Fall 2007 - White Wines (Fresh Grapes)

After tasting the wine from the FRESH Italian juice that I made last year, I wanted to make more wine from fresh grapes or juice. Therefore, I picked grapes at two different vineyards this Fall.

The first was a Traminette. This grape has Gewurtztraminer as a parent and the resulting wine is a great cold-weather alternative. The second was Seval Blanc. This grape is also a cold weather grape that makes a very nice wine.

Considering I was only making 300 lbs total, I crushed and destemmed by hand then used my "first-attempt" grape press that I made using a hydraulic bottle jack. After a day to settle out the juice in a refrigerator, I began the fermentation at a low temp (slow and cold).

Wow! Was I surprised at the resulting wine. An aroma that fills the room and a great fruity flavor. Something that I found lacking in the lower-end wine kits that I had made to date.

Here's some pictures of the Traminette grapes and fermentation....