FAWQ: Can I Make Wine With Grapes from the Grocery Store?

Heyy Winers! It's been a minute since I answered some of the burning questions I get asked daily, so here is one the most common questions I as a wine professional answer on a daily basis: Can you make wine from the grapes in the grocery store? The short answer, No. Find out why below!

Not Enough Sugar:

The biggest reason you can not make wine from what we call 'table grapes' is because the sugar content is not high enough to produce a significant amount of alcohol. If you tried making wine from table grapes you would only get about 2% -4% alcohol, which is less than a Smirnoff!

Different Species:

While table grapes and wine grapes are related by their Genus and Family, the species are different. In the case of wine grapes the species would be grape variety being grown. For example Chardonnay would be: Vitis (Genus) Vinifera (Family) Chardonnay (Species)

Soil Needs:

One thing you may not have considered is the soil type required to grow these grapes. While table grapes thrive in nutrient rich soils, wine grapes thrive in the opposite. The vines need to struggle a little bit to ensure the roots stay strong season after season.

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