Wine Making

[mpj96]

Anyone here make their own wine? I have been thinking that making a batch of chianti might be a fun and interesting experiment. Any tips from those who have been down this road as to types of wines, provisions suppliers, things to do and not to do would be greatly appreciated.

[dukemomLA]

Well, a number of years ago, my husband and I tried to make wine. Our property had huge wonderful trellises of Concords. And since Concords were not our favorite grape to eat, we thought what the hell.

Well, after much time, expense, labor, etc. we ended up gallons and gallons of...vinegar. (And not great vinegar at that).

After those two years, we waited until the grapes were ripe and it was time to trim everything back to the bareroot (kinda like roses), and filled dozens of large trash bags, piled them in the SUV and carted them off to the L.A. Zoo.

The gorilla keepers were thrilled -- and the gorillas in 7th Heaven! Did you know that grapes/leaves/vines/everything is one of the gorillas favorite foods? Felt like we were doing something special -- and often got to go behind-the-scenes to watch the gorillas feast.

[DevilAlumna]

I know absolutely nothing about making wine, but let me be the first to volunteer my tasting services!

[DukeUsul]

I'd love to get started doing it. I figure I drink enough of the stuff....

Head on over to the bulletin boards at wine.woot.com. Some very smart people in their "cyberpub" room at wine woot - I spend a lot of time over there.

Some of the things I've heard as good tips:
1) Find a local brewery/winemaking store to get your equipment. The people who run these places tend to be able to offer excellent advice.
2) Start out using wine making kits or purchasing grape juice concentrate. This will reduce the complexity of actually sourcing and smashing the grapes... stuff you can do later once you get the rest of the process perfected.

[YmoBeThere]

My parents make wine every year from a kit. I am tasked with making labels for the bottles. My aunt came up with the initial design, family crest, etc. so I just play around with it every year as they shift from Chardonnay to Pinot Grigio to something else, etc. All I am good for other than the labels is the tasting and drinking.

[EarlJam]

Here's some of the best whine I've seen in a while:

"The umpire was full of [expletive]," Steinbrenner said of the retiring Froemming. "He won't umpire our games anymore."

Actually, I've never made my own wine but dabbled in beer making in the late 80s. It was a lot of fun and I wouldn't mind revisiting it. Your post has motivated me to visit one of the beer-making supply stores in Atlanta this week. I will ask about wine making and pass along any good information I get.

-EarlJam

[Bob Green]

I am an expert wine drinker. I lived in Vallejo, CA, which is a very short drive away from Napa, for seven months in 1982 and developed a love of wine. I find a couple of bottles to be the perfect companion to a good meal.