# Wine making, anybody got anything going on?



## Cpt.Chaos (May 28, 2006)

My sister and brother in-law gave us some chocolate raspberry port a year ago for Christmas. It was one they bottled themselves from a kit, and was quite the treat. Later in '11 we went to a local microbrew and found the same wine...$25/split! 

Now a year later we have decided to begin making our own wine, we are going the safe route at first using a kit. The other night with my sister giving directions we started 3 different styles...a chocoalte orange port, blackberry port and another batch of the chocolate raspberry port. We just went out today and bought a beginners kit to start our own winemaking at our house. We are going to be doing a merlot tonight, supposed to be ready in 4-6 weeks.

Anybody else making any wine?


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## tjm (Jan 29, 2012)

I started with Hard Cider in sept.. Turned out great! Then a red wine and now a Nut Brown Ale Beer. The wine is aging the beer is about gone!!


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## tangleknot (Oct 8, 2001)

We just bottled up apple, apple cinnamon, cherry, black raspberry, and cranberry. We now have empty carboys, time to get something else going!


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## Cpt.Chaos (May 28, 2006)

We have our merlot clearing right now, looking good. I do have skeeter pee going in another fermenter and earlier this afternoon I started a white chocolate port kit. Summertime sipping by the campfire is gonna be a real treat this year!


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## minnow (Apr 4, 2003)

I have a Skeeter Pee, a Concord-Cherry, a Apple-Blackberry, a Strawberry, and I just started a White grape-Red grape-Blueberry. I just bottled a Strawberry-Concord and a Concord-Dewberry last week. The Concord-Cherry should be ready to bottle within the week. I want to start another batch of Skeeter Pee with Lemon-Lime mixed.


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## Frantz (Dec 9, 2003)

I did the Chocolate Raspberry Port as well and loved it. Right now I have about another week before I bottle my Chocolate orange from the same company.

I got a good deal on a Mr. Beer (I know it is off topic), so I bought a couple kits and though I am not a beer drinker, I am becoming one. It is a decent cheap way to get into trying a few batches.


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## Frantz (Dec 9, 2003)

Chaos, kits are awesome, and pretty fool proof. Searching the web and making homemade is great as well, but most times, at least until you get a lot of matches under your belt, it is not nearly as consistent.

Northernbrewer is a good company for kits, but I have really grown to like the people at Grape Stompers out of the Carolinas. Always helpful and a pleasure to talk to and they are a smaller company, family owned which is cool. Plus they ahve some real good deals now and again on kits that I may not have otherwise tried.

http://www.grapestompers.com/


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## Cpt.Chaos (May 28, 2006)

We bottled the blackberry merlot Sunday night. We tasted it and it came out excellent, we're waiting for a few more weeks to have our first bottle. We're both on diets and will celebrate the 20 lb's lost mark with a bottle one night (maybe 3 weeks at present rate!).

I'm going to rack my skeeter pee into my empty carboy either tonight or tomorrow, add the sorbate and then backsweeten and clear on Sat or Sun, and then right into the fermentor goes the spiced plum wine!

We plan on a few campfires and bbq's this summer on the side patio I built last year and some wine ought to hit the spot!


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## Frantz (Dec 9, 2003)

I did the Blackberry Merlot and loved it, one of my first batches along with a Strawberry Zinfandel. You should check out some of the Ice Wine kits for the summer deck thing. I tell you what, put them in the freezer and watch them close, when they get to that stage of just starting to slush up, crack it open and enjoy over the grill.

I am sipping a Grandmas Hard Cider ceer recipe now, good stuff. This is a really fun hobby.

Here is a good one for the summer months, great to start in about 2-3 weeks and let it bulk age and siphon a few plastic bottles at a time and turn them into slush.

http://www.grapestompers.com/winekit_details.asp?WinekitID=420&SpecialsItem=Yes


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

Cpt.Chaos said:


> My sister and brother in-law gave us some chocolate raspberry port a year ago for Christmas. It was one they bottled themselves from a kit, and was quite the treat. Later in '11 we went to a local microbrew and found the same wine...$25/split!
> 
> Now a year later we have decided to begin making our own wine, we are going the safe route at first using a kit. The other night with my sister giving directions we started 3 different styles...a chocoalte orange port, blackberry port and another batch of the chocolate raspberry port. We just went out today and bought a beginners kit to start our own winemaking at our house. We are going to be doing a merlot tonight, supposed to be ready in 4-6 weeks.
> 
> Anybody else making any wine?


I stopped by the Vinter's Celler in Royal Oak last year to see what they were doing. It is an interesting place. They have classes and can supply everything you need. You choose what you want, get things started at their shop and they monitor your wine for you. When it is ready, they call you so you can bottle and label the wine. It isn't cheap, but is an alternative for the yuppie types that don't have room at home or the time.

http://www.royaloakwinery.com/services.htm

I plan on making a few batches of Merlot and hard cider at home as soon as I can clear some space in the basement.


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## gracethomas01 (Mar 20, 2012)

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