Yesterday at the Dupont Circle Freshfarm Market one of the vendors was selling wild wineberries. They looked raspberries, only smaller and glossier:
The vendor put out some berries for samples, so I tasted one. It was delicious – juicy, tart, and floral. But seven dollars for a little half-filled box seemed a bit steep, especially for something so functionally similar to raspberries. I googled the berry, and found a helpful website that says wineberries are considered an invasive plant in the mid-Atlantic. The description even mentioned DC as one of the habitats for the wineberry, so I wonder if there might be some patches in one of DC’s many forested parks.
Any readers with wineberry experience care to weigh in on whether they’re worth the price? And does anyone know where I could go forage for some myself??
Hi,
They are yummy! I have picked them along the New River in VA. Not many as they grow in the shade mainly. $7 for what might take you a long time to find seems good to me.
I have nothing to add but want to say that I’ve been wondering too. So if you find out more, please share…
Yeah, you could come to my yard in NJ and pick your fill. They are growing EVERYWHERE.
[...] DC. Plus, it features the occasional post about foraging. Remember when I asked about where to find wineberries? Natural Capital has the [...]
[...] that this is the time of year when you can forage for wild wineberries in our area. Wineberries, I learned last year, are of the genus Rubus, the same group as raspberries and blackberries and all manner of delicious [...]
Wineberries have a terrific sweet-tart flavor, but 7 dollars is ridiculous. They’re everywhere in the DC area, spend a weekend afternoon in Rock Creek Park and you’ll find more than you possibly could take home.
Outside Hancock, MD there is a rail trail with a bazillion berries growing. We picked 6 pounds yesterday (7-7-12) right along the trail: http://www.westernmarylandrailtrail.org/WMRT/
I grew up on a farm in the heart of wine country in NY, on Seneca Lake. I didn’t know what they were, but on faith just started snacking on them as we had tons of other berries growing. We didn’t know the name so we called them Linsey Berries, it wasn’t until years later I decided to look them up. They grew wild on our farm, usually in shaded areas. They are well worth $7. They are so much better to eat then raspberries. They are too little known, but if they get more well known, they are soo good! I baked many a pie with these delicious berries.I spent hours scouring our land for them. They are my favorite berry of all the berries out there.