Why do you make wine?

[soccer0ww]

I enjoy making wine. I like turning grapes or other fruit into an adult beverage, and some times it actually tastes rather good. I would say that I enjoy the process of making wine a little bit more than drinking the wine, but that is slowly changing.

 

[JohnT]

I enjoy making wine. I like turning grapes or other fruit into an adult beverage, and some times it actually tastes rather good. I would say that I enjoy the process of making wine a little bit more than drinking the wine, but that is slowly changing.

There are batches of wine that you can make that, after tasting it, will make you go weak in the knees. The wine will make you wonder "what went so right?". This event happens to every seasoned winemaker and usually precedes a major purchase at the winemaker's shop.

My guess is that this has not happened to you yet, but that day will come if you keep at it. It is at that point in time where you will laugh at your above post.


p.s. I worked hard to keep the topic of Welch's out of the above. I should get extra membership points!

 

[JohnT]

A suggestion was made that I republish / repost some of my older writings on this subject. I though it was a good idea and hope you folks feel the same way..

These are some articles I posted a ways back. I know they may be rather long, but I guess that they best describe why I make wine and what it means to me. I hope that you find it worth the read.




Article about wine traditions in my family
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/Get-The-Most-Out-Of-It.html

Article on wine tasting at my family's winery
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/Wine-Tasting-on-roids.html
Article on a wine experience between me and my brother: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/hungarian-museum-wine.html
Thread describing last year's crush: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f19/2013-crush-report-long-one-40799/

 

[REDRUM]

Fantastic, thanks JohnT!

 

[jpike01]

In every aspect imaginable, copper is too expensive.

Wine is more fun!


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[sour_grapes]

In every aspect imaginable, copper is too expensive.

Did I miss something? I love copper, but how does it relate to this question? (It's an honest question -- I really do want to know.)

 

[JohnT]

Me too. I am not sure if he was talking about a hobby he has involving copper or perhaps copper additives in wine?

We are not trying to *** at you jpike, we are just confused. Care to elaborate?

 

[jpike01]

Around here you can walk through the woods and find copper and other metal containers destroyed by dynamite.

Wine is more fun!


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[blumentopferde]

Funny that 40% of the respondents claim to make wine to save money. I always found it quite a costly hobby... Don't know how many hundrets of litres of wine I could have bought with the money that went into my wineyard...

 

[Boatboy24]

Funny that 40% of the respondents claim to make wine to save money. I always found it quite a costly hobby... Don't know how many hundrets of litres of wine I could have bought with the money that went into my wineyard...

Saving money is just the reason I gave my wife when asked why I wanted to make wine.

 

[dralarms]

Well the biggest plus for me is I don't like most wines I found in the store but I really like mine.

 

[JohnT]

Saving money is just the reason I gave my wife when asked why I wanted to make wine.

And she bought that??????

 

[Boatboy24]

And she bought that??????

H3ll no. But it was shortly after that when she gave in to my constant whining.

 

[user 31015]

In New Zealand we can get excellent grape wines at very cheap prices (it isn't uncommon for $10us to get you a great wine from a supermarket) so my wife and I enjoy grape wines regularly (won't even bother trying to make grape wines when we have such excellent choice available here).

However, for anything more unusual (eg, fruit wines) you will pay substantially more ($20-25us a bottle) and I enjoy variety in my booze! Hence, I thought I would try to make some myself. We have good local markets with cheap surplus/ripe fruit that supermarkets won't take, so raw resources are available. I have a pear, plum and blackcurrant on the go (my first attempts) and a feijoa planned. I enjoy trying to be seasonal and local with my production.

Also, I have friends who are into beer making, and although I enjoy beer, I figured they had that niche covered (they make good beer) and some wine would mean something to trade!

Finally, I read "The Art of Fermentation" and the idea of bottles of bubbling stuff sounded good fun.

 

[blumentopferde]

In New Zealand we can get excellent grape wines at very cheap prices (it isn't uncommon for $10us to get you a great wine from a supermarket) so my wife and I enjoy grape wines regularly (won't even bother trying to make grape wines when we have such excellent choice available here).

However, for anything more unusual (eg, fruit wines) you will pay substantially more ($20-25us a bottle) and I enjoy variety in my booze! Hence, I thought I would try to make some myself. We have good local markets with cheap surplus/ripe fruit that supermarkets won't take, so raw resources are available. I have a pear, plum and blackcurrant on the go (my first attempts) and a feijoa planned. I enjoy trying to be seasonal and local with my production.

Over here in Austria wine is also quite cheap. It starts at 2$ per litre in the supermarket and the good stuff starts at about 8$ per bottle.

Still I couldn't resist making my own wine. It's a bit of a traditional thing, as my grandfather already made wine, and it is also a challenge! I want to become as good as the professional winemakers around!:>

 

[user 31015]

Yeah! That is a good reason to try!

I know a guy who used to live near vineyards and knew the community. He and others were allowed to go around after mechanical harvesting was done to pick up loose grapes - that would be so cool and would definitely drive me to making grape wines!

 

[jangel]

Started out because i am a celiac and was spending a lot on cider and GF beer. Now i am hooked. Its the science/biology aspect that really appeals to me. It also tastes really good, well i think so, after a few years experimentation.


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[REDRUM]

Yeah there's plenty of good, affordable wine around, but I want to challenge and educate myself.
I also love the idea of drinking something that I've made myself. Just like eating stuff that you grow from your garden. It's good to have a personal connection with processes of food production.

 

[cimbaliw]

I've had very few hobbies or interests that I've felt as comfortable with as wine making. I think it needs to be said that participating in this forum; the advice, patience and general acceptance, has made the hobby that much more enjoyable.

BC

 

[Kayts]

I enjoy making wine and trying different kinds...after you have the basic wine making supplies it becomes reasonable and my family and friends love trying what I make...glad you let us make lots of choices because I need lots of choices...and just tried a kit for the first time and am impressed..but still like making my own from fresh fruits.