Fresh Grapes!
Again this year Bader Beer & Wine Supply will be bringing in fresh picked grapes from the Benton City—Prosser area of the Yakima Valley!
11 varieties of grapes will be available via “prepaid pre-order”. We will drive over to the Yakima Valley to pick them up on a Friday, and you will need to pick them up at our store that weekend.
We will be selling the grapes in 25 pound boxes only. The grapes will be in “clusters” on the stem, as that is how they are picked. You will have to be flexible with the weekend the grapes arrive, as we cannot control when the grapes are ripe and the farmer is ready to pick them. We may have have 2 delivery weekends. Some varieties are early ripening grapes, some later ripening grapes. The early ripening grapes will arrive early October, late ripening grapes about 1-2 weeks later. Every year is different, so again, you will need to be ready when the grapes are.
Sorry, we cannot ship grapes to mail order customers.
As of 10/4/2012, due to the awesome weather the past few weeks and a great forcast for the next few weeks, we expect grapes to be available the weekend of October 20th.
Grape pricing includes crushing/de-stemming and pressing here at Bader Beer & Wine Supply. Transportation of the grapes to our store from the Yakima Valley is also included. If you do not want to take advantage of this crushing/pressing service, the price per pound is $.10 less.
If you are purchasing red grapes, we will have a bladder press available on-site for 1 week after you receive your grapes. This service is limited to Saturday only, sorry, no exceptions. Please let us know if you intend to take advantage of this service at the time of the crush so we can schedule your pressing time. If you wish to rent a press and take it off-site, you will receive a 25% discount on our rental fee.
Orders will be taken until about October 8th, or until a variety sells out. The more popular varieties tend to sell out quicker, so we suggest you place your order early.
All orders must be 100% pre-paid at time of order, October 15nd.
Want to learn more? We have a "Wine Making with Vinefera Grapes" Class on Tuesday, October 9th, from 6 to 8 pm. This class is $20 per person, with the class complimentary for customers who have ordered 100 lbs or more from us this year. Let us know if you want to attend this class, as you will not automatically be added to the class roster.
Refunds and order changes will be accepted up until 2 weeks prior to delivery. Order cancellations less than 2 weeks prior to harvest are at the grape grower's discretion and subject to a 20% cancellation fee. Order alterations less than 2 weeks prior to delivery will be reviewed on a case by case basis. We will do our best to accommodate your order needs, but it isn't always possible late in the season.
When we know the exact dates your grapes will be harvested, we will contact you immediately and schedule a time slot to crush/press your grapes. Please leave us with a valid email address & contact phone number for us to contact you about the progress of the harvest. I suggest you Facebook “like” to our stores Facebook page for the latest updates on harvest dates.
100 pounds of grapes (4 boxes) makes approximately 6-7 gallons of finished wine. It will vary slightly from batch to batch depending on grape skin thickness and ripeness. This is a great time to produce your own blends!
In order to avoid complete chaos the day you come to pick up your grapes, we will schedule you for an approximate time of day to crush and de-stem your grapes. You will need a 12 gallon fermenting bucket to transport each 75 lbs. of grapes you crush. We will have 12 gallon and 24 gallon clean buckets for sale available the day of crush. I would suggest having a large garbage bag to put your fermenter in to avoid red wine stains on your carpet & upholstery on your car trip home. You may want to come a bit ahead of your scheduled crushing appointment to sort through your grapes to discard any under ripe or moldy grapes.