How to Reduce the Acidity of Frontenac Grapes

Grapes are valuable and long-lived crops in the home garden, with lifespans that can top 50 years. The fruit is useful as a raw snack, in baking, in jams and for juicing. The grape's most obvious use is in wine making. Fontenac grapes are a particularly cold-resistant variety of wine grape that can survive down to -35 degrees Fahrenheit. The vines produce medium-sized clusters of small, dark grapes that develop into a fruity, dark wine. Gardeners often harvest Fonetac grapes too early, however, resulting in highly acidic wine. Treat grapevines right, hold off on your harvest and test before you pick to ensure sweet, fully ripened Fontenac grapes.

Mulch
Pruning shears
Fertilizer
Acidity testing kit

Instructions

- 1
  Feed grapes at the start of the season with nitrogen fertilizer to encourage full growth and fruiting. Water the grapevines with 2 inches of water every week to maintain soil moisture and give the grapevines what they need for growing and fruiting. Grapevines that don't have the right resources won't bloom or bear fruit successfully, while grapevines that get enough nutrition will bear large, juicy grapes.
- 2
  Mulch the grapevines with 2 to 3 inches of organic mulch to maintain soil moisture and discourage weed growth. Grapevines produce better fruit when they are warmer and receive consistent moisture. Grapevines will fail with competition from weeds and grasses.
- 3
  Allow the Fontenac grapes to mature and ripen on the vine. As fruit ripens, it produces sugar and sweetens. Fontenac grapes are bitter and acidic when picked too early. Do not pick fruit until the end of summer approaches.
- 4
  Test fruit by individual sampling before any large-scale harvest. Pick fruit and eat it to test for taste, or test acidity using an acidity testing kit. Follow the directions to test the grapes you pick. Harvest Fontenac grapes only when your test grapes exhibit acidity of 15 gallons/liter.

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