Though I've not had much time to bake, cook or even post, I did manage to find the scant half hour that it took to start up yet another branch of my brewing hobby.  This time, it's making wine.  Yes, wine.  To be honest, I've always been more of a fan of wine, than I have been for beer, but due to the higher alcohol content of wine, it's difficult to always be holding a glass.  Especially when a person is the odd one out since  the people around are having several beers.

Many people have talked about kit wines, and according to them, they're pretty well on par for most of the wine a person would buy and drink from the store at the mid level.  While I may not have the quote, they say that the $60 dollar kits are equivalent to the $5 dollar bottles and the $200 dollar kits will be equivalent to the $25 per bottle wines.  Add in that you wind up getting 6 gallons (approximately 25 bottles worth), it's a pretty good price comparison.  In fact, it looks like the topic came up recently here. 

I purchased two simple quick kits at under $60 per kit and started one last week.  It's a simple white zinfandel and isn't destined to be any fine wine with any subtle nuances, but instead a light summer fruity wine.  I added the ingredients per the instructions and managed to cart it to a tub where I've let it sit to ferment.  Just earlier today, I racked it into a plastic carboy where it will sit for a while longer. 

Eventually, I plan on bottling one to one and a half gallons, perhaps just putting it directly into gallon jugs, while the remaining 4.5-5 gallons will be stored in a keg.  I've been liking these kegs because it's just less of a pain than bottling and I can get as little as I want without worrying what to do about the remainder.  I was worried about using CO2, which I'm using for the beer, but it turns out that not only have homebrewers been using kegs to dispense wine, it seems that some companies are as well.  Pretty much for the same reason, that it's easier to dispense, easier to store and that you don't have to think about storing a half used bottle, or worse, having to throw it away.  In addition, there are cost savings on packaging and labor (bottle cleaning, filling, weight, disposal). 

Looking through their examples, it seems that a very low amount of CO2 is fine for dispensing, so I don't have to get another container for a CO2/Nitrogen mix (though it is recommended).  I'm looking forward to completing this one, and even more, I'm looking forward until the end of my busy season so I can get back into baking and even cooking.  My single pot meals and precooked chicken with frozen vegetables is starting to wear me down.

Also, spring is finally here, the temperature jumped up to 80 today, from the 40's-50's that it has been for the past month or two.  Because of this I had to bring all my kegs in from outdoors.  I guess it's time to look at getting a cooling system for them.