saramc

Well, my intentions of a daily entry has gone out with the dishwater (wait, I don't do dishes!!). Last week, my husband ends up in the ER, then admitted to the hospital for 4 days. Finally got him home this past Saturday, back to the doctor on Monday only to be told that they wanted to re-admit him. Our 20 year old son is home from Iraq where he is stationed with his ARMY unit...goes back on the 21st. SOOO, the surgeon agreed as long as the MRI the next day was "okay" they would hold off on re-admitting until after my son boarded the plane. Back to surgeon on the 21st and plans to be in hospital right after that. I spent all but about an hour a day at the hospital...hubby was a bit delirious. Had enough time to get my raspberry melomel under airlock, stir the skeeter pee and check SG levels. I report the skeeter pee is still happily bubbling away but it will go under airlock today. The raspberry melomel had an attack of rotten eggitis, which I cured by gently racking it over some super sterile old copper pennies...was the only copper I had in the home. So, not much in my Adventures of Wine Making lately. OH, but I did win a give-away offered by Twisted Mist...for friending TikiMan on Facebook....one Strawberry kit on its way! Until next time.....

I just finished breaking into a bottle of my first attempt at wine making, and poured a glass of sweet concord. The color, a crystal clear pinky purple ... I need to look at a color chart to actually find the color that even begins to identify. The smell is fruity, yet there is an undertone that I cannot identify. It is not sulphur, not acetone-like ... don't know what it is. Could it be due to the fact that I used Montrachet yeast and this was a quickly made wine? Probably. BUT, the remaining 4 bottles are in cold storage in my basement and there they will remain for at least another 90 days MINIMUM. The flavor is SWEET. Too sweet for even me. But I suspect that more time in the cellar and it will balance out. If not, it is still a decent wine and I could always use it to top off other batches in progress. I am going to consult my WinePress forum friends and see what they think about my outcome thus far. I will take a picture of it soon, so you can see how pretty I think it is! Cheers, Sara

Thank you for taking a moment to check my blog "Quel Che Sara Sara: My Attempts at Wine Making". I decided on the name because it means "whatever will be, will be" and as a beginning wine maker that is sometimes how you feel. In fact, sometimes in life you feel that way. But, with the help of the fellow members of this forum your wine making adventures don't have to end up as an experiment gone awry. You have a wealth of information at your fingertips and if you cannot find the answer you are seeking you have only to post your inquiry and VOILA! someone will answer. I decided to start a blog where I can share my adventures in wine making. My plans, progress, problems(and solutions), and end results. I initially became interested in wine making after befriending a local vintner & his wife & family. They took me under their wing when I expressed an interest in the going-on's at their vineyard & winery (Wight-Meyer Vineyard & Winery in Shepherdsville, KY). I can label, cork, bottle; I have helped with the crushing/destemming, scoped out the tons of fresh grapes, inhaled the smells from the must (perfume to me) and can even operate their tasting room on my own! This year I hope to do all of the same but add to it working with the vines, learning about pruning, growing, netting, maintaining, etc. Being at the winery you meet many other amateur wine makers. And I decided to give it a try. I can cook with the best of them, I understand chemistry. I decided to start with the most basic, a concord made from frozen Welch's grape juice concentrate. Yes, that same recipe from the 70's where you put a balloon over the top of a gallon jug. Though since I am allergic to latex I opted for an airlock and hydrometer! I am glad to say that my concord has been sweetened/stabilized and is sitting pretty in bottles, so clear you can read newspaper through the bottle. Right now I am making my wine by the gallon, while I accumulate larger carboys. Other wines in progress are a simple peach wine made from a WonderWine kit (will be interested to see how that turns out--everything was a powder and says ready in 8 weeks. Kind of scared); Joe Mattioli's Ancient Orange Mead; Chocolate-Strawberry Jam Wine; Boysenberry Jam Wine; Crabapple-Quince Jam Wine. I would like to create a post about each of these wines, with details and photos as time allows. But you have to start somewhere! Regardless, welcome to my humble blog and I appreciate your interest in my adventures. Cheers ...Sara