hello fellow growers

[nautical jock]

alas my work prohibits my ability to maintain a vegetable garden at this time but i do grow a fair selection of fruit which is a lot less demanding.my chief hobby is the production of homemade wine [mostly sparkling]table wines,cider and preserves.my search for a "pressure canner" led me by accident to this forum for which i am grateful.
i will try to sort out a profile as soon as i can figure out how things work, meanwhile i look forward to reading your posts,
all the best, JOCK

[firstimer1]

Hi Jock, welcome to the vine an i bet you will be growing veg soon x Belle

[FionaH]

Hi Jock and welcome

[Samwise]

Hiya and welcome yay for veg!

[nautical jock]

thankyou both

[TonyO]

Hello and Welcome from a fellow newbie to the Forum Jock,

You must have a good deal of knowledge growing fruit & producing your own wine. - I'm sure you'll fit in nicely.

[shirlthegirl43]

Howdy and welcome to the vine. Look forward to reading your wine making tips

[Flummery]

Hi and welcome. Lots here make wines too. In fact, we try anything once (Except incest and folk dancing as the man said!)

[Irie Jan]

Hi Jock!
Good to have you with us!

[Nicos]

Hi there- and welcome to the Vine

We look forward to hearing more about what you produce!!

[ixi1456]

Hello and a warm welcome to the vine

[nautical jock]

wine bubbles

dear friends,
i`ve been making wine on and off since i was at school, i`m on the wrong side of 50 now and for the last 10 years have concentrated largely on sparkling wine.it`s not a hobby to take lightly if one is going to produce a reliable product constantly and safely.any equipment i couldent buy cheaply i constructed as best i could at home.it`s amazing how popular i suddenly become at christmas time when dishing out the end product.
if i `ve manged to download the photos ok the second one is of my first try at homemade cider by the same method as the wine

[selfraising]

Welcome to the vine. Homemade wine sounds great!!!!

[ukmastiff]

MM I'm liking the fact that we have somne folk here to give brewing advice so it's an extra welcome from me !

We have a very productive and very old looking apple tree in the front garden and would very much like to try a bit of cider making this year if its practical. Cider presses arent cheap though.


Regards Mas

[nautical jock]

your right ukmastiff,
a press suitable for a decent amount of apples is a costly investment for one person to outlay also you need to pulp the fruit before loading it into the press.
the "apple scratcher" i have is like an outsized mincer,more expense.i was going to sell my apple press on ebay untill a friend asked about cider making.a small stainless steel press satisfys my winemaking needs.all in all cider making is best conducted as a group project if you can find any like minded people in your area,its never too early to start finding them. heres a pic of my homemade press,all the best NJ