What are you making and what have you made ???

I have been spending so much of my time on other interests that I have completely neglected my wine. I will dedicate the next two day in sorting out what needs to be done, e.g. bottle, sulfite, etc. I am out of space and I am getting a good deal of "oak" in my wines from the construction of two bookcases. It is red oak and not what I want so I have to tend to the wine before finishing the bookcases.

Looks like you have a bit of a backlog on kits there, Rocky.

Yes, Jim, I have three on deck, all dressed up and nowhere to go. I bought them when I was at Label Peelers this past November. I need to get to them too. I must be wasting time somewhere so I have to re-evaluate my days. I know I spend entirely too much time watching re-re-re-re-runs on TV, working crossword puzzles and playing "FreeCell" on my PCs. I have to start moving the ball forward.

I am a newbie at winemaking, have only been making wine/mead since April last year and mainly 1 gallon.
In the primary is tomato wine, apricot for choco apricot mead
Secondary is carrot, pomegranate, Jaffa mead, chocolate mead, mango, tutti frutti from us presented punch leftover from a party
Bottled is JOAM, lavender mead (yech so far), beet, feijoa mead, guava, plum, kiwifruit

This year I want to start making blends of flavours but also have plans to make vanilla mead, parsnip, apple, pear, strawberry and lime, dandelion, fig lemon and vanilla mead

Made a few beers in the past...

Bottled; JAOM & Chardonnay.
In ferment or secondary; Island Mist Pomegranate Zin, Blackberry dragon blood, and WE Eclipse Riesling.
On deck; Eclipse Zin and LE14 Triumph

6 L of Mead (local honey) aging
2 gal Pomegranate Cherry first rack was a month ago
3 L orange wine racked about a month ago (this is an experiment)

What I'm most excited about is the Elderberry I just started… here is what I did:

1 96oz can VH Elderberry
8 lbs of blackberries
2/3 tsp tannin
4 tsp PE
4 tsp Yeast Nut
2 tsp Acid Blend
15 cups sugar
water to about 5 gal

final SG = 1.081

update to my list 3-23-2015

Finished:
1. Wild Berry White Zinfadel. - Summer Breezin kit - 6 gallons
2. Niagara - Walkers hotpack juice - 5 gallons
3. Wine Expert Riesling Ice Style Wine(kit) - 3 gallons
4. Original Skeeter Pee (Lon's recipe) - 18 gallons
5. Candy Cane - 3 gallons
6. Concord from grapes - 3 gallons.
7. Sangria- Zinfandel blush WE kit - 6 gallons
8. Danger Dave's Triple Berry DB - 6 gallons

In the works:
Peach from peaches (6 gal.
More Skeeter Pee (6 Gal.).....can't believe I've made 24 gallons of this stuff. Most popular.

Kits to do yet:
Cornucopia Tropical Riesling - kits - 6 gallons
2 - WE Island Mist Limeade - 6 gallons -
Wild Berry White Zinfandel. 6 gallons - Summer Breezin kit. really liked the first kit.
Cornucopia , White Coconut Frascati.
Riesling Kit
Gewurztraminer Kit
Pomegranate Pinot Grigio

I am a relative newby.....been making kits for about 8-9 months. Only one bottle of the White Zin left as it was delicious. The Riesling is similarly going quickly. The big reds are still a little rough. The Rosso is respectable, the Sangiovese blend wasn't awful at one month. What would you all recommend I try to continue to develop my skills. Loving this, going to Winemaker Conf.
In Portland. Looking forward to meeting folks.

In the bottle:

Winexpert Eclipse Barolo
RJS Italian Rosso Grande Ecceliente
Winexpert Select Brunello
Winexpert White Zin
Winexpert Select Amarone
MostI Mondiale Il Toscona
Winexpert Select Italian Montepulchiano 2/3 / Sangiovense 1/3 blend
Winexpert Select Sangiovese 2/3 / Montepulchiano 1/3 blend
Limited Edition Winexpert Mosel Riesling


In production:

RJS Specialty Black Forest Port
RJS Australian Cabernet Sauvignon


In cue:

Vineco Italian Barbara
Winexpert Eclipse Sonoma Pinot Noir


More to come........

My husband bought me the equipment kit and a cranberry malbec wine kit in for my birthday in December 2012. The rest is history, I guess! I have included the start dates, not the bottling dates, below.

Here's my list:

Kits 6g
-12/28/12 Island Mist Cranberry Malbec
-2/2/13 Grand Cru International California Muscat
-3/15/13 Mosti Mondiale Montepulciano
-3/21/13 Mosti Mondiale Chardasia
-5/22/13 Meglioni Moscato Italiano
-6/16/2013 RJS Grand Cru California Moscato
-7/18/13 Tangerine Lemon Sauvignon Blanc
-9/11/13 RJS Cru Select Chilean Malbec
-10/11/13 Meglioli Marzemino
-1/2/14 Winexpert Eclipse Italian Barolo
-1/4/14 RJS Cellar Classic Winery Series Italian Super Tuscan
-2/16/14 Mezza Luna White
-2/23/14 Grand Cru International British Columbian Pinot Noir
-3/23/14 Kenridge LE2014 Italy Primitivo Showcase Collection - WMT AWARD WINNING!
-4/13/14 Winexpert Selection International South African Chenin Blanc
-7/4/14 Winexpert LE2013 Willmette Valley Oregon Pinot Noir
-7/4/14 Orchard Breezin Seville Orange Sangria
-8/13/14 Vineco Cellar Craft Sterling California Sauvignon Blanc
-8/13/14 Winexpert LE2014 Selection International Grenache Rose
-1/6/15 RQ14 Spanish Monastrell Petit Verdot
-1/16/15 Selection California Chardonnay
-1/16/15 RQ14 Italian Nero D'Avola
-6/7/15 Mosti Meglioli Masters Edition Amarone w/grapes and raisins
-7/25/15 RJS RQ2015 Italian Aglianico
-7/25/15 Selection Italian Pinot Grigio

Kits 3g
-9/18/13 RJS Coffee port
-11/19/13 RJS Black Forest port
-9/1/14 RJS Toasted Caramel port
-9/1/14 RJS Coffee port

Grapes/juice
-5/10/14 Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon; 12g; pail + frozen must
-9/13/14 California Old Vine Zinfandel; 6g; pail + lug of grapes
-9/11/14 California Cab Franc; 16g; pail + lug of grapes
-9/11/14 California Chenin Blanc; 6g; pail
-9/11/14 California Cab Franc/Zin/Cabernet Sauvignon blend; 7g pail + grapes, cofermented
-10/19/14 Italian Pinot Bianco; 6g pail - DUMPED due to incurable stinkyness
-3/28/15 All grape South African Pinotage; 6g
-5/12/15 Chilean Carmenere; 7g; pail + lug of grapes
-9/12/15 California Chardonnay; 6g; pail
-9/12/15 California Viognier; 6g; pail
-9/12/15 California Old Vine Zinfandel; 7g; pail + lug of grapes
-9/12/15 Maryland Seyval; 3g; all grapes

Cider
-12/1/14; 6 gallons
-3/8/15; 6 gallons

On deck
-WE GSM
-Raspberry mocha dessert wine and coffee port

Wish list
-Petit verdot from pail+grapes
-Oregon pinot nior from pail+grapes
-Traminette and other wines from Maryland grapes
-More BIG reds!
-The rest of the noble grapes....

Heather

What am I making...

New kid on the block... Lots of experience in liqueurs, brandies & infusions... craft brewing since 2014, but fermented my first grapes in March of 2015.

Currently Fermenting:
Hanepoot Raisins (25L) (To be fortified with Hanepoot brandy)
Very Late Harvest Tinta Barroca (80L) (Not sure where I'm going with this)
Raspberry & Mulberry Dragon Blood (25L)

Loquat (Japanese plumb) is hanging heavy and sweet, we are going to pick them tomorrow and make another batch. I have got a little free handed the last couple of years and need to reign in my recipe. I beleive I am going back to parboiling them this time.

Well, it is a modest start, but ya gotta start somewhere!

Bottled:
CC Sterling Merlot
WE Mezza Luna Red
CC Showcase Amarone
CC Showcase Lodi Old Vines Zinfandel
CC Showcase Red Mountain Cabernet
Dragon Blood
WE Selection International Argentine Malbec
CC Showcase Yakima Valley Syrah
CC Showcase Rosso Fortissimo
CC Showcase Yakima Valley Cabernet Shiraz
WE LE Oregon Pinot Noir
CC Showcase Walla Walla Cabernet Merlot
WE LE Washington Cab/Merlot
WE Selection Viognier
CC Showcase Argentinian Malbec
Amarone di Beppe tweakfest -- WE SI Amarone, and tweaked the hell out of it a la Joeswine!
CC Showcase Amarone
WE Selection International Australian Petit Verdot
WE Eclipse Napa Valley Stag's Leap Merlot
WE Eclipse Lodi Zinfandel

Bulk aging:
WE LE2014 Super Tuscan

Battonage
WE Selection Original Luna Bianca

Clearing:
N/A

Secondary:
WE Eclipse Nebbiolo

Primary:
Dry and lonely

On Deck:
CC Showcase Red Mountain Cabernet
CC Showcase Rosso Fortissimo

I'm new at this, so my list is short.

Honey Fig Mead (in Secondary)
Dragon Blood (bottled)
Summer Sea Breeze (bottled)
Mango/Peach (all gone)


I can see this turning into an obsession.

It dose very fast lol I started off making pear wine from the pears in my yard and that turned into 6 carboys and an extra for racking and lots and lots of wine staking up in bottles to age some more some r good now some need time but I've been bottling young so I can make more but now I've got a good supply so I'm gonna start taking my time and bulk aging longer and try and make a more premium product wile I drink the young ones lol

So far

10 gallons of pear
5 gallons pear with brown singer and cinimen (awesome)
5 gallons hand picked concord
5 gallon hand picked blackberry
5 gallon banana BlackBerry (second wine)
5 gallon banana pinaple
5 gallon banana strawberry
And working on my first wine kit now

first batch of anything ever. Skeeter Pee made with Newman's own Limeade. close to dry.

to make:

Blackberry Dragon Blood

Apart from all the kit wines I've done, I've been enjoying doing lots of different country wines. Eventually I got some software to track what I was doing, which helped. Recently. I wrote up a quick replacement that was more portable and met my needs a little more closely. This is an updated extract from the batch report:

Active Batches
Batch Name - Varietal - Size
Goat's Wild Blueberry II - Blueberry - 5 Gal x 5 batches
Goat's Cranberry II - Cranberry - 5 Gal x 2 batches
La Grenade II - Pomegranate - 1 Gal
Chilean Carménère 2015 - Carménère - 6 Gal
Chilean Sauvignon Blanc 2015 - Sauvignon Blanc - 6 Gal
Jam Jar - Strawberry Jam - 5 Gal
Confiture Mûres - Backberry Jam - 3 Gal
Wild! Berry - Wildberry Jam - 3 Gal
Wellesley Sweet Apple Cider - Apple Cider - 5 Gal


Completed Batches
Batch Name - Varietal - Size
Magic Peach - Peach Wine - 6 Gal
Blueberry: on skins - Blueberry Wine - 3 Gal
Blueberry: juiced - Blueberry Wine - 3 Gal
Cranberry Disaster - Cranberry Wine - 1 Gal
Goat's Wild Blueberry - Blueberry Wine - 6 Gal x 5 batches
Goat's Cranberry - Cranberry Wine - 6 Gal x 2 batches
Apfelwein I - Apple Wine - 1 Gal
Currancy - Blackcurrant Wine - 1 Gal
Melted and Red Ia - Strawberry Wine - 1 Gal
Melted and Red Ib - Strawberry Wine - 3 Gal
Sovereign - Sovereign Coronation - 3 Gal
May Day - Dandelion - 1 Gal
La Grenade - Pomegranate Wine - 1 Gal
Melted and Red II - Strawberry Wine - 3 Gal
Dragon Blood I - Triple Berry Skeeter Pee - 6 Gal
Mangonel I - Mango Wine - 5 Gal
Mangonel II - Mango Wine - 3 Gal
Meçai I - Açai Wine - 1 Gal
Meçai II - Açai Wine - 1 Gal
Meçai III - Açai Wine - 1 Gal
Figment I - Fresh Fig Wine - 1 Gal
Grögg I - Lingonberry - 1 Gal (simply amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Ananas Ananas - Pineapple Wine - 1 Gal
Dried Elderberry I - Elderberry Wine - 3 Gal (geranium taint sad sad sad)
Figment² - Fresh+Dried Fig Wine - 1 Gal
Fruit de l'Oponce - Pickly Pear Wine - 3 Gal
Cider-Pure Juice Test - Apple Cider - 1 Gal
Cider-Cut Juice Test - Apple Cider - 1 Gal
PC Apple Cider - 3 Gal
MacNab Ruby Cab - Ruby Cabernet - 5 Gal
Bizzaro Burgundy - Pinot Noir - 5 Gal
Second Goat - Cranberry - 2 Gal (weak)
Hachiya Persimmon - Persimmon - 3 Gal
Vanilla Persimmon - Persimmon - 3 Gal
Roselle - Hibiscus Flower - 2 Gal (awesome!!!)
Z2 - Mixed Herbal Tea - 6 Gal
Dragon Blood II - Triple Berry Skeeter Pee - 6 Gal (tasty!)
Howling Wolfberry - Goji Berry - 3 Gal (took a LONG time to come around)
Dragon's Breath - Dragonfruit - 2 Gal
Son of Meçai - Açai - 3 Gal
Zinger! - Wild Berry Zinger (Herbal Tea) - 3 Gal
kuru kayısı - Dried Apricot - 3 Gal
Mangue - Mango - 6 Gal
Chilean Carménère - Carménère - 6 Gal (awesome!!!)
Chilean Cabernet - Cabernet Sauvignon - 6 Gal (super awesome!!!)
Mystery Grape - Unknown Grape - 3 Gal (harsh)
Gozdni Sadeži - Forest Fruit - 1 Gal (surprisingly good, took FOREVER to come around)
BluTwo - Blueberry - 3 Gal
Youngberry - Youngberry - 1 Gal (awful!!!!)
Zinger!² - Mixed Herbal Tea - 6 Gal



I'll have to take some time to enter in the records for the wines I tracked with my other tool, and consult my notebook about any previous experiments...

Been at it about 1 year so far.

Bottled:
White grape/Raspberry - Welches
Dragon's blood - quad berry
Orchard Breezin Green Apple Delight
WE Selection Viognier
Orchard Breezin Cranberry Craze + additions (wife's favorite)
Concord/Niagara - Welches
Niagara/Peach - Welches (doesn't taste like Welches for sure)
Niagara/Cranberry - Welches
WE VR Diablo Rojo + 6 lbs skins from Chilean Merlot batch
Orchard Breezin Cranberry Craze (oak added)
Orchard Breezin Acai Rasberry Rapture (fermented dry after adding 1/2 f-pack)
Chilean Pinot Grigio juice bucket
Homewinery Blackberry concentrate + lot's of frozen fruit
Bulk aging:
Blueberry/Niagara/Concord - Welches
Chilean Merlot bucket + 1 lug each of Merlot, Cab Sauv and Malbec (10 gallons)
WE Eclipse Forza
WE Selection Sangiovese
Dornfelder from grapes (8 gallons)
Chardonel (6 gallons)
Chardonnay - Eclipse Sonoma Dry Creek Valley
To make:
WE Selection Valpolicella
BEER:
Bottled:
Cascade Pale Ale (bottled 8/21/15)
Raspberry Wheat (bottled 10/2/15)
Kegged:
Foster's Butt Porter (made 1/1/15)
Mystery Pale Ale batch (using Yorkshire Stone Square yeast) 4/??/15

Bottled:
Catawba Rosé - Off-dry
Catawba Rosé -Lightly Oaked
Catawba Rosé - Dry
Dragonblood - Off-Dry
Skeeter pee - Sweet
Apple wine - Vinegar (sadly)
Mixed berry wine -Semi-sweet
Concord Rosé - Sweet

Bulk aging:

Datewine -Dry
Rooibostea wine (should end dry and mulled)

Planning:

Bochet

In Bottles: Dragon Blood

Bottled but Escaped (bottle bombs): Hard Cider

Kits on Deck: Merlot HoHo, Coastal Red

Someday: A Chardonnay or a Pinot Gris...and MORE DRAGON BLOOD for sure!!