Finally - got my 2018 wines bottled.

[wildhair]

The end of 2017 and most of 2018 was a real s**t-storm for me. My wife had valve replacement & repair surgery and then my elderly parents had multiple issues - that's the ultra-condensed version. Not much time for wine making. Didn't even get out fishing once. Fortunately, I had started a few batches before it all hit the fan. Some of these sat in carboys for over 6 months while I dealt with .......stuff.
Got the last of the wine bottled Sunday and labeled. Wine rack is stocked again. Life is "normalizing". The Black Raspberry is excellent and the Rhubarb is a strong #2. Now to start on the 2019 wines & get the fruit trees and vines pruned.

 

[Kraffty]

Sorry to hear of all the stumbling blocks you had to deal with this year, sounds like you've worked through it and also looks like you have a supply of good looking wine on hand. Mike

 

[wildhair]

Thanks. It's been quite a medical learning curve - these are life-changing events when they happen in isolation. All at once - it's just a blur. And there are still on-going issues. But we all have stuff we deal with, eh? Hopefully, I can find a new normal. Got a batch or Dragon's blood going now & I picked up another Chocolate Raspberry kit. I managed to get all my apples pressed and just froze the juice. I have cherries and rhubarb and black raspberries and more all still waiting in the freezer.

Now that the carboys are empty and washed - time to get fermenting again.

 

[jswordy]

A beautiful array!

 

[BernardSmith]

Life can be so fraught and fragile.

 

[wildhair]

It is indeed. And it can change your direction and priorities in a heartbeat. Literally.

Thanks, Jim - it is a good selection. I need a couple more reds, tho. I would like to try some Mulberry wine - but I can't find anyone with mulberry trees anymore.

 

[buzi]

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I am glad you are back in the wine making saddle! That is an impressive selection of wines you have created! Mullberry is a great selection for you next make. It was the best county wine I have ever made and was served at my wedding. Unfortunately I moved from that house and do not have access to mulberries anymore. If I could find black raspberries, they would be at the top of my winemaking list! Thanks for the inspiration and good luck in this new year!

 

[wrongway]

Sorry to hear of your wife and Parents, Hope all will be well soon!
Really like your nice wine labels. I also wish to make Mulberry wine.
I have searched high and low for mulberries and can not find any!
Only a few concentrates.

 

[wildhair]

Things are......less bad, thanks. Some things don't get better, but I'll take stable for now.

Mulberries seem to be a vanishing fruit. No real commercial value, too messy for most people to have in the yard and hardly anyone makes jam anymore. Except me. There was a nice tree down the road, but they cut it down to put in a parking lot. Now I can't seem to find anyone that still has one. The search continues.

 

[Arne]

Where do you live. Still plenty of them around here. I cut down one of the biggest mulberry trees I have ever seen but now don't track the purple stains in the house for a month and a half every summer. Wife doesn't complain about the purple stains on her clothes hanging on the line and car windshields stay cleaner longer.

 

[wrongway]

Truth is that my Mother has a mulberry right behind her garage but the mulberries are so small that even the Bluejay's stick there noses up at them! The tree is very old and dying out. Been thinking about doing sand plum wine. I can drive out of town in any direction and find all the sand plums a person could ever want! That is when we don't have a late freeze that ruins them.

 

[wildhair]

Where do you live. Still plenty of them around here. I cut down one of the biggest mulberry trees I have ever seen but now don't track the purple stains in the house for a month and a half every summer. Wife doesn't complain about the purple stains on her clothes hanging on the line and car windshields stay cleaner longer.

I live in E Central WI - near Oshkosh. Those are exactly the reasons most folks have cut them down, I think. I thought about planting my own - not sure I'd live long enough to see it really produce.