2017 goals:
1.) Get the blueberries planted in the shade moved up to fill some sunny spots where other blueberry plants died. Get the new portable irrigation system I glued up in place in spring so I can have a full year of watering this time and improve yields next year.
2.) Make a late winter/early spring scuppernong wine. I am hopeful one of the vineyards where I get grapes froze scuppernong late grapes in 2016, as she often does if there are any left after the pickers. Have to call soon to see.
3.) Finish bottling the remaining 5 gallons of my 15-gallon muscadine batch, then bottle the 9 gallons of Bell Bottom Blues blueberry and the 6 gallons of my first blackberry effort. I tasted a bunch of commercial blackberry wines this summer, and thought, "Meh, I can do at least this or better." So we'll see.
4.) I am down to my last 4 bottles of 2012 Norton, so I may want to try that this fall again.
5.) One of my vineyards has begun growing Marquette, so I may buy some of those and try a wine this fall.
6.) Of course, fall batches with gallons of my favorites, fresh muscadine and scuppernong. Using the old recipe I got handed down and matching that with modern finishing techniques, it is not foxy. Love it. Every wine at Sweetpea Farms is made from 100% native American ingredients (unless I cave and do the Marquette!).
7.) I have some leftover beer supplies and I need to make those up pretty soon. There are maybe 3-4 batches left. Probably late January/early February. It is warming up here too quick for lagering, so I we'll see if we get a cold snap. I am likely going to quit making beers after I use up the ingredients I have on hand.
8.) Under edit, oh yeah: I want to try to have a late spring Interesting Wine and Interesting People gathering at my place. Not sure if this will come off, since my wife is basically a hermit, but really want to try to gather up many of the cool folks I have met around here by handing out bottles and just let them all mingle with each other. We'll see.
