WILD GRAPE JUICE | Identification (Look Alikes) & Processing

Remember when I used to make videos like this? A reminder that we are all a “work in progress.”

Wild grapes are in season beginning in the fall – late September and early October. To identify wild grapes look for tall vines which hook onto nearby shrubs and trees with the help of tendrils.

This is one of the main identifying features of the wild grape.

Wild gapes vines often grow very high often reaching 60-80 feet in height. Grape leaves are large, alternate, simple, and deciduous. The leaves are three-lobed and heart-shaped and resemble those of the maple tree. However, during harvest, leaves are not always present so other features must be used to identify the plant. When ripe, the grapes turn a dark purple and form clusters much like store-bought grapes only they are very much smaller and more seedy.

Be careful not to confuse wild grapes with another climber, the Virginia creeper – which is toxic. I once made this mistake, but thankfully I was able to spit out the offending fruit quickly before it did too much damage. The Virginia creeper contains raphides which are microscopic needle-shapes crystal of calcium oxalate. Not only do these produce an awful reaction if swallowed, these can even be harmful to the skin of certain people. The The toxic Virginia creeper, unlike a wild grape has a bright orange or red stem and also holds a cluster of berries, but these are not arranged in the same way as a wild grape. The Virginia creeper also has five leaflets unlike the single leaflet of the wild grape.

A second look-alike is the Canadian Moonseed. However, while the Canadian Moonseed has only a single crescent shaped seed (hence the name – moonseed), the wild grape has 2-4 seeds.

Therefore, to avoid misidentifying wild grapes, be sure to look for tall vines, having characteristic tendrils which are often forked, containing 2 or 4 seeds, with single three lobed-leaves resembling that of a maple tree. Once the three species have been identified, they are not easily confused – but please do your homework first and proceed cautiously.

Picking can go quickly when they are located in abundance, as is often the case. Don’t bother picking individual grapes, instead just pull off the entire cluster. Careful not to pile them too high on top of one another or you will crush them and they will begin to ferment. Grapes store well in the refrigerator for a few days.

Grapes make an excellent juice, wine or jelly.

After washing, simply crush the entire lot, stem and all, with a potato masher in a large pot. Add a little water to help dilute the mixture and a little bit of heat to soften the grapes during this process. Careful not to boil them or some of the nutrients will be destroyed by the heat. To remove the seeds and stems, push the lot through a jelly bag, or thinly woven cloth. The edible parts will squish through leaving the stems, seeds and skins behind.

After straining, the dark purple grape juice can be consumed straight, but makes for a potent drink. To improve the flavour, add some water and sugar or mix with apple juice. However, I prefer it’s strong and slightly sour taste all by itself.

Some varieties of grape might leave you with a sore mouth and throat which is caused by the high levels of tartrate. Even contact with the skin can cause irritation from these small gritty crystals. Tartrate is found in all grapes, but is higher in riverside grapes. To remove this from your resulting juice, simply let the mixture sit in the refrigerator for a few days and let the tartrate settle to the bottom. Then simply pour off the good juice which will make up the upper 2/3. It is well advised that one does not consume or process the juice any further, such as making whine or jelly, until this separation process has happened, or the results will be less than desirable.

To make jelly mix in 6 1/2 cups of sugar to 5 cups of undiluted juice as well as a package of pectin and boil. Wine is made equally as easy with sugar, yeast and 5-8 weeks of fermentation.

While grapes can make a decent trailside snack, although their seediness makes them less than enjoyable. Therefore, it is recommended that they, instead, be processed down as described here. Use code “WoodBeard” to get 10% off ASAT Camo: http://www.asatcamo.com Merch (t-shirts): https://teespring.com/stores/the-wooded-beardsman