Travelling the world you will see lots of different kinds of wine. Whether you are sleeping in a set of bunk beds in a hostel in Germany or on a plush canopy bed in a Tuscan villa, you are going to see something a little different in each place. Country wine is the one thing that all fruit growing regions have in common.
Country wine is wine made from local fruit other than grapes. It can be everything from the elderberry win that has a place in so many ancient tales or the apfel wine that I mentioned earlier. The process is surprisingly simple and that is why it has been so pervasive.

First, you need to select your fruit. Not every type of fruit is suitable for making wine though. Apples seem like a good place to start for most people because they can be found in an easily fermented form. Cider is quite popular in the United States and the United Kingdom in the common sweet cider and the hard cider variation that you can find flowing from taps, like water from faucets in the pubs. Hard cider was accidentally created, as apple juice is highly fermentable and there is natural yeast in the skins of the apples. If you can find unfiltered and preservative free cider then you only need to have patience and you will create a hard cider. But we don’t want hard cider. We want apfel wine. So what’s the difference?

With 2012 upon us I am happy to be releasing a new port. This port has aged over 2 years, with 1 year in the bottle. In the coming weeks I'll officially launch it and list it on the website. We are also in the processing of making a Cabernet Sauvignon with the juice sourced Lodi California (NAPA). This is going to be aged for a long time and we won't release it for at least 2-3 years. This weekend I am going to spend some time on the vines. The winter has taken a toll on a few, especially with the high winds. I'll prune them back and ensure we are ready for a growing season that is fast approaching.

read more

Last year was crazy in regards to rain and flooding! Our backyard had so much rain running down the back hill it created a river like flow right along the fence and hooked around the concrete slab the hot tub sits on. It started to crack it and this winter caused it to basically crumble. To avoid any major issues or cracking under the hot tub, I went ahead and spent a few hours to fix it.

My goal isn't to make it look (from a cosmetic standpoint) like it did the day it was installed. After all, this summer you won't even see it when we build the steps.  But, create a fix that would last and install rebar for the changing temperatures. I achieved my goal!

As you can see, I went a little out from the existing slab for extra support and placed rebar in it. When it dries, it will be a rough texture.

I slopped it away from the tub, on purposes, for drainage.

This will serve the purpose just fine. In a few weeks, it will all be covered with steps and not visible (lucky for me). 

If you follow this blog you'll know this is the first major DIY remodel we've ever attempted. I am learning a lot during the way. Some of which I thought was going to be very simple but I soon realized I needed to do a little research. Take for example baseboard trim in the guest bedroom. Simple math would tell you cut each one at a 45 degree angle and viola, you are done. I did this and it wasn't matching up right. It's all about how you position the board, the inside cut, and the outside cut, all at 45 degree angles. Using natural wood is expensive. I don't have time or the budget for mistakes.

So I went on YouTube and found all kinds of videos. Many were really good, but I felt they didn't cover the very basics: how do you position the boards for the inside and outside cuts? I guess this is where I should have paid more attention in geometry class and it would be a no brainer?

Anyways, I made a quick video to demonstrate how do do this seemingly easy task, once you realize how to position the boards. Hope this helps with your DIY project.