDeletePick your own grapes now that is a novel idea. I am afraid I leave our to the birds but perhaps one day I'll juice some.
ReplyDeleteHeather,
ReplyDeleteConcord Grapes used to be my favorite! Sounds like fun and so many grapes for next to nothing. A small box maybe a pound of concords costs at least $5 here. The weekend bofore last we went to our pick your own vineyard and picked muscadine and scuppernong for $1.25 a pound. Our $10 box was like a flat box at a nursery. Bet you don't have these grapes in Idaho...
You got a really nice batch of grapes! There's nothing like this where we live... only wineries. Are you going to make any jam or jelly with this or just juice? -Jackie
ReplyDeleteHi, Heather, What a great place! I needed a vineyard like it this year ... I usually have enough grapes on my pergola to make juice or jam, but there was not enough sun and too cool temps all summer. Your great pictures make me hope for a grape-filled summer next year. Pamela x
ReplyDeleteI wanna come live with you. I want to be put up in that condo on wheels and eat fresh daily.
ReplyDeleteHeather~~ It's cool to see people [well I guess you didn't actually SEE them] who are so refreshingly old-school. We've got a few "self-serve" farms/farm stands around here too. Your grapes are literally making my mouth water.
ReplyDeleteWow! I may have to make a trip there. Do you know if they are organic? I couldn't find anything on their website that said so.
ReplyDeleteHeather, girl, you never cease to amaze me! I would be eating all those grapes fresh...yum! And talk about cheap..holy cow! Can't wait to hear how the juice comes out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for popping over ;)
Lynn
Hi Heather,
ReplyDeleteI bet you are going to be enjoying this in the months to come. My parents, make their own grape juice and since my dad is diabetic they don't add sugar. But when they drink the juice, they just add diet sprite or something fizzy with no sugar. It makes it sweet without too many problems with the insulin issue.
Rosey
That is WAAAAAAY too cool! We dont' have places like that here! We can pick scupanines and muscadines....but not grapes! They look soooooo good & juicy & sweet!
ReplyDeleteSounds amazing - but I must admit I would probably get bored too. Every time I pick strawberries, I land up leaving about halfway through my desired quantity. You are a true "pioneer woman" - giving Ree a run for her money.
ReplyDeleteOh, lucky you! They look fantastic! Great set up.
ReplyDeleteHeather, I grew up on a grape farm in Niagara. At that time Concords were used for wine,(not any more!). We used to just pick them straight off the vine and eat them, so sweet. My father always had a difficult time finding people to harvest, so the kids would always get roped in, (and bored really quickly as well!)
ReplyDeleteConcords are sooooo delicious! I don't know how you could process them anywhere but in your mouth! lol Those are some beautiful grapes.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had some pick-your-own vineyards here. Tons of wineries, but none allow folks in to pick grapes. If only.....
That is so great! We have several vinyards in this area, but they use it for their wine. I don't think that they would be as trusting as these people.
ReplyDeleteUlrike