It’s my first vintage. I’m calling it a Super-Teaneck. Teaneck is where my parent’s porch and my cellar are located. It’s a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. IMy best guess and I confess it is a real approximation is that the wine is 51% Sangiovese and 49% Cabernet Sauvignon. I bottled the wine today with my bottling machine and corker. Unfortunately, I used too much wood. My small (26 lit) barrel is made of new American oak. Italians would say that my Super-Teaneck tastes like a “vino da falegname” or a carpenter’s wine. I hope the wine will improve with age. If it doesn’t many friends will be receiving Christmas presents of cooking wine. My winery is called I Due Gatti. I must say that through this process, I have gained even more respect for wine makers and all of the small nuances that make the difference between “Two buck chuck” and a fine wine as well as all the wines in between.
I began my wine making odyssey last year by buying grapes at Corrado’s – a paradise for home winemakers in Clifton, New Jersey, www.corradosmarket.com. Corrado’s sells grapes and juice. They also sell everything under the sun that you might need to make wine. Last year I bought grapes and hand pressed them. This year I was too late and had to buy pressed juice. The grapes are shipped in from California.
I go to Corrado’s about once every three weeks. I am endlessly forgetting to buy something I need for my wine – yeast, potassium metabisulphite, bottles, corks, labels, capsules. I am now the proud owner of a press, a filter machine to rack the wine, a bottler and a corker. Next year I might spring for the de-stemmer. These are the most expensive bottles of cooking wine that I have ever made but I do recommend a little home-wine making for all. I love Corrado’s because it is filled with Italians who miss the old country even though they have been here for 40 years. Max, a lovely Sicilian, always helps me to find what I am looking for and often dissuades me from buying the latest and most expensive equipment. His approach is a more organic one, although like many Italians he wouldn’t define it as such. He doesn’t believe in all the filtering and yeast. For my second vintage, I have followed his advice. I will be bottling again in about three weeks. I look forward to my next trip to Corrado’s.
There are a number of places where you can make your own wines in the Tri-State area. The few that I know about include MYO WINE in Elmsford, New York. www.myowine.com. I made wine there last year with a wine group. The events are fun and if you get a group together you can buy a barrel. This summer another place to make and bottle your own wine is expected to open in New York City. It’s called Citywinery. Check it out, www.citywinery.com. In Connecticut, M&M Family of Wine has a school of wine making located in Hartford. I met the owner at a trade show at Mohegan Sun last fall. He was very personable and seemed to be very knowledgeable.
Good,I’d like to share with you The Experiments With Wine Recipe,and Wine Making Tips.