Beginners' class offered by Sacramento Home Winemakers
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Learn to turn raw grapes into wine in a beginners' class next month. (Photo:
Debbie Arrington)
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Got grapes? Maybe it’s time to learn how to make wine!
Sacramento Home Winemakers, a local club devoted to helping folks safely make their own vino, is hosting a beginners’ class, “Winemaking 101.” Set for Aug. 4 and 6, it’s a wonderful opportunity to learn a lot about the basics of turning raw grapes or fresh juice into something drinkable for years to come.
It’s not uncommon in our region for gardeners to grow grapes; vineyards obviously thrive in our climate. More and more grapevines are covering fences and trellises in suburban backyards.
Sometimes, those vines were planted by someone else – and came with the house.
“People are moving into new digs with small, home wine-grape vineyards, but they don’t know how to make wine,” says Gin Yang of Sacramento Home Winemakers.
Or you can get your grapes from someone else; this group has sources for grapes, too.
This class is designed for those aspiring DIY winemakers as well as a refresher course for folks who have made their own wine before. And the class comes in time for this fall’s grape harvest and the group’s New Winemakers Group Crush.
With seven hours of instruction, the workshop is divided into two parts: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, via Zoom; and in person 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, in Granite Bay. (Location supplied after registration.)
“We’ll guide you through the essential steps, throw in a little chemistry, taste wines, and have lots of fun,” say the organizers.
The workshop includes:
-- Steps for making white and red wines.
-- Resources for getting supplies and chemicals.
-- Safe use of winemaking equipment.
-- Where to source wine grapes.
-- Finding mentors and resources.
-- Learn about this harvest’s New Winemakers Group Crush.
Space is limited. Registration is open now. The workshop is free to SHW members; $30 for non-members. But join the club and workshop fee will be waived.
Questions? Contact WM101 Coordinator Joe McGillivray at 916-261-9438 or WM101@sachomewine.com.
Details and link to register: www.sachomewine.com .
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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