Making Wine, Part 1
Earlier this year I joined a local winemaking group that purchases grapes from vineyards in Eastern Washington and makes wine together. I thought it’d be fun to document my winemaking adventures in a series of posts, so here is part 1!
Step 1: Order Grapes
The process begins in March by ordering grapes. Our group assembles a spreadsheet that lays out each vineyard’s varietals and we mark how much we want:
Per recommendation of an experienced friend in the group who has been doing this for seven years, I order 100 lbs of Merlot, 100 lbs of Cabernet Sauvignon, and 100 lbs of Sauvignon Blanc. Each is $1/lb, so my expenses so far are $300.
I expect around 5 gallons of wine per ~90 pounds of grapes, so in the end this first batch should give me at least 15 gallons of wine. At 5 bottles of wine per gallon, that’s 75 bottles!
The grapes arrive in the Fall, leaving plenty of time to get equipment and supplies.
Step 2: Get Equipment/Supplies
I was lucky to borrow a lot of equipment from a member of the group who was moving out of town. He lent me fermenting containers, carboys, and several supplies:
I had another friend from the group help me figure out what else I needed and ended up ordering $175 worth of equipment and supplies, which included things like yeast and testing equipment.
With the $300 for the grapes and $175 in equipment/supplies, that puts me at $475 total expenses. Divided by the expected output of 75 bottles, that’s less than $7/bottle! I expect to incur some additional expenses along the way, but I estimate I’ll be able to keep it under $10/bottle.
Next is Part 2, which covers what happens during the first two days with the grapes.
