What do you do with your wine?

Personally, I make wine with a few friends, and we split the results. I'm kind of the brains behind the operation so to speak. We split the results depening on who ponies up the cash for the grapes/juice/equipment.

I'm also involving my parents as well... my father purchase a third of a barrel of chardonnay that I am making.

I also plan to give some away as gifts as well, but when all is said and done, I do drink quite more than the average amount of wine, on a slow week I will drink 2 bottles, but on a good one 4 isn't out of the question. My roommates and friends are usually partaking in some of the wine I drink as well, so it's not all to myself :^)

Firstly, a 5-gallon batch will only yield about 4-gallons of wine, after all the fining --- unless, of course, you top up, in which case you are depleting your cellar supply, with the same volumetric effect. Then, there is spillage and breakage and "quality assurance" sampling, and the occasional batch that goes bad.

Secondly, a bottle a day is 365(.25) bottles per year, which is 73(.05) gallons. Sounds like a lot? A bottle is only about 4 six-ounce glasses. Many of us do have one or two glasses of wine with our meals and possibly one or two more during the course of an evening. If there are two people in the household who enjoy wine, a bottle a day is only 1/2 bottle per person. This is not AA territory, IMO.

Thirdly, there are guests, parties (which can quickly empty a few cases), and (as you mention) gifts.

And finally, one wishes to age their wine for a few years. Thus, during the initial years of the hobby, one will be making more than one is consuming, in order to build up a cellar. Eventually, after 4-6 years, one will slow down "production" to match annual consumption.

When I started out making my own wine, I made a few one-gallon batches. When they worked out successfully, I started making a new batch almost every week --- whatever fruit was on sale that week became wine. Eventually, I slowed down to fewer, but larger batches. In September, I make a few ten-gallon batches of vinafera (Cabernet, Merlot, Sangiovese). In November, I make a few ten-gallon batches of Scrumpy. In January, I make a few batches from the Chilean grape harvest. In Spring, from Concord juice. And in late summer, from Midnight Beauty "table grapes". And, I do a few 1-gallon "experimentals" when I'm in the mood, or some sort of fruit falls my way. That gives me my statutory 100 gallons, and a bit of spare time for enjoying it.

I probably produce small amounts compared to a lot of people on here, but I do not have anything left from my first year. I'm working at setting up my cellar. I don't drink that much either, but my friends like to try my wine when we get together. My parents like this one wine I make, so I send bottles home with them, or I take a bottle up when we visit. I also have a couple of in-laws who like to drink wine too - so there goes a few more bottles. For the first time this year, I'm giving a wine gift to those who save their wine bottles for me. Believe me, it goes.... I'm up to making about 12 gallons a year, which is the most I've ever made. Some of it needs to sit for a year or two after bottling. The wine I have available to drink is not as much as I would like. I will probably make more next year. Darlene

I don't drink alcoholic beverages at all but friends and relatives releive me of all I produce. I usually produce around 50 gallons per year

Later, A.J. Rawls Anchorage, Alaska, USA

you're right, Dave... the joy is in the creating, and the joy is also in the drinking.. and the joy is in the giving away of wine and having friends say: that was GREAT! my secretary tells me she likes mine better than the wine she buys at the store. what a compliment! And the joy is in the collecting... The joy is in the throwing away of stuff that's gone bad... It's just fun... Today I picked a few more concords to top off my juice at 6 gallons pressed, processed juice... But I left behind a whole bunch of grapes on the vine that a neighbour said I could have as much as I wanted of....it was hard to let it go...but I can only make so much, and my wife also asks me: when's it going to stop... Well, I have plans for raspberry, rhubarb, and maybe jalapeno wine... jalapeno wine? yes, the joy is in the experimenting too!

That's for me, anyway. Good question! take care, Cheers. Rick Vanderwal Fremont, MI

Fortunately, my wife may not drink as much as I, but she drinks more regularly. In other words, she never puts the brakes on. And the hardest thing to do is build a quality cellar. What I thought was good

3 years ago, I have now surpassed in quality with newer wines. As I find better sources of fruit, of course, my wine gets better. If I go down to the basement, and don't want to pull a certain bottle, that bin becomes gifts. And making wine in one gallon, or even 5 gallon batches, is something I don't do. If it is good, it will be gone before it ages. Usually my batches are in stainless steel beer kegs. Last year I made about 150 gallons, with about 50 gallons still unbottled. ( Very tannic syrah and nebbiola plus a few small batches of others) This year I will do only about 100 due to quality problems in Pa and NY. Tim

Dad put a "lean to" addition on the "winery", little house out behind the house. I guess you could technically call it the "jug room" :-) My sister and I have offen speculated what we will do, when unfortunately, that time comes.

Fred

I don't drink all that much either. I just started making it this year and am trying to "build up" my cellar. I make 1 gallon batches of fruit wine and 6 gallon kits in between so the fruit wine can age. I figure I go through 2 bottles a week thru the summer and a bit less at other parts of the year. Why the difference? I drink it while I'm grilling.

My first kit yielded 28 bottles. I gave away 12 bottles. Brings that to 16. I have 2 tucked away for thanksgiving and 2 for christmas. That's 12. I had a party and went thru 2. That's 10 bottles left from that original 28 bottles.

Believe it or not, it disappears fast. I found that when I get into a conversation with friends that don't know I make wine, when the subject comes up, they want to try it. I figure that at $2 or so a bottle, I give it away quite easily.

Now when it comes to my fruit wine, that's rarely given away.

Greg

Greg Smith snipped-for-privacy@spamblocker.netzero.net Remove "spamblocker" to e-mail

My wife cannot drink as much the past couple of years because of some medications. We do drink a bottle maybe three times a week. In the past year, I've been putting some in 12 oz. bottles for times that I'd like wine and my wife does not.

I take a bottle to work for lunch every now and again and share it with one or two others. (I don't operate machinery and it is legal)

Any time we go to dinner at friend's homes we take a bottle or two, and gifts for assorted holidays or special occasions. They also return the bottles or they know their source may just dry up!

In all, I guess I go through 200+ bottles a year. If I had to buy wine at retail prices, I'd drink less of it. And I'd give less as gifts. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net

so the basic consensus is a bottle or two a week, and the rest is either storage for future, or gifts.... correct?

email: dallyn_spam at yahoo dot com please respond in this NG so others can share your wisdom as well!

No, no, Dave! A bottle or two a DAY, and the rest is for wot you said. :)

[I don't have a drinking problem. I drink. I get drunk. I pass out. No problem!]

Just joking, kids. :)

Negodki, Where do you get Chilean grapes? Tim

Aconcagua. In January, my local grocery store imports and sells some sort of red "table grape" (for only 69 cents a pound) which makes an excellent "white Zinfandel" type wine. The Brix is a bit low (17-18), but the acid (.7-8) , pH (3.1-3.3), and tannin levels are ideal. With a bit of chapitalization (fancy french word for adding sugar), it works out very nice. I discovered this one year when I was unable to purchase any wine grapes during the fall, and decided to see what I could do with table grapes. I've been making it every year since.

Since I have no idea what the varietal is, we've named the wine "Chilly Vinny" (a play on 'vino [de uvas] chileanos', and much easier to say when drinking).

If there are two or more adults in the household, the limit is 200 gallons per annum

so you can drink more, take a second wife, and/or have more parties!

Let's see two 8 oz glasses of wine x 2 people = 32 oz per day x 365 days = 11680 oz per yr / 128 oz = 91.25 gals per yr or about 460+ bottles. This year I expect to get 125 gals of wine from 1800 lbs of grapes which will be split equally with my partner. Oops, we didn't make enough!

Steve

Let the newsgroup scroll proclaim that Dave Allyn scribed upon its pages in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

A bottle a day isn't an unreasonable amount to consume. It's about four-five glasses, and two glasses of red per day is highly recommended as heart healthy. With two adults in the house, one bottle isn't much to consume in a day!

"I have enjoyed great health at a great age because everyday since I can remember I have consumed a bottle of wine except when I have not felt well. Then I have consumed two bottles."