1st Entry. This blog is dedicated to my first attempt at making wine from beginning to end – from grape to bottle. Having never made wine from scratch, I expect this to be quite a journey and a great wet mess at times!
In the last year, I’ve been reading books and magazines, talking to people, watching dozens of Youtube videos, and Googling innumerable questions about every topic from fermentation options to yeast nutrients, to sanitation methods, to inert gases, to oak barrel care, and on and on… I’ve found the adage is absolutely true – if you ask 10 winemakers a question, you’ll get 11 different answers. But that‘s one reason this hobby is so enticing. There are so many different choices to make at every turn, each of which affects the final outcome.
The home wine making pursuit incorporates (apparently) a metric-ton of time and effort, a bucket-load of science, and a good deal of artistry – or personal taste. I will be measuring and tasting constantly over the course of a year prior to bottling, trying to steer the juice toward my favorite expression of wine: a modern-style Napa Cabernet. Of course, that’s my objective now. Let’s hope the grapes I get can support that style. Otherwise, I’ll have to adjust my aim accordingly.
Here’s my high-level plan:
- Outfit my garage winery (nearly done).
- Early October, pick up a 30-gallon French oak barrel from a Napa cooperage.
- Late October (more or less), pick up grapes in Napa (Mt. Veeder).
- Separate around 10% of the juice to make Rosé, the rest for Cabernet.
- Ferment, then transfer to barrel for aging.
- Around a year later, bottling party!
I intend to record the journey here in words and photos. Let’s hope the final product is good enough to justify some of this time investment… and maybe even good enough to inspire a second vintage of "vin de garage!"
~Dave Sienknecht
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