Great Forum!

[Mark]

Just a quick newbie observation…
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Making and enjoying wine with family and friends is what it’s all about. But it sure would be less interesting (and less successful) without this forum! I’ve only made one wine so far (the VR Shiraz, the next will be the Lodi Ranch Cab as soon as I get back from vacation), but after hanging out on this forum I feel like I’ve made quite a few more. The extra confidence is great, I know someone will always be there if something goes wrong, and it’s a great way to pass the time while painfully waiting (oops, I mean patiently waiting) till the next step. On the other hand, I know I’ll still make some boneheaded mistake and now will kick myself even harder because I’m sure it was discussed somewhere in this forum but I did it anyway…

So I’m raising a glass of that <?amespace prefix = st1 ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficearttags" /><st1:City wt="on"><st1lace wt="on">Shiraz</st1lace></st1:City> to George and everyone on this forum… Thanks!

 

[JohnA]

Mark, welcome aboard. My first kit is under way at the moment, about five days in primary. It's the NW Australian Shiraz. How did your Shiraz turn out? Any prpblems?


John

 

[MikeC]

Welcome Mark!


I agree-the knowledge and respect for new wine makers here is great. I started my first kit earlier this year and I'm now on my 3rd (Riesling) and 4th (Cab/Merlot blend) kits. I'm not sure I would have done it without the help and support of George and this forum.


I'm not sure which is more fun-drinking the wine or making it....

 

[Mark]

The Shiraz has been in the bottle now 2 months.My only issue was degassing - thought I went overboard with the Mixstir at Stage 3 while trying to not inject too much air, but apparently it wasn't enough.A freshly opened bottle has too much gas for my taste (and I'm no connoisseur!).Shaking the bottle helps a lot, as does using my Vacusaver's wine bottle attachment to pull a vacuum on the bottle for a day or so (but it doesn't help as much as the shaking). I now have a MightyVac and plan to use it (along with much more vigorous use of the Mixstir and more time in the carboy prior to bottling) on my next wine.


It's also a bit thin for my taste, but this was a 7.5 liter kit so that may be somewhat expected. (Next time I'm going to try a 10+ liter kit.) Overall, it was a great experience, I'm proud of how it turned out,and I plan on enjoying every bottle! I'm also looking forward to my next wine (probably the Lodi Ranch Cab).

 

[smurfe]

Welcome Mark and thanks. We all try really hard to make this the best forum available to the winemaking community.

 

[OGrav]

Welcome Mark, what I found here that is so useful is that people aren't afraid to talk about mistakes they've made. If all you hear about are success stories, you really miss a lot of the decision making and "what I would do better" next time. I think that in itself has taught me more than most books; experience is valuable. I haven't made the jump to a kit wine yet. I was surprised to learn that there were people here used to doing kits apprehensive about doing a fruit wine. When I get my first kit, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions.

 

[PolishWineP]

Glad that you've joined us and feel that we can be of assistance and support of your morale. Don't know about moral support though!

Don't feel that you need to read the entire forum looking for an answer just so you don't repeat a question already asked. And, never think that you're alone in boneheaded moves! There's loads of them divulged here.

Discussing the not-so-bright things we've done takes some of the sting out of it. Remember the movie, Crocodile Dundee? He was talking about how there's no need for a shrink in Walkabout Creek. Just let Wally know what your problem is, he'll tell everyone else, no more problem! The forum is a lot like that. In fact, if you bring out something not-so-bright that you did, someone will probably have done something worse, and then you feel so much better!

 

[Harry]

Mark Welcome to the best Forum on the net. You are hooked no,LOL Wont be long and you will be trying to fermint anything you can get your, My wife tells everyone that will probably fermint grass clippings. But she likes my wines LOL.
Harry

 

[geocorn]

I am always excited to know the forum has such value to wine makers. Always remember, this is YOUR forum. It is only as good as the members make it.


Welcome aboard.

 

[rgecaprock]

Welcome Newbies,


You won't be newbies for long....you will be part of the "family". Great to have you!!!! We are your friends for life!!!! It is so interesting to read all the experiences you all have and learn from them. It's fun here!!!


Ramona

 

[PeterZ]

Grass clippings. Hmmmm... Peter's Cellars Bermuda Especial.

 

[GrapeApe]

And that is what I love about this forum, above and beyond the great info... It breaks every stereotype that people may have about "wine snobs". Everyone on this forum has a great sense of humor and is very supportive regardless of how silly or basicthe questionsare (trust me, I've asked plenty). It's a testament to this forums success how everyone feels comfortable asking questions and more importantly feels comfortable answering them!!


Truly awesome. Cheers!


GrapeApe.