Introduce Yourselves here

[lockwood1956]

hahaha

[jay]

hello to you all you will love it here all very nice people .
very helpfull.

[Valfodr]

Another newbie......

Right where do I start? Been using the interweb since 1990 and this is the first time I've joined a forum...Be gentle.

I started winemaking (beer making kits, too) in January this year (2009) on a bet and got to enjoy it. I've collected a huge amount of kit so far, from friends and relatives' garages, lofts and cellars. The wife is fully behind me and is my first-line taster. I'm just muddling through at the moment using recipes found on the 'net, but would like to become as skilled as some of you seem to be......I hope. I'm a tinkerer and experimenter, so this hobby may satisfy my urges to some degree.

I'm maturing Sloe Gin, Headcracker Barley Wine, Mexican Cerveza and a nice Elderberry wine, that may be finished before it has time to mature.
My current 'projects' are a Woodforde's Admiral Reserve, Parsnip wine and a Tea-less Tea wine. Also, giving Turbo Cider a run, last batch was drinkable.

Well, long intro (not too boring), but glad to be here.

[medpretzel]

Welcome, welcome!

You will quickly find that the people here are helpful and will guide you along whenever you have a question. There are some great starter recipes (i.e. Wine No. 1) that have even taken higher prizes at the national wine competitions in the UK.

Just take a look around the tutorial section and enjoy the hobby!

M.

[Mamgiowl]

Greetings Valfodr, nice to meet you. You seem already quite addicted to the hobby so will feel at home here. I'm very intrigued by the Tea-less tea wine. Do tell

[lockwood1956]

Welcome aboard

enjoy it!

regards
Bob

[rjb222]

Valfodr Welcome be fore warned we hand out good advice and a fair amount of ribbing and a certain style of abuse. I think it is a great spot.

[Valfodr]

Thanks for the welcome......And I'd expect no less than a 'fair amount of ribbing'. If it goes too far, I suppose I'll just have to sit in a corner sulking and get slowly rat-a*sed.....Winner!

As for the Tea-Less Tea wine: The wife and I spent some time in Nepal a few years back. 'Proper' tea (Black and Green) are so expensive that the locals can't afford to drink it. So, they use (what we class as expensive ingredients) Cinnamon, Ginger, Saffron, Cardamom and Black pepper. Made with boiling water and the best runny honey I ever had. I decided to make a Tea wine from an old recipe a friend of mine found on the 'net, but used the above ingredients instead of normal Tea.

The wine is a beautiful golden colour, smells fantastic and has quite a nice flavour....Even if it's a tad rough. 'Spose I could lay it down for a couple of decades.

[Tuco]

Hey Valfodr

[Omniata]

Hi just wanted to say hello and introduce myself......

I've been winemaking for a number of years now with and without success...


I brew higher percentage sweet wines for storage, my favourite being blackcurrant from home grown blackcurrants...
I've experimented with the home grown rhubarb too, again with and without success.
Last batches bottled were ginger and orange.
Still to bottle elderberry of which I've got two demijohns still maturing...


Regards,

Jim.

[lockwood1956]

Hi Jim
welcome aboard, I too have made much Rhubartb wine that simply didnt turn out nice...
Then I saw Colin Tweeds methods of juice extraction talk, where he freezes the rhubarb and then thaws it out (no pressing no boiling no squeezing) it simply sits in a funnel on top a dj and 4lb rhubarb produces 1 litre juice....add to this 1 litre white grape juice, the usual adjuncts and away you go......

it makes a fab wine
hope this helps

watch out for some fab video tutorials coming soon

as well as the superb tutorials in the new winemakers section

check them out
regards
Bob

[Omniata]

Many thanks Bob, I'll have a look...

I've got two Victoria plum trees starting to leaf and blossom at my new house, only small but I'm hoping for a reasonable crop.
They were badly pruned by the previous owner so fingers crossed this year or next will be good...

I was considering doing a "sugar" juice extraction for rhubarb and using it as a base.
I used to read CJJ Berry's winemaking guide and at the time he seemed to think it picked up other flavours quite well...

Many thanks,

Jim.

[solly]

Hello From Kent

Hi,

Sort of a newbie here, used to make wine about 20 years ago but the kids came along + we moved house and wine making just go left behind.

But now with a little more time on my hands and after seeing a video on youtube I wanted to give it another go...........so here I am and just started on my first 4 gals of basic wine making but I might need to ask a lot of newbie questions.

Just watched some great tutorials on the site so hopfully I wont need to ask many newbie type of questions

[goldseal]

Welcome - and ask away.

[Tuco]

Hello Jim