Long Island juts out of the East Coast some 100 miles into the Atlantic Ocean. The mild climate and sandy soil characteristics of this unique land mass make the growing conditions ideal for quality grapes and wine production.

If they are wine grapes, you should not have to add much apart from yeast. But the procedure for making red wine differs a little bit from making white wine. For making red wines, you will simply crush the grapes and add your yeast. This will start your ferment. After a week or two you will strain or press the wine from the grape skins and pulp. Transfer to a large glass bottle and allow it to clear. Whites on the other hand need to be crushed then pressed immediately.

This question is similar to the one above — a calculator is necessary. One ton of grapes (2,000 pounds) yields approximately 165 gallons (624.5 Liters) of wine. 2,000 lbs/624.5 Liters = x lbs/0.750 liters x=2.40 pounds per bottle. 2.40 pounds is about nine clusters of grapes, and nine clusters is about 500 individual grapes. The question I have heard most often is . . . “Do you stomp the grapes with your feet?” This is usually followed by . . . “Like Lucy?”

Most of our wineries also have vineyards devoted to their favorite varietals and fruits. We also have members who prefer to raise grapes without having a winery. These members sell their grapes to our Tennessee wineries and to local markets.

Generally, you do not need a lot of room to make wine. You will want to have an area with running water so you can keep your equipment clean and sanitized. Temperature is another important consideration. During the fermentation process, the juice must be kept between 65-75 degrees F. If the temperature falls below 65, the yeast will not be able multiply and fermentation will be almost non-existent. On the other hand, if the temperature is too high, the heat will kill off the yeast.

Kits use grape concentrate which make them very easy to use, and they are by far the best way for a beginner to learn winemaking. So easy in fact that if you follow the directions, they're almost fool-proof. A concentrate kit will generally be ready to drink sooner, and there's no choosing, crushing and pressing of grapes. As well, for many people, space is an issue, and making wine from a concentrate requires very little.

One of the most important concepts in growing wine is best-described by the French term Terroir. Not only limited to discussions of wine (the term has been used in writings about a wide variety of foods including artisanal cheesemaking), it is the “somewhere-ness” concept of all of the regional influences that collaborate and conspire to give the product of that region its unique character and flavor.

Muscadines naturally grow throughout the southeastern United States over an area roughly extending from Delaware south along the Atlantic coast to central Florida, west along the Gulf of Mexico's coast to eastern Texas, north to Missouri along the Mississippi River, and east to Delaware, with the exclusion of the Appalachian Mountains. They can withstand winter temperatures of usually no less than -15o C (5o F).

There are hundreds of grape varieties grown successfully for wine production around the World. The choice of which cultivar(s) to grow is a very important decision which should be addressed well in advance of ground breaking. While making this decision, one should consider all of the site conditions outlined in V5 & V6 above and, more importantly, one should consider the history of attempted grape culture in his or her area.

Just after dusk, or early evening after a sunny, dry, arid (non-humid) day. This ensures dry, cool fruit. Vines make sugar from carbon dioxide and water, but energy and chlorophyll are also required. Carbon dioxide comes from the air, and water comes from the ground. The energy comes from the sun, and the chlorophyll is in the leaves. Vines cannot produce additional sugars without green leaves. However; even though the sugar content does not increase, the apparent sugar can.

Since the discovery of the "French Paradox" puzzle in 1992, researchers have been trying to pinpoint why red wine has a cardiovascular protective effect. While studies have been focusing in the antioxidant properties of red wine, evidence suggests other mechanisms by which it might be beneficial for our health. Research points toward a family of substances called polyphenols which are found in plants and are abundant in grapes. Polyphenols are part of a larger family known as phytochemicals.

Grapes can be grown organically but we are not completely organic at our farm. We use normal grape growing procedures and a spray schedule set up by the Michigan State University. We stop spraying completely about a month before harvest. Growing the more than 20 varieties makes organic grape growing difficult as some of the varieties are very sensitive to disease pressure. If we had a solid block of one resistant variety, such as concord, it could be possible.

Needless to say, most people want the best antibodies in the shortest amount of time, but one must remember we are working with a natural process and a wide variety of proteins that will react differently. A good response at day 31-35 is usually a good indicator of future success, but one must be patient. Many times the initial test bleed will react well against the peptide, but good reactivity against the native protein usually will take more time to develop. Be patient.

Penfolds re-assessed Grange in 1962, 11 years after the first wine was made, and decided to enter the 1955 vintage in the Sydney Show. It won a gold medal and the rest, as they say, is history.

I have just started learning more about wines. Please give me some advice about combinations of food and wine

The master copy of this document is held at http://vegans.frommars.org/wine/faq.php. Refer to that copy for the most up to date version of this document. The author of this FAQ is Des Keane, < des AT frommars * org >. Last updated: 18 Feb 2005.

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You've asked a question that is deceptively simple. The basic answer is: "it depends." 95% of all wines are made to be drunk within a year or two of their release and do not require aging. The other 5%, of course, are the better wines. Most whites are ready to drink upon release, but some of them will improve with aging (especially good white Burgundies and a few California Chardonnays such as Chalone, Grgich, and Montelena as well as better German whites).