Sunday, July 15, 2007

150 years ago...

I got up off my bum today, and dragged my hermit self kicking and screaming out into The World. Usually the only thing my car does on a weekend is collect dust, but I had to get those plums. Also, I looked up wine making online, which was mostly disheartening with its various ingrediant suggestions and expensive equipment, but I did glean one useful tidbit. Umm, apparently yeast for, say bread, like the kind I was gonna use.... hmmm, not the right kind.
Good to know! And then I found a website that said, hey, people have been making wine for centuries. With a lot more primitive tools. And I was reminded of my own favorite argument, the "150 rule". Example: why do I need my wisdom teeth pulled for $1,200? Did your average person have it done 150 years ago? 'Cause I'm pretty sure wisdom teeth have been around A LOT longer than dentists. And I was dreading that particular rite of passage for, oh, about twenty years. Finally bit the bullet and did it (OW) and I'm still not sure if it was worth it. Good diet though, if you want to lose 13 pounds in two weeks.
Anyway now I have completely forgotten where I was going. Oh yeah. So if knights in white satin, um, I mean, peseants in times of knights and queens could make wine, I can make wine. I keep thinking of my Mom's hubby, PotterMan, who is a SERIOUS wine connoisseur, in a good way, and wondering what he would think about this whole endeavor. (He is a REALLY cool guy. Both my parents seem to have scored the third time around, in my opinion anyway.) Actually, my Dad has good taste in wine, too. Anyhoo, so I got the plums. And some actual brewers yeast. And some tubes. I wasn't sure what size to get, so I got 2, and CommonLaw found the PERFECT size drill bit, and now I have my setup. I'm going to let the plums ripen a little bit more though.
So far I've spent about $4.50, including the sugar, which you could maybe get a bottle of wine for, I don't know about a gallon, unless you like wine that comes in a box ( guilty!). My next batches will only cost about a dollar fifty a gallon. As long as there's free fruit abounding. Sweet! Homesteader guy says that even if the end product is a little ... strange... it's still totally comsummable. As long as it "works", right? Wink wink nudge nudge. Unless you make vinegar :O ... But check out my "air lock". No way am I making vinegar! Isn't that cool? The gasses from fermentation will be forced out the tube and through the water, and no air can go the other way. It's really hard to take this slow, I want to do it all right now and have wine tomorrow! But even if I'm doing it mountain hermit style, I'm going to at least try to do it right. Not the kind of right that costs a hundred dollars, the kind us humans have been doing for ages. But a little wish for luck wouldn't hurt!
P.S. I totally practiced my zombie proof skills today. There was a woman handing out fliers and asking for donations outside the grocery store, and not being in a position to give at the moment, I really didn't want to say no. So when it was time to get by her, I practically ran, cutting off CL and ruining HIS escape ROFL and guess who got stuck with a flier? Not me! I feel like such a jerk saying no to charities, and I've donated when I could, but this time, my zombie avoidance skills were way more important. I'm tellin' ya.

2 comments:

jill or jay said...

Two things....first I want to say that you have inspired me to start my own blog (oneyearofopus.blogspot). Would you mind if I put your blog link on it? I think you do a wondrous job and for a hermitgirl, your life is pretty darn interesting. Second, a book that you would enjoy - Into the Forest by Jean Hegland. And I like the 150 rule.

Maewen Archer said...

I love the 150 rule -- I use that sometimes, but I didn't know there was a name for it.

Good luck with the wine! I have a plum tree -- might be a good way to use them!