UPDATE — WE ARE CLOSED for 2011 Season The Loftus Family Farm U-Pick grapes are officially closed as of the Labor Day weekend (September 5, 2011). There are still some Ison grapes but they are getting more and more ripe each day, but the Supreme grapes are about totally picked out.

BUT, what does “officially” closed really mean? It means that I don’t think there will be enough grapes so that picking is easy. There will still be grapes on the vines for a week or so, but they are getting more ripe each day and some will drop off or get over ripe.

For those who would still like to come out and look for grapes, call us and we will make arrangements to meet you at the vineyard. My main concern is that I don’t want to frustrate my customers. Many of you drive long distances and I don’t want you to make the trip and then have trouble finding all the grapes you want. I don’t think it is fair to you. But for those who are willing to do some looking, there are still grapes to be found and we are happy to accommodate you.

We are in the News Loftus Family Farm was featured in the Alachua County Today Newspaper in mid August and they did a really nice article. Here is the link: Newspaper article about Loftus Family Farm

Wendy Wilber, Alachua County Agriculture Extension Agent, came out to the vineyard to pick some grapes for a video segment she was going to do for WCJB Channel 20 TV. Here is a link to that video: Video about Muscadine grapes

Photos of the Supreme grapes on the left and some Ison grapes on the right.

Greetings from Don and Ermida Loftus. We are a small vineyard north of Gainesville, FL specializing in dark Muscadine grapes and dedicated to U-Pick. Our main fresh fruit grape is the Supreme, a very large, thin skinned, very sweet grape. The other grape we grow, the Ison, is a self pollinating variety that produces a very sweet, slightly smaller berry that ripens early in the season. This grape also pollinates the Supreme vines which are female plants. I’m also adding a new variety of dark Muscadine called “Delicious” and was developed by the University of Florida. I just planted them this year, so we will have to wait several more years before they produce any grapes. I have an article about them Links page.

It turns out that Muscadine grapes have many health benefits and they taste good too. I have listed some of the articles on the Links page. Take a look and you just might want to eat a few more grapes.