Comments on: Better Wine Through Hard Choices http://www.washingtonwinemaker.com/blog/2010/02/22/better-wine-through-hard-choices/ Growing grapes and making wine in Bellevue Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:32:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: John H. http://www.washingtonwinemaker.com/blog/2010/02/22/better-wine-through-hard-choices/comment-page-1/#comment-37104 John H. Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:10:51 +0000 http://www.washingtonwinemaker.com/blog/?p=1218#comment-37104 Erroll, You and Jack Keller are the two most important influences on my own love for wine making. I'm sure you already know that. I practically hang on every word you both have to say about the subject. This article is no exception. I find it excruciating to throw away a batch of wine I've spent months pampering. When my watermelon wine got some kind of bacterial spoilage last year I turned to Jack, asking him his (expert) opinion about what I should do and what my options were. He told me something I won't forget for a long time: When he starts a batch of watermelon wine - or a wine with watermelon in it - he does so with the EXPECTATION that it will spoil and he'll have to throw it out! My shock at that revelation was intense. I'd never want to start a batch with the THOUGHT of perhaps throwing it out let alone the expectation that I will have to, but his attitude was that this approach makes it all the more rewarding when a batch makes it all the way to bottling without any problems. I completely get that, the necessity to cut one's losses in spite of the effort already put into a batch. If I had difficulty throwing out one gallon of wine, I can only imagine your dilemma with eight. I drank all of my vanilla mead last year despite it not being in my top 50 best-tasting commercial wines, so a wine would have to taste just terrible for me to come to the place where I'd toss it solely on that criteria, but I don't discount the possibility. Kudos, Erroll! Keep your highly useful and very interesting perspective on home wine making coming as you have been. Erroll,
You and Jack Keller are the two most important influences on my own love for wine making. I’m sure you already know that. I practically hang on every word you both have to say about the subject. This article is no exception. I find it excruciating to throw away a batch of wine I’ve spent months pampering. When my watermelon wine got some kind of bacterial spoilage last year I turned to Jack, asking him his (expert) opinion about what I should do and what my options were. He told me something I won’t forget for a long time: When he starts a batch of watermelon wine – or a wine with watermelon in it – he does so with the EXPECTATION that it will spoil and he’ll have to throw it out! My shock at that revelation was intense. I’d never want to start a batch with the THOUGHT of perhaps throwing it out let alone the expectation that I will have to, but his attitude was that this approach makes it all the more rewarding when a batch makes it all the way to bottling without any problems. I completely get that, the necessity to cut one’s losses in spite of the effort already put into a batch.

If I had difficulty throwing out one gallon of wine, I can only imagine your dilemma with eight. I drank all of my vanilla mead last year despite it not being in my top 50 best-tasting commercial wines, so a wine would have to taste just terrible for me to come to the place where I’d toss it solely on that criteria, but I don’t discount the possibility.

Kudos, Erroll! Keep your highly useful and very interesting perspective on home wine making coming as you have been.

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