What is your most embarrassing memory?

[TxBrew]

These are good. Keep them coming.

 

[Wayne Freeman]

i am curious to see how far this thread actually goes with honest reporting of embarrassing moments. Given the almost universal online "Instagram" world we seem to live in, where one only shows their best (cough... cough... ) side.

Mistakes? -- Harrumph... Mistakes do not happen (especially if you want to build your channel -- and today that is what most people do, so by corollary, mistakes do not happen. To error is human, but to be human is interlerable to the ever present "like" algorithm.)

For example, I would never admit to that time I left the spigot open on a barrel when racking wine, so that wine started spilling on the floor. Oh, no. That was a planned event. The floor clearly needed a wine wash.... ehem....

Done that, but made the additional mistake of going up to the kitchen to wash some equipment. Only salvaged about two gallons.

 

[Venatorscribe]

I left the spigot open on a barrel when racking wine, so that wine started spilling on the floor. Oh, no. That was a planned event. The floor clearly needed a wine wash.... ehem....

You’re not alone on with that one …

 

[bstnh1]

When I first started winemaking I was washing my equipment after getting my very first kit started. Carefully washed the hydrometer, rinsed it off and gave it a good shake to get the last few drops of water off. End of hydrometer!!!! Since then, I have bought three more as backups. Of course, with a drawer full of them, I have never broken another one.

 

[Venatorscribe]

When I first started winemaking I was washing my equipment after getting my very first kit started. Carefully washed the hydrometer, rinsed it off and gave it a good shake to get the last few drops of water off. End of hydrometer!!!! Since then, I have bought three more as backups. Of course, with a drawer full of them, I have never broken another one.

They break into a million very small fine shards, don’t they.

 

[bstnh1]

They break into a million very small fine shards, don’t they.

Well, I was left with a stub in my hand and gass shards, splinters and dust fine particles on the floor. You don't make that mistake twice!

 

[JustJoe]

Just had my most embarrassing moment. I made a number of batches of rhubarb wine and people have been enjoying it. For our big get together (19 people) on thanksgiving, I brought three bottles of it up from the cellar. All three were from a batch I had not opened yet. When I opened the first bottle, it blew the cork out as soon as I started to pull and foam came out the top of the bottle. Fortunately. it didn't blow the foam all over since I was standing next to the table where everyone was seated. It certainly got their attention though!
After a lot of jokes from everyone there, I tasted it and found it to be very good and the fizz was a pleasant addition. When people tried it they all opted for it and I had to get a couple more bottles up while the grape and blueberry wines were left untouched.
Sadly, I had to finish them off by myself

 

[balatonwine]

Carefully washed the hydrometer, rinsed it off and gave it a good shake to get the last few drops of water off. End of hydrometer!!!!

I had a similar disaster. Not a hydrometer, but a custom hand blown crystal wine glass a very good friend gave me as a birthday gift. And you are right.... one does not make that mistake twice. But for me, once was very heartbreaking. Was sad about that for years. I think I am still sad about it.

Good thing I did not break my hydrometer, as my first one (over twenty years old now), has a built in thermometer, with mercury. Probably not the best thing to break in a winery......

 

[Ohio Bob]

I bought 6 gallons of Riesling from the local shop. They had huge plastic barrels of juice and would pump as much juice as you had a container to hold. The juice had already started working so when I got it home, sprinkled in my dry yeast it was ready to burst. I stirred it vigorously to dissolve the yeast and a geyser of juice exploded out of the carboy and drenched the ceiling. Surprisingly the whole incident lasted about 1 second. I lost about 2 gallons and spent an hour mopping the floor.