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I'm hoping somebody has the right answer to my problem.....it is customary among grape growers that we drop a percentage of fruit in order to improve the quality that is left behind. Normally this operation gets done at verasion when they are then aprox 14 to 16 brix I figure if I buy this fruit I could distill it into some nice product.unfortantly some sprays that we use need 66 days prior to harvest interval as posted on the label. This sort of stops me from going to various vineyards and buying this fruit. The chemicals in question are mancozeb, pancozeb, dithane,and ridomil gold mz.All of them need 66 days before harvest. I was wondering if you still need the same amount of time if you are distilling the fuit.At this point and time I have abandon the idea simply because I feel if its not safe to make wine with this grape it is most likely not safe for brandy. I was interested if anyone has done this before and what precautions they used.

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The question should really go to the spray manuf. and ask about a wash prior to crushing. Noticed you are a winery, so you know most winerys don't wash anything prior to crushing. In your case, as a distillery, a good rinse vat might solve the problem of the sprays.

Or you could educate them on the higher profit margin of going organic and get rid of the sprays....

Just a thought.........

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Caution is best when it comes to sprays/pesticides/herbicides. Many of them are small molecules that are quite volatile and will pass through the distillation process and into your product. I'm with the organic guys.

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I would like to thank all of you for your input, and yes, I agree organicly is the way to go, so if I decide to procede with this I'll buy from someone who can garuntee me the grapes were grown organicly, and I'll demand for a list of anything that has been used to protect from any fungus. Thanks again, you have given me peace of mind.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I would like to thank all of you for your input, and yes, I agree organicly is the way to go, so if I decide to procede with this I'll buy from someone who can garuntee me the grapes were grown organicly, and I'll demand for a list of anything that has been used to protect from any fungus. Thanks again, you have given me peace of mind.

You wont get a very good brandy from these low brix grapes because there won't be any character development by that time. Also if there has been elemental sulfur sprayed on them that will cause huge problems both in fermentation and distillation.

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I would like to thank all of you for your input, and yes, I agree organicly is the way to go, so if I decide to procede with this I'll buy from someone who can garuntee me the grapes were grown organicly, and I'll demand for a list of anything that has been used to protect from any fungus. Thanks again, you have given me peace of mind.

You wont get a very good brandy from these low brix grapes because there won't be any character development by that time. Also if there has been elemental sulfur sprayed on them that will cause huge problems both in fermentation and distillation.

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I certainly understand, I "police" the few bills that remain in my wallet. The heads must face the same direction. But unless there is an inside joke I am not aware of, if anyone were to meet Mike, shake his hand and have a cup of coffee with him, you would very gladly exchange a little slip for the privilage of knowing him. Same goes for Steve Ross in South Bend. Not an upsetting item for sure, just expressing my thoughts.

Cheers,

Bob

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