# Buying Wine Grapes - Sydney



## vinlibervin

Hi, I am having my first crack at winemaking this year and was wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of where to buy wine grapes. 

I have heard that the Sydney fruit markets have them (at Flemington) but I dont know who to ask etc

Also does know of any other sources?

Thanks 
Al


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## sydneyhappyhour

vinlibervin said:


> Hi, I am having my first crack at winemaking this year and was wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of where to buy wine grapes.
> 
> I have heard that the Sydney fruit markets have them (at Flemington) but I dont know who to ask etc
> 
> Also does know of any other sources?
> 
> Thanks
> Al


Think you may have missed them this year mate most of the vineyards around Sydney have done their harvest a few weeks back. Best bet is probably to find a vineyard nearby and talk to them directly, their is a lot of people growing wine grapes at present but not enough Winemakers and facilities to ferment them all so the excess fruit has to be gotten rid of somehow.


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## Cortez The Killer

They should be at Flemington Markets soon / over the next few weeks

I made wine late March last year 

Best to ring the markets and find out when they expect them 

You need to get there relatively early and they are right down the back of the markets 

Semi trailer after semi trailer lined up - there are usually a couple of people selling gear too

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=-33.86464...009012&z=18
Cheers

Edit: The green arrow in the link is where the semi's line up


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## vinlibervin

Thanks for the replies

I gave sydney markets a call and might try my luck there

As for vineyards nearby I will definitely chase that up in the future - i've always wondered if vineyards dont want people making wine from their grapes even if only from left overs after harvest but i guess there is only one way to find out


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## Muggus

As far as the season is concerned, most of the fruit in the Hunter Valley has been harvested by now, bar a few of the later ripening red varieties.
You may get lucky looking for wine grapes from Mudgee, and particularly cooler areas like Orange and the Southern Highlands. 
Not sure how you'd go about getting them; probably need to call around and may actually require physically going out there and collecting them.


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## Greg.L

There is still plenty of grape harvest to come. In cooler areas chardonnay will start in a few weeks, then shiraz, then cab sav , merlot etc. Many late varieties will still be there in april, the harvest doesn't end until may.
Cowra has a lot of vineyards, also Orange and Mudgee. The ripeness of grapes is vital, if you just buy some from the markets they will likely be pretty crap. 

Greg.


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## waggastew

There has been a pretty strong tradition of Europeans buying grapes from Flemington to make/add to their backyard 'vin rough'. I would stick to the reds (much more forgiving) and like HB keep things clean, cool and dark. 

I have a whole load of 1st year cuttings (durif, shiraz, cabernet, merlot, chambourcin) in my backyard ready to plant out. Most of them are likely to produce sub-par wine in this area (too humid, too hot) but hey, its all good fun. At worst I will have a whole load of red wine vinegar to cook with.


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## Greg.L

Homewinemaking is a good way to have fun. A lot depends on your standards, but if you want good wine (or cider) you have to start with good fruit.

If you live in a humid area make sure you spray regularly through the season with copper oxychloride and wettable sulphur. If mildew gets hold you won't get any fruit at all. You can mix copper and sulphur together in the same sprayer. Phos acid is also a good spray - systemic.

Greg


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## Chookers

My dad made his last batch of wine with a variety of grape called Black Cherry.. had the best colour I've ever seen. He's also previously used Shiraz, but he gets his delivered from a friend of a friend (some Italian connection).. I guess the best way is to keep your eye out for wine names when looking at grapes at the market.. and then casually question the sellers about them. :icon_cheers: 

Oh, and ask for a taste.. if it taste great the wine will also taste great.


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## vinlibervin

I think that this year as I have no other contacts and it is my first year I only have the markets.

I want to make good wine. If I can make something decent or ok this year - ie if i have the requisite skill - I think I will spend the next 10 months harrassing vineyard owners for grapes. If i make rubbish then i will go again anyway. Wish me luck and I will try to post pictures . In the meantime if anyone knows any good sources for grapes let me know!!


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## brendenbaxter

vinlibervin said:


> I think that this year as I have no other contacts and it is my first year I only have the markets.
> 
> I want to make good wine. If I can make something decent or ok this year - ie if i have the requisite skill - I think I will spend the next 10 months harrassing vineyard owners for grapes. If i make rubbish then i will go again anyway. Wish me luck and I will try to post pictures . In the meantime if anyone knows any good sources for grapes let me know!!




I'm going to start this year too, any luck with finding grapes at flemington Markets?


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## vinlibervin

brendenbaxter said:


> I'm going to start this year too, any luck with finding grapes at flemington Markets?




Yes - i ended up purchasing two lots over two separate weekends.

Give them a call to see if the season is still going as from memory it ends very shortly.

The first batch i purchased was 12 boxes of Mataro (mourvedre). Got it home crushed and hand destemmed and then checked the must only to find that the must came in at 17 Brix - ie the grapes were not ripe. So i had to add sugar and probably pressed as early as possible so that the un-ripe seeds etc would not affect the wine too much. I ended up with a starting gravity of 1085 SG and with champagne yeast it fermented to 990 SG. There was mould present on some of the bunches so i aimed for about 70ppm SO2 when fermenting - a month or so later i tested the wine and it is around 20ppm so i am going to add SO2 shortly.

With 12 boxes (i think they say expect about 20kg a box but they didnt feel that heavy) I had a must of 150L and that pressed to over 100L which i am storing in old stainless steel kegs.

Unfortunately one of kegs is really suffering form sulfide smell - I think i kept the first pressing on the lees too long. ANyway I have been trying to rid the smell by splash racking and stirring with a copper pipe. Trying to avoid adding copper sulphate but i may be too late. Otherwise the first keg of wine is travelling well - it will be a light red - probably a good summer bbq red.

The second batch of grapes i purchased was cab sav - this time i took my refractometer out to the markets as i didnt want underripe grapes. I purchased 10 boxes and the must was 120L. The cab sav came in at 22 brix which is pretty spot on. The starting gravity was 1093 SG and again i used champagne yeast to ferment to 994 SG. I kept the must on the skins for 7 days before pressing using a soda stream to purge CO2 onto the must for the last few days. The grapes again had some mould on them - from Sth Aust and apparently a wet vintage.

Pressing came out with about 80L of wine. After first racking (after a week) I have about 68L or so and at the moment it is looking pretty good if i may say so myself - obviously needs time but tastes OK.

I have added MLF to both wines - probably should have done it during primary but anyway probably better late than never - although it is cold now under the house so MLF might not happen until spring. We shall see.

So my tips - take a refractometer to buy the grapes - you can get them pretty cheap on ebay from Hong Kong.

Now i just need to find a better source i think - not sure how i can do that - probably cold calling vineyards and asking if i could follow a mechanical harvester or something is probably the best bet althought convincing the family may be more problematic and for this reason the markets are a pretty good and convenient place to purchase from.


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## Tim F

Maybe it's different in SA but the classifieds in weekend papers here always have grapes for sale when in season - did you check that out? We usually find some pretty good grapes for 50-80c per kilo.


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## Muggus

Tim F said:


> Maybe it's different in SA but the classifieds in weekend papers here always have grapes for sale when in season - did you check that out? We usually find some pretty good grapes for 50-80c per kilo.


I think there tends to be more of a grape glut in SA than in NSW. 
There are a few growers in the Sydney area, but I can't imagine the volumes being anything significant and growing and ripening the fruit to good potential flavour/sugar in the area, similiarly to the Hunter valley, is quite costly...you'd be doing well to find good wine grapes from the Hunter for that price!

...you South Australians have got it pretty cruisy...


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## crozdog

vinlibervin said:


> Hi, I am having my first crack at winemaking this year and was wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of where to buy wine grapes.
> 
> I have heard that the Sydney fruit markets have them (at Flemington) but I dont know who to ask etc
> 
> Also does know of any other sources?
> 
> Thanks
> Al



Saw a sign on georges River Rd Belfield on the weekend advertising wine grapes. 

Also hook up with the sydney amateur wine makers - they have regular meetings, comps & tastings http://www.sydneyawc.com/ I have a mate who joined a few years ago & rekons his wine quality improved dramatically from all the tips he picked up.

hope that helps.


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## Chookers

:icon_cheers:


crozdog said:


> Saw a sign on georges River Rd Belfield on the weekend advertising wine grapes.
> 
> Also hook up with the sydney amateur wine makers - they have regular meetings, comps & tastings http://www.sydneyawc.com/ I have a mate who joined a few years ago & rekons his wine quality improved dramatically from all the tips he picked up.
> 
> hope that helps.




Hey crozdog, you would'nt happen to have the info from the wine grapes advertised on Georger River Rd, Belfield.. Im interested in getting some grapes and this is in my neck of the woods.. If you dont have the info, would you know if the sign is still there by any chance?? :icon_cheers: 

Many thanks
Cheers


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## crozdog

Chookers said:


> :icon_cheers:
> 
> 
> Hey crozdog, you would'nt happen to have the info from the wine grapes advertised on Georger River Rd, Belfield.. Im interested in getting some grapes and this is in my neck of the woods.. If you dont have the info, would you know if the sign is still there by any chance?? :icon_cheers:
> 
> Many thanks
> Cheers



Sorry mate - haven't driven that way since I posted, so can't help answer your questions.

The sign was on the left (near the servo) as you head from Lakemba to Croydon Park a bit before you get to the lights at Burwood Rd.

Forgot to mention - ask at the Merilux paint shop (under Clark Rubber on Parramatta Rd Haberfield) where you can get grapes from. They sell wine making gear & are involved with the sydney amateur wine makers.

Crozdog

Edited to add Merilux info


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## Chookers

crozdog said:


> Sorry mate - haven't driven that way since I posted, so can't help answer your questions.
> 
> The sign was on the left (near the servo) as you head from Lakemba to Croydon Park a bit before you get to the lights at Burwood Rd.
> 
> Forgot to mention - ask at the Merilux paint shop (under Clark Rubber on Parramatta Rd Haberfield) where you can get grapes from. They sell wine making gear & are involved with the sydney amateur wine makers.
> 
> Crozdog
> 
> Edited to add Merilux info





Thanks mate, will check it out.. I know the place.. :icon_cheers:


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