Any home winemakers here? I hope there are enough to have some ongoing conversations about our latest batches and get support for any questions. And if not, maybe we can attract some new posters or encourage some existing posters to give it a try. Or maybe this thread just dies on the vine.
I’ve been making wine for 10 years, mostly traditional (grape) but I’ve also tried a variety of other fruits. I’m very lucky to live just miles from some of the best grape-growing regions in the world, so I have direct access to grapes.
This year I’ve put in an order for syrah, malbec, and viognier grapes, and I might have access to some pinot noir. They will be harvested in the September-October timeframe. I typically make 100-pound batches, which works out to 3-4 cases. I usually get it from smaller vintners who might sell some grapes to commercial wineries but mostly supply small independents and home winemakers like me.
I’m happy to answer any questions, but note that I’m your basic basement hack, not a professional. That said, I do make some pretty good wine.
Like you, it’s something I’ve played with over the years and I’m lucky to live in a region where I have access to good grapes. I haven’t done anything recently, but in years past I’ve made several fruit wines (strawberry, pear) due to too much fruit from my garden. I also made a batch of Pinot Noir from locally grown grapes.
It’s fun!
I found I had to fuss a lot more with the fruit wines, mostly due to oxidization concerns. Also fortifying. Both turned out decently well although for the pear, the final alcohol content was somewhat higher than I was aiming for. It was kind of a cross between a fortified wine and a brandy. For the strawberry, I only wanted a little sweetness and it turned out surprisingly well.
The Pinot Noir was the easiest wine I made! That said, I didn’t oak it at all and I would definitely do a little of that with any future batch. I’d also let the malolactic conversion go on for longer. I had a bit of carbonation in the finished bottles. It would settle out quickly after opening, but the first sip was always a bit disconcerting. It wasn’t like drinking a soda, but it’s not a characteristic I was trying for. That said, I’ve had the same thing in commercially produced Pinot so I didn’t feel too bad for a first effort.
What was your favorite batch?
I’ve had some fantastic tempranillo and malbec batches the last few years.
I tried making Pinot as my first try, and I had no clue what I was doing. I figured it would be way easier than beer, which I’d been making for 20 years. Nope. Wait, I have to measure the acid levels? I might need to add yeast nutrients? That batch became sangria and cooking wine.
I made Pinot again my second year, and wasn’t impressed. I’d heard it’s a tricky grape, and the rumors were true. So I moved to other grapes until last year, when I tried again. I just bottled it a couple weeks ago, and the jury is out. It definitely needs a little time in the bottle. It’s impressive that you made some good stuff!
I generally am not a big fan of fruit wines. My pear wine was too subtle, blackberry wine tasted like dirty wood. I think most fruit wines need a little residual sugar to complement the fruit, and personally I don’t really like sweet wines. The best I’ve made were blueberry and strawberry that I then fermented to vinegar and made shrubs with some pureed fresh fruit.
You’re probably closer to grape sources for these than I am. How cool, and congrats on your successes!
It is, and they are. My first attempt being a success is likely down to either beginner’s luck or a palate not evolved enough to know the difference. Or both. 
It tasted close to what I’ve had from commercial bottlings, though, once the carbonation subsided and sans any oak notes. I did miss those. The one thing that was repeatedly stressed in my research is to treat the grape gently when crushing. I did do that, took my time and crushed by hand rather than cheating with a food processor. Brix of the grape is also very important for this one to be a success. I got lucky with that, since one takes what the vineyard offers.
This is me, too. My fairly dry strawberry batch was a pleasant surprise. The pear became a, uhhh, dessert wine. Yeah. 
It was okay.
Thanks for the reference to shrubs! I may play with making those!
Hmm, shrubs. Never knew of that.
Sorry to throw some silliness into the thread, but many years ago we gifted my grandfather, a noted tippler, with a wine making kit for Christmas. A couple months later we asked how the wine was doing, and he said it was good. Apparently he gave it a couple weeks and not getting the expected results, just dosed it with Seagrams 7 and drank it all. I come from very descriminating stock.
CW
I decided a while ago that, with some exceptions, there isn’t good wine and bad wine. There’s wine I like, and wine I don’t.
Seagrams-dosed grape juice might be one of those exceptions, though.
I’ll agree with this. The story is hilarious, though, @Cwturner!
I used to make 2 barrels a year. One white and one red. The vineyard where I bought my juice grew several varieties and encouraged us to make blends. One year I made a batch of white wine and if I took one sip I would have a sore throat the next day but anyone else could drink it all night with no ii effects. I have always wondered why it gave me a sore throat.
Histamines you’re particularly sensitive to. My guess.
I made muscadine juice..turned some into wine. It was so bad. I gave up that pursuit.
But the juice? I couldn’t tolerate it because of histamines.
I got a home wine-making kit for Christmas. Here it is practically August, and I have yet to use it … but I will.
However, I will most likely be making bizarre, not-respectable concoctions, that is to say fruit wines using our bountiful local produce. Mango wine, anyone? No? Maybe jaboticaba?
Anyway, I expect to make tasty alcoholic beverages, but not to produce “wine” in any traditional sense of the word, where “traditional” means “involves grapes.”