Make Your Own Wine- The Urban Solution

I have to admit, although I am a one to two glasses of wine type of person, I love wine. I especially love to drink it paired with food, from a heavy meal to cheese or desert. The combination of the food and wine and how they compliment each other makes me happy in more than the obvious way.

As a culinary adventurous person, what could make me happier than the opportunity to make my own wine? The first time I heard about this delightful possibility was at my kids karate dojo. After six years with two boys and a husband who are training there, I feel like part of the Sensei's family. His wife mentioned something about going to bottle their wine. It turns out that you can make your wine from grape to bottle with help from professional wine makers. Since it's not cheap, it's about $10 per bottle, and you get 240 bottles from one barrel, it's done usually in groups. So a group of food and wine lovers formed last fall. (You can also get ½ or ¼ a barrel).

So off we went to The Wine Makers Cellar in Hawthorne, New Jersey. http://www.thewinemakerscellar.com/

First, we chose the type of wine we wanted to make. We decided on a mix of Zinfandel and Barbera grapes. The way you choose it is full of fun: You come to the wine-making place and drink as many samples as you can. We brought cheese and baguette and made a small party out of this cheerful assembly, sitting around tables and chairs that were intended for that exact kind of feast.

After we chose, we came a week later to crush the grapes. I was very romantic and imagined either stepping on them or crushing with my hands, but apparently, there is a machine that does it faster and better. The pulp that came out had no extra juice in it. Since I was in a group with Eco-conscious people who are also avid cooks, part of this pulp was taken for compost and another part was taken to prepare Grappa, which is a North Italian brandy. http://www.ehow.com/how_5200368_make-grappa-home.html

The grape juice's acidity was later measured, and the wine makers decided if it needs to be balanced with yeast.

After that there is a period of fermentation for about 4 months, and then the liquid is moved to the barrel. As you see, my friends, it's not a fast food route. The wine will rest and absorb the oak flavor of the barrel for a few more months until it's ready to drink.

Ours will be ready this summer, and when it will, this will be the beginning of a pleasurable and very anticipated series of meals that will be either made with this wine or be accompanied by it. We are still working on the concept,and I will tell you about it when summer comes.

Judging by the experience of the karate master and his wife, who made it before us, the wine is great. It changes and gets better with time, but needs a lot of time to breathe- sometimes hours. My friend loves her wine so much that she made another batch, this time of Pinot Noir, and she never again wants to drink a store-bought wine.