I had a few friends over for drinks this week, and it was quite the oenological adventure.
It all started when I found out my friend Myles had had some wine made at one of those homemade wine places where you pick the general style of wine you want, pay your money, and voila – in a few weeks you get to pick up your very own wine! Myles’ batch was $40 for 14 bottles, which really appeals to the bargain hunter in me.
But let’s be real here – this wine is not top notch. It’s great value, and might be fine for people who aren’t as picky about their wine, but there is a very real difference between this kind of wine and the wine you can buy at your local wine shop.
Bad pic of the bottle, complete with fancy engraving instead of a label! Myles is an engraving wizard.
That being said, I did have a great time giving this homemade concoction a taste. Myles chose the Barolo style, which really just added to the hilarity of what we were about to get into (you might remember that we talked a bit about Barolos when I tasted the Nebbiolo as part of the Noble Grape Challenge).
Can we talk about the hilarity of the cork-screw combo?
Here are some choice comments expressed as we tasted this wine:
Hayleigh (in a surprised tone) – “Oh my god – it’s not that bad!”
Myles – “You know, I think it’s gotten better” (after about two months of ‘bottle aging’)
Andrew – “It got better as I drank it, mostly because I didn’t care”
As you can see, we weren’t very kind critics. The wine did taste pretty smooth, and definitely had that earthiness and dark red fruit flavours that I associate with Italian reds. Unsurprisingly, it had none of the depth and complexity that is found it more professional wines, but we really weren’t expecting that so there was no love lost there.
In case you couldn’t already tell, I’m always wary of homemade wine. I’ve had my share of lacklustre wines, and while this one wasn’t too far off from that mark I did enjoy it. But, then again, I think a bottle is always better when shared with friends.
Bottom Line
Does it stack up against something from the lcbo? No, not at all, really. But the company made it enjoyable.
Do you drink (or make??) homemade wine?
4 Comments
Hilarious commentary. haha
My brother has made homemade wine and it was so terrible I had to pour it out. That’s the first bottle of wine (and the last, so far) that I have ever completely poured out intentionally. God that shit was awful.
I’ve also had some family members make homemade wine and my parents would complain about it. This was back in my teens so I can’t really remember if I had any back then… but safe to say… I’m also wary of homemade wine!
Glad you liked it. 🙂
It is so easy for homemade wine to be just terrible. I was pleasantly surprised that the bottle we shared was at least drinkable, if not high-calibre. It’s sad when that’s where the bar is set!
Ah homemade wine. I have a visceral response when I even hear the words. For me, someone who has been routinely downsized in the workplace, being able to afford good wine is like my last port in a storm, my security blanket and my glass to break in case of emergency. My mother drinks nothing but and brings me her personal overstock – then asks me if she should be getting her spare room ready because I will probably have to sell my house. After she tells me that her wine is as good as the French Merlot or Italian PG I’ve just served her. My uncle thinks I don’t know any better and brings me the homemade stuff people bring him. I make a point of serving a particularly nice bottle when he comes to visit. I don’t think the penny drops for him, but my neuroses feel much better for the effort.
It’s definitely a specific kind of preference! You could always cook with the overstock? Or make Sangria!