The girls and I are back at my parents' home visiting my Dad, sister, and our dear friend Heidi. We're busy working/playing in the clay and are having a grand ole' time. Yesterday as we sat around the table to devour our favorite thai food, we opened a bottle of homemade Merlot grape juice to celebrate our reunion. It is so unbelievably delicious! The best part about this juice is that there is no added sugar or preservatives. It's a great story how this juice came to be, so I thought I 'd share.
Last fall while visiting a friend, I noticed the vineyard next door was dripping with ripe grapes...I thought to myself, "Why haven't they been picked?!" It turned out that due to an early frost they were not suitable for winemaking, and were not going to be used.
Lucky me!
You see, I'm not a wine drinker. However, I am a juice fanatic...and when making grape juice, it is best to wait and pick the grapes after a frost.
I mustered up the courage to call the owner of the vineyard to see if I could pick them for juice making. She said yes! The only form of payment she wanted was some of the juice I was going to make.
My friend, September, came along with me. Do you recognize her neck? :) She's the neck model in many of the pictures for Pamela Susan. Here's one of my favorite shots of her. Once we arrived we learned these beautiful grapes were Merlot. Not only were they Merlot, but they were certified organic...even better!
I couldn't resist capturing a picture of the stream of sunlight shining in on the grapes... so pretty.
Here is the juicer I bought for only $4.99 at our local Goodwill!
The grapes are steaming away.
Gorgeous color.
60 quarts later I was one happy gal!
Merlot grape juice is BY FAR the most enjoyable fruit drink I've ever tasted.
It is so sweet that no additional sugar is needed!! If you ever have the opportunity to can some yourself this fall, you need to do it.
To learn more about canning, here is a great site.
I canned my juice a little different from the online sources I found--I didn't strain the grapes. I washed and de-stemmed them, then allowed the juicer to do the rest of the work. It's so easy! Please contact me if you have any questions about how I processed them.
Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the jelly that was made from this juice...so yummy!
Have a great day!
