Beeman is a friend of Mr. Pencil’s and mine. He has a glut of concord grapes ripening stinkfully next to his house. By way of experimentation, we’re going to try to make some sort of wine out of it (the grapes, not the house). I’m a touch pessimistic as to the quality of the outcome, but I’m also looking forward to tinkering.

This evening, I’ll drop by the wine- and beer-making store to buy some pH test strips, and then Mr. Pencil (and perhaps Beeman) and I will test the ripening grapes’ acidity, as well as sugar content (brix) using a hydrometer. Once they’re ready for harvest, we’ll rent a press and go to it.

Mr. Pencil and I are also taking a class at Urban Wineworks, which starts in a few weeks. It’s a multi-month class that starts in the vineyard and leads students through all stages of winemaking. At the end of the class, we’ll have two cases of Pinot noir that we built ourselves. Yay!