Home Winery - The Home Winemaking Adventures of Ian Scott

New Drinking And Driving Regulations – Home Winemakers Beware

Ian — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:35:48 +0000

In Canada, some Provinces like British Columbia and Nova Scotia have instituted lower BAC limits for driving on their respective Provincial roads. This means that many of us will have a much more difficult time in knowing if we are legally "safe" to drive. The new Provincial regulations can be draconian in the sense that you are immediately assumed guilty of an offense if a Police Officer demands a breath sample and you blow over the new lower limits.

Home Winemaking Operation Suspected Of Being A Meth Lab

Ian — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:48:00 +0000

Funny story in The Derrick News Herald: “Authorities in central Pennsylvania who were called to investigate a suspicious odor at an abandoned house thought they had found a meth lab. It turned out to be an old winemaking operation. Police in North Cornwall Township searched the home’s basement and discovered fivegallon pails and hundreds of [...]

Home Winemaking Time Again

Ian — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:03:10 +0000

It has been awhile since I've updated the blog with my winemaking activities. The reason for that is simple: During the warmer months, I can be found more often on lakes and rivers with a fly fishing rod in hand, than in the winemaking room. I know many winemakers that start their wines in the summer and autumn when the fruit is being harvested. This means they are taking advantage of whatever local produce is available to them for their wine.

Travels And Beer

Ian — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:32:03 +0000

I've been away on a little vacation with my awesome almost 7 year old son. We flew out to Edmonton, Alberta and enjoyed most of the time - spent in Whitecourt and a couple of trips, one through Fort Assiniboine and then one to Jasper. Not wine making country - but I do enjoy Alberta very much.

Home Winemaking Goes With Fly Fishing

Ian — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:44:21 +0000

I know of a few fly anglers that also make their own wine. Jack Keller is one, and so is Ernie Kalwa, the Captain of the Fly Fishing team (The Osprey's) that I used to be a member of. Not sure which one of us ties the better flies, but I know it's not me! Although I do enjoy doing that. Today and yesterday, I had two good days to combine my two hobbies. And one advantage a home winemaker has if they've brought a fish back to eat for dinner is that wine selection is not difficult.

Home Winemaking And Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Ian — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:08:04 +0000

Have you ever looked at your airlocks popping up and down as carbon dioxide gas is being released and wondered just how much co2 you might be responsible for generating? There was an interesting discussion started by a user "Dhorton" at the WineMakingTalk forum who was wondering if there was any concern in regard to co2 amounts in their apartment as a result of making wine at home. Apparently, since Dhorton began making wine, their smoke/carbon monoxide detector was activated a few times. I imagine the detector detects carbon monoxide specifically, and there could be a number of reasons for false alarms including humidity, dust and even bugs getting into the unit. But to a new winemaker, I can understand the concern seeing all these carbon dioxide bubbles coming up and wondering if the quantity is enough to affect the air inside.

Maple Wine Progress

Ian — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:15:17 +0000

I recently wrote about the homemade maple syrup wine that I started on May 5, 2009. On May 14th, I racked it to a carboy with the specific gravity at 1.016. Since then, it has begun to clear nicely and the colour is very interesting. It’s a very autumn or fall looking colour – the [...]

Thoughts On Bottle Sizes In Home Winemaking

Ian — Fri, 29 May 2009 05:18:24 +0000

About a year ago, I had a friend who "makes" wine at a local store (in other words, my friend pitches the yeast and then helps with the bottling - all the work is done by the store) give me a bottle of a Gewurtztraminer that he had "made." The bottle was 375 ml in size. I know some folk who will bottle some of their wine in these small size bottles, and I do the same at times. However, a comment on Jack Keller's blog got me to thinking a bit more about when and why I choose 375 ml over 750 ml, and when I might even select magnum size bottles.

Mostly Non-Home Winemaking Musings For The Day

Ian — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:06:22 +0000

I am awaiting a very important phone call at this late hour (3:30AM) from the most special woman - to let me know she arrived at her house safely. Due to some circumstances beyond our control at this time, she lives a four hour plane ride and then about a two hour drive away. Tonight, I dropped her off at the airport in Toronto after we spent a wonderful five days together. Some of that time was enjoying some of the homemade wine and mead I've made. But one of the highlights of our weekend was being able to take in Leonard Cohen together in London, Ontario on Sunday night.

How To Make Wine Quickly?

Ian — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:27:59 +0000

Anyone else noticing an increase in articles and websites that infer they can teach you how to make wine quickly? Folks, settle down here! While it is true that you can pitch some yeast into fruit juice which might have some added sugar and in seven days end up with something that contains alcohol, it's not going to be very drinkable - unless you're desperate. Wine takes time. Yes, home winemaking can be fun, it can save money, and you can create wines that you won't find in many wine stores - but the process to make decent wine requires the same thing the world over: time.