More on winemaking.

[robby]

I have two batches of wine fermenting, and have discovered a large, neglected but bountiful plum tree east of the banana grove. The fruit is almost ready, and is now ripening quickly in our 95 degree weather. I am toying with the idea of picking enough fruit to crush into 5 gallons of juice and making plum wine. I need to read up on fruit wines and crushing techniques. Could I go to a thrift store and buy an old crank operated grinder? In the old days, the best wine was made from grapes crushed under the feet of virgin girls.

I have 5 gallons of black raspberry merlot that should be ready to bottle on Saturday, and 3 gallons of apple blush that could be ready to bottle in 10 days. I'm drinking some of the apple blush that was left in the primary fermenter when I siphoned the bulk into the secondary fermenter. It's raw and yeasty, but I filtered it, and chilled it, and I like it already. It will be fun to have a cellar full of my own vintages.

I have some books on brewing sake and beer, and that's a whole other story. One book has a complex plan to build a mini-brewery in the garage, using propane fired boilers, with a copper cooling apparatus, and two refrigerators. Those guys are hard core, but I admit it's interesting.