Dizzy's wine journey

[dizzy]

Followup!

So we had our wedding, yay! Apparently our stuff was TOO professionally done, a lot of people didn't realize we made the wine or thought we like, put labels on something that someone else made etc. The ones who understood what we did thought it was dope! BUT we have a lot left over, I guess our crew wasn't heavy drinkers and there was about 60% of wine and 75% of beer left.

I brought some of the rose (the wine that was the least good of the trio) over to an end-of-season hang at a new farm across town from us. Figured it made sense. People were going wild about it and there were a few nerds who appreciated it ("it's so dry, it's awesome" "I get that strawberry rhubarb in it, tho subtle, really unique" etc). Was offered a chance to sell it at the farmstand next year which is SUUUUPER not legal altho these people are chill and everything is technically run as donations there for now. So yeah. But I think there's a good chance for barter which would be really cool. Also one person asked if I'd be interested in doing it for her wedding (not engaged yet but I guess things looking good) and someone else mentioned something about some dinner events at the farm, would I be interested in providing wine? Whole lot of possibilities there for the future.

Anyway it definitely made me feel good. I think a lot of the people who had it so far were just whatever wine drinkers so it was nice to have some people who could appreciate it be into it. IDK when I'm going to make another batch tho but it seems like a cool hobby to do over the long term.

 

[cmason1957]

Glad folks liked what you did. Just so you know Bartering is just as illegal as selling. Someone can buy you a kit/juice/grapes and you provide them with wine made from it, probably. I got my law degree from the great state of Google and we all know everything on the Internet has to be true Abraham Lincoln and Ben Franklin both said that.

My bottom line is I will give anyone of legal drinking age any wine that they want, if they want second bottles at a later time, return the bottles to me, that's all I ask. Nothing that has any look, feel, hint of you give me something, I give you wine in exchange for it.

 

[winemaker81]

Was offered a chance to sell it at the farmstand next year which is SUUUUPER not legal altho these people are chill and everything is technically run as donations there for now.

Be very cautious of anything remotely resembling sales. Even if it's for a charity, anyone selling in the USA needs applicable licenses, else it's bootlegging. This includes barter.

On a small scale, getting caught is unlikely, and unless the amount is significant it's unlikely to get prosecuted. The biggest danger is that people talk and if someone says, "I bought Dizzy's wine," it can be enough to start an investigation. My father was a cop and his advice was that even if you're innocent, it's best to not be investigated.

As @cmason1957 said, you can give wine away, as I did for my son's wedding reception. You can also make wine for others, e.g., they purchase the materials and you donate your labor.

If money is exchanging hands in any way, research your local laws before doing anything. Better safe than sorry.

NC has readily available information for starting a winery. While I have no interest in going pro, it's interesting reading.

http://www.ncagr.gov/markets/ncwine/starting-a-winery/starting-a-commercial-winery.html

 

[dizzy]

Cool I'll read up on it! TBH I don't know if I'll really be motivated enough to make more than we'll drink so who even knows....anyway doing a workshare at the farm next year instead would be better for me to get in shape, haha

 

[Gilmango]

Just found this thread yesterday, congrats on your wedding and your successful 3 batches of wine! Love the rose idea and the saving of those Cabernet skins in the freezer.

 

[Texas Winer]

Finally got my butt in gear. I unexpectedly started two new jobs that had been delayed forever with COVID, and then an additional one I wasn't expecting, in addition to adding a shift at my current job. And then my side career (music) also unexpectedly picked up a bit. Yay? (BTW my nickname is dizzy bc I play the trumpet. Gotcha.)

We tried to go to Procacci's the first day we (bf and I) had free but it turned out we just missed the season. Whoops.

Gino Pinto's- managed to reserve something, then some family stuff came up, missed it, just couldn't get down there in time and they sold it. I couldn't get excited about any of the Italian white juices right now, tho I'd consider something in the future.

Next try! Keystone. They were very patient with me and I decided to go with them once it turned out that indeed they were NOT actually sold out of Riesling. More spendy there, but better quality? One of my new jobs is paying cash under the table, I should be able to max retirement accounts and have savings this year (probs by end Nov), F it.

Ended up with 5 gal of Washington Riesling and 80 lbs of Washington cab sauv grapes which they crushed for an extra couple bucks. So awesome! I had them put it in two 7.9 gal containers which I am super happy I came up with, since I'm weak (he couldn't make it to the shop with me today), and my bf has back issues. Also the sizes of these just perfectly fit into the trunk of my clown car I mean purple Mitsubishi mirage. Once home very easy to carry down to the cellar.

K meta into both, the bf insisted. Used D47 on the Riesling (probs should have planned more, it will be fine) and RC 212 for the cab. I forgot to pickup malolactic and have decided I want to try, these grapes prolly deserve it. Not sure what I'll go with, couple options. Brix for both was right at 21. I realized we didn't have a pHmeter, it's on its way. Cool to adjust even after a day or couple of ferment?

I realize now that maybe I could have gotten more complexity to use a different yeast in each of the 2 cab buckets? Malolactic seems expensive and I'm not sure which one to get, the viniflora ones seem interesting since they are a decent amount, and dried. Probably I should have researched this more first!

It still seems fun and I hope for a good result tho. Excited to start punching down

Wow, so if I understand you are buying grapes and making wine from them? I am new to this and trying hard to understand all the verbiage and the steps and the yeast and the carboys and the...its alot! But i'm willing to learn. I hope to be able to make some fruit wines later this year and maybe that will help me learn the process for making my own wine with my grapes when they come in, in about 3 years!
Good luck!

 

[winemaker81]

Wow, so if I understand you are buying grapes and making wine from them? I am new to this and trying hard to understand all the verbiage and the steps and the yeast and the carboys and the...its alot! But i'm willing to learn. I hope to be able to make some fruit wines later this year and maybe that will help me learn the process for making my own wine with my grapes when they come in, in about 3 years!
Good luck!

I've written a few "in detail" blogs with a lot of photos. These may help you understand the process:

https://wine.bkfazekas.com/2022-grape-wines-in-detail/

https://wine.bkfazekas.com/2023-vidal-in-detail/

https://wine.bkfazekas.com/2023-chambourcin-in-detail/