Wine Making for Beginners!

I would like to clarify that this is my third batch of wine. All of my batches have been made this year.
The first batch was from grapes picked from the vines on our farm and we got an entire gallon out of it.
The second was about 65 lbs of Zinfandel that I picked in the Dry Creek Valley area about a month and half ago we have 3 gallons from that batch.
This is my third batch and so take my step by step as you will. I am not an expert but a beginning hobbyist.

Background info on the harvest:
Harvest to the best of my knowledge occurs when the sugar content (measured in Brix) hits round about 22-24 for red grapes (more below). This requires a season of maturation on the vine and was also just beginning to happen right when we moved to Windsor! Thus, the new hobby!

This years harvest was an odd/challenging one. The cool overcast summer led to a slower maturation of the grapes. Then, once growers had lifted the canopy (leaves) to expose their fruit to occasional glimpses of sun, the clouds cleared and BAM! Days of harsh sun and 100+degree weather baked a percentage of poor little exposed grapes to raisens! And then! Rain!

Grapes are kind of like tomatoes. Withhold water and make them suffer a bit and you get smaller more concentrated fruit (is a tomato a fruit?). If you 'torture' your vines for a season and then all of a sudden they get an abundance of water, their is the risk of grapes swelling and splitting. Also mold can grow on the grapes themselves (see photo below).

We had two solid days of rain before most grapes matured and then a week or so of pretty cool, humid weather. Good conditions for mold.

When you are dealing with a balancing act of yeasts and sugars, any extra beasties in the 'must' (early stage of wine) such as mold can cause at the least anxiety, and at the most really undrinkable wine.

So, a little more back story then I had planned but I hope it was informative. From here on out, the steps will be basic because that is the extent of my knowledge. The best way to get info would be to buy a book or take a class on wine making. Or, order a catalog from The Beverage People or Wine Wine and More Wine or just go here and read Iowa State's take on it.

First step!
1. Marry a fantastic women who turns out to be your best friend and move to wine country at the beginning of harvest time!!!
This step is optional but I recommend it.

2nd step!
Find the grapes!
Decide what type of wine you would like to make and go to Craigslist or Google wine resources for your area.
You need to find out if the grower is willing to sell to a home wine maker. We tend to take the best grapes and when purchasing grapes anywhere from 50 to 75 cents a pound like we did this year we understandably aren't worth a production growers time.


3rd step:
Go to the winery, be amazed at the beauty, colors and sounds that surround you.
Even if wine is not your thing, the countryside, architecture, flora and fauna that are associated with wineries are pretty special. The people that I have been in contact with who are owners or in charge of the wineries have been pretty special as well.
The vintner should give the scoop on where to pick, the brix, and the condition of the grapes.
In this case, we are pretty close to late harvesting so the condition of the grapes is understandably a bit questionable and this was clearly stated by the owner/grower (more below).






My lovely bride headed to the vines!
















Checking out the grapes for the first time. In some sections the grape clusters were fine. In others...











Mold! Move on and...












Inspect and reject anything fuzzy! Normally cutting 60lbs or so of grapes should take about 1/2 hour. It took us about twice that with having to be so selective.







More next post!