Wine Making Equipment / Information

Inspired by my neighbor's wine making and family lore associated with my late Uncle Rocco's legendary wine making, I started making wine seven years ago. At first it started as a Christmas present from my wife with a five gallon concentrate kit; but over the years it has progressed into making over a hundred gallons of wine per year!

Involved in many hobbies over the years, I have discovered something extremely unique about home wine making--Most people are extremely interested, if not fascinated with making wine at home. After tasting the wine and inquiring about the process, some of my friends and neighbors became inspired and wanted to make wine at home for themselves!

Wine Making for Beginners

• The Barrel in Every Basement Philosophy How the wine making started
• A Carbouy in every closet Don't have a basement for making wine; Don't worry. Here is a novel solution.
• How to make wine A simple process to make wine
• Wine making recipes Hundreds of simple recipes
• Ingredients for Wine Making What you need to get started
• Wine Making Equipment What you need to get started
• How to start a wine club Wine is best made in groups!
• Juice vs. Concentrate vs. Grapes What is the best to use?
• What wine should I make Selecting your wine
• About Barrel Size A primer on selecting barrels.
• Wine Making economics The value of making wine yourself
• All about Corks Feeling Corky?

Fast forward a few years--many of our friends and neighbors are now making wine in their cellar. Wine making has spread like lightning through our community. Groups have formed, competitions started, and barrels have appeared in basements throughout the locality. People love to get together, make their wine, and of coarse drink it.

I have observed that wine making is a great mechanism to build a bond within the local community. Sharing a common interest, a group financial investment, and an overall stake in the end product is a powerful motivator to build-up a community. As our wine making has brought our community together, this site is devoted to spreading the "Barrel in every basement philosophy" globally as a method to build neighbors and friendships locally.

Unique, Undiscovered and Intriguing Wine?

Tired of drinking your standard Melots, Cabernets, and Chardonnays? Yes, we all know and love dearly these grape varieties--but sometimes we just want to try something new and unusual. In addition to promoting home wine making at pressedforwine.com, we are also devoting to finding, describing and recommending unique, lesser-known (or previously undiscovered) wines. In this series, we will explore fun, delicious alternative wines. Some of the wines are old-fashion and some modern, some just as good as the old "standards", and some even better. Give them a try--you may be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

Cayuga White Grape - NY's Hidden Gem! An undiscovered white wine variety originated in Upstate New York.

Making Wine from Cayuga White Grape - Some tips and guidance on Cayuga White wine making.