if wine-making is like hard-cider-making -- and it is, it's exactly the same process with different fruit -- then it's SUPER easy. you need a little bit of infrastructure -- the right vessels to ferment things in, appropriate food-safe sterilization techniques, etc -- but once you put your juice in your carboy (glass fermenting jug), you forget about it for a few months until it's turned into something delicious. =)

my husband's been making hard cider for several years now, and a couple of weeks ago we just bottled the 2011 batches. we're at something like 120 wine bottles full. while our current home doesn't have the space for dedicated wine-or-cider-storage furniture (all the bottles live in cases that can be stacked in the back closet), i know that when we *do* have a house and space, the booze production will definitely increase, and i will probably come back to this plan then. =)

thanks!

Making wine is a lot like woodworking. It requires some knowledge, but you can get somebody to show you how it's done and you'll be off to the races.

I make about 10 gallons each of dandelion, strawberry, and raspberry wine every year. It's easy. I use 5 gallon water jugs from the local water cooler supplier for my carboys. The gas-lock that goes on top to let the fermentation gases release while keeping the fruit flies out can be purchased at any wine shop or on-line. The recipe I have is simple, using regular baking yeast and sugar to get things going. The only thing preventing me from making blueberry wine is that we only have two small blueberry bushes in our garden so far. We will be adding more this spring. Once they get producing at full tilt I'll be making wine with them too. So, I say GO FOR IT and make some wine. You'll be hooked once you taste the wonderfulness of it!

Just found your site and I am so excited ! I am 48 and I want to be you when I grow up ! Let's work on getting you on TV ! Thanks for sharing your knowledge !!

New member and excited....Lynda

The essence of blueberries is actually quite fragile and will likely be stripped out of wine made from them as the carbon dioxide is generated, but you _might_ make it work. Here's how - yeasts will generally ferment to a certain concentration of of ethanol. If you used some sort of fruit (even blueberries) and then added fresh blueberries to the mixture as the yeast approach their point of stopping, you may find this works. In beer they do with with hops and call it "dry hopping".

Also, I'd suggest that you soak the berries in water at about 125 degrees F before creating juice as they tend to have lots of natural molds and other nasties.
Best of luck!

Ana,

I am so thankful I have found you site!!! It is by far the BEST DIY site available.

My husband and I are at the point where we are exhausted with spending so much money on low quality furniture. You see, my husband is in the military, and every 2 to 3 years, we relocate. Each time we relocate another piece of furniture is destroyed, and we are never reimbursed for the full amount we paid for the piece- it is always a percentage of the cost from the moving companies. To make matters worse, we end up with very little furniture in our new home until we can save up the money over several months to purchase new pieces. I will tell you, it is difficult working each day to see your hard-earned money going to waist. And here is where your site comes into the equation!!!!

I built my first coffee table about 2 week ago, and not only was my husband and I impressed with my new found woodworking skills, but we were able to build the VERY sturdy Tryde coffee table for for about $28!!! I will be building 2 more pieces (a console table and the modular wine bar), with the help of my very handy spouse, of course, within the next month.

So, thank you for this very insightful site, and I hope to see more of what you have to offer!!!

Also, great job on the momplex!!! My spouse and I have always talked about building our own home one day in the FAR future, and your endeavors were very motivating.

Thanks,

P. Mumphrey

Hey looking to make this wondering if anybody has worked out the dimensions to make the bases but without the drawers?  Would still like to keep the height for extra wine storage though.

Do you have dimensions for the bottom sections with the drawers?