In a previous life as a wine maker and my goal, as were all my colleagues locally, was to ferment both red and white on the cool side and in any case controlled temperatures. Traditional wine making in Europe was once left to chance, thus vintage years and not so vintage years. The cooler fermenting kept more of the character of the berries in the final product.
Back then I managed for a few years a couple of acres of Zin and Tinta Cão which was sold to another family winery. We bought Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc our own production producing just a few barrels for our own enjoyment. I worked at a couple of other vineyards and wineries back then and photographed as I drove the tractor, picked grapes, ran the press, all the way to the bottling and marketing. It was a great time in younger days with great people and enjoyable wines!
The controlled conditions were brought into the art of wine make by scientists at UC Davis and Fresno State U., and these created a culture of world-class wines in California, augmented by many small wine makers sharing their experiences with one another, swapping different musts and unfinished wines with one another to try different blends and constant testing and experimentation.
In the years since California made the big time, that knowledge and science was shared with the rest of the world and now it seems tough to have a bad year for wine.
Though the making is a lot of work, messy and sticky, it's fun to do and thoughout the process, allows you to sample your efforts along the way which to me was a bonus. When you get it barreled and aged, then bottled and past the shock, you'll soon know the results of your fun.
But, be careful with this all! Many of fifty or so wineries in my community (under 40,000 population), got into the wine business, much like you. A few bins and a few years and soon your hobby gets out of hand you you now become a wine maker sharing your art with many new friends who find your vintage is to their taste!
