Wine Berries On The Bush
By fishtiger58
@fishtiger58 (29823)
Momence, Illinois
May 30, 2016 7:47am CST
Some years ago I thought I bought a raspberry bush. A year later a friend saw a picture I had taken of the bush, it hadn't produced berries yet, and she told me it wasn't a raspberry but a wine berry. The company I had bought it from sent the wrong thing. But it turned out ok as the 2nd year we got berries. Having never even heard of wine berries I was anxious to try them.
I love them. They look very much like a raspberry but they are smaller and when ripe they are tart. I love that. They also look different on the vine than a raspberry does. I took this picture in 2012 and we only had a few berries but this year it looks like we are going to get quite a few berries. This is an incredibly slow growing plant very much unlike raspberries. When given the chance a raspberry will take over the entire area they are planted in and more. We have had them grow under sidewalks and into our flower beds and veggie garden.
I am excited as this year I am going to get more than one small mouthful of wine berries.
17 people like this
8 responses
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
30 May 16
I'm glad you like them... do you have to protect them from the birds.... a friend of mine has strawberries and raspberries in her garden and the birds come and help themselves too.... 
3 people like this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
30 May 16
@sueznewz2 yes when the raspberries are ripening we get a big bowl every day for weeks.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
30 May 16
I'm not sure if the birds like them but I bet they do. We have had so very little of them I'm not sure. We have our strawberries caged so the birds can't get them. As for our raspberries we get just tons of them, so if the birds want some we are happy to share, we give them away to family and friends every summer as there are to many for us to eat before they rot.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
2 Jun 16
Fascinating, I've never heard of them so looked them up, I will be looking for them on my hikes from now on.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
3 Jun 16
@fishtiger58 All my life we have been picking berries from the fence lines on the side of the road. I will bet I've had them and never knew it. I looked it up, they look very similar to raspberry and blackberry.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
6 Jun 16
@PainsOnSlate Yup the berry looks very much like a raspberry but smaller. I looked at the plants yesterday and it looks like I have more than one hundred berries. I am very excited for them to ripen.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
13 Jun 16
@PainsOnSlate Very cool, nothing better than finding a wild berry patch. I just love that.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
30 May 16
Yes I have found at least that my wild black raspberry are very invasive and would take over our entire yard given half a chance.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
30 May 16
@fishtiger58 My husband finally got tired of ours and just cut it all down it had gotten huge and was getting too close to the pool. lol loved those berries though.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
30 May 16
Oh yes they would. I know of a huge patch of black raspberries and we pick every July, we could pick for a week straight and not get them all. We never take that much as I have two different kinds of red raspberries in my yard and we can't eat all of them either. So my family benefits from my husbands desire to grow his raspberries.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
31 May 16
@BelleStarr I do too just plain yummy. They spread like weeds.
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@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
30 May 16
hmm, don't reckon i've e'ery tried any'f those? sounds most interestin' 'n what a lovely plant. i hear ya'n those rasperries, they used to take o'er the hills from which i hail. 'course, gettin' 'em to grow'n these parts's quite a feat. they dislike our winds, sandy soils which 'neath's layers'f caliche, lol. did've 'bout 10'f 'em though, prior to the years'f drought. took 5 years'f compostin' to get a bed they'd thrive'n. the berries were huge, the plants quite prolific - much to the delight'f the birds 'n myself.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
31 May 16
At my old house we had a huge raspberry patch and those raspberries were huge also, bigger than my thumb.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
30 May 16
I had never heard of them either. I think its some sort of spine to keep critters off it. They do eventually go away.
2 people like this
@just4him (306239)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
30 May 16
@fishtiger58 It's good they go away.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
31 May 16
@just4him For sure or we couldn't eat them and that would be a shame.
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@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
1 Jun 16
They are really good, can't wait for them to ripen.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
30 May 16
We just might. Last year we had like 4 berries. This year it looks like we have dozens of them, I am excited. One slow growing and producing plant.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
30 May 16
They are way good, I'm really glad the company made the mistake. As for raspberries I have more than I can eat, we regularly give them away to family and friends.
1 person likes this
