Christmas is also my birthday, so for the holidays and my birthday, in year 2000 I received a gift of some cash. I exchanged it for a wine start up kit, and a great hobby was born. My first wines were usually drinkable, but I had lots of questions and no one to share them with, so in 2003 I put up some posters around my town, Sun Prairie, WI. inviting interested parties to join a home wine making club. That first meeting there were 2 people and myself. Now out club, Prairie Home Vintners, has over 80 members. We meet monthly, have an annual club competition, have picnics in the summer and do a winery tour in the fall. I had no idea our club would grow to the size it is now. Meeting people with a similar passion has been the most rewarding.
Name: Rod Kazmerzak
State: Wisconsin
My wife and I started making wine kits about 10 years ago. Since then many others have wanted to try their hand at it, and things have kind of mushroomed! There are now 10 different "wineries" in production throughout the year in our basement. Of course the sampling and comparing and sharing among friends is the greatest part, but the wine is the thing that brings us all together. None of us can drink commercial wine anymore so there is always something new fermenting. You can get a feel for the action in the picture of our counter. I even had to make another wine rack to handle some of the aging process. Nothing better than good friends and good wine during a cold northern winter!
Name: Mike Fratzke
State: Minnesota
During my formative college years I ended up exploring many upstate New York roads. Many of those roads bypassed vineyards that magically seeped into my subconscious. Twenty years later I planted 150 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin vines. I have 5 other varities and I consider myself an experimental farmer. I thought I would sell the grapes until I realized I needed to be much bigger to make that a reality. So for the past 8 years I've had friends come over and we hand pick and stomp the grapes the old fashioned way. Every October for 3 weeks I get friends from all walks of life and watch them smile as they therapeutically crush the grapes with their feet. Thank you EC Kraus for providing me yeast, oak chips, storing tanks and many other necessities to makes my dreams a realty. You allow me and my friends to share a drink and smile every October.
Name: Steve Rincavage
State: Maryland
I"ve been making wine for 2 yrs now. I'm very Health wise , That's why I decided to make my own wine, as I like to know what's in it. After lot's of reading I started, with a Grape wine, that was perfect! Then I made another Grape Rose' again very good! Now I've planted more grape vines, and since have made 11 batches so far to date. I'm just loving every day of it. As well as my Family and Frends that love to sample.
Name: Carol Kufahl
State: Michigan
We fell in love with wine making when we spent time visiting the vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Valley when we lived in Oregon. This lead to home wine-making for family and friends for several years. After we moved to Texas we then decided to grow grapes on a few acres at our home. After about 5 years of hard work, we are now a bonded winery about ready to open to the public. We have about 5 acres planted and have built a small tasting room/winery, and will be open on the weekends!!
Name: Rick & Patty Wendt
State: Texas
My favorite wines to make are fruit wines. these include blueberry, blackberry, blackraspberry, strawberry, sour cherry, apple, dandelion, & mead. What makes mine setup unique is the fermenter. It is made from a old commercial stripped refridgerator, a 75 watt bulb and a thermostat. With the door closed it will keep the wine fermenting at a constant temperature. I have mine set so the fermentation is between 70 & 74 degrees. It uses very little electricity and I don't have to worry about room temperature.
Name: Chuck Lewis
State: Ohio
Distanced from the days of fruit crushing with our feet, our wine group processes 3000 lbs of grapes with our new destemming crusher. Supporting our crusher are large food grade fermentation tubs, variable volume stainless steel tanks and gravity fed bottle fillers. The whole operation is housed in a prefab garage which has been dedicated as our wine room.
www.sharkriverwines.com
Name: Anthony V. Palmiotto
State: New Jersey
I've been making wine for almost 10 years now, I was taught by my friends father Chuck who has been making wine forever. Each year we compare wines and argue which is the best and which year gave us the best wines and blends, Most years weather permitting I crush the grapes and do the first fermentation in my garage then its to the basement for about 12 weeks before bottling. Our claim to fame is we tell everyone we make wine the same way the Greeks and Romans did, crush the grapes ferment the juice then drink the wine !! I've taken it to the next level by labeling and waxing the tops The Labels are my daughters, who is a graphic artist, design. The label uses my home shadowed behind " Casa Mia" , My House, and has all the information about the wine,ie Year, type PH, Alcohol content. I can go on and on for hours... But I assure you my wine is the best you'll ever taste..
P.S. The second photo is a tool I made called the devils tongue It's an oak stick that I use to stir the must during the first fermentation. It gets it's obvious name from the shape and the color of the used end.
Tom
Name: Tom Fisichella
State: NJ
We have been making wine in Macedonia, Ohio since 1980. The grapes come from our yard. We have 21 vines which are over 30 years old, concord, niagra, and cayuga grapes.
Quality of juice varies from year to year depending on the weather. Northeast Ohio isn't the best area for producing quality grapes but we have had some excellent years, late 1990's and 2008 were good years.
It has been a family project going back 3 generations.
Enjoy your newsletter and the information it provides.
Name: Gordon Kimberly
State: Ohio
My winemaking operation is very simple. I buy the juice from a local winery. Since my extra bedroom stays about 60 degrees a few months out of the year (if i don't turn on the furnace), I'm able to ferment my wine, and also cure my sopressata sausage.
Name: Tony Parise
State: californnia
My best friend Crystal just came back from working in the Middle East for two years as a transporter for military bases. To celebrate her homecoming I made the Cranberry Chianti that I purchased from your website. I called it soul sisters Cranberry Chianti and gave her half of the wine that I made. It is the best smooth delicious wine. We have shared our wine with so many friends. Sharing is what it is all about! I commemorated the best wine for the best friend who is safely home.
Name: Mary Ann Mastnick
State: Ohio
My process is purely simple and all done by hand, I pick my grapes from my backyard vines, wash in a colander and de-stem at the same time then transfer grapes to a stainless steel bowl, mash the grapes with a potato masher then strain through cheese cloth(which cause hand cramps from wringing the juice through) from there to the poly fermenter, then I add the rest of the ingredients to make a fine wine that has all my friends in awe and in line for the next 6 gallons to be bottled..
Name: Bob Schultz
State: Michigan
I started making wine from age 10 years unfortunately faced many problems such as oxidation also in my country they leave the pulp up to 50 days in the containers (cause strengthen taste).... but now because of your valuable information of your website I enhanced the ways.......
First I collect ripen fruits of both red and white grapes clean them and destemming the mix the ratio that I want of black grapes(30%)+70% white grapes to reach the desired color... I can measure by refractometer the brix 22-24 the crushing the fruits then cover the container with white cloth to about 7 days in meanwhile I break the cap twice a day until brix reach 8 after that lift up the must and make 1st racking ... then close the barrel and make water trap to about 40 days and then 2nd racking .....sweeten the wine plus sodium metabisulfite.....bottling.
By the way I deepen in my fermentation on the wild bacteria.. because in my country i don't know how to obtain it (also i put small label on my bottle like santa claus .......
Name: Yacoub Emeel Hijazeen
State: Kingdom of Jordan/Middle East
West Sacramento Calif. 10 Members making 100 gallons red each year. We buy our juice fresh from local wineries, barrel, ferment, rack and bottle.
Name: Dennis Freitas
State: California
I have 7 riesling vines that are 6 years old and another 32 that are 4 years old. From this I was only able to produce 3 gallons of juice and wine. I have placed 3rd place each of the last 3 years in the Puyallup, WA fair competition in dry whites. I know I am bias, but I do have reasonable taste buds and I know what a good riesling is supposed to taste like. Thus, I think my wine is very good and my son who is a card carrying wine expert and educator says I am doing very well and my wine is really good. It is fun to do and if the deer let my vines and grapes mature I expect to make at least 5 gallons next year. I am trying my hand at reds this year as well and right now I have 6 gallons 60/40 percent Cab and Merlot aging in some oak that I have my fingers crossed about. The chemistry of wine making intrigues me and I do my best with my limited set up but I'll keep plugging away as I think I have the riesling down pat and the red awaits my trial and error on the first batch. Come Nov. I will know how that will turn out. I enjoy all phases of wine making and besides it beats just mowing grass and doing the garden. Moreover, my taste buds are getting an education as well.
Name: Johnnie Reeder
State: Fox Island, Washington
Hi,
Not much to tell we get the juice or get fruit from local friends. I get it cleaned up and get it in the bucket and let it ferment for a couple of weeks and get it in a primary fermenter and let it go for a month and rack it off and let it go again for another couple of months and taste and bottle. I have got 4 awards for my wine. I have entered 5 wines and got awards.
Thks
Jerry
Name: Jerry Renaud
State: Pennsalvania
I make my wine the old fashion way, by the grapes localy then crush, and press. Let the juice to ferment in the open barrel. When the fermentation is finished I will transfer the juice to the fifty gallon Barrel and close for about two month.
And I love my wine. This is my story, Excuse my poor english.
Name: Giuseppe D'Angelo
State: NY
I began wine making at the age of 16. A quart of grape juice in the fridge was found to have started fermenting, and I became quite obsessed with the process. My grandfather subsequently got me hooked when he shared an age old elderblossom recipe and older lady he knew shared with him. We would gather blossoms and make the wine together. Another favorite was mulberry, which we gathered in Newark, OH, in the alley behind his home. I have records of my winemaking back to 1978, including receipts from purchases made at E.C. Kraus that date back that far as well. I still make both of these varieties (I removed my concord/catawba vineyard a few years ago), primarily out of my "winery" in my mother-in-law's basement.
Name: John Edelmann
State: OH
I make my wine at our summer place on the manistee river, kind of hard to get a pic of my outfit here in michigan the snow is about this deep and i won't get in there till somtime in march so I took a pic of our wine cellar there is dandlion, rhubarb, strawberry, blackcap, rashberry, elderberry, blackberry, and wild grape. I have a 6 gal. crock and a 10 gal. most of the time I need to use a elec heating pad because it's only warm enough in July and Aug.
Name: dick mckinley
State: mi.
Hello
My alcohol level is very low, what can I do? ........and what did I do wrong? It's a cab, I let it ferment and its clear but when I checked the alcohol level its low, what can I do?
Thanks Mike A.
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Hello Mike,
We get your question a lot: "My wine is done fermenting, but the gravity hydrometer says there is no alcohol. What happened?"
Well, I've got some great news. It is extremely likely that there is not a problem with the wine. It is more likely to be a problem with your understand of the gravity hydrometer and how to read it.
To determine the alcohol level of any wine you must take more than just one reading with the gravity hydrometer. You must take two readings and compare them -- one before fermentation begins and another one after. For example, a typical beginning reading on the gravity hydrometer's alcohol scale would be 13%. The typical ending reading might be 0%. If this were the case, the wine would have 13% alcohol.
It is the beginning reading minus the ending reading. Or, another way to look at it: it is the distance that the fermentation travels across the alcohol scale, not its current reading.
Another point is that the scale is actually not call an alcohol scale. It is called a Potential Alcohol scale. At any given time this scale can tell you how much alcohol can be made with the sugars that are currently available in the wine must. It cannot tell you how much alcohol is in the wine. In your case, the Potential Alcohol scale is reading close to zero because there are little to no sugars left to make more alcohol. They have all been consumed already by the fermentation.
If you would liked to read more about this the article, Hydrometer Scales And What They Mean, that is listed on our website will fill you in on the details of the gravity hydrometer and all it's different scales it might have.
Happy Wine Making,
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