The rewards and frustrations of home winemaking

About

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon to be destemmed at Witch Creek Winery

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon to be destemmed at Witch Creek Winery

Several things inspired me to take up the home winemaking hobby:ย  I love wine, I love doing things myself, and I love learning new processes; I live near several winemaking areas; and many of my friends make their own craft beer at home.ย  When I first started researching where to start, I was a little intimidated about trying to find a source of grapes, and then figuring out what exactly to do with them even if I found them.ย  I was completely unaware that wine kits existed.ย  I have since found that many people donโ€™t know about these magical boxes of joy, and how easy they are and how good the resulting wine is.ย  So, I wanted to start a blog to share my experiences and discoveries in the world of home winemaking.

Why Wine in the Shower?ย  Any home brewer or winemaker is excited to have a spare bathroom to use as a laboratory for the sometimes messy processes associated with making beer or wine at home.ย  Beer can definitely be more messy, I have not yet had a carboy of wine explode like a rapidly fermenting carboy of beer (hops on the ceiling!).ย  I have, however, had a carboy of wine foam over the top during degassing — the one time the wine was not in the shower, of course.

I hope that this blog will be useful and inspiring to anyone wanting to start their own winemaking at home!