Keeping an Eye on Fermentation

Both the peach wine and Sauvignon Blanc are in primary fermenters with an airlock. It’s interesting to note that I’m drawn to observe the bubbling in the airlock. One might think that is a boring activity, however, I find it fascinating to stare at bubbles being released. The Sauvignon Blanc was the first to [...]

Kit Wine, One More Try

After making wine from juice and grapes both at home and at wineries, making another wine from a kit seems like a step backward. On the negative side, I don’t like the “kit wine taste” that I often pick up. So I decided to only look at higher quality kits. Since I only want [...]

Finally a Peach Wine Attempt

Ever since we started making wine in 2007, Kathy has wanted to make peach wine. Finally we decided to just do it. Our first decision was how much to make. Since we have two empty 3 gallon carboys we decided on three gallons. Next we needed to find a recipe or two to follow. [...]

What, No Wine Aging?

After bottling our 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon earlier this month, my youngest son Kevin, asked what other wines did we have in the making. When I told him none he was reflective and said that this was the first time since 2008 that we didn’t have something aging. Well, we couldn’t let that last for [...]

Bottling the 09 Cab

It took longer to drive to Vint Hill Craft Winery than bottle our barrel of 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon. DJ, Vint Hill’s winemaker, had the bottling machine steam cleaned and cooled by the time we arrived. Our wine was racked into a stainless steel tank that was connected to the bottling machine. The first task [...]

Bottling Today – Graduation

We’re just hours away from bottling our 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon we crafted at Vint Hill Craft Winery in Virginia. This day feels like a graduation, however, it is just one more step in the process of making wine. Although the wine has aged in a French oak barrel, Ana Sélection for almost 21 months, [...]

It Wasn’t Plonk

I took a chance and carted off a few bottles of my Illuminatus Two Coasts to the Wine Bloggers Conference #WBC11 held in Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend. I knew that I liked the wine, but would it stand up to wine writers? Several writers tasted the wine including Richard Leahy (Richard Leahy’s Wine Report), [...]

Our First Wine, Three Years Later

Our first wine was made from a Cabernet Sauvignon wine kit that Kathy gave me for Christmas 2007. The kit sat, unopened for several months while I gathered the courage to open it and make wine. Thinking back I spent hours reading and rereading the directions. It also took hours to try to read [...]

A Delicious Wine Fault

We made some wine from the few pounds if Niagara harvested from our property last fall. Only six 375 ml bottles were made. This was really a small lot. However, we tended the vines and grapes, harvested the grapes and made wine. The whole experience was valuable. I fermented the wine to dry however [...]

Cabernet Sauvignon Aging Nicely

We had an opportunity to stop by Vint Hill Craft Winery yesterday to taste our 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon still in a French oak barrel. The last time we tasted it was last summer. Wow! What a difference eight months can make. The fruity character of the wine was present as it was last summer, [...]