The Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class received last week a sneak peek at the beginnings of what may be a plentiful blackberry harvest at Keel and Curley Winery.
The self-pollinating ouachita blackberries were planted in October on about 4 acres of the winery’s property.
Ryan Keel, director of farming operations, designed a low-volume irrigation system to water the blackberries instead of the overhead irrigation system used to water the blueberries. The irrigation systaem pumps about four gallons of water per hour. Keel and Curley spent about $20,000 to start the new venture.
The blackberries primarily will be available for patrons to pick. But they also will be used in the blackberry wine Keel and Curley makes on-site. The winery has two types of blackberry wine, dry and sweet. The winery currently imports blackberries from other farms and then crushes them on the property.
“We thought it would be in our best interest to diversify,” Keel said. “The blueberry market in Florida is flooded. And we already make wine with the fruit, so it just made sense.”
Blackberries aren’t the only new crop at the winery. Last month, Keel and Curley spent about $100,000 planting and cultivating peaches on a 10-acre tract of land off Interstate 4. The property used to be a washout area for the interstate. The peaches also will be available for picking and will be infused with the winery’s peach chardonnay. Like the blackberries, the winery has been importing peach juice to use in their wine.
“Once we have the peaches, we’ll be able to have a higher-end wine in select quantities, because we will be able to control how the peach is grown,” Clay Keel, events and marketing manager, said.
There are four types of peach varieties being grown, including the Tropic beauty and Florida prince. The crop also includes two more “experimental” varieties — the UF glow, which is white inside, and UFO, shaped like a flying saucer.
“I’m excited to see what the crops look like and see how interesting it will be to grow,” Keel said.
This year, both the blackberries and peaches will be pruned back to allow growth. Next year, they will be harvested.
Keel and Curley started as an offshoot from Joe Keel’s blueberry farm. At the end of his harvest, he still had blueberries. He experimented with jams and jellies but eventually settled on blueberry wine. In 2003, he began bottling by hand. Since then, the winery has grown from 5,000 bottles per year to 350,000.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Clay said. “It’s hard to argue that. You’re making a product that people use when they’re having fun.”KSL “>http://safeciti.com/dengi-v-dolg-1000-rubley-onlayn.php