How I became Interested in Wine

Welcome to Bottle2glass a blog about what I enjoy,  WINE!

I became interested in wine at a very young age; brought up in an Italian family where wine making took place every year. To this day I can still smell the grapes that arrived on the train from somewhere in Canada; I believe the grapes came from the Niagara area. I can still remember the freight train stopping in our small town. My father would go with his brother-in- law,  family, and friends to pick up 50 plus cases of grapes each family ordered. These grapes were all red of course. 

Once the grapes were brought to the house it was a family event, where the grapes would be removed from the crates and crushed.  The 'must' would then be put into a homemade vat to ferment; the skins, seeds, and stems were all blended together. The 'must' was left to get colour and tannins.  I can recall the 'must' staying this way for a long time; being of a young age time was of no concern.  I will always remember the smell of fermenting grapes. The crusher would then be moved to each family members house, and the crushing would start again. This would take place until the last of the grapes were crushed.

Once the fermentation finished, the pressing would then take place; we had the old wood and iron press (see photo).  Again a family event, it would start out with one family member starting the press, by the end there would be four on each pole turning the press to squeeze as much juice as possible.  Nothing went to waste!  The grape 'must' was then thrown into the garden to fertilize the soil. Recycling back then, who would of thought?

Once pressed the juice was put into the uma-john ("demijohn" is the correct name); yes I still call it the uma-john today.  remember my father checking the secondary fermentation on a very regular bases. Once he thought the wine was ready it was then racked into jugs; this is the part we became assistant "wine bottler's" (family event again!). My father would direct us to make sure the hose did not touch the bottom of the uma-john. He did not want any sediment in his wine! Once it was racked into the large jugs my father let it rest. Again, once he determined it was ready he would siphon the wine into bottles leaving the sediment on the bottom. This was his final step where he let it age for a few months. He always had a supply of last years wine on hand so he could wait for his new vintage.

These memories have fueled my passion and love for wine. I even met my beautiful wife while picking grapes in a vineyard. Over time I have furthered my knowledge of wine, first in College and then completing WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) Advanced Certificate. Click on WSET to find out more of this program.

In this blog I will review wines, (not homemade wines!) that I have had the chance to try and enjoy. SO check in often and see my reviews and links.

Ciao!