Have you ever dreamed of becoming a winemaker? Being part of the culture and romance of wine-making? Well now you can with Frederick Wine Club & Tin Lizzie. This event will occur in four sessions over the course of one year. Dates are dependent on the harvest and will be finalized and communicated as soon as available. You will end up with about a case of wine.
When the fresh wine grapes arrive in the fall after harvest, you’ll learn to de-stem and crush the grapes using our motorized de-stemmer/crusher. This machine separates the grapes (berries) from the stems, gently crushing them and pumps the “must” (crushed berries) into a fermentation tank. You’ll learn about testing and adjusting the must. Then you’ll select a specialized wine yeast from our collection to begin fermentation, the process of transforming grapes into wine.
About 7 days later you’ll return when fermentation is almost complete. You’ll use a wine press to separate the new wine from the grape skins, and then transfer the wine to oak barrels. The barrels will then be transferred into a climate-controlled barrel room for aging.
Around four months later, you’ll return get your first taste of your new wine. We’ll have one tasting on Friday night for the adults and another on Saturday for the whole family. Enjoy your new wine and share it with others. Bring friends and show off what you’ve created!
It’s finally time! After about a year you’ll return to bottle, cork and capsule your new wine and affix your custom labels. Your hand-crafted wine is now ready to bring home and enjoy with your family and friends. Just remember, many wines improve with aging in the bottle…if you can resist drinking it!
Have you ever dreamed of becoming a winemaker? Being part of the culture and romance of wine-making? Well now you can with Frederick Wine Club & Tin Lizzie. This event will occur in four sessions over the course of one year. Dates are dependent on the harvest and will be finalized and communicated as soon as available. You will end up with about a case of wine.
When the fresh wine grapes arrive in the fall after harvest, you’ll learn to de-stem and crush the grapes using our motorized de-stemmer/crusher. This machine separates the grapes (berries) from the stems, gently crushing them and pumps the “must” (crushed berries) into a fermentation tank. You’ll learn about testing and adjusting the must. Then you’ll select a specialized wine yeast from our collection to begin fermentation, the process of transforming grapes into wine.
About 7 days later you’ll return when fermentation is almost complete. You’ll use a wine press to separate the new wine from the grape skins, and then transfer the wine to oak barrels. The barrels will then be transferred into a climate-controlled barrel room for aging.
Around four months later, you’ll return get your first taste of your new wine. We’ll have one tasting on Friday night for the adults and another on Saturday for the whole family. Enjoy your new wine and share it with others. Bring friends and show off what you’ve created!
It’s finally time! After about a year you’ll return to bottle, cork and capsule your new wine and affix your custom labels. Your hand-crafted wine is now ready to bring home and enjoy with your family and friends. Just remember, many wines improve with aging in the bottle…if you can resist drinking it!