Anyone Make Their Own Wine?
- Thread starter zack24
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I have made a Beaujolais and a killer strawberry in the past. They both turned out to be great drinkers. I have 24 bottles of this years strawberry aging now.
Why use oak chips if you are aging in a white oak barrel?
Wine making is a lot of fun. The results are enjoyable I have found. Best of Luck Zack.
Why use oak chips if you are aging in a white oak barrel?
Wine making is a lot of fun. The results are enjoyable I have found. Best of Luck Zack.
My dad used to make some wine out of strange stuff, dandelions for one. It didn't taste good,
but I drank a little to make him feel good. I've had worse commercial wine. North Carolina is
struggling to restart it's wine industry. In colonial times, this was "Napa Valley." New York State
has some terrific wineries. N.C. will get there, has wine-making curriculums at community
colleges, but it will take a few more years.
but I drank a little to make him feel good. I've had worse commercial wine. North Carolina is
struggling to restart it's wine industry. In colonial times, this was "Napa Valley." New York State
has some terrific wineries. N.C. will get there, has wine-making curriculums at community
colleges, but it will take a few more years.
I have found all the kits carry an off flavor. Probably from the invert sugar. It's not bad though and they will age well. I tried cranberries once but it wouldn't take.
Looks good! I brewed beer (Ales) for a few years and made a couple 6 gallon batches of wine. I actually like the wine making process. It's a little easier than beer because no cooking involved. My last wine was a 2006 Merlot made from fresh Napa Valley juice. The brew shop I worked with would order the juice fresh from the vinyards and truck it back to Ohio in a refrigerated trailer. They send out a notification and you place your orders then wait for your juice to show. I liked the way it worked because the vinyard knows just when to pick the grapes and the juice is only a few days old when I pitch the yeast.
The coolest part of winemaking is sampling the product as the years go by and experiencing the gradual change of a particular vintage. I have one bottle of that Merlot left that I'm saving for some special occasion.
Good luck and enjoy!
The coolest part of winemaking is sampling the product as the years go by and experiencing the gradual change of a particular vintage. I have one bottle of that Merlot left that I'm saving for some special occasion.
Good luck and enjoy!
I have made wines in the past and had some favorable and some not-so favorable results.
My brief foray into the hobby ended when I had a run-in with some watermelon must that made me gag and throw-up while siphoning. Not a pleasant experience.
My brief foray into the hobby ended when I had a run-in with some watermelon must that made me gag and throw-up while siphoning. Not a pleasant experience.
I want to try a honey mead sometime in the future. Might be a next winter project. Hope the wine turns out to be the drink of the gods!! Cheers!
I have always wanted to make my own wine, but never got around to it. My uncle makes a batch each year and gives me a couple bottles. I like it but it is very different from commercial wine.
Hey zack24,
Are you using grape juice concentrates or buying whole vinifera stock and crushing your own?
My wife and I have made our own wines for the last 10 years or so, maybe longer. We make a bit less now that we no longer have our farm(ette) with its vineyard and dozens of fruit trees. PAYING for our fruits took a bit of the shine off of making our own. Using concentrates just did not compute cost-wise for me versus just buying prepared wine after we located to the city. We still make a few gallons of a fruit wine but nothing like before.
Are you using grape juice concentrates or buying whole vinifera stock and crushing your own?
My wife and I have made our own wines for the last 10 years or so, maybe longer. We make a bit less now that we no longer have our farm(ette) with its vineyard and dozens of fruit trees. PAYING for our fruits took a bit of the shine off of making our own. Using concentrates just did not compute cost-wise for me versus just buying prepared wine after we located to the city. We still make a few gallons of a fruit wine but nothing like before.
Haven't done wine in awhile but I'll be starting some Mead soon. I too live in Florida and can only make wine/beer/mead in the winter. Batches in the summer can sometimes take on strange flavors if the ferment temps are too high. We keep the AC at 80. In the winter I rarely have that happen..
I have never made my own wine, but my uncle has been making wine for a long time and it is amazing, I want to start to get into it.
I've made several batches of fruit wines in the past: gooseberry, concord grape, blackberry, perry, apple cider, applejack and more. All from fruit grown on my property or from friends and family. I spent this year learning about and growing my own tobacco so I didn't make any wine. Hopefully next year I'll have both a tobacco harvest and some good wines on the go. I agree with @mmjk that it's a great hobby to relax with and can be very rewarding. It's not too expensive to get into either.
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