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I had been using the same composition notebook leftover from one of my kids when they were in school. I like y spreadsheet, but I find I still write things in my notebook and then transfer the data to the spreadsheet.

Just wondering how everyone tracks their yearly wine making activities. Are there apps out there? I started making wine from my own grapes around 10 years ago. I decided I should keep a log book so I could take advantage of lessons learned from previous years as well as track each batch through...

When I first started making wine I back sweetened it without first adding stabilizer. I opened a bottle, the cork popped off and it shot all over the kitchen and the ceiling. Our yellow lab ran into another room. When she returned she was a purple spotted lab! After that, I’m opened the...

I grow my own grapes, plums and apples and our dog Maisey loved to follow me as tended to the crops. She passed away 2 years ago, but is memorialized in my wine labels that includes a drawing my daughter painted of her from a picture with an apple in her mouth.

I grow my own grapes in my micro-vineyard and my growing conditions such as weather, soil, and location are far from ideal. I record each years harvest to include weight, time of harvest, spraying regime, pH and Brix. I’m amazed at how the grapes change from year to year and have learned how to...

Here is a dual purpose apple/wine press I made around 8 years ago. I have a lot of apple trees as well as a small vineyard. The device consists of a stainless steel sink, new garbage disposal and a press with a basket I made from red oak. The cut up apples are placed in the sink. The disposal...

I’ve used Jack Kellers recipe 3 times with Italian plums. I’ve followed it to a tee and while it takes time to clear, it does. I haven’t tasted my 2019 batch in a few months and its still in the carboy, but the previous batches were excellent and full bodied. In fact, my friend who owns a large...

In 2018 I didn’t oak. However, I found that the acid level has been a bit high in my grapes, pH 2.35 so in 2018 I read more about how to reduce the acid content And smoothen the wine. I’m also fortunate that a work colleague of mine has a large winery on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of...

I love the old barn. I’m in Central NY and planted 8 Marquette in 2015. I also have Frontenac, Lacrosse and Traminette. Mine are all trained to VSP. I picked around 40 pounds Of Marquette in 2018 which yielded about 3 gallons of wine. This years crop was looking better, but I was about 2 days...