Vintner

After years of trial and error, I’m getting pretty good at this. Not because I’m an expert (I know very little), but because I’ve learned what works for me. Like many hobbies, it starts by leaning on the foundation of other helpful experts, and then gradually branching out. Imitation -> Assimilation -> Innovation

My winemaking is simple, like my other crafting hobbies. Just champagne yeast, fruit, and sugar in the correct proportions. No additives, no preparation of fruit, no boiling anything, no backsweetening, no sulfites, no pectin. I don’t even rack into a secondary fermenter, I just filter and bottle right out of the primary.

Because my recipe is so darn simple, I can vary the kind of fruit I use. I can use grape juice right from the grocery store, as in this example, or frozen fruits like blueberries, strawberries, or peaches. As long as the amount of sugars remains the same, the resulting wine has the same amount of sweetness every time!

My latest completed batch came from a frozen fruit mixture of cherries, raspberries, and strawberries. It’s delicious! The sugar content of the fruit is right on the label, so I don’t have to guess when I calculate proportions.