Cooking and Winemaking
Cooking at home has always been an interest of mine. You could definitely say it’s one of my hobbies. My interest in cooking probably began a long time ago watching my mom cook. She was a good cook.
I’ve never had any formal culinary training. The closest I’ve come to taking cooking classes were all the hours spent watching Emeril Lagasse, the Barefoot Contessa and Alton Brown when the Food Network first started up many years ago.
So, I got some of their recipes and tried to copy their dishes. I had some basic cookware and kitchen tools but quickly realized I needed better equipment. I bought some high-quality stainless steel cookware, chef’s knives, soup and stock pots, and a good Dutch oven. If you’ve ever gotten interested in a hobby you know there are some expenses involved in getting the right equipment to pursue it.
I started by making stews, soups, casseroles and sauces. I wanted to make BBQ meats (the real kind, slow-cooked for hours in a smoker) so I needed to get a smoker. This led to making my own BBQ sauces and rubs. One thing led to another and I had to get mixing bowls, accurate measuring spoons, an immersion blender, and other assorted kitchen gadgets.
My wife and I would go to restaurants and analyze the meals we ate. Then I’d come home and try to recreate them. That led to making up recipes and creating my own dishes.
I started experimenting and tweaking recipes to fit my own tastes. I played with different cooking techniques and experimented to see how spices and flavors work together. Then I started learning to cook ethnic dishes from different countries. So, I had to buy specialty spices, Asian sauces, curry powders and other assorted flavorings. I even started growing herbs in my back yard.
Then the pandemic hit. What else was there to do but to cook more. I began baking so I needed sheet pans, bakeware and wire racks. I bought a professional blender and an ice cream maker too. Thank goodness for Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table and UPS during those times.
So, I bet by now you’re wondering what all this has to do with winemaking. Well, to me, my cooking and winemaking paths are similar.
I never took any formal college or university winemaking classes. I learned from classes offered by the OCWS Winemakers Group. I talked to OCWS winemakers and was mentored by members of the group.
Before making my first batch of wine, I purchased or was gifted some basic winemaking equipment: assorted carboys, airlocks, hoses, fermenters and a hydrometer. That equipment was sufficient for my first couple of batches, which turned out OK. But I soon realized I could do better. To make that happen, I needed to pay more attention to detail. I also needed better equipment.
I bought a winemaking book (a kind of recipe book, if you will) which, to this day, I still refer to every time I make a batch of wine. I’ve adopted some of the winemaking techniques mentioned in that book. Without a doubt, it’s helped me improve my winemaking skills.
I learned to use oak. It sounds simple. But there’s an art to knowing what kind of oak to use for different varietals or how long it should be in contact with the wine. Just like in cooking, it takes experience to know what spices to use in a dish or what kind of wood to use when smoking certain meats.
I purchased testing equipment and a gram scale so I could pay closer attention to the chemistry factors that affect a wine’s taste. It also helped me determine just the right amount of acid needed to keep the wine in balance. I bought wine filtering equipment and learned clarifying techniques so my wines look better now. Just like with cooking, if I wanted to be a better winemaker, I needed to spend the money to get better equipment. I only bought one or two winemaking items each year so it didn’t break my budget.
Would it be easier to just go to the store and buy wine? Undoubtedly. But I enjoy the learning and creativity involved in winemaking. So besides producing a great wine, one of my goals is to improve my winemaking skills or learn something new with each batch I make.
If you are interested in winemaking, you can start with some basic equipment like I did. Try it for a while, make a batch or two. Start off slow and see if you enjoy it. But if you’re bitten by the winemaking bug, you’ll need to spend several hundred dollars for the equipment to make better wine, just like with any other hobby.
This month, the Winemakers Group will offer a new opportunity to all OCWS members. One of our most experienced winemakers, Kevin Donnelly, will teach you how to make wine from fresh citrus juice. Yes, you can make excellent wine from fruit other than grapes. In this citrus winemaking class, you will pick your own citrus fruit, juice it, and take it home to make wine, all with the help of our OCWS winemakers. Making wine from fruit is similar to making wine from grapes. If you ever wanted to learn how to make wine, this is your opportunity. See the article in this month’s newsletter for class details.
Cheers!
—Ed Reyes, ed@ocws.org