Can't hardly walk down an alley the last six weeks without slipping on a grape skin or getting splashed with grape juice!

I haven't made wine for a couple of years. A friend of my dad's crushes grapes every year and gets about 150 gallons. I would always help with the crush and the press and take home about 15 gallons. But I haven't crushed grapes with him for a few years and hadn't given it much thought until I passed a neighborhood produce store (just a half-mile from the house) and saw their message board advertising wine grapes and pails of fresh juice. Bought two buckets of burgundy juice a couple of weeks ago and just grabbed a bucket of blush zin.

Assuming everything goes well, I should be drinking the zinfandel next summer and the burgundy by Christmas (although that might be a little early for the Big Red!).

tony b.

I like to drink wine more than I used to -- anyway, I'm drinking more...