Walking around the back of the property with my seven year-old son, we came across a bunch of vines I had seen before and wondered about. But this time they were loaded down with familiar-looking fruit. Is it really what it looks like? Tight clusters of small purple berries, with a hazy bloom. Really? Pluck, taste. eww! Sour, but yes, they're grapes!
Now to some of you this is old news, but I had never seen wild grapes before. Did I mention I am (OK, used to be :-) an avid winemaker? So one week later, now I have 10 lbs of grapes, crushed, with two gallons of pure water and two pounds of sugar and a packet of Montrachet gently bubbling in a fermenter! My first batch of wine in over two years and the first ever made from raw fruit.
It's a small pleasure, but an important one. You see, when we moved into this place almost three years ago, I wanted to make my first mead to celebrate. Never got around to it. Now the celebration is late, but more fitting: the wine is made from grapes growing on my own little patch of land. And that is infinitely more satisfying.
Now to some of you this is old news, but I had never seen wild grapes before. Did I mention I am (OK, used to be :-) an avid winemaker? So one week later, now I have 10 lbs of grapes, crushed, with two gallons of pure water and two pounds of sugar and a packet of Montrachet gently bubbling in a fermenter! My first batch of wine in over two years and the first ever made from raw fruit.
It's a small pleasure, but an important one. You see, when we moved into this place almost three years ago, I wanted to make my first mead to celebrate. Never got around to it. Now the celebration is late, but more fitting: the wine is made from grapes growing on my own little patch of land. And that is infinitely more satisfying.
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