On Mar 25, 12:39*am, Joe Pfeiffer > wrote:
> I've now bottled my second year's Shiraz production, and it raises two
> related questions:
>
> First, all the sources of grape juice I've found have had the PH
> balanced, and sugar added, in advance. *Well, the whole point of this
> exercise is that I want to try making my own wine: *does anyone know of
> sources for pure wine varietal grape juice I can use as a starting
> point, and do my own additives from the get-go? *I'd rather not start
> with Welch's if I can avoid it....
>
> Second, it seems like everything on the grape side of hobby winemaking
> is based on a 6 gallon batch, from the size of the fermenter to the size
> of the carboy to (most importantly) the amount of juice in a kit. *Well,
> for me that's likely to be close to a year's red wine consumption!
> Since I'd like to do a lot more experimentation with the recipe (that's
> how the two questions are related), I'd also like to make batches more
> like a gallon at a time, so I can be trying things every month or so
> (yes, I do realize this means I'll have at least half a dozen
> experiments aging at the same time). *Over on the fruit wine side, from
> what I've read it seems like gallon batches are the norm. *Is there a
> reason for bigger grape wine batches?
> --
> It's time to try defying gravity

Joe,

Why don't you check on locally grown fruit, or better yet plant a few
vines of your own grapes?

Don't get hung up on the "big name" vinifera varieties. There are
hybrids that will produce high quality wine (maybe with a little more
effort than a kit) that will grow most anywhere. If you like Shiraz,
and you live anywhere from the mid-Atlantic to the mid-South to the
lower mid-West, Chambourcin is hard to beat for wine quality and ease
of growth/production.

Stephen