Archive for October, 2009

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 glass beakers, jars and other containers filled with unknown liquids on Saturday.

Police say the items are consistent with equipment used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. But further tests and research led police to conclude the home’s former tenant, who died about five years ago, had been making wine in the basement.

Police re-secured the residence, which is owned by a man who police believe lives in nearby Lancaster.”

Might not have been so funny if there were real live people in the house, just making wine for Christmas though.

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.

Well, I prefer to have the bulk of my winemaking activities when I can’t fly fish. I do start the odd batch during warmer months, but I really try to take advantage of the time that I have to do as much fly fishing as I can. Where I live, it is almost impossible to do that in the winter.

I’ll be quite busy over the next few weeks as I help my girlfriend (seems odd to use that word when your in your 40′s) move across Canada, but I do have some plans for some wines to start and articles to write. Soooo keep an eye out here! I have a couple of kits that I have not started yet, and also a promise of donations of honey from a local apiarist for some meads that I have in mind.