Hi everyone,
All I have to say is WOW, what a journey.
In February of this year, 2013, I decided to try my hand at making wine. I like wine, beer and spirits so why not try my hand?
I bought a kit from somewhere, probably amazon, bought about 40-50 pounds of table grapes to experiment in making a nice "Dago Red" red wine. I was of course impatient at first, trying a taste after a few weeks, then a month, then a few months. And it was always bad. It wasn't truly a bad taste but was definitely not a good, drinkable wine. It sits in a 3 gallon better bottle, waiting...
I then tried some white. I made about 1.5 gallons of white. It now sits in 2 glass bottle with airlocks... waiting...
I then made some Apfelwein (Ed Wort's recipe). It was ready quickly, and my wife, friends and I drank 5 gallons pretty quickly.
Then it was Skeeter Pee. I had some sulfur problems, resolved that, and then realized that lemon was not my style. I have 2 gallons sitting there waiting to be drunk.
So I decided to try my hand at beer. Since I started making beer back in April I have made about 75 gallons and have invested in so much hardware that I can't even begin to count. I have interspersed that with some sporadic batches of Apfelwein with varying recipes and amounts and types of sugar and ingredients.
At this point I have:
And most likely tons more I am forgetting...
So last night I was cleaning out a closet and found all the wine I made about 10 months ago. I have been pulling it out every few months and giving it a quick taste. It has always been "not drinkable" to me and I really thought I would be throwing it out.
Last night I took a sip and it was good. Not $50/bottle good, but definitely drinkable! I tried the white as well as the red and they were both starting to mature! It is amazing!
I back sweetened just a touch and tried the remainder of my glass of red. It ended up at about .998 gravity so it needed a bit to even qualify as "dry." And it was even better. And to think I almost gave up!
So to all who made it this far and have minimal or lost faith in their brew or their wine. HANG IN THERE! Take your time, be patient, and it will all be good. It really put a smile on my face to know it was finally on the cusp of being ready for consumption!
Now I am going to bottle it and let it age a bit longer with a little back sweetening. I am also going to add a bit of commercial wine to enrich the color a little bit. The color is a very pale red. Almost like a tawny port actually.
So anyhow, I just figured I would share. Thanks to everyone on this forum (that I am now a full member on) that has helped me along the way. God I love this hobby.
All I have to say is WOW, what a journey.
In February of this year, 2013, I decided to try my hand at making wine. I like wine, beer and spirits so why not try my hand?
I bought a kit from somewhere, probably amazon, bought about 40-50 pounds of table grapes to experiment in making a nice "Dago Red" red wine. I was of course impatient at first, trying a taste after a few weeks, then a month, then a few months. And it was always bad. It wasn't truly a bad taste but was definitely not a good, drinkable wine. It sits in a 3 gallon better bottle, waiting...
I then tried some white. I made about 1.5 gallons of white. It now sits in 2 glass bottle with airlocks... waiting...
I then made some Apfelwein (Ed Wort's recipe). It was ready quickly, and my wife, friends and I drank 5 gallons pretty quickly.
Then it was Skeeter Pee. I had some sulfur problems, resolved that, and then realized that lemon was not my style. I have 2 gallons sitting there waiting to be drunk.
So I decided to try my hand at beer. Since I started making beer back in April I have made about 75 gallons and have invested in so much hardware that I can't even begin to count. I have interspersed that with some sporadic batches of Apfelwein with varying recipes and amounts and types of sugar and ingredients.
At this point I have:
- a self-built 10 gallon Mash Tun
- (2) 5 gallon better bottles
- (1) 3 gallon better bottle
- (1) 3 gallon glass carboy
- (1) 6.5 gallon brew bucket
- (2) 5.0 gallon food grade buckets
- (8) 1 gallon glass bottles
- (it seems like) several 100 airlocks and stoppers.
- 100's of beer bottles
- several cases of clear empty wine bottles
- several cases worth of corks
- a Williams oxygenation wand
- an outdoor propane burner (need a better one)
- a 30 quart aluminum pot
- a 5cf chest freezer with Johnson Controls temp controller
- 50 foot SS wort chiller
- multiple temperature probes and devices
And most likely tons more I am forgetting...
So last night I was cleaning out a closet and found all the wine I made about 10 months ago. I have been pulling it out every few months and giving it a quick taste. It has always been "not drinkable" to me and I really thought I would be throwing it out.
Last night I took a sip and it was good. Not $50/bottle good, but definitely drinkable! I tried the white as well as the red and they were both starting to mature! It is amazing!
I back sweetened just a touch and tried the remainder of my glass of red. It ended up at about .998 gravity so it needed a bit to even qualify as "dry." And it was even better. And to think I almost gave up!
So to all who made it this far and have minimal or lost faith in their brew or their wine. HANG IN THERE! Take your time, be patient, and it will all be good. It really put a smile on my face to know it was finally on the cusp of being ready for consumption!
Now I am going to bottle it and let it age a bit longer with a little back sweetening. I am also going to add a bit of commercial wine to enrich the color a little bit. The color is a very pale red. Almost like a tawny port actually.
So anyhow, I just figured I would share. Thanks to everyone on this forum (that I am now a full member on) that has helped me along the way. God I love this hobby.
