# How did you get started in wine making?



## newt (Apr 2, 2012)

Would love to read about all the different stories about what peaked your interest in wine making, even if you aren't making it yet and just reading ..

What sparked your interest in wine making? 

For those who have made their own wine, how did you first get started?


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## DirtyDawg10 (Apr 2, 2012)

Here you go...

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f19/so-how-did-you-get-into-whats-story-30371/


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## TheGoodLife (Apr 2, 2012)

For me, I went to a barrel tasting in Springfield Nebraska and was intrigued at the process. I then started surfing the web wondering if I could do this myself, at a much smaller scale. My first attempt was some Grand Cru Malbec, just hoping it would be as good as "box wine"... and it was better! I was hooked, then I saw everyone talking about Skeeter Pee and thought I have got to try that too. What a great hobby! I couldn't't have done it without this forum.


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## djsparrow (Apr 3, 2012)

I started out making cider because it's tasty and my friend had a bunch of apples. Then my brother-in-law wanted to make some zin. We harvested the grapes and made some pretty decent wine. Now I make about a barrel a year, mostly merlot and a little sauv blanc on the side. I'm looking at buying an acre of pinot with some friends because we love it so much. Not much money to be made, but probably a better bottom line of a hobby than collecting cars. I'm in the Bay Area so it's wine-centric, and I figure I can at least trade a case of wine for art or my mechanic or a furniture maker - I really like the idea of trade and everyone likes wine! It's a really gratifying way to learn about biology, farming, chemistry, and business all in one drinkable product. Good luck with your research.


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## mroverstreet (Apr 3, 2012)

A couple of friends, including my then fiancé, got three couples together to make a wine kit at a shop south of the Twin Cities in Minnesota that kind of held your hand through it. We eventually made three kits there before beginning to make them ourselves at home some five years ago. We've now made over two dozen kits, are part of a 40-year old wine club (just joined the board), and are planning to plant northern hardy vines around our patio here in Mineapolis this spring.

Our attraction is both the challenge and satisfaction of making decent wine, and the social aspect of spending time with other wine makers and wine drinkers.


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## pnkuljis (Apr 3, 2012)

My dad made wine with his dad and grandfather. Even though he did not make wine with us I wanted to keep the tradition going. In my dad's day a good majority of people made wine in our town. Now very few people make wine. There is 5 of us in our group we started out with one barrel and now make 6-7 barrels a year mostly cab. We have inspired at least 10 others to start making wine. A hobby on steroids.

Paul K


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## HowieMakesWine (Apr 3, 2012)

I was always busy with my work, no time for hobbies. A friend of mine told me how he would get out on weekends whenever he could find the time for it to fly his model planes. That made sense to me, doing something totally different from your daily routine. Since I'm a lover of red wines, as well as a lover of tasting different varieties of beer, so I thought of trying out making my own wines and beers. The challenge for me, currently residing in a Muslim country, was and is to get all the equipment and ingredients to make exactly what I want. I like that challenge, and friends of mine like the result!


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## lancealot (Apr 3, 2012)

back in the day my father had made wine and beer with really bad results. however I was at a beer festival and there was a demonstration by a homebrew company with free samples, they tasted good and because we are heavily taxed in the UK was really economic to homebrew and still is. Ive moved on experimenting and trying new things, country wine was the last inovation for me as I have 4 or 5 elderberry trees out the back. Sometimes it works really well and sometimes its not as good but the fun is trying and teaching your tastebuds


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## Beebock (Apr 3, 2012)

For me it's was pretty simple. Raised in the Champagne region of France, when I moved to england I realised that I was missing all of local brews. (The champagne you get in the shops is nothing compared to the 'mate's barrel')

I kept putting things off, and last year I got cancer (all clear now) and that basically kicked me into gear to finally doing it. It's now been a year and I have kept myself (and the other 1/2) in wine (and now beer) as well as close friends and family.

For example, last christmas had only 1 'bought' bottle (champagne) and the rest was home brew, and we really enjoyed it.

The other side of it is that my other 1/2 has IBS and she is really not good on a lot of the bought wines (yeast + other crap). This way I can kill off the yeast and make it exactly to our liking. And as she says, it keeps me out of trouble!


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## walter (Apr 3, 2012)

Well it all started when I was about 10 my father made the wine, with my help. It’s a tradition now 45 years on, my son hates the stuff so I don’t make as much now. It’s just me and him in the family and a few friends. But what really has me making wine is the ability to make a drink that can stand up to the best store bought wines. No set laws in making wine it’s up to the maker to do a good job, fruit, vegetables and grain all are fair game. The choice of yeast so many variables make it worthwhile. I feel as if something is a miss if I haven’t got something fermenting. sad hey!
I have a vineyard and sold everything to a winery they picked and pruned for me until this year a glut year so I didn’t do much maintenance (I work 2weeks away 1 home) then we had a fire come through lost about 95% of vines, posts, drip system and fence .That is why my son told me to get in here and maybe find out if the vines can be salvaged.


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## ForData (Apr 3, 2012)

Like Lancealot, I'm in the UK and the taxation on practically everything makes it too expensive to keep buying wine. However there have been a number of factors that drove me to this:


A friend introduced me to it and showed me the ropes.
We try to follow a sustainable, eco friendly lifestyle.
We live in the middle of the countryside - plenty of hedgerows / fields / farmers that we can gather our ingredients from (as long as we let them have a bottle or two).
We like to know what goes into what we eat / drink.
As a hobby it doesn't take all my time - but it allows me to get out of the living room and away from the TV when the family are watching the X Factor or some other such tripe!
The only problem I have with it, is how accessible the wine has become. I would say that since taking up wine making, my alcohol intake has doubled. I think that this is a very important point - as alcohol is so addictive - my only struggle with home made wine is keeping it in the bottle, and not in me! 

Hope that helps!


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## garymc (Apr 3, 2012)

I started growing grapes, muscadines, for table use. It just kinda got out of hand and I needed a good way to preserve the grape product. So I decided to go with the preservation technique used for thousands of years, wine. This way I can make use of the medicinal properties of muscadines year round.


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## ojaibill (Apr 3, 2012)

I became interested in winemaking in a roundabout way. My wife and I enjoy tasting good wine primarily in California. We have also tasted in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. My boss's father has made wine since he was 18 and I got to help him this past harvest. My other coworker's is an advanced homebrewer whose brother is a bigtime vintner in Paso Robles. We have been fortunate to barrel taste his upcoming vintages. My daughter attends Cal State Fresno and is a enology major. So I'm around wine people a bit and the mix of science and artistry is so compelling. Recently I won a winemaking kit (Sauv. Blanc) from a silent auction at a local charitable wintasting event. Now, in the next week or so I will begin fermentation of my first wine. My hope later this year is to get my sanitation procedures down and then buy a 1/2 ton of red grapes and make wine with those.


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## dangerdave (Apr 3, 2012)

Two years ago my wife became unable to work. Her back is _very_ bad. We were always beer drinkers. On a whim, I brought home a bottle of wine from the grocery (horrible stuff). I noticed it made her smile when she held a glass of wine. Fearing this might have been a fluke, I got another bottle the next week. Same result. More smiles! Soon, she was drinking sveral bottles a week. At $10 a pop, it was adding up. I thought, "I know I can make this stuff cheaper!" Some research proved that to be true. I joined this very web site, and these wonderful people helped me to learn winemaking. I appreciate them all very much.

Over the past eight months, I have produced more than 120 gallons of wine. As it turns out, everyone in both of our families loves wine! It's a win-win-win-win-win for everyone!


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## roadpupp (Apr 3, 2012)

I am a long time wine drinker. I have taken several wine tasting classes and have toured Napa and Southern France. I can't quite afford all the quality wine I would like to drink! 

Until a month ago, I don't think I knew anyone made their own wine. Well, there was Nicol, an old Italian friend of my father's who makes really strong and not so great wine kept in a barrel in his basement. Last month I attended a wine tasting at a friend of a friend's house and it was all home made wine! Much of it was too young and to be frank, these folks seemed more interested in drinking than in drinking good wine. However, I could see the potential. I started researching and found this board and discovered that you could buy wine kits and fresh juice. Somehow the idea of buying and crushing grapes seemed impossible (now it seems like a goal)

I have a high stress job and needed a hobby on those long winter months other than home repair projects. Winemaking is perfect. I am learning about wine from the ground up, have a great new hobby and hopefully will start cutting down my liquor store bills!


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## rplj66 (Apr 3, 2012)

My grandfather made wine for as long as I can remember. A few years back my parents bought me a little 1 gallon starter kit and I was off and running. Shortly after, I inherited all my grandfather's equipment and I never looked back.
I've tried everything from Beer to Cidar from Lemon to Viking wine.

Its been a fun and interesting road.


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## Tomer1 (Apr 3, 2012)

My grandfather was a winemaker back in his Romanian homeland.
When he made Aliya to Israel he continued to be a home winemaker untill maybe 10 years ago when he got too old to do so.
about 4 years ago my older brother bought some basic starter's gear and had a shot. 
A year later (2009) I was given the gear to have a go and its been a major passion ever since.


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## svatch (Apr 3, 2012)

*Probably not the best answer.*

A friend and I were just young whipper snappers looking to have some excitement in life. His dad had a two level garage, which fortunately he designated a small area for the boys to play cards, throw darts, and just be boys. We were 16 and within walking distance of everyone's homes. Beer was hard to come by at that age and when we did get some, it usually made the gatherings a little more fun. Both of us being fairly bright kids (academically not so much sensibly) we decided to jump into the wine making process. We have always heard stories of how people used to make wine from the old timers. You know, the typical old timer talks; the way people used to survive by fishing, hunting, gardens, canning, beer, wine, whiskey and garlic. I better say garlic again because that may have been the single most important life sustaining food source, so they said! Well, a trip to the neighbors harbored a five gallon bucket of grapes and a walk to the grocery store got us a 5 lb bag of sugar and some bread yeast. When we got back to the garage we mixed everything together and to our surprise; a few hours later our bungee strapped bag looked like a hot air balloon. "We better poke a hole in the damn thing!" I said. We let it go for a few weeks and racked it off into a few 1 gallon glass jars. I can't tell you how good we felt at our success. Now 20 years later I'm still into it, I make between 15 and 40 gallons of wine a year. I have tried a lot of different wines, many of which I have dumped out or turned into vinegar but the same principal still holds true. I love to give a bottle of wine away and have that person tell me how good it was.


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## StrykerFA (Apr 3, 2012)

My grandfather made wine in the basement of his house and I watched once in a while. After he passed on My father and uncles stopped. Then over the years I moved away and tradition was gone. I started when one of my friends made wine and I got interested to try and carry on the tradition. I receved a kit from my mother for Christmas about 7 years ago and have been making wine ever since. I started with kits and then progressed to fruits and juices. I have my daughters do the stomping sometimes just to get them into it. I had a batch made with California grapes this year and tried to recreate the Dago Red my Granfather made. I called my Uncle for the recipe. It came out pretty close. I love making wine and like dinking it as well. I may need to start selling to keep space to make it; otherwise I will need to start drinking more. I have about 30 cases sitting all over the basement and in a winerack I made.


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## Vambo (Apr 3, 2012)

There is a lady I see at our local park when we are walking our dogs. She has been making wine for longer than I have been alive, and it is very nice wine too. I started making wine because she was always giving me bottles and I thought it was about time I returned the favour. I like wild wines and was often out getting ingredients for her wines and thought I might as well make some of my own. I am just as happy out in the countryside gathering the ingredients as I am drinking the end result.


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## JoeT (Apr 3, 2012)

newt said:


> Would love to read about all the different stories about what peaked your interest in wine making, even if you aren't making it yet and just reading ..
> 
> What sparked your interest in wine making?
> 
> For those who have made their own wine, how did you first get started?


Hi newt
I got started because my girl told me a story about buying her dad a wine making kit.He told her why would I want that,she was so disappointed.That night I got online and ordered all the supplies to make wine,that was 6 years ago.We have made some really great wines.


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## SugarVee (Apr 3, 2012)

My Husband's family immigrated from Italy. His Nana would give his Grandfather 50 cents a month to buy his grapes and he would have barrels and barrels to share with all of his family and friends. My husband has fond memories of the cellar where he would watch his Grandfather and Father with the wine and decided that he wanted to pick up the tradition.


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## William_Stout (Apr 3, 2012)

I started brewing my own beer earlier this year and have done 10 gallons so far, needless to say I got hooked. My wife and I also enjoy drinking wine, and since the equipment is basically the same we picked up a new primary and a kit and just pitched the yeast last sunday, I believe the kit was called "Winery Series", it is a super tuscan. We have another Italian kit ready to go as soon as this one is done in the Primary.

My Stepfather made wine for years when I was younger and I enjoyed it very much. Now that my Wife and I are doing it he is thinking about getting back into the hobby


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## Poni (Apr 3, 2012)

I moved into a place that had concord grapes growing. My uncle-n-law made wine and he taught me. Since then i have planted berries, grapes and fruit trees, and spent a butt-ton on equipment, and i haven't looked back since! I love it!


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## WineCat (Apr 3, 2012)

We brewed some beer from a kit, and it turned out really good, so...why not try wine? First was from a kit, a Shiraz that was really tasty. But, I had a freezer full of wild blackberries calling for attention. I took a winemaking class from a local winery, and now have it fermenting away. Also Mezza Luna (kit has been sitting around for a year). The whole process is fascinating, even for a newbie like me. This fall I'll be picking grapes from the winery (a priviledge given to students). Hoist your glasses and smile!


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## Chip (Apr 3, 2012)

Got my start after growing up with Aunts and Uncles making wine. Also after living in Germany with the Air Force and falling for wine then and their I got "bit" by the bug. After my last Uncle passed away I didn't want the family tradition to pass away as well. So I started making wine in 2004. First batch fermented under my dinning room table in Florida. Since then made allot of great stuff and some duds as well. Now have partnered up with another wine maker in the area and will be opening a small commercial winery next spring. So, I guess I can say, it was in the blood and I can thank Germany and the Air Force for turning the switch!


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## grapes (Apr 3, 2012)

My wife and I are both wine lovers and we love to go through wine country. We decided to start as a hobby and now it is a passion. We are lucky to have the imput of very good wine makers, and we get better and better, experimenting with different yeasts, using the same grapes, and we have been using barrels for the last few years. It is a family activity at our home and when it is time for destemming and crushing, we make it a community activity and we have a BBQ and invite friends.


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## KxG (Apr 3, 2012)

It was pretty simple for me; I like wine and live in Kansas - the land of strange liquor laws, especially when it comes to wine. It is better now than it was thirty years ago when I started making wine but decent wine is still too expensive and the varieties are limited in my end of the state. 

So, I visited a supply shop, read a book, and took the plunge. I found, like all of you, that you can make great wine for a very reasonable cost and have some fun in the process.

I hope to get back to wine production in the not too distant future.


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## ladydyver (Apr 3, 2012)

I am a big wine drinker and was intrigued at the process after doing a barrel tasting on my anniversary....that pretty much sums it up.


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## koolaide187 (Apr 3, 2012)

I drank a little wine when I turned 21 and wasn't a big wine-o but had a guy tell me how easy it is to make it and it intrigued me so I started. After actually making my own it got me into wanting to explore more varieties of wines and learned a lot about them. After drinker wine the company you keep tend to be more of the people you want to be around and are fascinated by the whole process and knowledge you have of making it. After all said and done I won't lie and say I like all wines. I am not a big fan of too many reds or really dry wines. But that is the satisfaction I have of having a bigger variety now. My style I like best is Mascato style which is sweet but not overly sweet. And every lady I have ever introduced to it loves it and wants to come over and part-take in the wine drinking experience. My mom told me that my dad had made it once or twice when he was younger too. So I make it and give them some when I make it. My dad doesn't really drink wine but my mom loves it and they are happy that I have a hobby that isn't dangerous and has a positive output on things they like as well. Mom gets drunk... dad gets some... everybody's a winner.


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## NoSnob (Apr 3, 2012)

Why is almost everyone who replied to this post shown as having only 1 post?
NS


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## Greek (Apr 3, 2012)

Basically, I grew up with it. My Italian ancestors have made wine for many hundreds of years. I started helping my father make wine when I was around 12 years old, first with a grape press, then buying fresh pressed juice. Wine was served at most dinner meals and was used for cooking in many meals. Oh... almost forgot, I like it ! Good luck with your thesis.


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## bowieoggs (Apr 3, 2012)

newt said:


> Would love to read about all the different stories about what peaked your interest in wine making, even if you aren't making it yet and just reading ..
> 
> What sparked your interest in wine making?
> 
> For those who have made their own wine, how did you first get started?


 
I have a blackberry orchard at my house. I had made cobblers, jams, jellies and just about anything you could make with blackberries. For five years I kept telling my wife and friends I was going to make some blackberry wine. I bottled over 30 bottles and after giving to family and friends, only have about 5 bottles left. Tried one a year after it was bottled. Not to brag, that is some of the best wine I have ever had, and the best thing I've done with my blackberries.


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## copperhead46 (Apr 3, 2012)

A friend of mine was an "older" Amish man and he introduced me to clover wine ! We were working late at the local sale barn and it was freezing cold, but he was doing fine, when I ask how he was holding up so well, he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a pint bottle and offered me a drink, I was hooked! I made wine off and on for several years and my fiance got me all the stuff I hadn't had before and now I make all kinds of wine, usually a lot of kits, but I still have the recipe for Johns clover wine


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## walter (Apr 4, 2012)

NoSnob said:


> Why is almost everyone who replied to this post shown as having only 1 post?
> NS


 
well i was asked a question and i answered


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## Wade E (Apr 4, 2012)

The more the merrier! Glad you all found us here and hope y'all stay and share your experiences!


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## Arne (Apr 4, 2012)

Was going to ask the same thing as no snob. Anyway all you first timers welcome to the forum, we are glad to see ya. I started out a few summers ago with too many pie cherries. kept on from there. Not as interesting as some of your stories. I am envious of some of you with your family histories. Keep the stories coming. Arne.


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## Willow (Apr 4, 2012)

Had been making beer for years and thought "why not" try wine since beer brewing was fun, educational and the beer was good! Have made over 30 batches of wine (over a 10 year period), have enjoyed it immensely and have learned a lot about wine just as the beer brewing did about beer.


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## Noontime (Apr 4, 2012)

My wife bought me a "make your own wine" experience at a local winemaking shop for our anniversary. We made it from a kit in their store, and afterwards I thought "hey...I could do that by myself" if I could somehow get my hands on one of those kits. The internet and 30 seconds later...I was on my way.


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## RickeyHerb (Apr 4, 2012)

I started making home brew beer when I was uni because I was broke. Natural progression to make some fruit wine - peach and plum and had a go at making rum. Not a success. I've been making home brew beer on and off for 30 years and then 3 years ago we bought a 2.5 acre vineyard and with the assistance of the vendor, we have been making around 2,000 bottles of wine a year since. I have continued with the beer and also have done around 120 litres of plum wine this season. Really enjoy the whole process and look forward to doing more of it myself when we re-locate to the vineyard (about 1.5 hours away in the high country of Victoria).


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## NoSnob (Apr 4, 2012)

Wade E said:


> The more the merrier! Glad you all found us here and hope y'all stay and share your experiences!


 
Couldn't agree more! But you would think the old-timers (that's not me) would be pitching in and yet we must have a lot of lurkers here. Hope to hear more from all of you newbies.
NS


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## NoSnob (Apr 4, 2012)

Wish I had a family of winemakers or had mentors but in fact I came from a long line of tee-totalers and total abstainers. Even in the military I did not drink though I still had a good time sitting around on week-ends with my beer drinking buddies. 

In time, I developed a fondness for wine back when selections available at the stores were not that great. Remember Almaden rose', Andre' sparkling burgundy, and anything by Gallo? Today we would not even call that plonk. The alternatives were European wines which were expensive and whose quality to me anyway seemed all over the place. After several decades I developed a better sense of different wines and what I liked. Tiring of getting in a rut (buying mostly the same mediocre wines at value prices) I decided, after retirement, to learn more about wine by branching out a bit. 

I figured that learning to make wine would teach me a lot about it and it has. It has also given me a great excuse to buy wines that would not be my first pick so I can learn more about different styles of wine and not just what I like. It is also an excuse to buy an occasional expensive bottle, (strictly for comparative purposes you understand.) One could make only the type of wine which one loves but what would you learn from that? I have learned to appreciate wines that were not always my first choice. And I am developing a small cache of upscale wines to compare with those I make. 

Learning about wine is very different from being a snob -- thinking you know all there is to know about what's good and what's not. That's why I am 

NoSnob


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## LanMan (Apr 4, 2012)

I got into making wine after I started brewing beer. After a couple of beer kits I ended up with the fermenting bug. Once cought I started my first gallon of wine just to see if I could(Welches grape ) I had to do a fruit wine so I picked 5lbs of blackberries and it turned out GREAT. So here I sit with yeast in the fridge and fruit in the freezer. I need to make wine


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## hobbyiswine (Apr 4, 2012)

I wish I had a more romantic reply but...I like wine, therefore I decided to make some! I think I am a bit younger than "average" here on the forum. I wish I had started my wine hobby earlier but didn't really appreciate wine until I started working in the upscale restaraunt industry in Las Vegas. Tried a couple of New Zealand sav Blancs and French Burgandy and was hooked. I have since read about wine, drank a lot of wine, visited a lot of wineries and generally have the wine bug in a bad (good) way. I have been to wineries across the US and can't wait to visit other countries. If you haven't been to Sonoma, Napa, or Washington State, etc. it is a wholes new world. I can imagine many of the other major regions of the world are similar. when you visit the wineries there you get the best wines they produce and the best part is that sometimes the grape doesn't travel more than a few hundred feet from vine to glass. Totally awesome. Some say the wine tastes best in the place it is from. Doesn't get much closer than looking at the vine that made the grape while drinking it too. Now I am hooked and loving every sip.


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## fishziblu (Apr 8, 2012)

My childhood memories all revolved round my uncle's vineyard and the thrill was the harvest and wine making days. Until I got a job, bought a house and married, I did not much think about owning a vineyard or winemaking. Then another uncle decided to start a vineyard himself. I grew interested to the point that me and my dad bought field myself and converted my cellar to the wine making room.

Let's say just the job was boring, and I needed more fresh air in my life.


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## Andrewwarwick (Apr 9, 2012)

My father-in-law, who is Portuguese by birth, randomly decided to make a bucket of grape juice he saw in the local Italian center. I guess he felt pretty cocky, stirring the must with the un-santized broom handle he found in the shed, because he challenged me to make a better wine than his and assumed that I would just laugh it off... I didn't and now I'm hooked lol!

My first was a WE Australian Shiraz and I topped it off with water after clearing, as per instructions(what's with that anyway?) but even being weak and diluted it was drinkable ... not so much his own, which has a very rancid and sour taste - I can't drink it.

This forum was a godsend to me and I'm learning a lot from the posters here. I'm nowhere near where I want to be as a wine maker but the journey there is rewarding and I'm very much looking forward to becoming a competent wine maker of both kits and grapes.


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## joeswine (Apr 9, 2012)

*Set-up*

one day in the summer I got a service call on a ac system,nothing new about that for me ,that's what I do,so off I went when I got to the location and went to the front door the lady of the house stated her husband was around back,I SAID THANK YOU AND WENT TO THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE WERE THE CELLAR DOOR WAS A MAN CAME OUT HIE NAME WAS BOB,HE TOLD ME WHAT HIS PROBLEM WAS AND I ASKED TO SEE THE CIRCUIT PANEL,WENT DOWN THE STEPS AND LOW AND BEHOLD THERE WERE 15 CARBOYS STIRRING AT ME,OF COURSE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE AT FIRST ,ASK "WHAT ARE THEY"? HE REPLIED"WINE CARBOYS,i MAKE WINE "i ASK ABOUT THIRTY QUESTIONS,AND STATED "NEXT YEAR WHEN YOU GO CAN YOU TAKE ME WITH YOU?" HE SAID "SURE"...................TIME PASSED I DIDN'T THINK MUCH MORE ABOUT IT ,JUST TO GUYS KILLING TIME, WHILE THE OTHER WORKED ,NOTHING MORE. ONE DAY EARLY FALL i GOT A CALL FROM BOB AND HE TOOK ME TO PHILADELPHIA ALONG WITH 39 OTHER GUYS AND WE WENT TO PERCUCCI BROS. AND THE REST WAS HISTORY 10 YEARS AGO.


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## Spadoinkel (Apr 10, 2012)

*Why I started*

And by starting I mean complete newbie. I have bucket of strawberry wine must barely 2.5 days into primary fermentation. I love things that have involved processes. Tobacco aging. Coffee roasting, puzzle box creation. Black and white film processing. I love it.
 
Wine making seems to be the ultimate in process...months, years even a lifetime. I'm in for the long haul. 

Spadoinkel
Posted from my IPhone


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## saddlebronze (Apr 10, 2012)

Its so long ago, I can hardly remember. Oh yes, got married in 1980, moved into our first house in 1983, there was this huge vegetable garden that I kept going for a few years, made sweet cider and then picked up a book called "Wine, a Gentlemen's game" by Mark Miller. Caught the bug from the book, went to see Mark and then planted a vineyard. Moved, took 25 years off to raise kids and now I have planted a much smaller second vineyard in the current home. Whew, long story!


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## Boyd (Apr 10, 2012)

Went out one day and picked 4 buckets of wild grapes.

Grape jelly is not good so I made wine.

That was about 5 years ago.

My yonngest daughter drank the last bottle on her birthday this year. 

DIdn't even save me a taste.


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## RussR (Apr 10, 2012)

I read the book "Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition" about a year ago on a recommendation (available at our library, or on Amazon). Pretty interesting reading, and lots about people making wine at home. I figured that sounded interesting, and if they could do it then, I should be able to do it now, right? Mentioned it to my wife, who said a friend of hers makes his own wine too. So I talked with him a bit, and got started! It's good to have an indoor hobby that doesn't take much time and can be done when the weather's lousy, too. I like it! (And so do my friends.)


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## geohines (Apr 16, 2012)

Seemed like a natural extension of my interest in Biological topics. It's kind of like being back in the lab again. Sometimes I even wear an old white lab coat. Besides I like drinking wine with friends and sharing something I have made. 
I recently started making cheeses, another natural biological product. My wife helps me with that.


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## rhythmsteve (Apr 17, 2012)

When I moved into my current residence there were some very mature fruit trees on the property and I got tired of wasting all of the Bartlett Pears, and Apples so i decided to turn them into alcohol.


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## MozMan (Apr 24, 2012)

When I was a young boy growing up in The Bronx, my grandfather made wine. I can recall the smell of the wine cellar when the grapes were in the press, and to a lesser extent all year. Several years ago, I was on a cruise and took a day trip in Encinada to a local winery. On the tour, they took us through their facility, and when I walked into the room with the barrels in a stone building, the scent brought me right back to my childhood, helping my grandfather make wine. I was so nostalgic, that I decided in that moment that I would take up winemaking as a hobby. Since then, I have been making kit wines, but have also started growing vines in my yard and hope to have my own fruit to press in maybe 2013.


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## sailavie (Apr 25, 2012)

4-5 years ago a friend of mine gave me a bottle of wine that he made and it was terrible. The first thing I thought was "I can do better than that" - I was right, and now I'm hooked and my friends and family enjoy the benefits.


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## redfeet (Apr 25, 2012)

About 1955 or 1956 my mother made a couple batches of wine in a glazed earthenware container - one batch of cherry, one of dandelion (we kids picked the dandelions). They were made using bread yeast, and turned out reasonably good. I don't remember how they were bottled. About 1965, second year university, a number of my Portuguese friends invited me to help them with their wine making. That was the start of my interest. Initially I used California grapes, alicante, zinfandel, grenache. Later, I graduated to Niagara region grapes, mainly red, occasionally white. I haven't used California grapes in probably 40 years. Once I got internet access I was able to dig deeper and find information which has helped me substantially.

Ken


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## AKsarben (Apr 25, 2012)

When I was in High School in Oshkosh, NE, I used to make grape wine in my bedroom from Welch's Concord Grape Concentrate, water, some sugar and yeast. When you're 17 they don't ask for ID for those ingredients at the grocery store. Soon, I was bubbling away making wine and it tasted a lot like Mogan David, but cheaper and "safer" from being under age. Known as Vern "Jug-O-Wine" from my name of Jenewein. I kept making wine and wanting to get better and for my Birtday one time in the near future from 1971 graduation, I received a book of "Technoloty of Wine Making" by prof. Amerine, Berg and Creus (sp). I was growing some hybrid grapes and then moved out to Seattle to work for Boeing and joined the Boeing Employees Winemaker's Club and got to make wine with "real" wine grapes, like Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir, Riesling and the like. I remember one year I was the grape purchaser and one guy complained about all the mold on his Riesling grapes, so I traded him my "green" bunches for his gold and botrytised bunches. I made a Riesling that took Best of white in a competion with that. Moving along... back in Nebraska I still made wine occassionally, and then started helping others plant vineayrds in Western Nebraska after I got laid off from my job as a machinist at The Egging Company. While looking for winery supplies for some folks, I came across a wine ad in one of the trade journals from Doug Welsch of Fenn Valley Vineyards looking for a winemaker that knew grapes and winemaking from the grape up. I told him of my experience, followed by Resume' and then an application, and finally a job interview here in SW Michigan. I started working at Fenn Valley Vineyards as a winemaker in 1999 and am still at it. Since I've been there in 1999, our production has doubled and we have a wonderful array of premium vintages and wines, garnering medals here and there, along with several specialty wines that I devloped. Right now, in the cooker (so to speak) is some Vidal Icewine of about 2400 gallons. One of the last Vidal Icewines we made was served at the White House with Baked Alaska when President Obama hosted the Governors Ball there a few years ago. 

So now my hobby is my living, and I work in it every day.


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## Runningwolf (Apr 25, 2012)

Vern, great story especially the "so I traded him my "green" bunches for his gold and botrytised bunches" part. I really enjoyed the whole story, thanks for posting.


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## roblloyd (Apr 25, 2012)

There are some great stories here! Nice to hear how everyone got to this point in life.


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## tykyle39 (Apr 26, 2012)

Love wine. My brother made wine for years and finally in 2009 I decided I can do it too. For me making and sharing the wine is more addictive than drinking it.


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## Runningwolf (Apr 26, 2012)

tykyle39 said:


> Love wine. My brother made wine for years and finally in 2009 I decided I can do it too. *For me making and sharing the wine is more addictive than drinking it.*


 
I think this holds true for the majority of most serious home winemakers, me included.


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## tchuklobrau (Apr 26, 2012)

I had been brewing beer for several years. I have a couple red currant bushes which i used in one of my beers. Last year around harvest time my mother and swmbo were discussing me making wine out of the currants. I caved to the pressure, and and am glad I did.


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## DSimpson (Apr 26, 2012)

My parents retired and planted 5 acres of grapes to improve their property value. After years of beer making, wine was an easy transition.


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## Genryan (Apr 27, 2012)

*How I started making wine*

I started working for a bulk wine producer here in Italy in 2001. He was kind enough to teach me everything about the business, from the grape up. It's been fascinating! Wine is not easy to make, there are alot of bad wines out there. I have great respect for people who apply their passion to their craft.

I always try to share great genuine wines with my friends when they visit, explaining the culture of wine. My friends, I hope, come away with an appreciation for the experience of eating a good meal enjoying good wine with friends. Recently I came across a new way to package wines.

This packaging, 20lt & 30lt PET Kasks, allows hospitality owners to serve genuine traditional Italian wines on tap to their wine loving patrons at a lower cost to everybody: the environment, the wine lover, and everybody in between. 

Having worked with wines for so long, I realised that I can make this dream come true. I select wines from the best wine makers in Italy, and soon Germany, and put them in our kasks for wine on tap. 

Cin Cin, Jen Ryan


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