I make wine since 2008,

Just pressed 180lbs Cabernet Sauv, and 180lbs Carmenere grapes inported from Chili.

Anyone else a member on http://www.winepress.us
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I have made wine in the past, and may again now that I've been making beer and have several carboys. I've only made it from concentrate though, never from grapes. Not sure I'm patient enough, though, to allow wine to age for several years before drinking.
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That's why I'm trying not to skip a season, so I have wne aging all he time. I cant believe I still have over 4 gallons of my first 2008 Merlot.


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My brother and I made it when I was a kid. We made it out of whatever was in season. It was usually horrid, but it got us blind. We made it five gallons at a time, and it was always super dry.
I was cured of drinking wine by the time I was 18. Never did get a taste for it again, aside from a glass at Christmas once every few years.
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Ahhhh, Dry. Thats what I'm talking about, that's real wne.

I make real wine. Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmener, Sangovese, Zinfindel. From Grape that come from California and chili in season. It's not easy but it worth every drop. :-)



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Pretty strong statement, there, partner. Do you think Port and German Riesling wine makers will agree with your POV? How about Sauternes winemakers? Amarone? Canadian Ice wine? Quartz de Chaumes? Tokaj? Solera? There are others...
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My Lisa loves her dry red wine. The drier the better. Cabs, Pinot, and Merlot, mainly. Once in a blue moon, a Shiraz. She likes blends on occasion, too.
She isn't at all fond of whites, much less dry whites. I don't blame her. I always imagined I'd like a dry white. I don't even remotely like them. :-)
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Scott, so how reasonably sure are you these are dry? Especially Shiraz? If its anything below $12 a bottle (roughly speaking), I can assure it is not or rather, rarely is.
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Funny, some of the best wines I've tried aren't dry at all.

Dry might be great for what you like.

But to say that dry is the only real wine is as silly as saying scotch is the only real whiskey or Nicaragua is the only place where real tobacco is grown and real cigars are made.

It might be the only wine you really like, which is totally fine. But it's not the only real wine out there.
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I don't disagree with you. I just mentioned what I make. I personally like smooth dry reds. I do not like them sweet. And I don't go crazy for whites either. I find most of them to acidic for me.
Bat having said that, I don't argue with anyone whats good or not becuase everyone could like something else. But I do think most people that say can't drink wine is because they start with something to sweet and they feel awfull after that.



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I kinda squished two thoughts together. She likes dry reds the most, Merlot being her favorite, but she switches off. Her very favorites are super dry reds. But like I am with cigars, she tires then revisits.
That make more sense?
She seldom drinks Shiraz, and usually only in a blend. I know I've never bought a straight up Shiraz for her. I usually buy her Cab and Merlot, then there's always something she'll drink.
By the looks of her wine fridge here at my house, she's not too keen about Pinot, either. :-)
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He didn't say dry was the only real wine. He said it was real wine, which is perfectly accurate. It means he likes it, and that he's probably a Yooper. :-)
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An old friend of mine makes an incredible amount of wine. He's batsh!t crazy, he makes bombs, too. He thinks the Red Hoarde is gonna get him, and he's Imaginary Militia, and he's in charge of all the ordinance and wine. He does a damn fine job of both. :-)
He gets all his winemaking stuff by mootch. He used to gather all our late blueberries, apples, strawberries, cherries, whatever. In turn, he always kept us stocked. He gets all his sugar from the tanker cars at the railyard here where they fix them. He crawls in the tanker cars and scoops every last bit of sugar out. I'm amazed they let him do it, although they might not "let" him.
Anyways...
He makes very lightly sweet fruity wines. I always liked them because they're more like watered down fruit juice. They're very strong alcohol-wise and tend to get away from people. It's fun to watch cause they think they're doing fine, until they stand up.
I've been on the short end of the strawberry wine stick. Once. :-)
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Ummm... Where to begin? How many Italian wines have you tasted? Some of them take tooth enamel off with their bracing acidity (not all do, but a good number) and when you drink one it takes your palate a good numbre of minutes to adjust. Most women drink Chardonnay precisely BECAUSE it is too soft and buttery. Here in Bay Area suburbs Rombaer Chard has a nickname: Danville Crack (that's all that sells), it is the same across the states as people drink Chard for its soft feel.

Some top notch German Rielsings have high acidity, but then again, they are balanced by the sugars (ever cooked with both salt and sugar added?).

As Adam pointed out, drink what you like, don't go into generalities since they can be pretty faulty in many ways.

Can you elaborate and let us know just how do you know what you make is fully dry? What kind of lab do you run at your house?
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Scott, I wasn't picking on you at all. Simply pointing out that what consumers think they drink and what is actually in a bottle are often very different in content, sometimes by design and sometimes despite it. I have seen serious winos proclaim for years they dislike new oak, they hate residual sugar in wine, etc, etc, etc. And then I watch their votes in blind tastings and voila, they pick oakiest, sweetest wines in a lineup as their favorites. No problems, though, that's what Parker himself loves.

Just saying to not dwell on what you think is in a bottle; if you like it, then who cares how it was made, your own palate is king. Same as with cigars and everything else.
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Thanks for that, Greg. It helps a lot.
I don't drink at all, haven't for years. Lisa loves her wine and I try to get more educated so I can buy stuff that suits her taste.
She won't pay any kind of money for wine, but I do when I shop it. At least for special occasions. Her birthday is coming up and I'll dig up a few reds she might like. It's kinda like fumbling in the dark for me, because I have no frame of reference, but I can still get kinda educated. :-)
I can say that of all the stuff she drinks, I like the taste of merlot on her best. :-)
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Q.F.T. as no truer words have been spoken.

I have looked into making wine. It fits my personality. I even was looking into the possibility of buying a winery, probably in Paso Robles. Probably a good thing it never panned out. Not a great time to be a newcomer in the wine business.

Some of the best wines I've drank were homemade, even homegrown.
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Lance, there is no better time than now to buy a winery. People are selling and a good number in Sonoma and Napa are available.

Not sure I agree with your last statement, although a (very) small number of seriously good wineries did start in a garage (Carlisle is one example, Mike Officer is an ITer like you and me). Merus is another.
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Brew cider using a champagne yeast, does that count?
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TheRedick I agree, drink what yo like :-)

I acctually did send my first wine to a guy working in winery. He tested my first wine and it had 0 Redsuial Sugar. I did buy my own testing equipment I just have to get to learn how to use it all.




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Never tried cider, but if you enjoy it and your happy with the out come? then I think thats what counts.


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