April 4, 20143 min read

The times they are a-changin'

I wanted to share with you a lovely story that our very own Steve Lamberto told us last week. We loved his story because it reinforces why we do what we do at Home Make It. I hope you enjoy this story too...

"Hi Guys,

I would just like to tell you a story about what has happened this week. It's about a customer of ours, we have been testing his wine for a number of years now.

His first contact with us was “how do I make better wine than my dad without hurting his feelings?”

From this, a scheme was hatched, two batches of wine would be made, and as far as the father was concerned, they were made the same way 'the traditional method'. Secretly though, the son was adding yeast, nutrient, tannin and oak over the winemaking process.

The great day came when the wine was to be served for the meal and the son had grabbed a bottle of the wine. The bottle that he had made with our guidance. He served a glass to his dad.

“What do you think?” asked the son.

The father said “This is the best wine we have ever made son", and proceeded to give a two minute speech on how good this homemade wine was.

After this, the son confessed to having made the wine under our guidance. No more was said but the bottle of wine was empty by the end of the night..

Several years have passed. But this week, as I sat at the test bench ready to educate and help this customer make better wine, the customer tells me that I had helped his son make better wine years ago and he was now ready to make some as well.

So now we are teaching the father how to make good wine! So the morale of the story?"

"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE, WE WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO MAKE GOOD WINE

NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES!" (Steve Lamberto, Home Make It 2014).

Steve's story resonates so strongly with us, because all too often some of more senior customers bring their wine into the stores for testing, but do not want to add any additives to improve the wine or correct any identified faults. This is despite our attempts to reinforce that our additives are all completely natural and they are not "chemicals". Steve has been singing this same song now for so long that he has now officially started up his own 'swear jar' in the Clayton store. If any customer now utters the work "chemical", they must put a dollar into the swear jar! There is also a slogan firmly embedded on the wall of the testing counter - "WE ADD 'ADDITIVES' NOT CHEMICALS". Steve happily tells me though, that times are changing with more and more traditional methods of winemaking, now being mixed with techniques of the newer generation. If you would like to read more about this subject, grab yourself a copy of the 2013 March/April Italianicious Edition which features a story about Home Make It, titled "Mixing The Old & New" .

With the 'vintage' or wine season well under way, we just completed 'Week 2" of our Advanced Homemade Wine Course. Having destemmed the grapes two weeks ago, and starting the fermentation process, it was now time to press the grapes, transfer the juice into the tank and continue with the malolactic fermentation process. We finished the evening with a heavenly BBQ and salad prepared by Frank and tasted a couple of the wines that one of our customers, Dennis, made last year. Very impressive indeed! "Lascia la bocca buona!"

Here's a couple of pics from the evening. If you would like to see more photos from the evening, you can view them on our Facebook page.

The boys learning to assemble the press.

Transferring the grapes from the vat to the press.

I know our courses are meant to be "hands-on", but poor Jason had to bucket every last drop from the vat to the press... I'm thinking he'd wished he hadn't worn white!

James making room in the press for more grapes to come. He assures us his hands were clean :)

Assembling the blocks on the press.

Transferring our 'cake' into a plastic bag to feed Marcel's cows.

A well-earned feast after all the hard work!

Looking forward to Week 3 now, where we will continue learning about Malolactic Fermentation, oaks and finning agents. Can't wait to see what Frank cooks for us next! There were lots of helpful suggestions going around, including porchetta (with truffle) and homemade pizza...... Ah, the pressure!

If you are making homemade wine this year then remember to bring in samples of your wine for free testing at all stages of the winemaking process. Or if you're tired of drinking your relatives "really bad" homemade wine, you can subtley suggest they bring along a sample for testing.

We have extended hours during the wine making season, so there are no excuses! We're now open from 9am until 3pm on Saturdays and 10am until 2.00pm on Sundays. Take advantage of our range of equipment for hire during the wine season. Our equipment includes electric crusher-destemmers, presses, electric pumps, bottle filling machines and cappers. Call Pina at our Reservoir store on 9460 2777 or Ilaria at our Clayton store on 9574 8222.

For ease of shopping and the security of Paypal, you can also purchase equipment and supplies from our Online Store.

Upcoming Events ....... Get your diaries out!

5th April, 2014 Rural Lifestyle Expo Frank will be teaming up with James and Marcel from The Meat Room to delight with a demonstration on breaking down a pig and making homemade sausages.

12th - 17th May, 2014 Darebin Homemade Food and Wine Festival. If you think you have made the winning homemade wine, beer, passata or ajvar then be sure to get your entry form in! Entry Forms are now available ONLINE.

Home Make It will be facilitating several demonstrations and workshops during the Darebin Homemade Food and Wine Festival, including a Salami and Mozzarella making workshop, Beer in a Bag Workshop and Winemaking and Appreciation.

Home Make It's very own Steve Lamberto and Frank Bovezza hanging out with James and Marcel from The Meat Room at the recent photo shoot for the upcoming Darebin Homemade Food and Wine Festival.

17th May, 2014 Brew in A Bag Workshop. Brought to you by Darebin Homemade Food Festival, forming part of the Good Beer Week and facilitated by Home Make It.

30th May, 2014 - 1st June, 2014. The Good Food and Wine Show We'll be there so come along and say hello. You'll see us at E24, just next to the Nespresso Bar.

~

With Easter just around the corner, it's time to create and savor all the fabulous Italian Easter recipes that take us back to our childhoods. Liz and Frank Bovezza fondly remember the smell of their mum's Italian Easter Pie, freshly baked and out of the oven...mmm nothing like it! And what a treat it was for them to receive Sweet Easter Breads from their Nonna, shaped and plaited with colored eggs and sprinkles.

Pane di Pasqua - Italian Easter Bread.