Oy. I have been very busy this week and kept forgetting to drop off here. I've looked at a couple places here for the wine you suggested, but haven't found it. I've seen quite a few Rieslings, but not that exact one. I've got one more place I know to look and I don't know when I'll get the chance to look.... but, eventually...

I used to have a small vinyard, (one half acre) and made wine every year for several years. I got the kids involved in the process and we had a lot of fun. This was before the internet so I learned from a book. I remember following the instructions faithfully and made good wine every time. I had three types of grapes and just lumped them all together. You can modify the alcohol content and sweetness after the fermentation process is completed. I've been thinking about doing it again but with frozen fruit.

"You can modify the alcohol content and sweetness after the fermentation process is completed"

How do you modify alcohol content after fermentation is complete? Isn't the fermentation where the alcohol comes from?

Brom, It is common practice for amatuer winemakers to adjust the sweetness and/or alcohol content in their wines by adding sugar or grain alcohol during or after fermentation is complete.

Champagne is made by adding a small amount of sugar as it is bottled.

Commercial wineries stop the fermentation process early to produce sweet wines. They filter the out the residual yeast.

Alcohol added to a wine that is not finished fermenting will cause the wine to be sweet. Dry wines are produced by letting the fermentation process run its course.

Wines with alcohol added after fermentation are called fortified wines. I think there are 4 or 5 types of fortified wines.

My production was between sixty and a hundred gallons per year. I wasn't allowed to sell it and I don't drink THAT much, but with my friends help we managed to dispose of it:-0

All of my wines were fortified wines with an alcohol content around 22 (for making friends) percent. Most wines have 15 percent alcohol.

Thanx for your response. I understand the making of fortified wines (and sparkling), I suppose I just never put fortified wine together with home wine-making.

I buy wines, so I see alcohol content listed a lot. Most wines do not have 15% alcohol, but rather less. (although the trend today is to push for higher levels)

Well I think wine purchasing is out of the question now. Due to gas prices going up, we have to budget more wisely. There's a Wine Stroll coming up in a week or 2, so I may be attending that, but I'm feeling very doubtful about it.

Peter,
I haven't made any wine recently, but my brother recently scoffed at the idea of wine from grapes grown in New Hampshire, so i am on a quest to find Cabernet Franc vines from a nursery in this neck of the woods. I doubt that you have the address of any such nurseries, but you might know where I might find a listing of grape nurseries in New England, not Merry Ole England.

P.L.

Welcome to the forum, Peter, and good luck with your quest!

Wow you guys have great suggestions here! I am more thinking of making my own hot wine punch! It is not comparable with maken it own wine but i don't have enough time an place for that unfortunately. I sounds like fun!

Hello,
My wife and I are new to making wine, but we made several types from winemaking kits. It's less expensive than buying it and we control the outcome. We have had great success so far. We have also found recipes online (haven't tried yet) for making wine from juice straight out of the grocery store.
If you have the means to make and store it at home - try Heron Bay they have a pretty big selection of kits.