Bad Armadillo Vineyard - The Vineyard

At Bad Armadillo Vineyard, we grow two different kinds of grapes - Muscadines, which are native to the South, and Bunch Grapes, which were developed by the University of Florida. This is part of the Muscadine section. The types of varieties we grow are Noble, Carlos, Magnolia, Fry, Fry Seedless, Pam, Darlene, Janet, and Supreme.

Also grown in the Muscadine section, is Southern Home. Southern Home is actually a hybrid variety - a cross between a Muscadine and a Bunch Grape. It has a unique ornamental leaf, which resembles a Maple leaf.

On the back of the property (between the fence and the lake), we grow 2 varieties of Bunch Grapes - Blanc du Bois, and Conquistador. We use the Blanc du Bois for making White Wine, and the Conquistador for making Red Wine. These are our best two grapes. If you look past these grapevines, you can see Bad Armadillo Lake. Its stocked with Wide Mouth Bass (and a few other varieties). On occasion, you'll find a variety of water birds - Ducks, Egrits, Blue Herons, Storks, and Sand Hill Cranes.

More Bunch Grapes grow in the last section of the vineyard. Here, we grow Lake Emerald and Suwannee (for making white wines), Black Spanish & Favorite (Texas varieties for making red wine), and Norton (a native American variety for making red wine).

Bad Armadillo Vineyard
9857 SW Waco Terrace
Palm City, FL 34990

772-341-0108

http://www.badarmadillovineyard.com

In 2004, Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne pass directly over Bad Armadillo Vineyard. These two hurricanes were less than 1 month apart. Although these Category 2 and Category 3 hurricanes damaged the vineyard, most of the vines were able to recover. Some still needed to be replaced (Blanc du Bois). Although we lost power to our refrigerators for almost a week through each storm, the Blanc du Bois still won a Gold metal in the 2005 Florida State Fair.

Blanc du Bois was developed by the University of Florida. It is the best grape that can be grown at Bad Armadillo Vineyard (and the South in general) for white wine. These have about 1 more month until harvest. We usually pick Blanc du Bois at the end of June.

This is Black Spanish. It ripens later than Blanc du Bois or Conquistador, and is usually ready in late July. It makes a red wine. I bought the Black Spanish and Favorite from Womack Nursery in Texas.

This is Conquistador. It is a variety of the Concord grape. It is resistant to Pierces Disease, and grows well here at Bad Armadillo Vineyard. It is the only bunch grape that we don't have to spray, and is resistant to most diseases. It makes a good jelly, but makes a good dry red wine, too! These ripen around the middle of July. All of the Conquistador vines at Bad Armadillo Vineyard are grafted onto Dog Ridge. They seem to do better when grafted.