Recent content by skyrat

Hudson Valley Wine & Homebrewers club has been going strong for several years now but we are always looking to add new members. We have our meetings at Benmarl winery (Marlboro NY) about every three months or so to discuss our wine making and share / exchange a bottle or three. If...

FYI I use Liquid Fence (concentrate). I have over 100 plants of various varieties with no fencing around that the deer stay away from. Several applications a year and they leave me alone but so does my wife after spraying. ;) FYI 2. I received a tip from an old timer several years ago...

Are you a amateur / beginner / or old hand at wine or beer making and live in the beautiful Hudson Valley area? The Hudson Valley Wine & Homebrew club will be holding its next meeting Sunday June 29th @ 1:30 PM at Benmarl Winery in Marlboro, NY. If you would like to connect with a nice...

For a Change of Pace rather than drinking one of my own libations........Stopped by El Paso, a local winery in Ulster Park NY and picked up a couple of bottles of a really nice Dry rose' labeled Rosebud. Blackberry wine for Dessert. Happy Turkey Day All.....

Chillin with a glass (or 2) of 2010 vintage Dandelion Wine after 2 days of sausage & wine making. DW is my pain killer for the night. Lost the top of my thumb on 1 batch. I really need to be more careful when I have a knife in my hand....DOH.... :gn

Hudson Valley Wine & Homebrewers club is having a meeting on September 8th. Location : Benmarl Winery in Marlboro NY. Start time will be 1:30PM. Please come earlier if you plan on doing a tasting with the good folks from Benmarl. This will be our 4th meeting. Even If you have not been...

Pickin Pickin. Elderberries are ready in most spots here in the Hudson Valley of NY

Looks like you have everything pretty much the way I had it. My Bad....Checked my recipe and I used less sugar (1lb) but used 4 cans White Grape Peach Concentrate and the initial SG is right up there @ 1.12 / 1.13 range on separate batches. Also ......it was my earlier versions of peach...

Several ways are acceptable for the home vinter but I find this formula easiest. It won't be exact but you will be pretty close. (From Wikepedia) Express your starting Specific Gravity (SG) & finished SG as a whole number. SG start - SG final / 7.36 So you started @ 1.12 and finished @...

Getting the guns cleaned up. Damn deer ate the peaches off the lower branches. Left my Elderberries alone though.......:gb:gb

RoyS. If you could post some pics like BobR suggests maybe someone can help further. As they say.....A Picture is worth a thousand words. :pic

I have cultivated as well as wild grapes on my place. The wild ones never produce and are never pruned so that is where I was coming from with that. Conversely, a relative has rows of wild grapes that produce some years. Some years not....And those are never pruned. One of the steps in...

You are likely to get a lot of different responses to this one but the 1st basic question that needs to be asked..... Are they pruning it? A grape vine left un-pruned wants to grow vine and will abort grapes for the most part ( variety dependent to extent). More to follow I'm sure. Tag. :D

I'm with you on Downwards on this one concerning fruit / nut woods but appreciate Mr. Basses input as well.... We definitely should research as much as possible what we are putting into our wine / bodies in general. Anyone with ref sites that might help please post..... :a1

Picked More Black Raspberries. Past the 35 lb mark now. Time to get some "blackcap" wine going. Also picked 1st run of Boysenberries. 5+ lbs there going to the wife for Jam. Plants still developing. Next year we will have enough to try Boysenberry wine. This year maybe a gallon batch...