We now have an online scheduler available for Winemaking on Site! Our appointment calendar is online at http://scheduler.curdsandwine.com/signIn.  You will need to create a new user name and password -- if you are an existing customer making wine on site with us already please use the email you gave us for your reminders so you can see your own itinerary in the calendar. 

Join us at Curds and Wine for a two-part seminar series introducing you to making wine from fresh grapes. In these seminars, we will go through preparation for harvest, steps involved in making wine from fresh grapes, and finishing wine. We will also demonstrate how to use equipment needed for winemaking. The series of classes is $75/person for series of 2 classes, no refunds if any classes are missed.

Maximum 20 participants for these classes, you must be 21 or over to participate.

 

This course is a seminar series with live demonstrations, but we will not be making wine in this class; fresh grapes or frozen must can be purchased separately and made at home.

 

Outline - Series of 2 classes:

 

Seminar #1: Preparation for harvest and fermentation

Choice of dates: Saturday 6/16/18 or Saturday 6/23/18 from 1 - 4 pm

• Optimal brix and acid levels
• Equipment and ingredients you will need
• Primary fermentation schedule
• When and How to press
• Malolactic fermentation: initiating or preventing

Seminar #2: Finishing fermentations and pressing

Choice of dates: Saturday 7/7/18 or 7/14/18 from 1 - 4 pm

• Fermentations finished, ready for aging
• Managing sulfites
• Carboys, steel tanks, kegs, and barrels
• Oak : hands-on oak trials
• Clarifying wine
• Blending
• Common wine flaws and their treatments
• Bottling: bottles, corks, finishing

* A $30 cancellation fee will be charged if you cancel your ticket prior to 48 hours of the event; no refunds within 48 hours of last first seminar

 

Purchase tickets online here

Here’s your chance to get your hands purple!  Curds and Wine will be hosting an exclusive, intensive Grapes to Glass Winemaking course.  This is not a custom crush, you will make your own wine from grapes delivered by West Coast Grapes and our gold-medal winning winemakers will lead you through the process.  This class will be limited to 15 winemaking groups total.  Please remember only winemakers and team members that have taken our Basic Winemaking from Fresh or Frozen Grapes seminars are allowed to participate in this course.  The following criteria apply to participation in the class:

• All participants must be 21 years of age or older
• All participants must sign liability waiver
• Class fee includes all ingredients, supplies, and use of equipment for making wine on site
• You CANNOT participate if you would be unavailable (i.e., planning to travel at all or have major surgery or other major life events) between August and October; you or a team member MUST be present for all winemaking sessions
• This course includes making wine from fresh juice or red wine grapes, but the production of rosé or white wine from grapes is not included in this course.

This Hands-on intensive series of classes that goes through basics of winemaking from grapes to bottle

• Maximum 15 winemaking groups
• Cost is $400/winemaker total, $200 non-refundable deposit to reserve your space and balance of $200 due at first class
• New participants that have not taken our Basic Winemaking from Fresh or Frozen Grapes seminars are required to take these before grape delivery; this is a separate cost
• Includes making your own wine from grapes delivered from West Coast Grapes on site at Curds and Wine, all equipment, ingredients, testing, and bottling (including personalized labels); does not include cost of grapes
• Approximately 2 to 2 1/2 cases of wine per 100 lbs of grapes purchased produced in class, including personalized labels, bottles & corks
• This class does not include grapes; grapes must be purchased separately from West Coast Grapes, 150 lbs maximum per fermentor.  Grapes from other sources cannot be made in this class.
• You or a team member must be present when grapes are delivered, we cannot hold grapes for an extended period of time.
• No refunds on deposits

This course costs $400/winemaker total, $200 non-refundable deposit to reserve your space and balance of $200 due at first class; you can add up to 2 additional fermentors per group for $100 each for a maximum of 4 fermentors per group.  This cost does not include cost of grapes, grapes must be purchased separately from West Coast grapes - no other grapes can be brought in for this class.

 

Contact us if you are interested in participating in our 2018 Grapes to Glass course

Queso Diego is once again sponsoring the 'Say Cheese' Homemade Cheese contest this year at the San Diego County Fair!  This contest will once again be a One-Day Home & Hobby Contest, no pre-registration or entry fees are required. Bring your prepared item and the typed or printed recipe form found online here. We will no longer accept other types of recipe forms. No exceptions! Deliver entries between opening time of the Fair and 12:45pm on Saturday July 1st to Home & Hobby exhibit located on the 2nd floor, west end of the Grandstand. Judging starts at 1:00pm and once the judging process starts, no late entries will be accepted. Your entry and entry contest form will admit you into the Fair for FREE. Exhibitors must personally deliver their entries.

Limit: One entry per class
Judging Criteria: Flavor, Originality, & Appearance

Classes:
1 - Fresh (cheese curds, chevre, Mascarpone, mozzarella, Queso fresco, cottage cheese, farmer’s cheese, ricotta)
2 - Brined (feta, domiati, halloumi)
3 - Bloomy Cow (brie, Camembert, Triple Crème)
4 - Bloomy Goat (chevre styles both bloomy & ash rinded)
5 - Blue Mold (Cambazola, Roquefort, Danish Blue, Stilton)
6 - Soft/Semi-Soft (aged) (Gouda, Munster)
7 - Cheddar & American Style (Cheddar, Dry Jack, Monterey Jack, Muenster, Colby)
8 - Open to include hard (Parmesan, Asiago, Romano), and flavored cheeses, plus as examples, smoked, washed rind, cheese spreads, butter, Creme Fraiche, yogurt and anything that doesn’t fit elsewhere)

Awards:
- 1st Place: Prize worth $40
- 2nd Place: Prize worth $20
- 3rd Place: Prize worth $15
- Best of Show: Prize worth $75

This 48" long stainless steel punch down tool with 8" disc has a black rubber handle and works great in Husky/Brute style home wine fermenters or larger fermentors.  Get yours at Curds and Wine for $69.95