Hello and welcome to this year’s virtual wine making party!

This is a tradition that I started last year, as part of my protest of winter.    The Wine Making Party event last year was so popular, that I was asked by several people to do it again.  The way the event works is that several of us make homemade wine at the same time and share pictures and the process.   It is a lot of fun for everyone and it culminates in us all raising a virtual glass of wine on New Years Eve together.

Last year I made my own invention that I called Dragons in Paradise. “Dragons in Paradise” is roughly based on Dragon Blood wine.  I think Dragons in Paradise is a fantastic wine that is easy to make with a Pineapple – Mango – Strawberry flare.

Welcome to the Virtual Wine Making Party for 2016

This Virtual Wine Making Party is AWESOME for newbie home wine makers and seasoned alike.   You will get awesome results if you simply follow what I do.  It is that simple.   You CAN do this.   If I can do it, so can you!   I invite you to read my blog here for lots of helpful information.

 Tips For Newbie Wine Makers – Virtual Wine Making Party

• You need some basic equipment to get started.   See my post entitled Wine Making Supplies – What You Need Before You Start.
• Everything that ever touches your wine needs to be immaculately clean.   I use a cleanser called B-Brite.   It is awesome. There are others that work well too, but I like B-Brite best.
• Watch my wine making videos for the wine you are making.   I make them because I want to hold your hand thru the process. Watch the video before you do the process for that day.
• Make sure you have everything you need handy before you start and have it cleaned and ready to rock.
• Make sure you have paper towels handy.   Accidents happen!
• Make sure you are NOT making wine near anything that will cause you heartbreak if it gets stained…   Don’t make wine on a nice rug.   Don’t wear nice clothes when making wine..
• Make sure your environment is between 65 and 75 degrees F.   75F is optimal.

I am making two wines at the same time this year.   Standard Dragon Blood Wine AND Dragons in Paradise Wine.   If you would like more information on Dragon Blood, you can read my post here.   One thing you should know is that Dragon Blood was originally created by a fellow named Danger Dave ( a really cool guy ).

While Danger Dave’s recipe is perfectly fine, I have opted to double the fruit that he uses to give the wine a more intense fruit flavor.   I use 12 lbs of fruit for 6 gallons where he uses only 6 lbs.  Another change I made for this year was to combine both Lemon and Lime juices for the standard dragon blood wine. The Dragons in Paradise was awesome in my opinion, and I would not change a thing in the standard recipe.   The only change I would make is that I will be adding some Pectic Enzyme a second time after racking to a carboy after primary fermentation is completed.   At that time, I will be adding my Camden Tablets, Sorbate and De-Gassing.   After waiting two days, then I will add the sparkolloid.

Virtual Wine Making Party 2016 Video

Winemaking Recipes For The 2016 Virtual Wine Making Party

I am posting both of the recipes I am using here for this year’s Virtual Wine Making Party for your convenience.  You can use my recipes or anyone else’s and still be in our party.  It is all about fun and comradery and not about rules.

Whatever you do… DO NOT add the Sorbate until after the fermentation is complete.  You will have problems that will not be easily rectified if you put this in the beginning.

New winemakers will want to read my post and perhaps watch my video series on making Dragons in Paradise Wine that I made last year if you are making the Dragons in Paradise.

I will be posting videos this year as well for both wines that I am making so that you can follow along as we make wine together. I started my wines a few days before the event so that I would have time to make and post the videos a day or so before you folks.   This is the only way to provide you the video instructions you need at the time you need them.

Virtual Wine Making Party – Questions and Answers

Winemakers have asked me a lot of questions about these wines and the event…

Q: Is this event in Real Time?
A: No.   We have people all over the world making wine.   It would be impossible to accommodate everyone at a convenient time for their time zone.   In addition, I edit my videos so that you don’t have to see me standing around waiting for wine to siphon…

Q: Can I use Grapes, Raisins, Grape Concentrate, etc.  In addition to the fruit?
A: You can, but your wine will require much longer time to age before it comes into its own where you will actually like the way it tastes.

Q: Can I use Frozen Cherries, Blueberries? OR I found a mix that has blueberries and or cherries in it?
A: Sure!  Go for it..  Some frozen fruit mixes have added kale in the mix, to make it more healthy.   I would not recommend the kale blends.

Q: I noticed you didn’t use Camden Tablets in the beginning.   Can I use them?
A: Sure you can.   I would modify the directions if using K-Meta or Camden tablets by adding them after the must is at room temperature, 24 hours before yeast and 12 hours before Enzyme.

Q: Can I use Fresh Fruit instead of Frozen?
A: Sure!  However if using fresh fruit, I would be sure to clean the fruit well and I would use the Camden tablets 24 hours before yeast.

Q: Oooopsss. I missed the start date.    Maybe next year…
A: There is no hard start date.   It takes around a month to make these wines…  You can be off by a few weeks and be fine… Winemakers have asked me some common questions in regard to these homemade wines.   I will continue to post common questions and answers for everyone’s benefit in regard to making these two homemade wines.

Most of all, I am thrilled to have you join my Virtual Wine Making Party. Thank you for participating in it and please be sure to interact with me and all the other wine makers in the Facebook group events that I made for this year’s event.   Please post your pictures in the groups, and share a little about who you are and where you are from.   This is a great way to make new friends…   After all, what better way to make friends then to raise a glass to friendship with homemade wine that we all made together?   Cheers.