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Learn to make your own wine at home

Beginners' class offered by Sacramento Home Winemakers

Green grapes on vine
Learn to turn raw grapes into wine in a beginners' class next month. (Photo:
Debbie Arrington)

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 Feb. 2

During this stormy week, let the rain soak in while making plans for all the things you’re going to plant soon:

* During rainy weather, turn off the sprinklers. After a good soaking from winter storms, lawns can go at least a week without sprinklers, according to irrigation experts. For an average California home, that week off from watering can save 800 gallons.

* February serves as a wake-up call to gardeners. This month, you can transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.

* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots.

* Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).

* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.

* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions.

* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.

* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.

* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.

* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.

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