Amateur & Small Winery WineMaking - WinePress.US The Largest WineMaking & Grape Growing Discussion Forum on the Internet

Thank You for visiting www.WinePress.US This web site has the largest wine making & grape growing discussion forum on the entire Internet. This is a little bit of information about my journey to make a fine home made wine and grow grapes along with a couple friends' assistance and other friends occasionally dropping by to sample.

MANY NEEDED SERVER UPDATES BEING DONE, PLEASE EXCUSE THE FORUM ISSUES. WE'RE WORKING HARD TO MAKE THE FORUM FASTER, AND BETTER FOR ALL TO USE. JOEL

Click Here To Visit the Largest Wine Making & Grape Growing Discussion Forum on the Internet

Be sure to register for FREE and join the family of winemakers and grape growers!! We just surpassed the 9,000 member mark!

Thank you to all the members of WinePress.US and it's supporters. Have a great Thanksgiving. Joel

WinePress.US and its members are instrumental in bringing out of date CA law to light, and getting SB 607 passed into law.   In an initial inquest for a permit for the 2008 WinePress.US Winefest to the ABC, the ABC notified that the wine competition and wine swap would be illegal. I sent dozens of emails to the ABC to find a way to host the Winefest legally.   Each one came back stating that what I wanted to do was illegal.

The law in place at that time prohibits home winemakers from transporting wines from the place where it was made, as well as giving it as a gift. I sent out emails to nearly 20 winemaking clubs in CA, notifying them of the law.   Many of the WinePress.US members, especially Andy Coradeschi sent emails to local congressmen / women, wine clubs and more.    Andy has been instrumental as our point of contact with Senator Wiggins' and Senator Boyd's offices.

Both the Assembly and the Senate quickly approved the bill, and has now received signature by Governor Schwarzenegger, changing this law. Great work by all the legislatures in CA, all who wrote letters to their senators, Andy Coradeschi and all the WP members.   Cheers to a job well done!!!

2009 WineFest will be held in Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN July 30, 31 & Aug 1, 2009 Stay tuned for more details......

2008 WinePress.US WineFest July 10,11 & 12th.. was a complete success!!! Thanks to all who attended, the presenters and especially to SteveC who organized the wine competition. This year, there were 34 Bronze, 34 Silver and 7 Gold Medals.

Best of Show - White Steve Kroll 2007 Riesling

Best of Show - Red Steve Gower 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

Best of Show - Specialty Ray Samulis Blueberry

Wine Label Winner - Pat Cuthbert

We now have the trailer for the WinePress.US WineFest 2005 in Denver, CO available for download.

Announcing!!! Click here for the WinePress.US WineFest Trailer Video (3.5mb) The new DVD is complete, and I am getting copies made if you're interested in buying one. Click Here for More Info...

Here's the group photo from the 2006 WineFest in Baltimore, MD in early August. Click here for more photos.

The new server is completed but I am continously updating the server... Please consider making a donation now to the new server fund.

Polo, T-Shirts, cooler cups & DVD's Available Now - Click Here for More Info

WinePress.US was recently interviewed by WineMaking Radio and a downloadable mp3 file or streaming audio can be found here in Episode #8 & #9.

WinePress.US was again recently interviewed by WineMakingRadio.com in episode #12.

New Segment: I'm going to start a new segment featuring a member and his winemaking tip, setup, or history each month. I'm also going to try to get articles from other writers here on the main page. This is all in the initial thought process stage. Stay tuned.

Click here for forum threads regarding the 2007 and 2008 Winefests. Some threads have photos posted by others who attended.

We now have a section for people to start their own wine co-op, wine club or just to find other wine makers nearby. Just as mentioned in WineMaker Magazine.

Check out our new Interactive Member Map!! Put your virtual thumbtack on the map for your country to show where you are. This helps others to find you to share in the wine making experiences, winery hop, etc. There's a drop down country list to choose maps from. Enjoy!! Click on the map below for a direct link and find your country. There are some little glitches I'm working on with the new version, but put your thumbtack on the map.

2007 'Fest Best of Show Winners

Best of Show - White
Gary Diraffaele 2006 Gewurtzraminer

Best of Show - Red
Raymond Meyer 2004 NortonNancy

Best of Show - Specialty
Raymond Meyer 2005 Diamond Ice

Photos From the WineFest 2005 and results from the Wine Competition

WinePress.US just made the Hall of Fame status in under a year of being nominated to the Top 100 Wine Web Sites. Thanks to all who voted.

Here are the November 2007 Stats. We are now over 7 Millions Hits each month!

Hits Entire Site (Successful) 7,146,097
Average per Day 238,203
Page Views 2,075,172
Average per Day 69,172
Average per Unique Visitor 87
Average Visit Length 13min 13sec

April 2004 was our first month ever of 1million hits, this forum is truly a forum for all wine makers, manufacturers, wineries, vineyards, suppliers and such.

New Vineyard Photos!! Photos from planting 6 Vignole vines, our test of the two grow tube styles, and 2006 photos will be in the "Vineyard Life" section soon. Be sure to look at "Year #2" and "Year #3" and "Year #4"..

Recently, I have had a lot of request about where I got the signs I have on my carboys. Well I just took some Mardi Gras beads (everyone has some of these around the house) and cut them to about 10 inches. Then I cut up some thin plastic, which I believe was excess bathroom shower liner I had cut off some time ago. I made small squares for the labels, and glued the Mardi Gras beads to them. Then I just used my label maker for the wine type and year. I kept mine in separate lines so I can don't have to print out full labels each time. I'll just keep them from each type and change the year with each new batch. If you've got a good idea, be sure to mention it in the wine forum where everyone is constantly learning.

Back to the Basics....
This site is to provide information to others interested in making wine at home and grape growing. Learn from my mistakes and some of my good fortunes.

I have tried making or have already have made.....
I have made or am currently making........

	Concord Grape
	Apple Cinnamon
	Cranberry Apple
	Elderberry
	Mulberry
	Strawberry
	Raspberry Zinfandel (kit)

	Blackberry
	Cranberry
	Merlot (kit)
	Chianti (kit)
	Pinot Noir (from kit)
	California Blush (from kit)
	Cabernet / Merlot (kit)

I spent weeks researching on the Internet only to get bits and pieces of information. Here are my findings as well as the lessons I've learned along the way.

It is a great feeling to see someone drink a glass of your wine and have a smile come across their face. I hope you see my enthusiasm and enjoy the site.