I promised to be brief & discuss the other wines occupying our kitchen space. We have 8 which are in various stages, & hopefully drinkable when the process is completed. Strawberry was my first attempt at wine making, nearly 8 months old, & taste like strawberry gasoline. Zinfandel was my second attempt which has good color & taste a little like wine, after 6 mos. The Burgundy at 7 mos taste like watered down grape juice with a kick. White Nectarine looks the best so far, but no taste test yet. Late harvest Merlot taste like it is getting there but is to early to tell. The last wine in the making is Whitney (named after our schnauzer), a blend of all but the Barbera, & Carnelian. I haven't had the courage to taste it yet.

Our Carnelian had fermented for 7 days, and it was time to press for the second fermentation stage. I had rented a press from Dawn at the brew shop, & was ready for a new venture in wine making. The Brinkers, whom assisted in the grape harvest, joined us for the event. It's amazing to watch all the juice trickle out of the press & into the bucket. We racked the juice into glass char boys after pressing. We estimated about 7 ½ gal from the 100 lbs of grapes. We disassembled the press to reveal a solid grape cake. The hole experience was very entertaining. A few days later the Barbera had dropped to 0 brix so we pressed & racked it. Once again the task was more fun than work.

If every thing goes as it should, the wines will be racked off the lees (the sediment that separates from the juice) in 2-4 weeks. Not!!! After both pressings I was researching the trouble shooting sections of my books again. One of the problems is H-2-S, which is a sulfuric gas that smells like rotten eggs, which can ruin the wine. I moved the wines for a dinner party Jackie was going to have. Well the Carnelian had the odor of an Easter Irish beer Fest. What was I to do? Not wanting to believe my nose I had Jackie sniff the air. Jackie said it smelled like the refrigerator in our garage two mos after I stored deviled eggs in it. What now? Dawn was closed for the next two days? Well I pulled out my trusty book. I add some yeast food and rack it to save the wine. Won't know about this one qualifying for Whitney wine, but seems to be ok. 3 mos till racking.

Most wines are not drinkable for 6 mos. to a year depending on which one your making. I'm one of those who like to see the fruit of their labors, & waiting a year is not at all satisfying. Dawn suggested I make some liquors. The brew shop has all the makings and you can be sampling the fruits of your labors in a matter of minutes. This was down my alley. I've made Drambouy, Amaretto, Anisette, Cherry, & Strawberry liquor. All are good as store bought, but less expensive.

Sources: 
Home Brew Shop, Dawn 530-342-3768 
Listings of u-pick grapes 
Books: Home Wine Making, Home wine making step by step