Recent content by Beer2Wine

It seems that the traditional grape-growing season is based off of the 6-months between April 1st and October 31st... Living in SoCal....a hot and fairly dry area, my Growing Degree Days (GDD) for that time of year puts me around an average of 4200 GGD (Region 5) which is pretty high and pretty...

Anybody growing grapes in the southern CA area willing to share what grape varietals they have had success with? I live in north Orange County and I'm looking to start growing soon, and was curious as to what seems to grow well around here

Does anybody know of a great reference, book, or chart regarding what kinds of grapes grow in what kinds of climates? I know the basics of the well known grapes and which ones are cold/hot weather varieties... but is there something really in-depth regarding soil, temp, humidity, rainfall...

Im sure many of you have figured out and tried many different things to oak age your wines. Anybody found any favorites as far as oak-to-wine ratio that seems to best emulate barrel aging without buying a barrel? Chips vs Cubes vs Staves... Maybe using a wooden bung on a carboy instead of a...

Just last night, I tasted a beer that I brewed last year and aged on hungarian med-toast cubes. The hungarian really brought in touches of vanilla and lots of coffee notes! And that was only after sitting on the oak for about a month. I have also considered mixing oaks. I see on the labels for...

Ok thanks! Yeah, Tom... I was thinking about starting out with a good kit for sure. Which leads me to one other question then. Outside of carboys, hoses, siphons, buckets, bottling wands, and all that noise which I already have from brewing. What other equipment is necessary that I stock up...

Being new to the winemaking world I was curious... Is there any general consensus on whether certain styles are easier to do well than others? For example... is it easier to do a good Sauv Blanc than say a great Syrah.... or vice versa? I know from my experience with brewing that darker...

Im so jealous! I wish I had that kind of space! Living in SoCal sucks! :P

Thanks for the tip! That actually brings up another question now... What exactly consists of those 16L kits? Is it a combo of juice and concentrate?

I am not super picky when it comes to grape variety. To me a good wine is a good wine... no matter what grape it comes from. But if I had to narrow it down... When it comes to whites I tend to lean towards the Sauvignon Blanc. Mostly Bordeaux or California. Not too hot on the New Zealand types...

Im pretty sure I just saw an interview with him on James May's road trip. He seemed like kind of a d*ck... haha... but I gotta respect his honesty! :)

that Menendez brothers comment was one of the funniest things Ive heard in a long time! hahaha!

Hey guys! Im brand new to winemaking and Im hoping you all can help me get things started in the right direction. Ive been brewing beer for quite a few years now so Im pretty familiar with a lot of the science of fermentation and especially sanitation! :) I know wine making is a totally...