TallTexan
Junior Member
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2014
- Messages
- 48
- Reaction score
- 19
Hi everyone, here is my introduction. I found this forum while doing a search on cleaning/sanitizing agents. What a great group you are!
I consider myself a novice home vintner. I am Texan by birth, but was a Calgarian by choice for about a year...the price of commercial wine in Calgary, along with a wonderful wine-making neighbor and an empty wine cellar in the house that I was leasing, drove me to try my hand at winemaking. My neighbor invited me to attend a winemaking class with her, and in the ensuing days when I was trying to decide whether or not to invest in the start up supplies she found an add in our neighborhood for FREE winemaking equipment offered by the widow of a winemaker. My friend procured the supplies and I no longer had an excuse to procrastinate. I thank her to this day.
I have only made wine from kits...Winexpert California Trinity Red, Winexpert Chocolate Raspberry Port, CellarCraft Yakima Valley Reisling, Kenridge Founder's Showcase Brunello, and Cheeky Monkey Pinot Gris all made while living in Calgary.
After returning to Texas I waited a couple of years and recently resumed the hobby. So far I've bottled another WE California Trinity Red and WE Chocolate Raspberry Port, a WE Vintner's Reserve Angel Blanco , a WE VR Australian Chardonnay, and a WE VR Diablo Rojo. I have a WE Selection International Italian Brunello, a WE Eclipse New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a RJSpagnols Chocolate Orange Port all in their respective carboys, with bottling for all three projected the first week of December. The newer Trinity Red does not taste as good as the kit that I produced in Calgary; perhaps the difference in ambient temperature has some bearing, but this current kit seems more watery and lacking in complexity compared with my first attempt at this particular wine. Or perhaps the difference from year to year of harvesting the juices affects the final product. The newer kit tastes good, but by comparison it is lacking. The Angel Blanco, Diablo Rojo and Chocolate Raspberry Port all tasted good at bottling and I am certain will continue to improve. The jury is out on the Chardonnay...did not taste appealing at bottling, but I will try it again at 3 months. I do also have a few more kits waiting in the wings...WE Blackberry Port, WE Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cab, WE Selection Argentinian Malbec and WE Selection Italian Pinot Grigio. I am anxious to get the reds started so they will perhaps be ready to drink by next year's holiday season.
I consider myself a novice home vintner. I am Texan by birth, but was a Calgarian by choice for about a year...the price of commercial wine in Calgary, along with a wonderful wine-making neighbor and an empty wine cellar in the house that I was leasing, drove me to try my hand at winemaking. My neighbor invited me to attend a winemaking class with her, and in the ensuing days when I was trying to decide whether or not to invest in the start up supplies she found an add in our neighborhood for FREE winemaking equipment offered by the widow of a winemaker. My friend procured the supplies and I no longer had an excuse to procrastinate. I thank her to this day.
I have only made wine from kits...Winexpert California Trinity Red, Winexpert Chocolate Raspberry Port, CellarCraft Yakima Valley Reisling, Kenridge Founder's Showcase Brunello, and Cheeky Monkey Pinot Gris all made while living in Calgary.
After returning to Texas I waited a couple of years and recently resumed the hobby. So far I've bottled another WE California Trinity Red and WE Chocolate Raspberry Port, a WE Vintner's Reserve Angel Blanco , a WE VR Australian Chardonnay, and a WE VR Diablo Rojo. I have a WE Selection International Italian Brunello, a WE Eclipse New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a RJSpagnols Chocolate Orange Port all in their respective carboys, with bottling for all three projected the first week of December. The newer Trinity Red does not taste as good as the kit that I produced in Calgary; perhaps the difference in ambient temperature has some bearing, but this current kit seems more watery and lacking in complexity compared with my first attempt at this particular wine. Or perhaps the difference from year to year of harvesting the juices affects the final product. The newer kit tastes good, but by comparison it is lacking. The Angel Blanco, Diablo Rojo and Chocolate Raspberry Port all tasted good at bottling and I am certain will continue to improve. The jury is out on the Chardonnay...did not taste appealing at bottling, but I will try it again at 3 months. I do also have a few more kits waiting in the wings...WE Blackberry Port, WE Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cab, WE Selection Argentinian Malbec and WE Selection Italian Pinot Grigio. I am anxious to get the reds started so they will perhaps be ready to drink by next year's holiday season.
