Topic: Home Winemaking Stories

Last summer, as I was leaving for work, I looked at our peach trees, which were bearing some of their first ripe fruit and thought, “They’ll be perfect by Friday!” Unfortunately, I

My first encounter with wine was when my Aunt Mary, took her nieces and nephews to California.  We were in San Francisco and the adults were drinking red dry wine and, at

After retirement from the military I spent my GI Bill learning to make pottery. For ten years I breathed, ate and slept pottery (timrobertspottery.com). With total immersion, even in something as pleasant

My hobby may be winemaking, but by day I am a commercial artist. I use house paint on a daily basis at my job,  so when I have the opportunity to create

In the fall of 1992 Rich Schell noticed a heavily-laden Concord grapevine in the backyard of his best friend, Dave Ruzzo’s house. He casually remarked, “We should make wine with these grapes.” Thus “DAVENRICH WINERY” (say Dave n’ Rich) was born. Little did we know just how monumental those words would prove to be.    

It’s a sunny Wednesday morning in Montecito. And in a home nestled off a quiet tree-lined street, a bunch of wacky guys are making wine. They call themselves Los Cinco Locos. The

I have a confession: my father was a life-long university chemistry professor who was never proud of his eldest son’s chemistry grades. Sure, I could play “Chem-O” with the best of them!

My husband Dene and I fall into the category of gourmet food aficionados. We started raising cattle after moving to our place 40 miles northeast of Denver, Colorado and got our first

In 1955, at age five, my grandparents taught me to make French/German/Native American mead wine. After finishing two days of hot grueling work canning fruit, Grandpa asked me if, “I could keep

Overlooking the San Pasqual Valley is our winery, established solely for the enjoyment of friends and family. Designed to make the best of our 200-gallon allowance, the 303 Syrah vines entertain drivers-by

This article originated as I was explaining to my son Christian the differences in the way I make wine and the way his grandfather used to make it. It all began in

The first year Tam Cloer experimented with planting grapevines on his 18-acre property in Apex, North Carolina — just southwest of Raleigh, the state’s capital — a late spring frost killed every

On January 29, 2005, the Fort Mason in San Francisco will be transformed into a wine lover’s paradise. Nearly 300 wineries will be offering their Zinfandels to thousands of samplers. All of the regulars will be there – Robert Biale Vineyards, Turley Wine Cellars, Ravenswood and Rosenblum Cellars, for example. Tucked in among the big

When Philip Hanyok pulled up to Melancy Hilltop Vineyards in Perry County, Pennsylvania, early last October, he found Mel Heffley, the vineyard’s owner, already deep in discussion with another home winemaker. Heffley