And so it begins...

Welcome to the Zschoche Cellars blog! I will use this as a way to update my supporters as to where my wine is at in the fermentation process. Growing up, I read hundreds of articles about starting a business, and always had one small question - why there was such a long period of time between the founding of the company and the first day of operations. It all makes sense to me now. I decided back in December that I wanted to start making wine. But with the necessary research on how to go about achieving such a fete and procuring the necessary supplies (not to mention learning how to fly a plane and moving 600 miles in the same time-frame), the months seemed to stack up.

Now, after over two months of planning and several weeks of staring at my wine making supplies, I have initiated the beginning steps of my first batch. Tonight, I completed several of the steps needed to begin the wine-making process.

First, I organized all of the supplies so that when I begin the fermentation, everything I need is at my disposal. Next, I measured the capacity of my primary fermentor to be just under 6.5 gallons, which is just within the limits of my kit. Finally, I checked the specific gravity of water in my hydrometer, which I found to be 1.001 at 67 degrees Fahrenheit. If all goes as planned, I will begin the primary fermentation of my juice tomorrow.