Just Wondering

[sinton66]

Anybody else out there besides me that's into making and sampling homemade wine?

[eye of the tiger]

Im into sampling. LOL. I have never attempted to make my own, but it is getting popular make your own around here. May have to consider the possibility. 66 have you been successful with this?

[sinton66]

Still working on getting it down pat, but I've turned out some good stuff a few times. Secret seems to be in doing it in larger volumes, mistakes don't show so readily. Got a five gallon batch of Dewberry that's aged about a year now, and it's pretty good.
BTW, did you catch the tortilla burger deal? Turns out I only thought 75 was saying we could get them at the stadium. He was saying "Tasty Taco" the whole time. He got a good laugh at me for that one.

[eye of the tiger]

I would think making the wine in larger volumes would be better for several reasons. Yeah I have been following the tortilla burger saga with interest. May have to experiment on making my own. I am still going to try to make it down for a Sinton game this year. Mathis game is at all possible,This depends on whether Commerce needs my yelling that week or not.

[sinton66]

You're right, there is another reason. Whem you start doing pretty good, seems like everyone wants some. Daughter asked me to do the wine for her wedding last year. Seemed like everyone enjoyed it. It's not real hard to do, stuff makes itself, but you gotta stay with it and remember not to leave it on dead yeast too long. You have to "rack" it several times during the process.

[eye of the tiger]

sounds interesting. I have a lot of time on my hands so it might be fun. Ill lcheck for internet sites and see if i can make some. and then we can have a 3a down low wine tasting event.

[exbccards76'smom]

I don't make it, but a guy I work with does, and enjoys doing it. The stuff he makes is slightly(lol)stronger that what you find on a shelf in a store

[SintonFan]

Originally posted by eye of the tiger:
and then we can have a 3a down low wine tasting event.

Might have charge admission on that one. Also it might be a good idea to card the kids at the door.

[sinton66]

Mine turns out about 17 to 20% alcohol by volume. There are some tricks to get it stronger if you like. I prefer the natural yield myself. The dewberries make a terrific flavor wine. Gets ya "warm and fuzzy" in a hurry. Eye of the tiger, you might check the D/Fw yellow pages under "homebrew supplies".
Major supplier down south is DeFalco's in both Houston and San Antonio. Bet there are some up there too.

[sinton66]

Just thought, another source of good info and maybe even supplies is your local Ag Extention Agent. Know some folks that went that way too. I would recommend you get a good book about it. There are several, my favorite is "First Steps in Wine Making" by C.J.J. Berry. Goes from basics to good receipes and plenty of "tips".

[This message has been edited by sinton66 (edited September 05, 2002).]

[eye of the tiger]

Sounds like a trip to barnes and noble tonight. thanks for the info. I still think maybe next year it would be a good idea to kick off the season with a wine tasting event. If I start quickly I should have some good vintage several month old stuff. LOL.

[sinton66]

Technically you can drink the stuff as soon as fermenting stops which is usually around seven days. However, I find if I let it for a couple of months, keep racking and adding sugar(slow secondary fermentation), it gets stronger, and then stabilize, bottle it and save it for a year, it works out pretty good.
I think the wine tasting is an excellent idea.

[This message has been edited by sinton66 (edited September 05, 2002).]