A few years ago I got interested in making friut wines from my father-in-law. He was making wine in his kitchen and basement, and really liked to share his efforst with us. Some of the bottles were quite tasty, and others were...quite harsh.
Last year I took a trip to an island in my state. on that island is a winery, and in addition to gape wine they also make a blackberry wine and a raspberry wine. I tried both and fell in love! I wondered what made these wines so much gentler, tastier, and richer than the homemade wine my father in law made.
I decided to give it a try myself. I started with fruit wines last year, taking advantage of our huge surplus of blackberries here in Washington, and the abundance of fruit at the farmers market. I was hooked!
Somewhere along the line I remembered mead. I love mead, but my husband doesn't care for it, so I don't often bring it home. but the prospect of making my own was very tempting, so I decided to give it a shot.
I am just starting making mead this winter. I currently have four gallons in their secondary fermentation, and I can't wait until next year to gauge my sucess! I currently have fireweed and orange blossom mead going, and plan to try blackberry, raspberry, and a few other honeys this year.