# Kit & Country Wines of Warren



## PolishWineP (Jan 8, 2008)

It happened! It finally happened! We had our first meeting of the Kit &amp; Country Wines of Warrenon Sunday.




I'm so excited! It was an impromptu meeting that started at 7:30 that night.We didn't know about it until we got home shortly before 5. We managed to unpack from the weekend and rack 2 wines before heading out the door with wines for sampling and other things. We tasted a bunch of wines, (I know you won't believe this, but the PWP ran that part of the show) watched a short video and talked. It was well enjoyed by all! We were really pleased. *EVERYONE *is very excited about the floor corker, a gift from Waldo, Appleman and Job. They thank you all very much! 







As I said, I ran the tasting, and even remembered to take a picture of it before everything was gone.






Lots of tasting and talking happened.

















Lots of laughing!








Our mascot, Bingo!






Even a home brewed beer was tasted! We have a 2-handed drinker in our group!
Our next meeting will be on 1/15 and there will be more pictures and news.


----------



## grapeman (Jan 8, 2008)

And so the fun begins. Next meeting you will have 8 then 15 and then who knows! Good luck and may all your wine be Mighty Fine!


----------



## jobe05 (Jan 8, 2008)

Looks like a great time PWP.......... Keep us posted on all the events........ who knows.......... if air fair is reasonable....... you could get some surprise guest some day for your events.................

Are there a lot of beer makers that make wine? Never tried making beer but always wondered if it was any good?......... not a big beer drinker.

*Edited by: jobe05 *


----------



## PolishWineP (Jan 8, 2008)

Oh! I forgot about a few things! There were 7 of us, including Bert and me. The next day someone from the sheriff's department mentioned they'd heard about it up at the office and some of them were interested! At least we'll know where the deputies will be during meetings!


----------



## Wade E (Jan 8, 2008)

Looks like a fun time there PWP!


----------



## NorthernWinos (Jan 8, 2008)

Sounds like a fun time....we don't often leave the house after dark...leave alone drive anywhere after 'tasting'....


Good luck with your group.


Maybe one of these days we'll show up on your doorstep.


----------



## Wade E (Jan 8, 2008)

What wines were tasted and who made them?


----------



## PolishWineP (Jan 9, 2008)

Job &amp; Northern,There's always room for more at a wine makers meeting! I did only tasting, and I didn't sample all of the wines. After all, it was a school night!




The wines that were used for lessons were all ours. And at this point I can't even remember what all we had there. I know we did have Stag's Leap District Merlot, Green Apple Riesling, Wildberry Shiraz and a lot of wines between there. 
I don't know who made the beer. I was not around when they opened it and I didn't really pay much attention to it, other than a sip sample.


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Jan 9, 2008)

Looks like a great time PWP, Jobe, I'll pick you up from the airport, I think its only proper we attend one of these, just to lend support...and drink some fine wine!



PWP , when do you guys plan on starting one, and any plans on what it will be?


----------



## bj4271 (Jan 9, 2008)

Congratulations on getting the club going. Where's Bingo's glass?


----------



## Jack on Rainy (Jan 9, 2008)

PWP,
I've thought of the same thing, a wine makers club that is, for our town. But maybe we'll get a bus and run over your way for your next meeting. Its only 180 miles or so. We could get Joan or Ramona to make us a side banner for the busthat says: 


_*"Fine Vine Wines North"*_


What if we brought some of our own......


----------



## grapeman (Jan 9, 2008)

bj4271 said:


> Congratulations on getting the club going. Where's Bingo's glass?




Bingo doesn't need a glass, he carries a small barrel around like a St. Bernard and sips it through a straw. PWP had them remove it for the picture so we could see how cute the dog really is alone.


----------



## Waldo (Jan 9, 2008)

Sounds like you got it kicked off in style PWP.....Congrats and keep the info and pictures coming


----------



## chevyguy65 (Jan 11, 2008)

PWP,
That looks like a blast!!! But Warren...isnt that a city here in Wisconsin? Sounds like a long way for you to drive. lol




They do grows a lot of Cranberries there though.


I love the German Shorthair Pointer.


Mine was 9 1/2 when we put him down.Best Damn hunting dog there ever was






CHEERS to you and your group


----------



## PolishWineP (Jan 12, 2008)

The one in Wisconsin is Warrens. This is just Warren. No cranberries but lots of sugar beets to sweeten the cranberry wine. 
Bingo the dog doesn't drink alcohol as she's the D.D. (Designated Dog)



Next meeting is on 1/15, guests will always be welcome. I think we're going to start a kit or 2 and maybe drink some wine.


----------



## joeswine (Jan 14, 2008)

PWP&lt;excellent,there is nothing better than sharerring good wine and food with people who have the same interest that you do,great step I belong to the SOUTH JERSEY WINE MAKERS,were 3.5 years old now have a great web site and meet once a month ,23 to 30 strong and mostly couples each month is a different topic,this month the meeting is at my place and the subjects are,F/PACS--extracts --and forced carbonation process our meetings usually last 4hrs. but on special subjects like this meeting 5hrs.will be needed,everyone brings a dish and a great time is had by all,the last 3 yrs. we went to the renult winery for our party and if you sign onto our site you can see the diffrerent meetings we've had,if I can and I stated before,at this meeting I will see if I can get pictures and post them here,wine people are excitting people and make for a great time for all



ONE WORD ([email protected])


----------



## PolishWineP (Jan 16, 2008)

The second meeting of Kit &amp; Country Wines of Warren was held last night. I couldn't go but Bert was there with an excited audience. Ted had been to Minneapolis on business and brought home kits for the group, avoiding shipping charges. First Bert did aShow &amp; Tell about sanitation, explaining the importance of sanitation to the whole wine making process.




They learned how to make simple syrup, a much focused group. 






Temperatures were checked and the Raytek gun (Handheld, noncontact thermometer) was a big hit! Everyone loves to play with the Raytek! The cats love to play with it too!










They all had fun starting the kits and here's poor Ted, left holding the bag!










They also learned to rack a wine using an auto syphon, when they racked Ted's choke cherry wine. 


Everyone had loads of fun. Except me. Who couldn't be there. Who can't believe that anyone would have fun without me.




Any suggestions for topic ideas for meetings will be appreciated. Everyone in the goup is new to the process, except us.


----------



## Wade E (Jan 16, 2008)

Degassing would be a great topic as its the most brought topic on every forum. I like that Raytec gun!


----------



## PolishWineP (Jan 16, 2008)

wade said:


> Degassing would be a great topic as its the most brought topic on every forum. I like that Raytec gun!


Wade, I'm confused. There's other forums?


----------



## Wade E (Jan 16, 2008)

Yes, but they are not always nice over there!



If you ask a question over there that has been asked before, you get the responce to do a search when it would have been easier just to explain again as we do. Its easy enough to do, more personal, and just the more polite and right thing to do!


----------



## joeswine (Jan 17, 2008)

THere are a lot of subject matter to choose from some of our topics were corks,types ,ect,wines more specific (a taste of italy)each one had made or bought a wine bottled in that country we then pinpointed the region in which the grapes of oringin)bottling how to ,different methods to do this really fun,F/pacs-extracts and forced carbonation of wine(actual process from,the more you can think the more there is to talk about,wine clubs are a great adventure



and than theres the social side always nice


----------



## Bert (Jan 17, 2008)

Good ideasfor the topics, degassing was next on my list....so far everyone is a newbie and I'm trying to show the basic stuff without over welming them with things that need to be done....


----------



## grapeman (Jan 17, 2008)

So does everybody have their own primaries, carboy's etc? What kind of kits did Ted pick up? Do you guys have a central meeting place or rotate around between members? I would think transporting things around would be a big PITA! Another topic for thefuture could be label making. Show the basics and cover what softwares can be used, where to get pictures, etc. Cover the basics and then see what everybody can create a home. Then when you get to bottling, they will have their labels ready and you can incorporate label application at that time and maybe shrink capsule application.


----------



## joeswine (Jan 17, 2008)

AS a rule when we have a meeting and the topic is sellected no one carries anything largr than a bottle or two and something to eat at each meeting and that floats month to month,example this month my place,F/PACS and extracts,next month our group to do list for the year,march we'll be tasteing a case of wine ship to us from a wine group in VA&gt;,we inturn ship them ours for evaluating,april gino pintos,winery for a meeting about the chilean wines coming in and so on,but this takes everyones effort to make it happen ,we work it out,as wine makers do



*Edited by: joeswine *


----------



## Bert (Jan 18, 2008)

appleman; 
They have 4 primaries and 6- 6gal carboys and for now they are leaving them with Ted [one of the members where we have been meeting] ...I feel some of the members will miss out on part of playing with their wines, but this is how they want to do it for now



.....We started 2 Island Mist kits...Stags Leap selection kit and a selection Gewurztraminer kit.....


----------



## PolishWineP (Feb 9, 2008)

Wednesday night we had another meeting of the Kit &amp; Country Wines of Warren. We spent the evening sampling some wines and working with their 4 kits. They completed step 3 of their Wine Expert kits, stirring the snot out of them and adding stablizers, clearing agents and F-packs as needed. Debbie was really good about keeping track of which carboy had which wine and what to add to each.


Here's Bert and Rodney doing some stirring.






Take a moment and smile, boys!






Randy and the other Deb were busy degassing too.






Ted seemed to be in charge of the cleaning and sanitizing and was having a good time. He'll do anything to get people to visit him...



Oh Ted, you know we love ya!






Bingo was helping too. She has trouble holding a glass so we let her drink from her bowl.








No, that's not wine. It's Kool-Aid that Ted put in her bowl strictly for the photo-op. She got a few laps of it and then the prop was removed and filled with cool, clear water. 
As Smurfe would say, "No animals were harmed in the creation of this post!"




We are having loads of fun with our wine club! It's a lot more fun than we anticipated. Our next meeting will be here at the castle. I don't think we'll be doing work, we'll be tasting and eating. My kind of meeting!


----------



## grapeman (Feb 9, 2008)

The club just keeps getting better. A real sense of sharing among members. Keep up the good work and have fun at the Castle at tne next meeting. 


Seeing that last picture reminds me of a picture Will took of Joe's dog a year ago. He snapped the picture at just the right moment when the log was licking or something to where the dog looks absolutely drunk with it's tongue hanging out! I would post it but I would need to scan it first. It would be a good picture to use for a neame like "The Drunken Dog Winery".


----------

