Two months to go

Hello everyone,

It's July 27th, that means within about two months, I'll be knee deep in winemaking.

This is going to be a big year for me. I'm buying my own press and am trying several small batches of wine from grapes, instead of just one big batch and several gallons of juice.

That's not to say the traditional Sunday afternoon pressing at Tony's won't happen...it will. I'll just be doing some pressing at home as well.

So, I have 2 months to accomplish the following:

Find a press. Easier said that done. Plenty are available online at good prices, but I want to see the press before I buy it, and I can't imagine what some of the shipping would be.

Find a supplier. We've been using one place locally, and I have no complaints, it's simply that I want to see who has what grapes, so I can pick and choose.

Decide what I want to make. I'm definitely doing Zin, Sangiovese and Chardonnay. I'd love to try a Syrah/Shiraz, a Riesling or Gewurtz, and maybe a Pinot Noir. I have a few books with tips for making wine from several types of grapes, so I'm open to more varieties. IN the end, I'd like to have one demijohn of Zin, and 5-6 carboys of something else.

Decide HOW I'm going to make them. Holy Crap! If you pick up 3 books or magazines with 'recipes', you'll have 3 different ways to make any given wine, and even within those recipes there will be subtle variations.

Bottle what I can of last years vintage. The Ruby Cab and Zin are ready. I'm hoping the Chardonnay is as well.

Finally, I have to brush up on my chemistry. When making wine from juice, the acid and sugar levels have already been set, taking a lot of the work out of the process for you. No such luxury this year.

I'll be posting what I find in a press, what recipes and techniques I use, and how last years vintage turns out. Bear with me.

Happy wine drinking!

Sean