Making Wine With the WinePod!

Winemonkey and I are now officially wine makers! We are making wine using the latest technology in home wine making - the WinePod. As part of a project called Club Ferment, we will be using Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the same California vineyard to make wine in the Winepod along with about 25 other wine makers across the country. We all start the process on the same day and will follow along with the other wine makers' progress through the internet.

Yesterday, 9-10-09, we received the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for our first Winepod wine making adventure. The grapes were in great condition, especially considering they were shipped frozen from Californ-I-A!

The first step was to calibrate the brix sensor (fancy talk for adjusting the device that measures the sugar content of the grapes) and then we were on to sanitizing everything and anything that will touch the precious juice. This reportedly takes 20 minutes but, let me tell you, it was a long and labored process -- particularly considering the Winepod is in my home office and not in a winery with water supplies, hoses, etc.

We then opened the grape pails and did a little hand sorting which entails picking out leaves, stems, and under ripe grapes -- there weren't that many -- to prevent off flavors and insure the best quality end product. It was then time to pour the grapes into our trusty Winepod. We added a small amount of sulphur along the way to prevent from spoilage, secured the lid on the 'pod, and set the temperature between 50 and 55 degrees.

Now....we wait. Fermentation today so stay tuned for more Winepod wine making excitement!