Category: Blog

My blog on wines, beers, and making both.

Wine 2023 – Update #01 0

Wine 2023 – Update #01

08 April 2022 Ideas for the fall 2023  wines are already in motion. While it may sound early, as the 2022 wines are no where near ready to bottle, I like thinking ahead. I...

2022 – Grape Wines in Detail 0

2022 – Grape Wines in Detail

Last updated 05/01/2023 I figured I was done with the “In Detail” blogs for a while, as I have bottled all but the 2021 Super Tuscan and Rhone Blend, and the 2022 Chocolate Raspberry...

Wine 2022 – Update #01 0

Wine 2022 – Update #01

03 October 2022 This fall’s plan thankfully lacks the churn last year’s fall grapes did. Everything is straightforward. In past years I’ve made “field blends”, mixing different grapes and fermenting together to produce a...

2022 – Strawberry and Blackberry in Detail 0

2022 – Strawberry and Blackberry in Detail

Last updated 10/05/2022 I’m giving the “in Detail” treatment to the Finer Wine Kits Frutta Strawberry and Blackberry kits. Why? For three reasons: These kits are yet another departure from normal, no matter how slight,...

Wine Ratings and Price

Wine Ratings and Price

A common question on WineMakingTalk is, “If I make XXX, how does that compare to a $$$ wine?” What is the Yardstick? This is an impossible question to answer, as the price of the...

Clearing Wine Without Geysers

Clearing Wine Without Geysers

Last night I made two mistakes, one of which could have had tragic consequences. Last night I racked 2 wines — a Chocolate / Raspberry Port whose SG is 0.998 and appears done, and...

2022 – Elderberry in Detail

2022 – Elderberry in Detail

Last updated 10/06/2022 I decided to document this wine in detail as it’s a non-typical, home-developed recipe. This recipe has 2 differences: It’s a fruit concentrate that has been extended with grape concentrate. The...

2021 Finer Wine Kits – Rapid Ferments

2021 Finer Wine Kits – Rapid Ferments

last updated 24 February 2022 November 2021 The rapid ferments of the Finer Wines Kits (FWK) I’ve recently started surprised me. Prior to this, I’ve had 2 batches out of well over 100 ferment...