Added a 1/3 of an acre of concords for juice. I wanted to give https://doubleavineyards.com/ a big thank you for sending me some great vines! Great price also! A friend and I drove the posts in a couple hours, fence is a couple hours, planting grapes is 4-5 hours. There is about a day of work left. In bulk 100 concords is a few hundred dollars delivered.
That is a lot of grapes.
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I’ll second the Double A Vineyards recommendation. I’ve bought from them several times and they are great. Helpful and healthy vines
I got 7 Errante Noir from them…should have enough juice to try a very small batch wine this year.
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Talk about great price, I got my concord grape at Sprout for .99 cents on Wednesday. Couldn’t believe it was that low. That’s better than Walmart. The people at Walmart is not reasonable at all. The grape was in the clearance section. All was dead except one, but it didn’t have a clearance tag. So, I asked if this was on clearance since it’s still alive and in the clearance section. They told me no. Their logic is, they must die first before it can be on clearance!???
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Nice bargain! I love the quality of these double A. I’m putting them in the composted ground I prepared years ago. It is not great soil but grapes don’t care for real rich soil anyway. Let’s see how things go.
I’m growing grape from seeds too this year. Of course, not as much as you. 100 plants is a lot. Are you plan to make wine, jelly, eat it flesh, sweet drink, and sell some to the market? Otherwise, you love the animals and you grow it for them?
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I’m growing them for a little bit of everything including sharing.
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Yes, the animals will always have their share. Like it or not. You can also smoke grape’s leaves and vine. You probably can’t get high from it, but it may make you feel better for some odd reason. Never try it myself.
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Concord is my favorite grape. Mine mysteriously died over the winter, but I do have some muscadine that taste pretty similar. 100 plants. Hope you have a good fruit press.
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Grape leaves are great in Greek cooking. I don’t smoke anything especially grape leaves. I will have to take your word for it that people do.
“By Kat Craddock
Published on April 21, 2017
Dolmadakia, the Greek word for stuffed grape leaves, is one of the most iconic recipes of Greek cuisine and, although there are many varieties, the meatless version is the most common. In the warmer months, try to find and use fresh grape leaves; they are more tender and flavorful than the jarred types. Out of season, jarred leaves are a fine substitute (we prefer the Orlando brand).
The complete guide to big fat Greek—and Middle Eastern—cigar-shaped snacks
Featured in: How to Make Your Own Dolmas (Stuffed Grape Leaves) for Perfect Mezze Plates
What You Will Need
Ingredients
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60-70 fresh grape leaves or one 16-oz jar, drained grape leaves, stems removed
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3⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for serving
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1 large white onion, diced (2 cups)
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4 large spring onions or 8 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced (1 ½ cups)
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1 1⁄3 cups finely shopped fresh dill (3 oz.)
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1 2⁄3 cups finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (3 oz.)
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1 cup finely chopped fresh mint (2 oz.)
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1 3⁄4 cups (12 ¼ oz.) short grain rice, soaked in cool water for 10 minutes, then drained)
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Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
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2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice, plus a few lemon wedges for serving
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Plain Greek yogurt, for serving (optional)
Instructions
Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Fill a large bowl 2⁄3 of the way with ice water. Add the grape leaves to the boiling water and cook until tenderized, 2 minutes. Remove the leaves using a slotted spoon or small strainer and transfer to the ice water. Once cooled, strain the leaves, and pat dry using a clean towel. Set aside.
Step 2
Set a large skillet over medium heat and add ¼ cup of the oil. Once hot, add the white onion and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, 5 minutes. Add the spring onions, dill, parsley, and mint and continue cooking until the onion is completely soft and somewhat translucent, 3-4 minutes more. Add the rice and 1 teaspoon kosher salt and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup water and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Set aside until fully cooled.
Step 3
Line the bottom of a large pot or Dutch oven with 3 layers of grape leaves (these will prevent the dolmadakia from scorching later).
Step 4
Working one at a time, place the remaining leaves, bottom-sides up with the points facing you. Place a generous tablespoon of filling in the center of each leaf, then fold the left and right sides over the filling. Fold the tip of the leaf over the filling, then roll tightly to make a roughly 2-inch by 1⁄2–inch cigar shape. Place the roll, seam side down, in the lined pot. Continue with the remaining leaves and filling, placing them tightly together in the pot and continuing onto a second layer as necessary.
Step 5
Place the pot on the stove and add 1 1⁄3 cups boiling water, the lemon juice, and the remaining ½ cup of oil. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pan; cook until the rice is tender and the leaves are very tender, about 45 minutes.
Step 6
Remove the pot and let cool. Serve the dolmadakia at room temperature or chilled, drizzled with olive oil and alongside lemon wedges for squeezing and Greek yogurt for dipping or topping.
Greek Stuffed Grape Leaves With Rice and Herbs (Dolmadakia) Photography by Matt Taylor-Gross”
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How strange it died! They are my favorite for juice! I love them!
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If you make real pickles…
Grape leaves are added to fermented pickles (lacto-fermentation) to keep them crisp due to high tannin content, which prevents enzyme breakdown. Simply tuck 1–2 washed grape leaves at the top of a jar of fermenting vegetables (cucumbers, beans, carrots) to act as a barrier and maintain firm texture.
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Makes my mouth water just talking about those pickles and grape leaves.
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This is what real.. fermented… pickles look like when about done. I seasoned with garlic dill red pepper flakes black pepper mustard seed. There are a few bay leaves in there too… they help keep the crunch too.
Good source of probiotics.. Lactobacillus
TNHunter
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Those look delicious. Just as a side note my friend I not only grow the pickles and peppers I like to grow the mustard seed also. The grape leaves will know doubt come in real handy.
This is one of my old projects
This should tell everyone exactly how I will process those grapes
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I Strung some wire this morning ,and now a friend Is using tordan on some fence row trees. It is a hot day here and I’m just wearing shorts and Nikes as you can see by the photo. These are 330’ rolls and plenty heavy.
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We are not easy to stop once we get going. We started planting grapes once we finished the supports.
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At this point my friend is finishing up. My legs are giving me some problems before the rain gets here. I think by now you caught on this is a trellis , deer fence, cattle fence etc.. it is not always obvious why I build things the way I do but there is always a reason. Woven wire unlike one or two strings of wire are a much more reliable way to go long term. It is not the cheapest way to go.
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Great job! I am getting orders from Double A every spring since 2022, our first spring in Utah. They never disappointed! Already planted 4 Saperavi and 2 Cabernet Sauvignon that we received last Friday. Seedless table variety Everest is waiting for warmer weather, it has green buds and 2 more freezing nights are coming starting tomorrow. Another order is coming in 4-5 days with 4 more grapevines for red wine making and 3 different raspberries. This April already offered 11 freezing nights, so I decided to make 2 orders, not getting everything at once. We can’t work as fast as you and your friend, our soil is heavy clay, and it was extremely dry till today’s rains. I really like how your soil looks, nice color.
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How badly do grape clusters get tangled up in this type of trellis?
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