ShadesManna
Pagan Vintner
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2020
- Messages
- 93
- Reaction score
- 35
Hello from one of the many forests of New Jersey! We still have nice, untamed patches of wilderness, if you look hard enough, and know where to look.
One of the reasons I started making wine was because I was tired of store-bought wine. There are red, white, blush, and sparkling wines. That's great. What about peach wine? Dandelion wine? Other more diverse, interesting, varied flavors? What would pickle wine taste like? Can you make wine out of teas? Milk? These questions led me to my first library book, others, and then of course the internet.
While making my first experiment (all of the wines I make are experiments), my mother let slip that my relatives secretly made wine. This surprised me so much that I accidentally shot dandelion wine must across the room, into the living room, where the carpet greedily slurped it up. She told me about how her sister would gather the wild raspberries around her property when they were in season. We remembered doing all sorts of seasonal activities with her; especially having wild raspberries and blackberries with sugar and cream. It was interesting to learn that she would take some of what we gathered, and squirrel them away to make her own batches of wine. She said it was too good to share! Similarly, my mother let me know that her father had also made his own wine from dandelions, tinned peaches, and other ingredients. This was up in the old hunting lodge, where he, his wife, their friends, and friends' partners would gather in all seasons to get away from civilization. The homemade wine helped them relax, and in Prohibition times, was likely the only way they could get alcoholic beverages.
It was really interesting to discover that making wine quite literally runs in my family. My journey into making wine started in 2007, and I haven't stopped making it since. There have been delicious concoctions, that are now staple batches annually. There have been utter failures, that were disasters, and still might get a "Retry" on the Game Over screen. Every single batch has been a learning experience; whether a new recipe, or old favorite. Find a new flavor. Think outside the grape.
One of the reasons I started making wine was because I was tired of store-bought wine. There are red, white, blush, and sparkling wines. That's great. What about peach wine? Dandelion wine? Other more diverse, interesting, varied flavors? What would pickle wine taste like? Can you make wine out of teas? Milk? These questions led me to my first library book, others, and then of course the internet.
While making my first experiment (all of the wines I make are experiments), my mother let slip that my relatives secretly made wine. This surprised me so much that I accidentally shot dandelion wine must across the room, into the living room, where the carpet greedily slurped it up. She told me about how her sister would gather the wild raspberries around her property when they were in season. We remembered doing all sorts of seasonal activities with her; especially having wild raspberries and blackberries with sugar and cream. It was interesting to learn that she would take some of what we gathered, and squirrel them away to make her own batches of wine. She said it was too good to share! Similarly, my mother let me know that her father had also made his own wine from dandelions, tinned peaches, and other ingredients. This was up in the old hunting lodge, where he, his wife, their friends, and friends' partners would gather in all seasons to get away from civilization. The homemade wine helped them relax, and in Prohibition times, was likely the only way they could get alcoholic beverages.
It was really interesting to discover that making wine quite literally runs in my family. My journey into making wine started in 2007, and I haven't stopped making it since. There have been delicious concoctions, that are now staple batches annually. There have been utter failures, that were disasters, and still might get a "Retry" on the Game Over screen. Every single batch has been a learning experience; whether a new recipe, or old favorite. Find a new flavor. Think outside the grape.
