Theresa wrote:
> Hello:
>
> I live in Northern California. I've made a couple of kit wines now
> (with lots of tips from this group, thank you!) and they're aging away
> - it'll be a while before they're ready to drink. I am wondering what
> is involved with going to the next step - making wine from grapes.
> Anybody in the local area that can give me some info on where to
> buy/what to arrange? Recommendations, tips, etc are all welcome. I'm
> sure there are a lot of options given I live so close to major wine
> grape growing regions, if anyone has any advice about going down this
> road, please feel free to share!
>
> Theresa

One source is The Oak Barrel winemaking supply store in Berkeley. They
have a dozen or so varietals from good sources. You have to reserve
the grapes in mid-summer for pickup usually the day of picking.

Alternatively, try calling your favorite wineries and see whether they
will sell some of their grapes. There's also quite a community of
gleaners in Napa/Sonoma--people who pick over vineyards once the main
harvest is done--but you'll want to have a refractometer available when
you pick so you know what you're getting. I'd like to begin gleaning
myself sometime, but I haven't looked into it yet.