# Sour Grapes...



## HoppeEL4 (Dec 29, 2010)

We had this grapevine existing when we moved here, it was overgrown, with a large decaying trellis under it. We cut it down to the ground, took out the trellis. Well this year there are grapes on it. So...I was excited when my mother noticed they were turning beautiful reddish and purplish colors, so pretty. So most seem squishy and ripe I grabbed a few off of the vine, brought them in and washed them, and WHOA!!!!! Dang they are sour. However, most are ripe apparently (soft).

So I assume these are not table grapes. However I wonder since this was a first year of getting them, this might be why they are not ideal? We live in NW Oregon, 1000 foot elevation near Mt. Hood, it has been warm. I need advice on if they will ever be sweet as years go by, and if not, how to make grape jelly out of them (recipes). These are red grapes, but I assume once they are cooked down they will taste good as a jelly no matter what.


----------



## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

You may have wine grapes.
I have table grapes, but they will die in about 5-8 years from (a bacterial)Pierce's Disease.
You do not have that problem in the dryer, colder Mt.Hood.
But wine grapes do not die from Pierce's Disease.
The wine grape: 1) is smaller then table grapes.
2) has a tough skin like muscadines.
3) are not as sweet as table grapes. 
I have 4 wine grape & 8 Muscadines that may live until my grandchildren can pick them.
Muscadines are sweeter in the store then in the woods, because the hybrids are 16% sugar.
These wine grape is good for jelly or jam, anything you can add sugar too.
It is great for wine,too.


----------



## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

This may help:
http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipe.aspx?r=304

Fruits & Berries for the Home Garden by Lewis Hill
I can not say enough about this book.
It has all you need to know about most the fruit you would want to grow & a few recipes too.


----------



## HoppeEL4 (Dec 29, 2010)

Thanks, I kind of guessed they were not table grapes. They are actually the size of the usual red (smaller than those massive ones) globe grapes, same color, but not pop in your mouth sweet, in fact, I have had sour candies sweeter than those. So then I wondered if this was the first year they produced for us after being cut to the ground, maybe they needed another year to do better, or more pruning to focus the energy into the grapes? Well jelly it is since I already made jam out of cherry plums I found on a defunct farm for free, this is all bonus food!


----------



## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

HoppeEL4 said:


> Thanks, I kind of guessed they were not table grapes. They are actually the size of the usual red (smaller than those massive ones) globe grapes, same color, but not pop in your mouth sweet, in fact, I have had sour candies sweeter than those. So then I wondered if this was the first year they produced for us after being cut to the ground, maybe they needed another year to do better, or more pruning to focus the energy into the grapes? Well jelly it is since I already made jam out of cherry plums I found on a defunct farm for free, this is all bonus food!


Grapes are not sour even when just a few on the vine when bought.
I had two kinds in the last home.
Wine grapes?


----------



## HoppeEL4 (Dec 29, 2010)

No JayJay these are growing in my yard, they were here before we moved in, this is their second year growing since we had to cut them back initially. Yeah if I had gotten them this sour from the store I would have taken them back  .

I need to take a picture, I think they are so pretty growing right now, it is this quintessential scene of colors for fall.


----------



## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

This is a site on the difference between table grapes & wine grapes.
http://winefolly.com/tutorial/table-grapes-vs-wine-grapes/


----------



## HoppeEL4 (Dec 29, 2010)

Thanks. They did sweeten up some, I let them sit till about 8 days ago and the rain and cold started up here. I picked them all, cooked them down, ran them through a food mill, then froze the juice for later use. Of course I have not added sugar yet, will as needed to make jelly when I do.


----------

