Always Time
The rosebush in Lewis Piper's yard holds deep meaning for his wife, Janet.
Once owned by Janet's grandmother, the 100-year-old bush has been relocated each of the three times the Butler couple has moved.
Now, those roses also hold meaning for Lewis, 52, whose winemaking yielded its own bouquet from harvesting the precious petals.
World of wines
"I would definitely say more people are doing it," said Ruth Whisel of the winemaking hobby. Whisel owns the Porter House Brew Shop in Portersville.
As well as selling wine- and beer-making supplies, the store offers regular classes on making both beverages. As long as she gets the word out, Whisel said the classes fill up.
According to Piper and others, making wine has many benefits: The process is simple, the product is good and the cost per bottle is less than retail.
"I see a great savings," said Gene Reeher, 59, of Worth Township, a hobby winemaker for about four years.
"It depends on what kinds of wines you drink. Most of your (good) wines in state stores are about $24 a bottle. I can make them for $10," he said.
Reeher, who likes dry wines, often uses kits, more costly since they include grape juice.
Piper cites even lower costs — $2 to $3 a bottle — when harvesting local fruits or buying the kits on sale.
Piper has made wine from dandelions, cherries and apples — available for free in his yard.Last year, a crop of black raspberries on the property of his brother-in-law, Walt Gall, resulted in an especially good wine."I thought it was good myself, and everybody that tasted it thought it was pretty good," Piper said, explaining how on a whim he entered the wine in a contest after seeing an ad in a wine magazine.Apparently, others agreed with Piper's assessment. The wine won a gold medal in the 2010 Wine Maker International Wine Competition held in April in Vermont.According to the brochure, the amateur competition was the largest of its kind, featuring 4,508 entries.Piper's vintage took first in the fruit wine category, one of 50 in the event.But winning the medal is but one of the rewards of making wine. Pleasure, economics and using gifts from the landscape also are included."It's an excuse for me to have dandelions in my yard," Janet Piper said.According to Reeher, the effort is well worth the reward."Actually, you can get five to six gallons of wine going in a couple hours if you just buy the juice," he said, explaining that the following months mostly consist of waiting."It takes an hour or so to bottle — so it's really not time consuming at all, and I think it's rewarding because you're drinking what you made," he added."It's also a convenience: You always seem to have a bottle of wine sitting around."Both Lewis Piper and Reeher also say the benefits include being able to make wine to their own liking."You don't have to shop around and buy that bottle off the shelf not knowing what you're getting," Reeher said. "Once you find a (desirable) wine you make yourself, you can always copy it — always have that quality of wine on hand."Whisel noted that some wine drinkers also have an allergic reaction to the sulfite preservative, which can yield headaches or skin redness."You do have the option of leaving out the sulfites," she said, explaining the wine would have a shorter shelf life.Winemakers say the hobby also has multiple social components. Wines play a role in special meals with friends and they make for the perfect holiday gift.For Piper, traveling has also come to include visits to wineries, where winemakers are willing to talk and exchange knowledge."They gladly share their thoughts and ideas with you, and you can share yours with them," Piper said. "Everybody pretty much who does wine will easily exchange information with you. I've never had anybody that wouldn't help you out."Back at home, Reeher said winemaking also enhances life — even when he's not drinking it."It's exciting — just the smell in the household of the wine fermenting," he said."It just smells good. It's a good aroma. We're going to keep on going."
