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Welcome to winemaking. You are entering a very satisfying hobby, and who knows where it will take you. This is a great place to discuss everything from starting to homing in your skills. Everyone here is nice and helpful and very positive. The wine is our baby, and we want to share it. Ask...

Your pressing color is beautiful. It is dark like Petite Sirah. I noticed you use 409 around your wines. In my Texas Tech Oenology classes, I discovered it is not good to use any chlorine products even in the same room as making wines. It causes a chemical compound that will make a wet dog...

I don't have that bottle. They must have changed the bottles, and I will contact Texas Ag to make sure, when comparing bottles. My old bottles I bought last year have the same ingredients, and included the instructions where they can be sprayed within 7 days of harvest. I will let you know...

Here in Texas, I have to spray my vineyard well in advance of bugs several times a summer. My first year, I had hornets. (Now it is just birds, and they are even worse, but I figured that out.) Every pesticide has to be approved for grapes. I have found Bug B Gone. I order it from Home...

Here in Texas, I just planted another 300 vines, and I wouldn't think of not using grow tubes. I buy the 32 inch cardboard tubes for 37 cents each, and they hook well to the canes by using a zip tie to tie them to the cordon wire. The wind would beat the vines to death if I didn't use grow...

I live in the Panhandle of Texas, and we had no measurable moisture from October 13 until now. I irrigated in the winter to keep the roots moist. I have 100 Vidal Blanc. They are late to come out, some of the latest budbreak, so that might be a thing for you also. I lost none, but it was...

Wine and beer are different. The pH in wine is much higher than beer. Because of that it is less susceptible to bacteria. So, many wineries use open fermentors for the first fermentation, with plastic sheets over the top. If you have a covered fermentor, just remove the top, sanitize a wine...

Hey Sweetpie: Welcome to the Board. North Dakota has some cold hardy grapes. Your Valiant ought to make a nice drinking wine. I lived in Beach a long time ago, but now am in Texas. I think you can get Valiant wine, if you want to try a commercial one. I believe a couple places in Nebraska...

Thanks for the welcome. I have found this area not to be empty of anything. The people are the nicest I have met ever, and when you go any way from my town, there are canyons with so much beauty. And I am hoping that because of the climate, the diurnal daily temps, the wind, that this will be...

Besides God, wine is my passion. I am looking forward to what we all can share. Thanks for posting. Tom

Hey Temperance Owl: I hope that doesn't mean you don't drink. I look forward to what we can all share with each other. Thanks for the welcome. Tom

Hey: I do have a Master's, but you can edit my grammar, clarity and misspellings anytime. Tom

Hey Bodenski: Thanks for the welcome, and nice to meet you. Leesburg area is a wonderful area in Northern Virginia to visit wineries. I went to a national winemaker's conference there, and I fell in love with it. Lots of wineries mixed in with the history. You live in the place of my dreams...

Thanks guys for the welcome. It is nice to be in a friendly place. Tom

Marquette grapes are finicky. I had them in Wyoming. The late frosts kill them a lot of years, and they are not big producers. There are other cold climate grapes that produce more. New ones that are awesome are Crimson Perl and Verona. For reds, I would plant them over Marquette...

Welcome. I can only imagine that retirement will be a great time. I am from Wyoming, and now live in Texas. My English Setter is from Lexington, NE, from next door to Mac's Creek Winery. Nice wines. Enjoy your new hobby. The benefits are great. Tom

Hey: Welcome. I am new also, but I can tell you that you will like the Eclipse Kit. You will get 30 bottles of your own store quality wine. Enjoy the new hobby, and more than that, your wine. Tom

Hey all: My name is Tom, or Fathertom. (I am an Anglican clergy.) I live in the panhandle of Texas, in the high plains (4029 feet alt.) west of Amarillo on old Route 66. I have been making wines since about 1992. I owned and operated a homebrew shop in Sheridan, Wyoming, buying one in...