Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
I realized earlier this morning that I'd missed my winemaking anniversary and have now been making wine over 5 years.
61 batches of wine have made their way through my 'winery'. I started by dipping my toe into the pool with a basic equipment kit and a Vino Italiano Barolo kit from Amazon. I was tweaking from the start - using BM45 yeast, adding oak, and reconstituting to a little over 5 gallons (to allow for some loss during racking). I even rehydrated with GoFerm and fed with Fermaid on that batch, as I'd read about the 'needs' of BM45 and was a little nervous. That batch was started 3/18 and bottled on 6/24 after what I considered at the time to be 'bulk aging'.
I quickly started subsequent batches, moving to Dragon's Blood, nicer kits, and even wine from fresh peaches later that same year.
How times have changed. I now have over 15 carboys, along with several 1 and 0.5 gallon jugs. Supplementing those are 3, 23L Vadai barrels. I no longer use gravity, unless racking into plastic (only two of my carboys are plastic) and that is always from a barrel, which is elevated. I use the AI1 for racking and bottling (best tool ever!), I test for pH and SO2, and make as much (if not, more) wine from fresh grapes or juice than I do kits. I own a press and am always looking for a deal on a crusher/destemer. I guess I've been bitten by the bug. My dad is now in on this hobby with me on many batches and the kids even help with punchdowns and sometimes bottling.
I've also made some good friends here - some of whom I've actually had the pleasure of meeting and/or exchanging wines with. I've learned a lifetime's worth of lessons - the easy way - because of this site. So, here's to another 5 years and hopefully, continued learning and improving. And thanks to all for the advice, support and encouragement.
61 batches of wine have made their way through my 'winery'. I started by dipping my toe into the pool with a basic equipment kit and a Vino Italiano Barolo kit from Amazon. I was tweaking from the start - using BM45 yeast, adding oak, and reconstituting to a little over 5 gallons (to allow for some loss during racking). I even rehydrated with GoFerm and fed with Fermaid on that batch, as I'd read about the 'needs' of BM45 and was a little nervous. That batch was started 3/18 and bottled on 6/24 after what I considered at the time to be 'bulk aging'.
I quickly started subsequent batches, moving to Dragon's Blood, nicer kits, and even wine from fresh peaches later that same year. How times have changed. I now have over 15 carboys, along with several 1 and 0.5 gallon jugs. Supplementing those are 3, 23L Vadai barrels. I no longer use gravity, unless racking into plastic (only two of my carboys are plastic) and that is always from a barrel, which is elevated. I use the AI1 for racking and bottling (best tool ever!), I test for pH and SO2, and make as much (if not, more) wine from fresh grapes or juice than I do kits. I own a press and am always looking for a deal on a crusher/destemer. I guess I've been bitten by the bug. My dad is now in on this hobby with me on many batches and the kids even help with punchdowns and sometimes bottling.
I've also made some good friends here - some of whom I've actually had the pleasure of meeting and/or exchanging wines with. I've learned a lifetime's worth of lessons - the easy way - because of this site. So, here's to another 5 years and hopefully, continued learning and improving. And thanks to all for the advice, support and encouragement.
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