Tale of helping 3 first time winemakers from grapes to bottle.

[NorCal]

One of the things I enjoy about this hobby is that it is an opportunity to meet people or spend more time with good friends. Especially being an introvert, the hobby has expanded my world. I’ve agreed to help 3 unrelated people make wine this year. I thought it would be fun to chronicle their journey.

#1 - I made a 2 1/2 gallon carboy of Syrah from my vineyard that he aged at his house. He‘s hooked. He is all in this year, with plans to make a 5 gallon carboy of Cab and a 5 gallon carboy of Merlot. The vineyard is nearby and one I’ve used in the past. He is a good friend.

#2 - We adopted a hen to join our chicken flock and while the wives were talking about chickens, we talked about wine. It turns out he volunteered helping with a vineyard. He said he has never made wine, but always wanted to. He will have Cab Franc or Petite Sirah Grapes from the vineyard he helps with. The plan is a 5 gallon carboy.

#3 - A gentleman from a nearby neighborhood stopped by to talk as I was taking care of my vines. He has 100 Zin vines in his front yard that has only fed the local wildlife. This year is pretty much a total loss due to how they were pruned, but I told him we could salvage enough to make a few gallons, probably Rose.

Should be fun. All are enthusiastic and ready to learn.

 

[NorCal]

One of the lessons I have learned with helping people is to make the expectations clear up-front. The goal of this year is not make a carboy of wine for you. The goal is for you to learn the fundamentals, acquire the minimal amount of equipment necessary, so that next year you could then do it yourself with advice from me, vs. me being hands on.

#1 The Cab/Merlot he will be getting are at 17.5/19.5. He is going away this upcoming weekend, but should be safe. He has acquired a refractometer, hydrometer, 3 used carboys, a 5 gallon screw press and two 44 gallon brutes. The vineyard he is getting the grapes from have a destemmer/crusher, so the plan is to use that. I have ordered all his nutrients, yeast and mlb.

#2 The vineyard are 19.5 to 21.1 He has decided to do Cab Franc. I've given him the same instructions/links as the above; hydrometer, carboys, brute. Since he has access to the vineyard and grapes, the plan would be to coordinate his pick with mine, and he can use my destemmer while it is already running. He is coming over next week for winetasting (he's bringing the wine We will be talking more about the plan.

#3 The clusters that have enough leaves left on them, they were hedged like a bush by the gardener are at 17 brix. The goal is only to make a gallon or two, so I think logistics of when I am doing my vineyard will dictate when we pick through his vineyard to find viable clusters.

All in all, we are still a few weeks out, but things are coming together.

 

[winemaker81]

One of the lessons I have learned with helping people is to make the expectations clear up-front.

Oh GAWD Yes!

 

[Snafflebit]

One of the lessons I have learned with helping people is to make the expectations clear up-front. The goal of this year is not make a carboy of wine for you. The goal is for you to learn the fundamentals, acquire the minimal amount of equipment necessary, so that next year you could then do it yourself with advice from me, vs. me being hands on.

Yep, this. I manage grapes for vineyard owners and they are all universally excited about making wine. But then life bumps into the needs of vine maintenance and scheduling vacations around harvest and yadda yadda, pretty soon the romance has worn off. I need to charge much more than I do.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

Yep, this. I manage grapes for vineyard owners and they are all universally excited about making wine. But then life bumps into the needs of vine maintenance and scheduling vacations around harvest and yadda yadda, pretty soon the romance has worn off. I need to charge much more than I do.

Every year I get about 50-100 emails a harvest season from members of a local home winemaking club asking me literally every question under the sun about winemaking I like helping people learn how to make good wine but sometimes it’s chaos and it’s tough to have the time to help them and getting stuff done at the winery.

 

[winemaker81]

Every year I get about 50-100 emails a harvest season from members of a local home winemaking club asking me literally every question under the sun about winemaking I like helping people learn how to make good wine but sometimes it’s chaos and it’s tough to have the time to help them and getting stuff done at the winery.

Send them the WMT URL?

 

[ChuckD]

Every year I get about 50-100 emails a harvest season from members of a local home winemaking club asking me literally every question under the sun about winemaking I like helping people learn how to make good wine but sometimes it’s chaos and it’s tough to have the time to help them and getting stuff done at the winery.

I hear there’s a website out there where they could get their questions answered.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

I hear there’s a website out there where they could get their questions answered.

Yeah lol I’ve told them to come ask you guys questions but so far I don’t know how many actually made a account

 

[NorCal]

An update.

#1 helped pick my vineyard for 4 hours. He is all in, has all the equipment and is going out to the vineyard that the grapes are coming from and taking his own brix readings. Total future winemaker.
#2 came over with his wife tonight and brought 2020/2021 bottles from the vineyard he manages. Very nice. He purchased used carboys and getting a brute tomorrow. He has the wine bug, but I can see he is a right side brain thinker and the brix/ph/ SO2/Ferm/ mlf…is a bit overwhelming.
#3 not sure he is going to make it. Not seeing the interest, but not giving up on him. However, I’ve learned that if the other party isn’t an eager participant, to not compensate for that. We shall see.

 

[mainshipfred]

Every year I get about 50-100 emails a harvest season from members of a local home winemaking club asking me literally every question under the sun about winemaking I like helping people learn how to make good wine but sometimes it’s chaos and it’s tough to have the time to help them and getting stuff done at the winery.

I get my local grapes from several vineyards and wineries. Luckily I'm one of the few they are willing to work with. We'll discuss the numbers and they typically volunteer their processing plans, what yeast and preferment additives they plans on using, carbonic and extended maceration, the fermentation vessels they plan to use, etc. As we all know, harvest is a very busy time of the year for wineries and they simply don't have the time to educate beginners. It's not that they don't care to help everyone, they simply don't have the time.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

I get my local grapes from several vineyards and wineries. Luckily I'm one of the few they are willing to work with. We'll discuss the numbers and they typically volunteer their processing plans, what yeast and preferment additives they plans on using, carbonic and extended maceration, the fermentation vessels they plan to use, etc. As we all know, harvest is a very busy time of the year for wineries and they simply don't have the time to educate beginners. It's not that they don't care to help everyone, they simply don't have the time.

Yeah

 

[winemaker81]

Yeah lol I’ve told them to come ask you guys questions but so far I don’t know how many actually made a account

It's easier to ask you .....

 

[David Engel]

Honestly, if I hadn’t found WMT, and asked all those beginner questions and heeded the answers I got, I might not be where I am today in love with the endeavor (hobby if I may call it that).

Dave

 

[Nebbiolo020]

Honestly, if I hadn’t found WMT, and asked all those beginner questions and heeded the answers I got, I might not be where I am today in love with the endeavor (hobby if I may call it that).

Dave

It’s more of an addiction lol

 

[NorCal]

An update.

#1 could not be more enthusiastic. He hand picked his cab and merlot and used their onsite destemmer. He sends me daily brix and temp updates and has read everything he can. He was worried that one ferment was going much faster than the other, so we added the second dose of Ferment K early, which helped get it going. I had way more grapes than planned this year so I convinced him to fill his extra carboy with some Zin From my vineyard. Little does he know that he will soon find the carboy count mysteriously growing.
#2 I discovered that he is a busy man and was wondering if he was going to find time for this project. I stopped suggesting plans and wanted to see if he could make the grapes happen. He did! He wasn’t able to get his grapes and run them through my destemmer, but he hand picked and hand destemmer about 50 pounds of grapes. I’m hoping it will yield 3 gallons. It is fermenting as we speak.
#3 His grapes peaked at 16 brix and we decided it was not worth the effort. I offered him young Zin wine he could nurture, but don’t think he is going to take me up on the offer.

 

[NorCal]

Some of the update texts
#1







And from #2

 

[NorCal]

I’m going to call two big W’s and one L.

#1 Has the carboy growing pain problem. He set out to make a carboy of cab and merlot, he ended with this:

note: BOB= bottom of barrel

#2 Started the journey hand picking and hand destemming about 100 pounds / 5 gallons of Cab Franc. It is currently at 4 brix. He asked to borrow a macro bin because he is going to go clear the vineyard of all the remaining grapes and ordered up enough supplies for a 60 gallon barrel.

#3 Haven’t heard from and hadn’t taken me up on my offer of a carboy of wine to take care of.