Happy Sunday! Guess what yesterday was in my house? That's right, our merlot has been sitting pretty for about a month, and yesterday was the day we rented a corker and bottled the wine. This is my first batch of homemade wine and I learned a lot throughout the whole process, so I thought it'd be fun to talk about what's involved in making wine at home. The first step is buying all of the supplies and figuring out what type of wine you'll make. There are a good amount of things you'll need - from yeast and cleaning powders to a hydrometer, wine thief and oak chips - but we luckily found a fermentation store that easily provided everything we needed. As far as the type of wine to make, we decided to just buy grapes already crushed since this was our first go-around, and chose ... [Read More]
Merlot
Memorial Day Weekend Napa Valley Wine Tasting {Crane Family Vineyards, Stag’s Leap, St. Clement Vineyards & Rutherford Hills Winery}
Today I'm recapping my glorious Memorial Day Sunday -- which we spent wine tasting all day in Napa Valley. My hubby and I started off the day at Crane Family Vineyards, a small winery we recently discovered at Trader Joe's and simply had to visit first and foremost because our last name is Crane. To taste there, you have to call and schedule an appointment beforehand, so I made it our first stop so that we'd be sure to make it on time. The winery is in an unassuming residential area, and as soon as we pulled up and saw the gorgeous view and quaint winery, I knew that I'd like it. When we arrived, the owner Tom greeted us and we quickly found out that he and his parents lived in New Jersey before moving to California. Jersey people unite! Our experience at Crane Family Vineyards ... [Read More]
Just Call Me Robert Mondavi
Hi friends! Today's topic: wine. Why? Because my hubby and I recently picked up a fun new hobby... winemaking!! That's right, besides drinking wine, I'm now making it as well. I've certainly spent some time at wineries, from getting married at one in New Jersey... ...to visiting an underground winery in Missouri.... ...from many day trips to the little California wine region of Temecula.... ...to touring Sicilian wineries with a native restauranteur as our guide... ...from picking grapes at a tiny awesome winery, to stomping grapes at a festival in Julian, CA... ....to making our way up the California coast and visiting Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Napa, and Sonoma area wineries... ...and now living in the Bay Area within a few miles of some ... [Read More]