New guy on the block

Rockymtn · Mar 21, 2021

Hi there,
I'm Rockymtn... a wine maker in training. We had been buying our wine kits from Costco. Decent enough, but always missing something. I went to one of my local wine stores, and got information about adding skins, Oak, Peppercorns, extra yeast etc.
It has taken our wines to a whole new level of enjoyment.
I first came to the website when I was thinking of playing with a Chardonnay. I wanted a different taste, somewhat aperitif but without the sweetness.
Being a person that has a few kitchen experiences, I decided to google if anyone has put Orange zest and Coriander seeds in the ferment stage of the wine, along with Skins, to make a Rose. There was enough information to have me give it a try. It is still in the process of making, and will be ready for bottling in a couple of weeks.
I am excited to bottle, as I use a lot of 'good whites' for making sauces, steaming and poaching. I like to keep a bottle of white in the fridge at all times, in case a cheese sauce has to be made for macaroni.
I look forward to posing questions, reading about your trials and successes, as well as the things that didn't work out so much.
Good to know that there is a group that might be able to lead me down 'the path of grapeness'...

Rembee · Mar 21, 2021

Welcome to the forum. There are many folks here with plenty of experience. They all have success and failure stories that will help you along your journey.

Rice_Guy · Mar 21, 2021

Welcome to WMT!

there are a lot of mead makers who use spices and a few in the rest of grape/ fruit wine making. (my best reference on using spices/ what they bring was Mead Maker by Schram )

sour_grapes · Mar 21, 2021

Welcome aboard!

DaveMcC · Mar 21, 2021

Welcome to the community, Rockymtn. The aromas and flavors we enjoy in premium wines come exclusively from the grapes, grown in expertly managed vineyards in optimum locations and micro climates, yeast strains, fermention, barrel aging and the expert (and artful) ways in which those are all handeled. High quality wines come from high quality grapes, used well. That said, I think there is nothing to stop amateurs (like most of us) from experimenting a bit. I recently added a half stick of spiral "Spanish cedar" (more related to mahogany, cigar-box wood), which proved to be a bit much for 6 gallons of malbec. Use any additives very, very sparingly, imho. You've come to the right place to benefit from qualified and experienced producers, and the rest of us.