Something's Brewing

Last Christmas, I got James a wine-making kit. The way these things work is that you select the type of grape concentrate you want (we picked a Cabernet Sauvignon) and the kit includes all the basic supplies you'll need to get started and a "simple" step-by-step guide on how to go from grape juice to delicious vino. Think chemistry experiment.

About a month later, we finally unpacked the kit. We quickly realized it might not be as simple as we thought it would be. There were all sorts of funny looking tools and gadgets: fermentor containers, hydrometer, thermometer, stopper and fermentation lock, corker, siphon hose and sterilizer. A trip to my Aunt Diana's Beer & Wine Makers Warehouse in Hartford for a quick lesson was just what we needed. As soon as we got home, James got right to work. Two months later, the wine was ready to be bottled.

Bottling the wine turned out to be really fun! Even Summit got in on the action.

So that was about a month ago. Tonight we opened our first bottle...it didn't last long! It may not be quite as good as a Napa Valley Cab Sav, but the true test was met - by the end of dinner the bottle was empty and I was suffering from motor mouth and involuntary outbursts of song and dance (which James just loves!). All in all, we'd call it a success. Can't wait for round two! Did we mention we're making the wine for our wedding?! Yay!