# What are you doing right now?



## St Allie (Aug 2, 2009)

I am making leftovers into soup.

it's.... Chicken /Bacon/ mushroom /blue cheese and sour cream soup

and I have two loaves of homemade Rosemary bread to go with it.

Allie


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## Tom (Aug 2, 2009)

Starting a "SPECIAL" dinner.
We are celebrating our 40th Anniversary today.


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## St Allie (Aug 2, 2009)

oh wow.. congratulations Tom..

what's for dinner then?

have you got the best bottles out of the winecellar yet?

hehehhe

Allie


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## Wade E (Aug 2, 2009)

Congrats on that Tom! Im chilling as I had a long day yesterday between picking for about a little over 4 hours and then getting that batch started and then my wife wanted to go out so we did and came home late. First time we've been out in awhile, alone!


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## Tom (Aug 2, 2009)

Thanks Wade.
Also busy taking care of my 21 carboys aging, 9 of which is from fresh fruit/juice the last 2 months.


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## smurfe (Aug 3, 2009)

First off, congrats Tom on 40 years. 

For me, I have been sitting here for a few hours trying to fix my computer. It looks like it is toast. I think my hard drive failed. It wont re-load windows after a format. I drug out my old machine that works like a top. If you see a lot of typos it is cause I am getting back used to the tiny keyboard on it. 

Speaking of eats, I cooked on of the best meals I ever fixed today. I think I may just make a post about it in the Food/Wine forum.


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## Madriver Wines (Aug 3, 2009)

Racked my 3 gallon strawberry yesterday. It is clearing nicely and the add of Ascorbic acid when I racked helped it hold the color. I will have to post a pic later. Then the exciting work of laundry and vacuming.


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## gonzo46307 (Aug 3, 2009)

Congratulations Tom! 

What am I doing right now...surfing the internet...

Peace,
Bob


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## Tom (Aug 3, 2009)

Thanks Bob !


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## St Allie (Aug 3, 2009)

Today..making grapefruit wine..


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## Tom (Aug 3, 2009)

How big a batch


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## St Allie (Aug 3, 2009)

3 gallons done

I have enough for another 3 gallons.. plus a bucket of mandarins and two buckets of lemons.

might make that into cordial and bottle it for summer.


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## BettyJ (Aug 3, 2009)

Party at Allie's house! How do you find the time? My husband thinks I am obsessed 

I am home alone with my 2 cats and 1 dog, watching a re-run of dating in the dark, which is an interesting experiment. Having a glass of white wine (pretty good, just needs to age a bit). Just finished bottling 18 bottles of Merlot and 16 Red Wine Sangria (per demand). 

Waiting on my family to visit for my birthday (Saturday) to bring my needed supplies. Don't worry - I would be happy to see them in any case, just ecstatic to see them bearing winemaking tools 

Betty


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## Tom (Aug 3, 2009)

Betty,
What kind of wine tool are they bringing?


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## St Allie (Aug 3, 2009)

BettyJ said:


> Party at Allie's house! How do you find the time? My husband thinks I am obsessed
> 
> Betty



Hehehehe,

It's winter, not much happening in the vege patch cept onions, leeks and silverbeet, the main garden is asleep.. so no weeding to do.

and it's too cold for surfing.

Allie


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## Tom (Aug 3, 2009)

So if its winter what kind of temps you grt?


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## St Allie (Aug 3, 2009)

quite nice today Tom..

at 2pm Tue 4 August 
Auckland 
Temperature: 15 °C 
Wind Speed: 19 km/h 
Wind Direction: NW 
Rainfall (last hr): 0.0 mm 
Humidity: 53 % 
Pressure: 1018 hPa 

I'm going for a run now..

Allie


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## BettyJ (Aug 4, 2009)

Betty,
What kind of wine tool are they bringing?


Hi Tom
They are bringing supplies, etc. There is no wine store here in Belize, and no one will ship here, so I am pretty dependent on visitors..... I am getting a pump aspirator and some zork corks this trip.


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## myakkagldwngr (Aug 5, 2009)

Hearing this talk of winter is heart breaking. Our wonderful Florida weather is in the mid 90's (F) with 75% humidity. Almost every day now we have thunderstorms and rain. It's our rainy season, oh yeah hurricane season too. But that's really slow now, thankfully. 
Right now I'm getting caught up on the forums I visit before calling it a night. Got to fly to Norfolk Va tomorrow to drive my #1 daughter back home. She broke her leg up there last week while having a months vacation with her hubby. Friday he's back off to St. Paul island off Alaska and back to work for the Coast Guard.


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## St Allie (Aug 5, 2009)

myakkagldwngr said:


> Hearing this talk of winter is heart breaking. Our wonderful Florida weather is in the mid 90's (F) with 75% humidity. Almost every day now we have thunderstorms and rain. It's our rainy season, oh yeah hurricane season too. But that's really slow now, thankfully.
> Right now I'm getting caught up on the forums I visit before calling it a night. Got to fly to Norfolk Va tomorrow to drive my #1 daughter back home. She broke her leg up there last week while having a months vacation with her hubby. Friday he's back off to St. Paul island off Alaska and back to work for the Coast Guard.



ouch!

how did she break her leg?

Allie


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## Tom (Aug 5, 2009)

BettyJ said:


> Betty,
> What kind of wine tool are they bringing?
> 
> 
> ...



Now thats a shame that you have to rely on friends to bring it in. I hope they come there often!


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## Nubz (Aug 5, 2009)

first of all congrats on 40 years to you and your misses Tom

and right now im doing nothing but reading the forums
just got finished starting my new concoction lol blueberry raspeberry apple
sounds weird but it tastes good


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## Wade E (Aug 5, 2009)

Getting the aspirator pump huh, thats why i use and it saves my back big time. I rack with it and degas with it. I may eventually even filter with it and soon will bottle with it.


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## Tom (Aug 5, 2009)

Nubz said:


> first of all congrats on 40 years to you and your misses Tom




Thanks NUBZ


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## Wade E (Aug 5, 2009)

Drinking a nice cold home brewed draught beer after a very hot day of work and a long crab apple picking session.


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## Nubz (Aug 5, 2009)

Wade E said:


> Drinking a nice cold home brewed draught beer after a very hot day of work and a long crab apple picking session.



best time for a cold beer is the end of a hot day mmmmmm

and i just had some chicken wings that made my eyes water


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## JDRAutoworks (Aug 6, 2009)

What am I doing right now....

Well a very good family member brought over some of the very best wine I ever had the pleasure to sample and then some.

Needless to say over a few glasses and a few shots and a few roasted chilies I am doing pretty well "right now".... 

On another not now I must make some plumb wine ASAP!!!


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## WildSeedGrrrl (Aug 6, 2009)

What am I doing right now?

Well, I've been out of the loop for at least a month. Working a new shift, (3rd and I hate it) and trying to get my syllabus and order books for the next school year. I haven't had a chance to check up on the forum as much as i used too or start any new wines. All my others are still in the secondary aging. 

I have started brewing beer so that has been fun. 

I have some chili peppers sitting on my counter just waiting to be made into something great. 

WSG


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## Wade E (Aug 6, 2009)

Just kegged 5 gallons of beer, racked 13 gallons of raspberry wine, racked 3 gallons of dandelion wine, cleaned up all those carboys and stuff and then cleaned the entire wine making room floor to ceiling as its been awhile. It wasnt really dirty but I do like to keep everything clean.


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## Nubz (Aug 6, 2009)

right now im wondering why i ever started this stuff LOL

this is worse than an addiction i swear
i see fruit in the store or growing beside the road or taste some different kind of juice and think "hmmmm.....i bet this(or that) would make some good wine"


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## Wade E (Aug 6, 2009)

Where do you think I find all these fruits!!!!!!!! The raspberries are a combination from my work parking lot and a state park not far from work. The dandelions were from a park near my house and my yard. The blackberries are from a place also not to far from work, the elderberries will be from up the road and the crab apples are from down the road. All spotted while driving around!!!!!!!!!!


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## myakkagldwngr (Aug 9, 2009)

They were horseing around at her Sister in Laws above ground pool, after having a couple drinks and she jumped down the steps to get away from the bunch she had just splashed.
It turned out to be a long couple days. I couldn't leave Norfolk Va till about 2:30 pm when my SIL caught his flight back to Alaska.
We ended up home here in central Florida about 2:30 am Saturday morning.
Thank the good Lord I didn't find any highway patrol officers waiting for me on the interstates. 
Just shy of 1000 miles in twelve hours, including stops.


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## Tom (Aug 9, 2009)

Well off to my monthly Wine Club Meeting. this month its a wine "pool / BBQ" meeting. Looking forward to see what wine the members will bring. Oh did I say We look forward to "Joeswine" Wines..
We also trade wine stories. What we did and how we fix it.


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## Tom (Aug 10, 2009)

Well today I bottled my Strawberry - Kiwi and my Mixed Fruit. (6 gallons of each)


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## St Allie (Aug 10, 2009)

how was the wine meeting Tom?

Today I am making another 6 gallons of grapefruit wine.. and hunting for recipes for lemon wine.

.. the neighbours are dropping off extra fruit to me.. seems we had a bumper crop of grapefruit. Luckily I bought all those plastic 3 gallon water bottles.

Allie


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## Tom (Aug 10, 2009)

Was a WET one (pool party). The BBQ was great a brisket and pulled pork. And of course our members WINE! We had a blast acting NOT our ages in the pool.


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## Leanne (Aug 11, 2009)

I've been bottling mead and starting MORE apricot wine. We seem to have apricots up the wazoo this year. I just don't know what I'll do with them all (blinks innocently and looks blonde).


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## Madriver Wines (Aug 11, 2009)

Racking and degassing another batch of blueberry. The first one is spoken for already. Tomorrow am its off to the sisters to pick pears and more dewberries. Pear is one of my favorites so far. Delicate, lightly sweet....oh yeh.


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## St Allie (Aug 11, 2009)

scored three large boxes of red bell peppers for four dollars a box..


making capsicum relish for the storecupboard..

storecupboard is looking a bit empty.

Allie


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## smurfe (Aug 11, 2009)

Peppers much be cheaper in your area of the world. A red bell pepper is like a dollar a piece around here.


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## St Allie (Aug 11, 2009)

supermarkets are selling them for almost $2 each here, Steve

I was out at a rural grocers shop this morning .. and they just cleared their shelves of anything that was marked or bruised. Just in the right place at the right time. My capsicum relish is always the first thing to get eaten.. the teens put it on everything. 

three big bags of apples too.. the steers will get those as a treat.

Allie


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## Boozehag (Aug 13, 2009)

I havent been making any new wines lately, its too cold here and no excess fruit of any type. I have got a shiraz kit to make up but worry that the temp dips a bit too low at night for starting a wine up.

At the moment Im into my 3rd day of celebrating my birthday!!! I usually do for a week but this is only my 41st and Im dieting so dont want too many bottles of wine under my belt!!!!


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## Nubz (Aug 14, 2009)

sipping on some wine actually

been dying to taste how my apple is coming and it happened to be racking day for it

also was time for the first rack of my "apple raspberry blueberry" concoction so i saved a glass or 2 of that also that wouldnt fit in the secondary

the apple went down a little but not enough to hinder headspace

wow lety me tell ya how potent the 2 are coming along WOW
can you say backsweeten
the apple is about completely dry id say from tasting it and the other is pretty close
who says you can come up with the right amount of sugar without a hydrometer(LOL i know i got lucky trust me)


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## Madriver Wines (Aug 16, 2009)

You will have to keep us up to date on your apple raspberry blueberry concoction. It sounds pretty good to me. i made a pineapple orange strawberry that is pretty good and should get better. if I can stay out of it of course!


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## Nubz (Aug 16, 2009)

the little taste i had of it was pretty good 
can taste the raspberry in it and a little apple after taste 
should be great here in a few months id think


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## Wade E (Aug 16, 2009)

I just racked my Crab Apple and the Mulberry/Marionberry to glass.


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## Tom (Aug 16, 2009)

Right now deciding if I should have a Beer (homenade chocolate oatmeal stout) or Wine..
Decisions.. Decisions..
Life should be so hard on a 94* day.


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## St Allie (Aug 16, 2009)

am off to the supermarket and then making another 3 gallons of lemon wine.

more citrus than I can cope with.. Have got a big bag of oranges .. so gonna hunt out a recipe for those too.

Allie


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## St Allie (Aug 16, 2009)

I got a 5 and a half pound pork roast for $12 (about $7 US?) at the supermarket.. so am putting it on slow cook with all the trimmings..

the citrus can wait til tomorrow!

Allie


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## BettyJ (Aug 16, 2009)

I am having a tiny glass of my plum banana port - OMG, it is fabulous! It was a 1 gallon test (the must tasted so good, I just pulled off 1 gallon and fortified it with Brandy). It cleared after 2 months and is a beautiful cherry red color. 

Plan: Start a 6 gallon batch of this to hopefully be ready for the holidays


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## St Allie (Aug 16, 2009)

Please post the recipe when you do Betty!

Allie


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## Wade E (Aug 16, 2009)

UMM, I dont recall seeing this in our recipe section and sounds like it needs to be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Nubz (Aug 17, 2009)

Tom said:


> Right now deciding if I should have a Beer (homenade chocolate oatmeal stout) or Wine..
> Decisions.. Decisions..
> Life should be so hard on a 94* day.




life is too short to make such drastic decisions Tom just have both  lol


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## Leanne (Aug 17, 2009)

I've started a spicy melomel over the weekend and am about to attack my apple trees.
I'm starting to keep an eye on local rosehips as well.


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## St Allie (Aug 17, 2009)

if you have a lot of apples Leanne..make cider..

I won't bother making apple wine again..the cider was so much better.


Allie


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## Leanne (Aug 17, 2009)

Cider! Now there's an idea. I'll look for some recipies for that then.
Thanks.


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## Tom (Aug 17, 2009)

Nubz said:


> life is too short to make such drastic decisions Tom just have both  lol



You dont have to tell me twice... Done.


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## BettyJ (Aug 17, 2009)

Hi Wade
This is the resource I used for the port. Because my natal plums are much more like cranberries than plums, I used your recipe for cranberry wine (and added bananas). After 5 days in primary the must was just fabulous tasting and smelling, so as an experiment, I pulled off 1 gallon and added vodka (later had to add additional brandy as it did not stop the fermentation). I will use these as "lessons learned" and re-write the entire process when I do my next batch....


http://www.winemakermag.com/stories/cw/article/indices/16-country-winemaking/313-fruit-port


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## Wade E (Aug 17, 2009)

Thanks, I added that link to our recipe section.


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## St Allie (Aug 19, 2009)

emptied the cupboards and the freezer this morning..

fermenting another 3 gallons of strawberry guava wine and located the rosehip syrup I made last fall.. after my memory being jogged by genes postings.. that has made 2 and a half gallons in a primary. Also have a few kilos of raspberries and blueberries left.. ( thinking about what to do with those)

I have just put a large casserole dish of macaroni cheese in the oven.. it's almost lunchtime.

Allie


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