Up in wisconsin I have (I, and a dozen other members of the family,
though they dont know it) 10 acres of land, with about 4 acres of
woods, and 5 acres of fields that haven't been cultivated about as long
as I've been alive. In several areas there are wild grape vines
growing. These things are so tenatious (sp) that they've killed off sap
suckers by overgrowing them, and are taking over areas of the fields
that are nothing but weeds, turning them into large areas of nothing
but flat, ground dwelling grape vines. I was told by my father that
they were mustangs (he was guessing), and having survived my first
winter up there, I decided to try my hand at winemaking. This was my
first batch and I followed a mustang grape recipe in a very thin,
paperback, purple book that was the cheapest the homebrew store had. No
idea what it was called. But the flavor of the wine was so strong my
sister could only drink it by diluting it with 4 parts water to 1 part
wine. I'm trying to figure out if they are just really acidic mustangs
or what. They're about 1/4" in diameter, dusky looking blueish purple,
the fruit on the inside is a translucent hinted with green, no purple
other than the skins, but the fresh squeezed juice is a very deep
purple (and stained my feet for a week). When eating them it makes your
tongue feel almost numb/tingly, like when you eat pineapple, but much
stronger. What do ya say?

I say they are "wild" grapes. Do they have a very large seed? They could
be any one of a number of native American wild grapes. Perhaps vitis
Aestivalis (known to grow in Wisconsin). Check out the web site given
below. There is a picture of the leaves and seeds. Other native American
grape cultivars to investigate are v.Borquiniana, v. Cinerea, v. Lineeeumii,
v. rupestris, v. Mustangensis. Some of these may grow in Wisconsin.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VIAE

I have lots of wild grapes growing on my property here in Kansas but they
are mostly seed. Also, they like to grow high in trees which makes picking
almost impossible. And, the birds get to them first.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

"Mr. Wolfie" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Up in wisconsin I have (I, and a dozen other members of the family,
> though they dont know it) 10 acres of land, with about 4 acres of
> woods, and 5 acres of fields that haven't been cultivated about as long
> as I've been alive. In several areas there are wild grape vines
> growing. These things are so tenatious (sp) that they've killed off sap
> suckers by overgrowing them, and are taking over areas of the fields
> that are nothing but weeds, turning them into large areas of nothing
> but flat, ground dwelling grape vines. I was told by my father that
> they were mustangs (he was guessing), and having survived my first
> winter up there, I decided to try my hand at winemaking. This was my
> first batch and I followed a mustang grape recipe in a very thin,
> paperback, purple book that was the cheapest the homebrew store had. No
> idea what it was called. But the flavor of the wine was so strong my
> sister could only drink it by diluting it with 4 parts water to 1 part
> wine. I'm trying to figure out if they are just really acidic mustangs
> or what. They're about 1/4" in diameter, dusky looking blueish purple,
> the fruit on the inside is a translucent hinted with green, no purple
> other than the skins, but the fresh squeezed juice is a very deep
> purple (and stained my feet for a week). When eating them it makes your
> tongue feel almost numb/tingly, like when you eat pineapple, but much
> stronger. What do ya say?
>

I am guessing they are "River grapes" Vitis Ripara. the reason behind
my guess is that they are the most widly distributed wild grape in
north america. they are extremly cold and disease tolerant (their root
stock was for the longest time the preferred phyloxera resistant root
stock being used).

I find them all the time. Use only about 4-5 lbs per gallon and use a
lot of sugar. Even then it may be necessary to make a sweet wine out
of them. They are VERY acidic. Bill, that grape was one of the
parents of those Baco noir grapes you have down there in KS.

They can make a good wine, if you can find a way to control the acid.
There should be no foxiness in the resulting wine, which is promising.


Mr. Wolfie wrote:
> Up in wisconsin I have (I, and a dozen other members of the family,
> though they dont know it) 10 acres of land, with about 4 acres of
> woods, and 5 acres of fields that haven't been cultivated about as long
> as I've been alive. In several areas there are wild grape vines
> growing. These things are so tenatious (sp) that they've killed off sap
> suckers by overgrowing them, and are taking over areas of the fields
> that are nothing but weeds, turning them into large areas of nothing
> but flat, ground dwelling grape vines. I was told by my father that
> they were mustangs (he was guessing), and having survived my first
> winter up there, I decided to try my hand at winemaking. This was my
> first batch and I followed a mustang grape recipe in a very thin,
> paperback, purple book that was the cheapest the homebrew store had. No
> idea what it was called. But the flavor of the wine was so strong my
> sister could only drink it by diluting it with 4 parts water to 1 part
> wine. I'm trying to figure out if they are just really acidic mustangs
> or what. They're about 1/4" in diameter, dusky looking blueish purple,
> the fruit on the inside is a translucent hinted with green, no purple
> other than the skins, but the fresh squeezed juice is a very deep
> purple (and stained my feet for a week). When eating them it makes your
> tongue feel almost numb/tingly, like when you eat pineapple, but much
> stronger. What do ya say?

Sorry to double on you, but the acidity of riparia grapes declines
after frost...so if you can keep them on the vines long enough pick
them after frost sets in and use them. I was reminded of that fact
from a wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitis_riparia

Jack Keller calls them frost grapes and has a page dedicated to them on
his page.


Droopy wrote:
> I am guessing they are "River grapes" Vitis Ripara. the reason behind
> my guess is that they are the most widly distributed wild grape in
> north america. they are extremly cold and disease tolerant (their root
> stock was for the longest time the preferred phyloxera resistant root
> stock being used).
>
> I find them all the time. Use only about 4-5 lbs per gallon and use a
> lot of sugar. Even then it may be necessary to make a sweet wine out
> of them. They are VERY acidic. Bill, that grape was one of the
> parents of those Baco noir grapes you have down there in KS.
>
> They can make a good wine, if you can find a way to control the acid.
> There should be no foxiness in the resulting wine, which is promising.
>
>
> Mr. Wolfie wrote:
> > Up in wisconsin I have (I, and a dozen other members of the family,
> > though they dont know it) 10 acres of land, with about 4 acres of
> > woods, and 5 acres of fields that haven't been cultivated about as long
> > as I've been alive. In several areas there are wild grape vines
> > growing. These things are so tenatious (sp) that they've killed off sap
> > suckers by overgrowing them, and are taking over areas of the fields
> > that are nothing but weeds, turning them into large areas of nothing
> > but flat, ground dwelling grape vines. I was told by my father that
> > they were mustangs (he was guessing), and having survived my first
> > winter up there, I decided to try my hand at winemaking. This was my
> > first batch and I followed a mustang grape recipe in a very thin,
> > paperback, purple book that was the cheapest the homebrew store had. No
> > idea what it was called. But the flavor of the wine was so strong my
> > sister could only drink it by diluting it with 4 parts water to 1 part
> > wine. I'm trying to figure out if they are just really acidic mustangs
> > or what. They're about 1/4" in diameter, dusky looking blueish purple,
> > the fruit on the inside is a translucent hinted with green, no purple
> > other than the skins, but the fresh squeezed juice is a very deep
> > purple (and stained my feet for a week). When eating them it makes your
> > tongue feel almost numb/tingly, like when you eat pineapple, but much
> > stronger. What do ya say?

In several areas there are wild grape vines
> > > growing. These things are so tenatious (sp) that they've killed off sap
> > > suckers by overgrowing them, and are taking over areas of the fields
> > > that are nothing but weeds, turning them into large areas of nothing
> > > but flat, ground dwelling grape vines.

I really can't speak to the grapes but these guys probably can:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/email/site_e...de=12-75-15-00

This is the research arm of the USDA. I have a grape growing book
called Northern Winework which refers to them.

I'm in PA and wild grapes in my area are similar to what you describe,
I don't know anyone whio ever made wine from ours. Your County agant
may be able to help too.

As to the taste, try adding it to some Sprite or something like that,
it's an old winemakers "what do I do with 30 gallons of this?" trick.


Joe

> As to the taste, try adding it to some Sprite or something like that,
> it's an old winemakers "what do I do with 30 gallons of this?" trick.
>
>
> Joe

Ha ha - good to see I am not the only one.