When the excitement fades - Good things happen

[Scooter68]

To beginners the toughest part is the waiting. I still hate it after 3 years of this. ( That's not a long time I know)

The point is once you get over some of the initial excitement, when you find yourself having to remember how long since you last racked that wine - that's when you'll make the best wines. You'll find that wine aging process isn't so hard after all.

It's hard I know, but there are a number of ways to get to that point.
Keep making more wines.
Get another hobby to keep you busy.
Whatever it takes, learning to be patient will be what will turn your wines into far better wines.

The fastest way to ruin a good wine is to try to cut corners or rush it in any way. A bulk aging wine with the proper pH, and SO2 levels requires little more than a rack every 3 months.

If you spend some time reading before plunging into that first batch you're going to be way ahead of many who post cries for help on here. (I know because I posted several in my first six months)

Learn the terminology, stick to the mainstream steps and processes until you've made at least half a dozen batches. Then start making some tests with new techniques. If you start with a kit, the try from a juice. If you are interested in fruit wines, read on that part of this forum, when the season rolls around for you fruit, find a local fruit stand and makes friends with them.

Bottom line have fun and remember, making wine takes a little commitment and patience. It's not like shopping on Amazon and expecting it to be ready I'm a couple of days, or weeks, or even months.

 

[mainshipfred]

All good stuff Scooter. I'm almost a year and a half into it and the excitement is still there, especially at crush and press. I've made 4 kits that were bottled no earlier then 9 months a few older. Everything else is juice buckets or grapes, nine batches currently aging plus I'll have 5 more this spring. Waiting is not my problem. As much as I would love to bottle my waiting is not the issue. The issue is I'm not sure they are even close to ready and bottling is so permanant. When I taste them they're fine but nothing spectacular and most probably won't ever be, plus I want to blend but my palatte is not good enough to know what to blend with what or maybe I just don't have the right wines yet. I lied, I do have 3 batches of Island Mist I'll probably bottle but other then that I'm afrain bottling is somewhat down the road.

 

[Scooter68]

I've got 5 gallons of peach (1x3gal 2x1gal) 4 gal Blueberry (1x3 gal 1x1gal) 1 gal Apple. All aging and from 7 to 9 months into that. Peach looks like it's going to require a dose of bentonite. But the at least 3 months before I need to think about that. By that time I should be starting this year's wines depending on what fruit we are blessed with. Why I might have to get a couple more carboys for aging.

 

[sour_grapes]

Amen, brother!