For wine enthusiasts interested in experiencing winemaking consider participating at a winery that oversees and offers expert advice while you make your own barrel of wine.

These opportunities are ideal for anyone who wants to learn about winemaking and without the equipment necessary. Learning from professionals who produce wine for a living appears to be ideal.

Vint Hill Craft Winery in Vint Hill, Virginia offers this opportunity for the first time this year. Their concept takes participants from helping them choose the wine they want to make to labeling and producing a wine that is available for sale.

Tin Lizzie Wineworks in Clarksville, Maryland is an educational winery whose focus is on creating an educational experience for anyone interested in making a barrel of wine. If a barrel of wine is too much, participants can choose to produce as little as a quarter of a barrel.

Crushpad in California also offers hands on winemaking experiences.

For those do-it-yourself winemakers, Winemaker Magazine is a delightful magazine. Currently they have an article about making a red or white wine at home. You can view the article, “Your First Wine from Fresh Grapes,” on the Winemaker Magazine website.

If do-it-yourselfers are wondering where to purchase winegrapes, there are wineries that understand this desire to create your own wine and offer juice or wine grapes. Another great source if you live on the East Coast is S & S Winegrapes & Equipment Company where they ship in more than 300 tons of grapes each fall. S & S Winegrapes is located in Baltimore.

For those who do not want to deal with crushing grapes, fresh winegrape juice is available at Fulkerson Winery in New York.

Have fun exploring the world of wine!

Cheers! Kathy