I have been "involved" in winemaking since the late 1940's when I helped my grandfather, father and uncles make wine. It was an annual ritual and my first job was to strip the grapes from the stems, remove any leaves or other extraneous material and take my bucket to the crusher. We did this for a few years, but when Poppy passed in the early 1950's, the activity died with him. When we stopped making the wine, I believe I had worked my way up to the job of crusher operator (manual) and barrel topper, which was to keep the wine up to the top of the bung hole and wipe off any overflow. I did this before school and after school from about the third week of October until the first part of December, when the barrels were bunged.
My bride and I married in 1965 and her father was a very gifted and experienced wine maker. I was 23 at the time and began to work with him annually and we made about 50 to 75 gallons a year. He taught me the real intricacies of wine making as up until that time I was only manual labor. I continued with him every year, even when we moved from Pittsburgh. I would come back on the wine making weekend to assist.
I started making wine on my own at my home in 1989 when we moved to Rochester, NY. Local grapes and fruits were plentiful and wine grapes from California were too. We lived across the street from a winery in Fairport, NY and I became friends with the owner, who also happened to be our builder. I even did volunteer work at the winery for about 5 years while also making my own in my basement.
When we moved to Ohio, I sold all my equipment and was not going to make wine here. However, my daughter and her family spent a long weekend in Michigan and she brought home a few gallons of fresh Michigan cherry juice and asked me to make some wine for her. (I had made cherry wine in Rochester) I went to a local wine making shop to pick up some basic supplies and while I was there I saw the 18 liter kits. I bought one and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.
