how did you start winemaking?

[CDrew]

Good stories, all. Here is mine:

In the mid 70's I was in high school and a neighbor (professor of chemistry and good family friends) said he was going to make wine and did I want to participate. So, we got kits from Sears (I think that's right) that came with concentrate, a pack of basically raisins and some instructions. Fermentation went well balloon and all, and wine was produced. We tried it one family dinner and all agreed, it was terrible. My parents were already sort of wine snobs even then. I can remember my dad complaining about the poor wine choices at the "state store" (remember those?)

Fast forward 10 years and I arrived in Northern California and into the midst of the first homebrew revolution. I started making beer with a few friends and learned to appreciate good beer. The whole homebrew thing was fun and we made very good beer for maybe 5 years or so. By then, though, my wife and I had a couple of children, and beermaking went to the back burner. I even stopped drinking beer, though I still appreciated (and still do) a well made craft beer. My wife an I both liked wine with dinner and we live in wine country and so the next phase was inevitable.

Fast forward another 20+ years, the kids were off to college and a group of guys I worked with were talking about the wine they made, how good it was and did I want to eat pizza and drink wine with them to think about the upcoming vintage (2016). So the wood fired pizzas were great, the wine was surprisingly good (I had low expectations but was really impressed) and I was in for the recommended 200 pounds of grapes (Zinfandel). So that fall, we were going to Hawaii in September but unfortunately the (expected October harvest) grapes came in early and I took delivery the day before we left. So complete disaster ensued and no wine was produced. The remains went down the storm drain.

But, in 2017, I was ready. I'd learned everything I could. I was armed with carboys, Brutes, Chemicals, nutrients and the like. The leader of our group proved the yeast (which I think was 212). Anyway, things went great and I made about 20 gallons of Primitivo, and 20 gallons of Cabernet. Both turned out well. I was pretty shocked. Even now, I think I have one magnum of the 2017 Cabernet left. While it was good, It did not have the color I wanted and so room for improvement.

For 2018, I did everything myself. Sourced the grapes, set up a basic lab, figured out enzymes, Renaissance yeasts, bought more gear and better gear. Got my own press. I started making larger vintages then, with my goal of each varietal being 3-400 pounds of grapes. I'm still there today. I'm 99% out of carboys and into stainless for bulk storage, I have a routine that works, and I bottle the last years vintage after harvest and initial fermentation are complete for the following year's vintage. I believe I make consistently good wine and all of my friends appreciate gifts from my cellar,(which is one of our unused bedrooms!). I have a bunch of contacts in wine country for excellent grapes and enjoy the whole process from picking to drinking.

It's a great hobby and one I'll likely continue for the rest of my life. I make 50-100 gallons per year and 3-4 varietals which is more than you can drink, but with giveaways it works pretty well. I really appreciate that most wine making is seasonal. You work hard for a month or two with harvest, fermentation, racking and bottling of the previous year. But then the wine can sit for months and make itself. That way i can be part of your life without taking over your life.

And in the finest tradition of my profession (see one, do one, teach one), I've gotten one of the new guys in our department going making wine. He's gung ho, on his 3rd vintage, already serving his 2022 Syrah (which is very good but young) so I feel quite proud to pass on the tradition.

For next steps, I am contemplating going full circle and making beer again too. Or maybe cider. Stay tuned...

 

[winemaker81]

Huh. I expected this post would be a simple poll, we'd get 50 or 60 votes, a dozen or two posts, and it would fizzle into obscurity, as most polls do.

After 5 days we have 60 replies and over 1,000 views. People's backstories vary dramatically, and both interesting and entertaining.

I setup the poll to end after 60 days, but updated it to be infinite, as this thread may go on for years.

 

[ChuckD]

Huh. I expected this post would be a simple poll, we'd get 50 or 60 votes, a dozen or two posts, and it would fizzle into obscurity, as most polls do.

After 5 days we have 60 replies and over 1,000 views. People's backstories vary dramatically, and both interesting and entertaining.

I setup the poll to end after 60 days, but updated it to be infinite, as this thread may go on for years.

Thanks for starting this. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading people’s “origin stories “.

 

[szap]

The wife started going through $30 a week for cheap wine. I saw kits online making 30 bottles for under $100. I brew beer so I pretty well had all the equipment for making the wine, just needed bottles, corks, and a corker. Once we made the first kit and realized what good wine the kits made and at around $3 - $4 a bottle, we were hooked. Over 100 kits later and still loving it.

 

[ratflinger]

The wife started going through $30 a week for cheap wine. I saw kits online making 30 bottles for under $100. I brew beer so I pretty well had all the equipment for making the wine, just needed bottles, corks, and a corker. Once we made the first kit and realized what good wine the kits made and at around $3 - $4 a bottle, we were hooked. Over 100 kits later and still loving it.

Okay, I'll admit it. My wife is German and was used to having wine in the afternoon and at dinner. While I had a good job and could afford the wine, I didn't want to. I also needed a hobby she was interested in, so that was why I went by Water2Wine in the first place. I could make wine that she would drink and that didn't bust the bank. After all these years the wine is a little more palatable.

 

[Rocky]

@winemaker81, Bryan, this is a great thread and I enjoy reading of others' experiences.

A couple other thoughts came back since my last posting:

1. I know how attentive we all are to sanitizing and protecting against anything that could spoil the wine. I am not advocating this, but our barrels were stored empty from year to year in a space in our basement. Before putting them away, we would burn a sulfur stick in them and another when we were ready to use them again. Never had an issue with spoilage.
2. Our "punch down" tool was a 5' long 1x4. It would sit in the basement over the year and just get a good hot water cleaning in the Fall.
3. My Pap would not rack the wine when the Moon was full. I never fully understood why but he claimed it would cloud the wine.
4. All of our wine was "field blended" and co-fermented. We used Zinfandel and Muscat in a 3:1 ratio. I remember in one or maybe two years, we substituted Alicante for the Zin, depending on availability, price and quality. I also recall that the Zin-Muscat wine seemed much better.
5. In order to avoid temperature fluctuations, we "stored" the gallon jugs of wine in one corner of the basement with cement blocks completing the other two side of the square and filled the area with sand. This may have been a case of "belt and suspenders" because the cellar was reasonably cool year round.

 

[winemaker81]

4. All of our wine was "field blended" and co-fermented. We used Zinfandel and Muscat in a 3:1 ratio. I remember in one or maybe two years, we substituted Alicante for the Zin, depending on availability, price and quality. I also recall that the Zin-Muscat wine seemed much better.

Most of my early mentors purchased California grapes shipped to Upstate NY via train. More than half had a "recipe", e.g., 10 lugs Zinfandel, 3 lugs Muscat, 2 lugs Alicante, and these varied only if grapes were not available. Some crushed the grapes, dropped them in a barrel, and let 'em rip. Others performed testing (at that time, brix and TA), made adjustments, and used commercial yeast. The latter group made better wine.

Two guys, a government engineer and a high school principal, got me into scientific winemaking, and both produced the best wine of everyone I knew during that period, or generally since then. My business partner (owned the LHBS which I later became a partner in) taught me a lot as well -- running a LHBS provided a LOT of exposure to things.

Of note, not all the guys were positive examples. One said it was absolutely necessary rack wines monthly, and he ALWAYS threw out the contents of the SG test jar, as that wine was contaminated. He was very intelligent, but could not understand why he'd start out with 5 carboys post-fermentation, yet never bottled more than 4. Did I mention that he didn't listen when numerous people told him exactly why?

 

[konradtacular]

My girlfriend at the time was making maple syrup. I don't know what it was but the syrup never got thick enough. So I suggested we take that syrup and ferment it an make a sort of maple wine, similar to a mead. After that I received some demijohns from a neighbor that had just passed. I decided that I wanted to try my hand at wine making. I bought a wine press and some peaches and yeast and tried making peach wine.

 

[Hazelemere]

Most of my early mentors purchased California grapes shipped to Upstate NY via train. More than half had a "recipe", e.g., 10 lugs Zinfandel, 3 lugs Muscat, 2 lugs Alicante, and these varied only if grapes were not available. Some crushed the grapes, dropped them in a barrel, and let 'em rip. Others performed testing (at that time, brix and TA), made adjustments, and used commercial yeast. The latter group made better wine.

Two guys, a government engineer and a high school principal, got me into scientific winemaking, and both produced the best wine of everyone I knew during that period, or generally since then. My business partner (owned the LHBS which I later became a partner in) taught me a lot as well -- running a LHBS provided a LOT of exposure to things.

Of note, not all the guys were positive examples. One said it was absolutely necessary rack wines monthly, and he ALWAYS threw out the contacts of the SG test jar, as that wine was contaminated. He was very intelligent, but could not understand why he'd start out with 5 carboys post-fermentation, yet never bottled more than 4. Did I mention that he didn't listen when numerous people told him exactly why?

View attachment 102358

some people are legends in their own mind

 

[winemaker81]

At this time, over half the people responding jumped head first into winemaking.

I much prefer to see posts that start with something like, "I'm getting ready to make wine and am doing research | getting help before starting ..."

It's much easier to set people on a good path than to fix problems. And it's a lot less nerve wracking for the beginner.

 

[RevA]

An old lady in the area was a winemaker and I asked her to teach me. Which she did, she uses a very very natural method. Crush grapes, add water and some sugar (by feel) mix everything in a crock and ferment for a week. Transfer to secondary crock and leave for a season.
After I started I found Homebrewtalk and later winemakingtalk.

 

[distancerunner]

At this time, over half the people responding jumped head first into winemaking.

I much prefer to see posts that start with something like, "I'm getting ready to make wine and am doing research | getting help before starting ..."

It's much easier to set people on a good path than to fix problems. And it's a lot less nerve wracking for the beginner.

One possible explanation for this phenomena written as a story of my own experience. This is not about me.

Nine years ago I took up beekeeping as a hobby. For several years prior I read and researched. I looked at videos. Then I took a class.

Nerd? Intimidated? Guilty on all counts.

Got some bees. Understood immediately how far underwater I was. Joined a bee club. Took three or four more classes. Joined four more bee clubs - there's usually a club in every county. Went to meetings. Found a mentor or two, or at least people I could talk to when I was stumped. Ended up president of one of the clubs.

Never do that.

Played with my bees. Killed a lot of bees doing that.

Extracted honey. Made mead. Did I mention that the sole reason I took up beekeeping was to get free honey to make mead.

Made nucs and queens. Sold some. Blah, blah, zip, boom, bah.

Nine years later there are a couple of guys I'm mentoring.

The point to all of that blather is that in virtually every pursuit, craft, whatever, there is a system for learning. Sometimes it's formal learning like sitting in a class at a college or university, or maybe at a seminar. Usually there are at least some groups that exist to promote best practices among devotees and mentor the new folks. Not so much for winemaking.

I'm not sure why but that doesn't seem to exist in this craft. AWS is all about learning about wine, tasting, and palate improvement. Certainly important skills to have as a winemaker (especially helpful when you and your winemaking partner(s) look at an unlabeled tank and can't remember what is in there but can venture a guess by tasting), but if you ask if the rosé was made via saigneé you hear crickets in the room. Forget discussions about sulfites or anything technical about the winemaking process. The only other club I found within an hour or so the house is about camaraderie. The members are home winemakers. But when you ask most of the members about lab work or racking schedules or how to fix faults the reply is usually a blank stare. They like to drink and eat and have fun but most of them are not technicians. It's a good time, though.

This might be one reason why we jump in feet first.

So we lucky few end up on the internet talking to strangers who become friends and mentors. But we don't visit their cellars nor they ours because it isn't practical. We don't observe them doing their lab work. Or how they rack. We don't learn the "little tricks" of the craft that you can through direct observation and conversation.

 

[Kivanc]

I used to consume alcohol especially beer and one day when I was drinking at the pub, I wondered how in the world do they make hard drinks that soothe the nervous system that much (I was born with mild cerebral palsy due to the left hemiparesis ). I was lucky I recognized an English friend at the time and I asked her about my intention of making wine. She talked about yeasts and other stuffs in wine making and she urged me to look on the internet. She supplied me a thin wine recipe book at the same time. With this forum I’ve added a bunch of magnificent information to my knowledge.

 

[mbrssmd]

I’ve enjoyed reading these posts. Here’s mine, with apologies for length.

My job before retirement had involved a lot of international travel, especially to Europe, so I certainly was an enthusiastic consumer of wine but not an especially discriminating one.

After retirement we fled DC for a rickety farmhouse on some hilltop acreage in western Maryland. During the first years I would regularly scare the behoozis out of my wife as I cleared away trees to open up a view (she was a witness on the day I got a first hand lesson on the meaning of the term ‘barber chairing’…).

Once that was done – for reasons I have never figured out – I suddenly became obsessed with putting in a small vineyard. I think at that time it was probably more for sightline aesthetics and as a gardening type project than anything else.

A used copy of Jeff Cox’s “From Vines to Wines” became my well-thumbed and marked up bible for about two years. My wife and I still laugh about how, based on some calculations I finally had the courage to come up with after all my reading, we staked out the layout during one late afternoon cocktail hour, full glasses in our hands with hardly a drop spilled. A few months later that autumn I finally took the plunge and placed an order (based on information gathered from the U of MD extension) for Barbera, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot vines for the following spring.

As odd as it may sound, it was only when the vines were finally in the ground (initially 100, then about 60 more) that it suddenly dawned on me: oh geez, in three years we’ll be making wine. What the heck am I going to do (in my view Cox's book seemed good for getting started on vine-growing part but it seemed not as helpful to me on the wine-making aspect).

It was about that time I discovered this fine forum. Nothing was more valuable to my beginning days of wine-making than the way this forum and in particular the good-natured “regulars” provide an endless source of experiences, starting points, options, and more for figuring out one’s approach to each element of the wine-making process -- from equipment needs to yeast to sanitation and storage. It took two years of checklists and making decisions, and then purchases. But while there was no end of nervousness it turned out I was well set up for our first vintage in 2020. Things went just fine.

We make (and quaff) a lot of rosé – all of the Barbera goes to it. To us, there is a bright freshness that is akin to the difference between a home-grown tomato and one from the store. Sipping the previous year's vintage on the porch during these steamy days has become a signature element of our summer. Both the wine-growing process throughout the year and especially the output continues to be for me a soul-satisfying delight.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

During the first years I would regularly scare the behoozis out of my wife as I cleared away trees to open up a view (she was a witness on the day I got a first hand lesson on the meaning of the term ‘barber chairing’…).

I had to look this up and as the relatively recent owner of a forested property and 2 chainsaws it was a salutary warning... Thanks for sharing your story!