No offence. But at this time when the harvest is at its prime it would be nice to know who is actually doing " real" wine.
There is two groups. From juice buckets & from grapes. Where did you get them from? How are you going about the processes?
Where do you belong?
SG Brix
It's funny that you should bring this up. My wine club has an amateaur wine contest each November. I've asked the question...should we separate kit wines from "scratch" wines (those made from grapes). In the end we decided not to make the distinction. Winemaking is winemaking. Grape growing is grape growing. I grow grapes and make wine from them so I tended to favor separation. But I've also made a few kits. One of our better winemakers made a BK Super Tuscan that was far superior to my version so I guess I have to agree that the winemaker does make a difference.
Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas UsA
How about the all of the above category?
I have a great relationship with a vineyard in the Willamette Valley that allows me to harvest, Reisling, Pinot Noir and Gewurtz. I have purchased must on occasion, primarily heavier reds that I have no direct vineyard source for. I also will fill out my choices with the occasional BK kit.
If you consider country wines "real". Then you can also count my peach, strawberry and apple.
Does my mead from jars of purchased honey count? ;-)
I make wine from whole grapes (my own, wild and from other people's vines), from juice (usually a gift), from concentrates, from fruit, vegetables, roots, flowers, bark, seeds, honey, berries, leaves, stems, nuts, sap, and milk (coconut). They are all "real" wines except for the meads and a few ciders.
Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page
How do you find space and time for so many different batches?
It had damned well better count, or this redneck boy is gonna load his guns...
sgbrix ,
I've just racked my home grown red off its gross lees. It's a field blend of Chelois, Chambourcin, NY 73, and Baco. I also have a field blended white, a blend of Traminette, Vignoles & St. Pepin. The size of the harvest was pitiable, so I'll probably make a few white kits & some country wines. Occasionally I'll get some Vinifera grapes from a friend who's a commercial grower/maker.
I like the romance of growing & making wine from scratch, but if I can't, I'll do what I _must_ .
This is my first year making wine and have commited to bulk aging or bottles cranberry, orange, banana, prune, lilac, lavender, strawberry, grapefrit, cherry, blueberry, apple, peach, blackberry, jalapeno, pear, cantalope, concord grapes. In the freezer is more blackberry, and pumpkin, carrot, plum and rhubarb.
Last month a very nice retired fellow with a hobby vineyard hung a small sign at the local store saying wine grapes were avaible in small batches to anyone with the enthusiasm to pick 'em. A phone number was provided. He had some interest....of sorts.
One person called. There's 6 gal of Chenin Blanc, 4 gal of what he recalled was a Bavarian Gamay, 5 gal of Zin, and 5 gal of Cabernet Sav. in carboys in the garage.
The gentleman is coming over for dinner this weekend. I've all ready made arrangements to learn/help with pruning, fertilizing, training etc. this winter if he can use the help. I don't know how to even begin to repay his kindness. His experience is really a treasure, talking wine and grapes with someone is a pleasure.
I keep saying he has no idea what a wonderful ending to my first year of winemaking this is. He just chuckles and says it was a pretty good year for grapes.
Steve Oregon
Real Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel here in Sonoma County, California, from local Russian River appellation grapes.
Both are from 2nd growth grapes, after the vineyard was commercially harvested.
The 1.5 gallons Sauv Blanc is racked once and now aging with med toast French oak stave. (harvested late August, 23 Brix and 0.7 TA, inoculated with Rhone yeast at 55 F, raised to 73 F over 2 days (room was warmer than I hoped for), then cooled to 65 F over 2 days. Took 8 days to ferment to completely dry)
The 4 gallons Zinfandel were just inoculated today with Pasteur Red yeast (harvested this past Saturday, the day before the rains came.... settled for 22 Brix and 0.60 TA). Fermentation started at 63 F. Slowly warming with 60W light bulb to get up to about 72 F by day 4. Wanting this to be a long, slow ferment to retain fruitiness ... 1/3 whole berries.
Regards, Gene
Our fall fair here has several catagories... and does seperate them.
white from local fruit red from local fruit white from local grape red from local grape white from concentrate red from concentrate wine stewards downfall (can be anything) even fortified ale draft dark ale cider
Now for some of the off the wall ones I have tried... some with success
Marigold good except the judge said that fortifying the wine take away the flavour of the fruit. Green tomato and red tomato..(both not bad.. the red tasted like pizza) radish...Yuck... so it sits in the celler. ageing in hopes... dandilions always good corn jack... corn wine -22% then frozen and rack off the slush. Really yummy and potent as hell. got a 1st for this one. Tropical a collection of leftover fruit from my daughters wedding.
*hate to see it go to waste.. not to bad. but no definite flavour out front. Pumpkin beer always good at tihis time of year. Blackerry beer and blueberry beer.last week started my first batch of hop mead. we shall see. I had lots of hops ... and the honey was on sale.. couldn't resist.
cheers Marv
None taken. I make real wine from juice, grapes, fruit and flowers.
I make real beer and mead too.
Joe
Wine is like laundry; it actually takes a long time to do it, but most of that time it just sits brewing/washing. It's only the taking out and putting in that actually is any work.
As penalty for that horrid pun, you =must= send me a bottle of each to: Bob 27954-0021, USA :-)
Hey!
Jack Kellar says no! what a jip. Now I will have to start of another 5 gallons ;-)
I've got five of apple/clove mead that is definitely going to give me a Merry Christmas! :-) And phooey on Jack Keller! He gets no mead from me!!! LOL!!!
The batches are everywhere. At this very moment, I have 15 batches in my computer room, 5 in the kitchen, 2 in my bedroom, and 15 in a spare bedroom. Exactly 19 of them are 1-gallon batches and the rest are carboys. As for time, you can afford to allow them to bulk age when you have more than 8-10 batches going. I stir something almost every night, either something in primary (I have 3 in primary right now) or something aging on lees (I have 8). I rack on Wednesday nights (my wife's quilting night) or on weekends, sometimes 10-12 wines in one day. I bottle whenever I have room for new wines to be stored. Right now I need to drink some space.
Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page
The gentleman has been making wine for over 20 years . After talking with him I am always re-grounded in - taste -.
Numbers, tests, etc are good, but smell, taste, after all, is what it's about. What a gas this is.
Steve Noobie Oregon
---snip
Lucky you, I bet you did not even have to pay to pick these grapes. Last year I spent a day picking old 2nd groth Zin in Lodi that is still in barrel at a friend out there.. Did not have time this year.
This sounds great, I just wonder about using Pasteur Red? Their optimum is listed as 64-86f, could you not get fresh strains from someone?
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