Channel the Naples Grape Festival spirit with these 7 grape pie tips and tricks

NAPLES, NY - Meghanne Freivald has never met a grape pie she didn’t like.

That includes the award-winning and not-so-award-winning grape pies she’s made, the award-winning grape pie her husband, Patrick, made, and the grape pies made by those who have attended her grape pie baking workshop for the Naples Historical Society, including a recent one held in advance of the Naples Grape Festival this weekend.

And yes, some of her students are great grape pie makers, which, Freivald finds, is “really cool.”

Freivald, a Naples native and manager of instructional technology and virtual education support in Alfred University’s IT Department, is open when it comes to her purple passion, which she started about 15 years ago.

Freivald posts her grape pie recipes on Facebook, and she gives out recipes and tips freely during her pie class.

Even in Naples a few days before the community’s renowned Naples Grape Festival and its Great Grape Pie Cooking Contest −and home to noted commercial grape pie maker Monica's Pies − some things are bigger than winning.

“I don’t have any secrets,” Freivald said. “That’s the whole point – share the recipe! Especially with something like this, it is a local tradition and it’s part of the town’s history so it should be shared.”

In that spirit, here are seven things Freivald believes you should try when making your own grape pie, whether for the contest or to enjoy at home with friends and family.

1. Hot stuff

To avoid having the bottom of the pie turn out uncooked or soggy, when you preheat the oven, put a cookie sheet in it.

“So, when I put the pie in the oven, I put it on the hot cookie sheet, and that helps to cook the bottom of the crust more,” Freivald said.

This is a trick especially useful for a grape pie, because the filling is on the liquid-y side, but it works for other kinds of pie, too.

“It makes a big difference,” Freivald said.

2. Try before you grape pie

Taste the grapes before you make the pie.

Some years, the grapes are sweeter and some years they’re a little bit tarter, Freivald said.

“Adjust the sugar accordingly,” Freivald said.

3. Tap into tapioca for your grape pie

A pie requires thickener, and a lot of people will use flour or corn starch. Freivald uses tapioca instead, which is a trick she learned from her aunt who used it in her apple pies.

“It’s not an overpowering thickener,” Freivald said. “It creates a nice texture without taking anything away from the grapes or overpowering the natural texture of the grapes and the skins.”

4. What kind of grape?

About the grapes. It’s Naples, so it has to be concords, right?

Ideally, yes, but not necessarily. Just messing around in the kitchen and not competing in a contest, Freivald has made pies with other kinds of grapes.

“And they’re really good," Freivald said. “Regardless of what grapes you use, any kind of good, seeded grape, I think, works really well.”

But yes, when push comes to shove, concords are usually what most people use.

“That’s what I use,” Freivald said.

5. Don’t sweat how it looks

Freivald’s husband, Patrick, who teaches in Naples, is into creating complicated designs with the crust on his pies. For instance, a few years back he 3D-printed a special cookie cutter shaped like the Finger Lakes, and the pie turned out elaborate and pretty, she said.

If it comes to appearance or taste, go with your gut. The first year she won the contest, her pie had a big crack in the top, but it tasted just fine.

“I just roll the crust, toss it on top and cut some holes,” Freivald said. “I don’t do anything fancy with it at all.”

But Freivald does appreciate the efforts of those who do.

“Even though I don’t really have the patience to make fancy looking pies, at the contest I love to see all the pretty pies lined up,” Freivald said. “Some of them are really beautiful.”

6. Where to get your grapes

Freivald finds her grapes at Bristol Springs Viticulture, a u-pick vineyard at 7632 County Road 12 owned by her aunt and uncle, Vern and Mary “Pidgeon” Iuppa.

Freivald always uses their grapes for the contest and won her first with them. Several people who have placed in the contest also have used their grapes and found success.

“I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not,” Freivald said.

Mary Iuppa doesn’t think so, especially after checking the sign out front of the vineyard that notes contest winners from 2016 to 2022.

“I’m not much of a baker, but I came in fourth using the grapes,” Iuppa said. “I guess that says something about them.”

So does location, perhaps. The vineyard gets plenty of sun, and it has good soil and drainage. It slopes down from the woods, which helps protect it from the elements.

“Hard early or late frosts have devastated some nearby vineyards in recent years,” Iuppa said. “But thankfully, ours wasn’t affected.”

When the Iuppas purchased the vineyard, which was used by the Widmer Winery at the turn of last century, the old-timers in town told her it was known for offering the sweetest grapes in the valley, she said.

“It came with a good pedigree,” Iuppa said.

7. Check out the Naples Grape Festival

Get into the grape season by visiting the Naples Grape, which will be held rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23 and 24, on the grounds of the Memorial Town Hall and Naples High School in the village.

Enjoy the enjoy the tastings and bottle sales from the producers of wines, craft beers, cider, and distilleries at the Brahm Moore Beverage Garden.

Arts and crafts, food and live music also are on tap throughout the weekend. For more details, visit https://naplesgrapefest.org/.

And do pick up some tips at the scene.

A panel of judges will start the tasting contest at noon Saturday for the Naples Greatest Grape Pie Contest.

From there, take what you’ve learned, tweak it, change it to however you want, and if it works, pay it forward.

“I think when someone makes something for you to eat, you eat it and you enjoy it,” Freivald said. “Then you ask them for the recipe, because you want to enjoy it later and make it for your family and share it with people you care about."

This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Channel the Naples Grape Festival spirit with these grape pie tips