Matured from bathtub to bottle

When Don and Pam Brennan started making wine six years ago, they fermented their first batch in containers in their bath tub.

To their delight, the Cabernet-Sauvignon came out quite well.

That year, the couple won a bronze medal in the Orange County Fair’s home winemaking competition and they still have some of the original bottles. Since their first wine they’ve branched out to make merlots and rosés.

„We completely got sucked up,“ Brennan said.

The Brennans are members of the Orange County Wine Society’s Home Winemakers Group, which was on hand at the fair Saturday to create buzz about home winemaking.

Although recent food and beverage regulations prohibited the group from pouring their homemade wines at this year’s fair, they created a visual display to show fairgoers exactly how the process works.

„What happens is you get hooked, you love it and you start buying your own equipment,“ said Costa Mesa resident Jerry Guerin, who has a small vineyard in his backyard.

First, the grapes are placed in a crushing machine that removes the leaves and stems. Next the grapes are fermented between one and three weeks and winemakers add yeast or acid, depending on the style and type of wine. The grapes are then pressed and undergo more fermenting and aging.

„It’s easily a two-year process,“ Brennan said.

The group is an off-shoot of the larger Orange County Wine Society, which has more than 1,000 members. Of those members, about 65 are home winemakers who either use their own grapes or buy from a commercial vineyard.

They get together for seminars on technique and more home winemaking tips. Together, they also buy grapes.

„We’re very into it,“ Don Brennan said.

Home winemaking is a growing hobby in Orange County, said home winemakers club president Jim Graver. Some people get into it because they’ve had family members in the winemaking business, or just because they love wine, Graver said.

Graver’s winemaking adventure started when his wife bought him a winemaking kit.

„She never knew how involved I would be,“ Graver said.

Home winemaker Guerin decided to start a small vineyard in his back yard five years ago. When he wanted to try winemaking, a friend suggested joining the Orange County winemakers group. He did and said that the group’s coaching helped make his first try a success.

„The way this group works is everybody helps everybody,“ Guerin said.

Now he makes three gallons of wine each year from his backyard.

Home winemakers don’t often sell the fruits of their labor — it’s for their own enjoyment.

Source: dailypilot.com