No. 3776 — Another Method for Keeping Grapes through Winter

To preserve grapes until May, the author proposes a dry second-floor room in the middle of a building, with two walls and the floor adjoining occupied rooms and two outer walls each with a window.

Windows are for ventilation in summer only. Once filled with grapes, close them and insulate during frosts with felt and shields made from moss, hay or straw.

Heat neighbouring rooms in very cold weather, with vents directed towards the storage room, but never light a stove in the storage room itself.

Put racks and shelves along walls and through the centre, approximately ¾ arshin vertically apart. Stands are about 2 arshins apart and shelves 5–6 vershoks wide.

Cut semicircular notches into the shelf edges 6–7 vershoks apart to hold the necks of long glass jars containing about 125 grams water.

Fill jars to the neck with water three days in advance and add a teaspoon of powdered wood charcoal.

Choose fine grape clusters from upper vine branches, cutting in dry dew-free weather around October 8 according to the French example.

Cut the bunches with two vine buds above and three below; a single branch may carry two clusters. Insert lower stem ends in the jars so clusters hang freely without touching shelves or one another.

The author sets six rules: (1) do not touch jars; (2) keep out light and fresh air; (3) hold temperature between +1 and +7 degrees; (4) do not replace jar water, which is expected to fall only 5–6 centimetres by May; (5) cut out any spoiled grapes immediately; (6) if the room is damp, put two half-filled barrels of unslaked lime at opposite ends, and use a ventilator for stale odours only as a last resort.

According to the source, grapes kept this way are indistinguishable from freshly harvested bunches and sell for enough extra in winter and spring to cover the costs of shelves and jars.