Is it ok for a baby to drink "chardonay juice"?

[babygirlie]

Before you flip let me explain myself better :P

I have a grape vine in my back yard that I think are either pinot or chardonay wine grapes. They are green, seedy, thick skinned. The skin is very sweet the middle not so much. They've been there since I moved in like 5 years ago. When they are ripe woooo boy my whole house smells of sweet grapes. Almost fake it's so strong.

This is to parents who believe it's ok for a toddler (17 months) to drink juice btw.

I have a manual (lot of work) grinder. It's a strainer with this masher thing in it and it does take forever to make juice. Hard to grasp but I DO have one. But why go buy grape juice if I have it in my backyard?

Obviously they are not alcoholic it's just the type. Not sure which grapes are used for the generic in the juice aisle kind. So just making sure.

I do not fertilize them but they are shared with a neighbor and I can't see what she does on her side of the fence. She's fairly anal with her yard.

they do harbor jumping spiders so I was thinking about getting rid of them. I hate spiders. Then I thought well.. I could sell them.. then I thought it's kind of stupid to sell them to use the money to go buy grape juice.

What do ya think? yay or nay?

[katelove]

I'm not a fan of juice for children but freshly squeezed grapejuice from your own grapes is going to be better than any bought stuff. Setting aside the juice or not arguement, I can't see any problem at all.

[EdnaMarie]

I wouldn't worry about natural fertilizers and I don't even worry too much about nitrates--it's pesticides that really freak me out. I don't have any problems with fresh-squeezed juice. Have you tried it yourself? If they don't cause any problems for you, I'd say go for it.

[babygirlie]

Tastes like grape juice to me.. it's kinda murky though. Perhaps I need to use a paper coffee strainer to strain it properly else I don't see the sediment hurting anything... fiber right?

[EdnaMarie]

I would think the fiber would be good but what I mean is, drink a whole cup, 12 oz and wait a day to make sure you don't have any stomach trouble. Some grapes might constipate / cause gas / act as a diuretic.

[linchi]

Freshly squeezed juice sounds awesome! If you let her drink boxed juice, why not stuff from your own backyard.

[Irishmommy]

Why go to the trouble of juicing them, just let her eat them!

[melon]

Originally Posted by Irishmommy

Why go to the trouble of juicing them, just let her eat them!

That's what I was going to say. I don't see why it wouldn't be ok, though. My 17 mo loves all types of grapes. If your kid is a juice drinker, fresh grape juice sounds great.

Of course they're not alcoholic. Chardonnay is just a type of grape. Fruit doesn't become alcoholic till you ferment it.

[cschick]

Red grape juices tend to be made from Concord grapes, and white from Niagara grapes. The primary reason these are used for grape juices is that they make oddly-tasting wines. (Thus, there is little demand for these grapes in the wine trade.)

Wine grapes tend to be slightly to much sweeter and have much higher sugar contents (this is why they ferment well). The juice you make from these will probably as sweet as or sweeter than grape juices with additional sugar added that you can get from the grocery.

[hildare]

chardonnay grapes are grown to make wine because of the high sugar content (that converts into alcohol); they are indeed sugary. I would include the sediment to add fiber, but as a treat, i don't see why not.

[meemee]

actually just plain frozen grapes sounds DELICIOUS!!!

a 17 month old would LOVE chopped frozen grapes.

and because of the high sugar content i would much prefer to give her straight grape. though i dont see any problem with juice.

oh and neither would i look down upon watered down chardonay. much better than grape juice for sure.

[lilyka]

I would definitely give it to her but I would water it down. Sounds sweet. And fresh pressed juices often have a cloudy appearance. I consider it a plus

I think she doesn't want her to eat them because they are seedy and have tough outer skins. Sounds like a choking hazard.

[eepster]

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

I would think the fiber would be good but what I mean is, drink a whole cup, 12 oz and wait a day to make sure you don't have any stomach trouble. Some grapes might constipate / cause gas / act as a diuretic.

This is what I would do. I would use my garden hose (let hose run for a few minutes first to clear it out) to give them a good spray down to get rid of the spiders before harvesting.

[RoamingWidgeteer]

No need to spray the vines with water to avoid the spiders. Jumping spiders are only going to be around when its bright and reasonably warm because they are visual hunters (watch them sometime - they stalk prey like cats do and will even take cover to avoid early detection). If you pick at dusk they will have gone back to their hiding spots for the night.

And here's another vote for leaving the murky bits in, or eating them whole.

[loraxc]

Sure, in limited quantities.

Don't give them to her whole, though. They're a major choking hazard.

[jessemoon]

http://www.pickyourown.org/grapejuice.htm

When we make grape juice, we let it settle for a few days after making it and then ladle off the juice leaving the sediment and tartrate crystals on the bottom. The crystals can be kind of bitter.

Homemade juice is yummy!

[Adaline'sMama]

To me it sounds like you have a food mill. I dont really consider what comes out the bottom of a food mill to be "juice". It still has most of the nutrients.

[babygirlie]

thanks everyone Yes it is the sweetest juice so I will have to water it down for even me. Definately not like the eating grapes you find at the store. Didn't know spiders disapeared at night. Good advice, they freak me out.

OT found two black widows last night, cleaning the garage from my mom's stuff I brought here after she died.. ick ick and ick. And I'm renovating it into a living area. Ugh I hate spiders!

[Apple Girl]

Grocery store juice can be fairly highly processed. The juice you'd make at home from fresh backyard grapes would not be. Grapes are loaded with antioxidants - they're so good for you! When she's a bit older you should just let her eat them plain. Strain them a bit less to keep some of that fiber-y goodness in.