STRAWBERRY

Okay so it turns out that a layer of mold on top isn't the death of a wine. I am racking the strawberry wine being careful not to suck up any mold, then sweeten just a hair, finally bottling a little later in the week. It taste good and smells good so i'm happy.

-Cheers and Bottoms up

CHECK THIS OUT

I Heard it Though the Grapevine

Strawberry

The Strawberry wine may be our first failure, or perhaps humbling learning experience. Until this point all of our wine has exceeded all expectations however the strawberry is not looking real good. It has developed a film over the top and I fear it has gone bad. I am aggressively researching the problem to see if I can come up with a solution. If it must be scraped it will be a disappointment, but one going bad out of the first 4 isn't too terrible. I will try again soon.

The Apple Cider is a hit. I will make some changes next time. Having said that the stock keeps declining so we must have done something right!

- Cheers and Bottoms Up

Time to Bottle

We are washing bottles and getting ready to bottle "Hard to the Core" Apple cider so it has time to chill before tonight. I'm sure pics of tonight festivities will be posted over the next few days.


-Cheers and Bottoms up

Hard to the Core

Its just about time to bottle Hard to the Core Apple Cider....VERY EXCITED for Friday when the bacon will be woven and the cider be flowin.


- Cheers and Bottoms Up

New Team Member

Fire Dog Winery welcomes, JIM "Jim-Bo-Slice" Calvin, to the Team. He will be making all the Labels. His first is "Hard to the Core Cider".


- Cheers and Bottoms Up

FIRE DOG WINERY

Apple Cider

With Halloween is rapidly approaching we are preparing to bottle the apple cider (still nameless). On Friday the 14th of October I added about 1/2 bottle of wine conditioner (approx. 8oz) Today 20 October I am racking it for a final time then will let it age for the next week and bottle a few days before it is to be opened on Halloween.

Today I also helped Mr. Yang start his own batch of "The Battle of Concord"

-Cheers and Bottoms up

apple cider

I added half of a bottle of wine conditioner to the Apple Cider Must today...Friday I will add pure apple cider after I rack it. Then after 6 days I will bottle.

All is good

Cheers and Bottoms Up

Chili

Since the wine is just aging to perfection, I will be making Fire Dog Chili today. Wait...thats give me an idea, Chili Wine......maybe thats not such a good idea.

Fire Dog Wine

There is not a lot going on here at Fire Dog Winery. The hard apple cider is coming along just fine it is very clear and thats a good sign. The Strawberry also looks good. We are still looking for names for both wines so if you have any ideas please leave a comment.


-Cheers and Bottoms Up
FIRE DOG WINERY STAFF

AWESOME NEWS

I got the new order in from Homebrew4less.com. I expressed frustration with them before but I know it isn't their fault the order took so long to arrive. The mail system sometimes takes awhile to get to Korea. In any case I HAVE THE THINGS I NEED. I have racked both the strawberry and apple cider. They both taste O.K. I really hope with a little more age they will be much better. The off flavors could be from sitting on the settlement too long, but I don't think it is damage that can't be fixed. I hope to start Bobo's Berries some time this week or next week.

I want to give a quick shout out to Speedy Laster for coming here and giving us a class on Hood and Duct inspections. If you are a fire fighter you really need to check out Phil Ackland and Associates, they provide great training. Ask for Speedy.

- Cheers and Bottoms up

Good News then Bad News

Ok...I took a little taste of the Strawberry Wine (it still needs a name), the good news is it taste really good. I was worried at first because it was really tart but it has mellowed out a lot in only a month or maybe 6 weeks. The bad news is I cannot rack it yet because I still haven't received my shipment from Homebrew4less.com... More good news I ordered the bare minimum of what I need to keep going from Letsdowine.com I have been really happy with Homebrew4less however this is the second shipment that has taken way to long to get here. I understand it is going half way around the world but I don't have this much trouble with anything else I order. So check out Letsdowine.com I think they will do a little better.

WHIT IS GETTING MARRIED THIS WEEK. Wish him luck.

-Cheers and Bottom up  

Bad News

Bad News...We are still waiting on our order from Homebrew4Less.com... Often times mail is slow getting to here but I hope it makes it soon or the Apple Cider and Strawberry wine may go bad. The good news is our very own Whit is getting married soon. I'm sure he will post pics on the Blog


-Cheers and Bottoms up

Stand still

We are still waiting on supplies to so we can keep working on the wine. Iron Lotus is a big hit and I am sure will only get better with time.

-Cheers and Bottoms Up

We lost 31 soldiers last night in Afghanistan. Before you head out to do whatever you'll do today with friends, family or other loved ones, take a few moments to consider the 31 families who won't be seeing their husband/father/son/wife/mother​/daughter again. Tell someone you love them today! Let's live in a way that honors their sacrifice.

Supplies

We are still waiting on the next round of supplies from Homebrew4less, I think they will arrive today or tomorrow. The sooner the better because we are at a stand still until they arrive. As soon as we can we will begin making more quality wines.

-Cheers and Bottoms Up

Iron Lotus Label

Ok...The Fire Dog Winery Graphic Design Team, has been working on the label for Iron Lotus. We need your help, pleas take the Poll to the right and tell us if we should keep the label as is or keep working on us. If you have any suggestion on how to make it better please leave a comment or email us your own label to firedogwinery@gmail.com. Thanks for your help!

-Cheers and Bottoms Up

Iron Lotus

Iron Lotus has been bottled. It is a beautiful light green color and it taste great. It is chilling right now and will be opened on the 5th (if it makes it that long).

We are waiting on our supplies from our friends at Homebrew4less. Once we get the supplies the Hard Cider and and Strawberry will be racked and left alone to age a few more months. It looks like the fermentation is about finished and i consider that a good sign.

After the racking I hope to start work on BoBo's Berries and Alarm Blueberry.

Whit will be headed to South Dakota in about 11 days to start up Fire Dog Winery South Dakota Branch (FDWSDB). We are all excited about the expansion and the increase in volume and styles of wine we will be able to produce.

-Cheers and Bottoms Up

Slow week

The Vintner Team is very busy at work this week and hasn't done much "vinting," however I did check on all the wines today and things seem to be moving along. Fermentation has slowed in the Cider and the Strawberry Wine and will most likely be racked into another fermentor sometime in the next 10 days. The Iron Lotus will be bottled on Thursday or Friday.

We are still looking for a logo and label designs. Also any suggestions for new wines. This week we came up with Alarm Blueberry.

-Cheers and Bottoms Up
FDVT

The Fire Dog Executive Board is having a meeting to create the Iron Lotus Label.

Strawberry Update

The Strawberry is on its way to the secondary fermenter. It looks great and taste just a good. I added a little sugar to the must to boost the alcohol content a little bit I am still expecting 10%. Pics coming soon if I can get the camera to work.

-Cheers and Bottoms Up

LOGO

The Fire Dog Winery is working on a Logo and we need your HELP!! If your handy with photoshop, illustrator or even paint come up with something and post it our facebook wall or email it to firedogwinery@gmail.com. Maybe you could be the designer of The Fire Dog Winery logo.

Strawberry Wine

The Strawberry Wine is fermenting very nicely in the primary fermenter, it will be put in the secondary 5 or 6 days from now then racked after 4 weeks and allowed to age.

The Iron Lotus is just about perfect and will be bottled before the 1st of August.


-Cheers and Bottoms UP
 FDVT

Strawberry Wine making & Wizard Game

Just another day at the winery

-Cheers and Bottoms up 

FDWVT

Wizard Wine Day

Today we are finishing The Iron Lotus, we need to ensure fermentation is finished then sweeten and let it age before bottling. It will be approx. 12-13 percent alcohol and is on track to be ready on Aug 5th. It is very tart right now but I hope that calms down with some age.

We are also starting the Strawberry wine today. This wine will take some time to age, I am thinking Christmas will be perfect. A little taste of summer in the dead of winter. I am shooting for a 9-10% Alc.

Also there maybe so wizards running around the Winery today.


-FDVT

The Wine

The Fire Dog Winery has successfully made its first wine.


The first wine is a sweet concord grape wine named "The Battle of Concord." This name was chosen to celebrate the first battle of the revolutionary war (The Battle of Concord) which led to the independence of the 13 Colonies.  The first cork was popped on Independence Day 2011.


The Fire Dog Vintner Team (FDVT) is currently working on 2 more wines:


The first is a unique combination of both fresh kiwi and pineapple, and a third secret ingredient that we like to call WB. This will be a semi-sweet wine with powerful fruit flavors. The Wine will be called "The Iron Lotus" do to the crazy and powerful mixture of fruit flavors and the secret ingredient.  The FDVT hopes to pop the cork on the 5th of August 2011.


The second is a classic apple cider. The FDVT is hoping for the best on this one, it was born the afternoon following a long night of fighting fire and a morning of drinking "The Battle of Concord." Due to a lack of sleep and perhaps drunkenness no one is really sure what might be in this must. This wine has yet to be named and no date has been set to pop the cork. So if you have any ideas please share and the naming board will consider them.


Wines coming soon...


A Sweet Strawberry Wine--No named
Tabasco Wine known as "Steamin Sleeman"
(used for cooking)
Multi-Berry Wine known as "BoBo's Berries"
Watermelon Mead- Not named


The Fire Dog Vintner Team thanks you for taking the time to visit our Blog,
-Cheers and Bottoms Up