Brehm Vineyards grapes : What should I expect of the quality of these
grapes ??? I can order them from distributer in Canada. Do someone
use them in the past and can compare the quality of the wine produced
to other Vineyards in California ?

Thanks
Séb

"seb" > wrote in message
om...
> Brehm Vineyards grapes : What should I expect of the quality of these
> grapes ???

I'd expect that Peter Brehm has done better than he did in 1982 (Berkeley,
Wine and the People) - unless you're buying grapes from another poor
vintage.

In a good vintage I'd expect his stuff to also be good, albeit expen$ive..

If you find otherwise, he should attempt to ameliorate your situation.

Tom S

I purchased Syrah in 2001. It was excellent but it matters what the variety
and the vineyard location. Brehm is more expensive. But, overall, my
experience was good.
Dan
"seb" > wrote in message
om...
> Brehm Vineyards grapes : What should I expect of the quality of these
> grapes ??? I can order them from distributer in Canada. Do someone
> use them in the past and can compare the quality of the wine produced
> to other Vineyards in California ?
>
> Thanks
> Séb

I agree with what's been written. In addition, they're a pleasure to deal
with. Instead of ordering them through a supplier in Canada, deal directly
with them...it's more fun and they are really helpful.

Lee

Yes they are more ex$pen$ive then other sources, The grapes I
purchased come from the state lane vineyard about an eight of a mile
north (if that) of the Stags Leap distrct. I should be getting them
next week... can not wait! Peter also sells grapes (or frozen must)
from the Rutherford Bench, These are the two best places for cab IMHO.
Cheers,
Robert Reilly



(LG1111) wrote in message >...
> I agree with what's been written. In addition, they're a pleasure to deal
> with. Instead of ordering them through a supplier in Canada, deal directly
> with them...it's more fun and they are really helpful.
>
> Lee

I ask that question because we are a group of winemakers in Quebec and
we would like to buy our grapes in bulk for the next season but don't
know a lot about wich producer we should order from ? We would like
to buy the best grapes available and we will probably order 10 000
pounds of fresh grapes. If you have others good suggestions let me
know.

Séb

> compare the quality of the wine produced
> to other Vineyards in California ?

The quality is phenomenal for select vineyards. Tom should be able to
attest to the quality of the Cab out of the Alias vineyard in
Rutherford, and as Lee stated, the folks at Brehm's are great people
to deal with. Expensive is always a relative term. Relative to central
valley grapes or wine kits, yes, Brehm grapes are expensive. The
Rutherford Cabernet and Petite Sirah however can both be made for
under $15 bottle. The quality of both is comparable to the quality of
commercial bottlings at twice the price. The old vine Windsor Zin also
provides exceptional value. IMNO, my fully extracted Windsor Zins are
every bit as good as Ridge's Lytton Springs, again, at half the price
;-)

"Robert Reilly" > wrote in message
om...
> Peter also sells grapes (or frozen must)
> from the Rutherford Bench, These are the two best places for cab IMHO.

I bought fruit in 1986, 1987 and 1988 from the Allais Vineyard, which is
where Brehm gets his Rutherford fruit. The last two years were especially
good. I'd like to get some more, but I won't pay Brehm's price for it.

I figure he (Brehm) should comp me a ton, considering how lousy the two Cabs
(Stags Leap and Mount Veeder) I bought from him in 1982 were.

But maybe that's just sour grapes...

Tom S

seb wrote:

> I ask that question because we are a group of winemakers in Quebec and
> we would like to buy our grapes in bulk for the next season but don't
> know a lot about wich producer we should order from ? We would like
> to buy the best grapes available and we will probably order 10 000
> pounds of fresh grapes. If you have others good suggestions let me
> know.

You might be able to get a better price on some fruit from Niagara, it's
a wee bit closer. <http://www.makewine.com/resource/grapes99.html> HTH

--
charles

"Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were
forced to live on nothing but food and water for days."
- W.C. Fields

seb > wrote:
> I ask that question because we are a group of winemakers in Quebec and
> we would like to buy our grapes in bulk for the next season but don't
> know a lot about wich producer we should order from ? We would like
> to buy the best grapes available and we will probably order 10 000
> pounds of fresh grapes. If you have others good suggestions let me
> know.
>

I go in with a group of people here in Illinois, and we get a few pallet-loads
of grapes from Peter. The grapes are delivered by truck to a central location,
and we all meet to pick them up. While you pay a premium for his grapes, I have
found them to be of very good quality. Since we are ordering in bulk, we do get
a break on the price and shipping. The one time he screwed up one of my orders,
he air-freighted the omitted grapes to my home, at his cost.

My suggestion is that you get a group of people together and submit a combined
order, and agree to a single point of delivery. This makes Peter's life a lot
easier, and he will work with you on pricing/shipping. Oh, and it certainly helps
grease the wheels if you pay up front, or at least make a significant deposit
towards the final purchase price.

One last note: Peter will crush/press the grapes at the vineyard. You will receive
frozen must/juice. I do not believe this has any noticable affect on the resultant
wines.

--Lee

"seb" > wrote in message
om...
> I ask that question because we are a group of winemakers in Quebec and
> we would like to buy our grapes in bulk for the next season but don't
> know a lot about wich producer we should order from ? We would like
> to buy the best grapes available and we will probably order 10 000
> pounds of fresh grapes. If you have others good suggestions let me
> know.

As far as I know, Brehm does not ship unprocessed grapes, if you are lookng
for the "complete" winemaking experience.

The reds are closest, in that you get pails of crushed and destemmed fruit,
with the skins. One pail will yield about 3 to 3 1/3 US gallons of juice
when pressed.The most expensive red I saw from the Vancouver distributor I
deal with was a Rutherford cab sauv at $250 CDN per pail. That works out to
about $15 a bottle, your cost, not including the barrel you will want for
aging this beauty. ;-)

The whites are shipped as pressed and settled juice (and you now get a bonus
liter, 20 liters total). Top price is the Sangiacomo chardonnay at about
$200 CDN.

Generally, the Pacific Northwest products are better value and still good
quality.

All products are shipped frozen, and need a few days to thaw out.

Brian

"LG1111" > wrote in message
...
> I agree with what's been written. In addition, they're a pleasure to deal
> with. Instead of ordering them through a supplier in Canada, deal
directly
> with them...it's more fun and they are really helpful.
>
Are you in Canada?

I wouldn't go this route. First, he would pay the full cost of shipping to
Quebec, not an insignificant amount. Better to find a distributor much
nearer (I think Funk winemaking in Niagara brings them in, see their web
site http://www.vaxxine.com/fwine/) who has gotten a better per pail
shipping price by virtue of volume for the majority of the trek.

Second, he would become responsible for dealing with Canada Customs and
Agriculture Canada (since it is a food product). My one experience bringing
them up from Minnesota put me off that. As good as Brehm people are to deal
with, it is more than offset by dealing with those yahoos.

Brian

Ouff, lots of good informations there. Thanks to all of you. I'm
surprise to read that Brehm don't ship whole grape, that he ship
frozen must with skin ( crushed and destem grapes ). What I like the
most in winemaking is the to put the whole grape in my
crusher/destemmer and also when we press. I need to do that to follow
this great passion. So if they cannot ship the whole grapes, I think
I will try to buy from the canadian side as Brian said, to save on all
the shipping cost and duty freight ! We have some distributer of their
products here in Canada ( is it also crushed grapes only ??? ) and I
heard lots of good things regarding grapes in Niagara too.

Séb

seb wrote:

> So if they cannot ship the whole grapes, I think
> I will try to buy from the canadian side as Brian said, to save on all
> the shipping cost and duty freight ! We have some distributer of their
> products here in Canada ( is it also crushed grapes only ??? ) and I
> heard lots of good things regarding grapes in Niagara too.

All the grapes I've used from Niagara were good. I posted this earlier,
but in case you missed it
<http://www.makewine.com/resource/grapes99.html> there is a list of some
growers...

--
charles

"Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were
forced to live on nothing but food and water for days."
- W.C. Fields

I agree, it is most satisfying for me when I am involved in the process
right from the start (well, except the grape picking part, that would just
be tedious). ;-)

Again, Brehm sells pails of crushed and destemmed grapes for reds only (50
pounds per pail, with no stems contributing to that weight). Whites are sold
as 20 liter pails of juice.

Brian

"seb" > wrote in message
om...
> Ouff, lots of good informations there. Thanks to all of you. I'm
> surprise to read that Brehm don't ship whole grape, that he ship
> frozen must with skin ( crushed and destem grapes ). What I like the
> most in winemaking is the to put the whole grape in my
> crusher/destemmer and also when we press. I need to do that to follow
> this great passion. So if they cannot ship the whole grapes, I think
> I will try to buy from the canadian side as Brian said, to save on all
> the shipping cost and duty freight ! We have some distributer of their
> products here in Canada ( is it also crushed grapes only ??? ) and I
> heard lots of good things regarding grapes in Niagara too.
>
> Séb

Brian Lundeen > wrote:
> I agree, it is most satisfying for me when I am involved in the process
> right from the start (well, except the grape picking part, that would just
> be tedious). ;-)
>
> Again, Brehm sells pails of crushed and destemmed grapes for reds only (50
> pounds per pail, with no stems contributing to that weight). Whites are sold
> as 20 liter pails of juice.
>
> Brian
>

He does sell fresh grapes, too, but you have to go get them. I don't know
about you, but its a long drive from here to California.

--Lee

wrote in message news:<1069788100.789674@web>...
> Brian Lundeen > wrote:
> > I agree, it is most satisfying for me when I am involved in the process
> > right from the start (well, except the grape picking part, that would just
> > be tedious). ;-)
> >
> > Again, Brehm sells pails of crushed and destemmed grapes for reds only (50
> > pounds per pail, with no stems contributing to that weight). Whites are sold
> > as 20 liter pails of juice.
> >
> > Brian
> >
>
> He does sell fresh grapes, too, but you have to go get them. I don't know
> about you, but its a long drive from here to California.
>
> --Lee


Yes very long run from my home in Quebec !!! But if you are enough to
buy from any good suplier I think it will be our best bet for the next
harvest. With all the informations I have here I will probably be
able to find a good supplier of top quality fruit and also at a
reasonnable price. I will check all the link folks gived to me in the
next weeks.

Again, thanks, Séb

> wrote in message
news:1069788100.789674@web...
> He does sell fresh grapes, too, but you have to go get them. I don't know
> about you, but its a long drive from here to California.

It's a long drive from here (LA area) in California to Napa too. Besides,
his stuff is too expensive. :^(

Tom S

One question about Niagara grapes: If I'm thinking about taking a drive up
there next fall to pick up fresh grapes, when is the best time? When do they
harvest? I would imagine it's a bit later than California. Any suggestions of
which areas to plan to visit?

Lee

<snip>
> I go in with a group of people here in Illinois, and we get a few pallet-loads
> of grapes from Peter. The grapes are delivered by truck to a central location,
> and we all meet to pick them up. While you pay a premium for his grapes, I have
> found them to be of very good quality. Since we are ordering in bulk, we do get
> a break on the price and shipping. The one time he screwed up one of my orders,
> he air-freighted the omitted grapes to my home, at his cost.
<snip>

Lee, are you in the chicagoland area? I may be interested in getting
in on your group purchase next year....

Steve > wrote:
> <snip>
>> I go in with a group of people here in Illinois, and we get a few pallet-loads
>> of grapes from Peter. The grapes are delivered by truck to a central location,
>> and we all meet to pick them up. While you pay a premium for his grapes, I have
>> found them to be of very good quality. Since we are ordering in bulk, we do get
>> a break on the price and shipping. The one time he screwed up one of my orders,
>> he air-freighted the omitted grapes to my home, at his cost.
> <snip>
>
> Lee, are you in the chicagoland area? I may be interested in getting
> in on your group purchase next year....

No, I'm downstate (Springfield). There are folks from Danville and Terre Haute
in our little group, and, I think, a fellow from Chicago! The transactions are
handled by John Trapp, who lives in Paris. John is a true gentleman, and the
maker of many, many excellent wines. Anyhow, John, coordinates the orders with
Peter, and the deliveries are made to John's place in Paris. John calls everyone
to give a heads-up, so you can drive down and meet the truck, or he will store
the grapes for you in his garage until you can come get them.

BTW, have you ever purchased grapes from Northside Grapes? I've bought from
them in the past, but not this year. Nice people, fresh Central Valley grapes,
but buying the grapes from the back of a truck makes me feel like I'm doing
something illegal!

--Lee