Lee and I are quitting our jobs

Well, maybe not quitting right now, but we've started a new business:




Can you guess from the picture? We're making our own wines. That's right - there's a full-scale operation going on at the Bright house. How did this all start? Last weekend, we went to a local winery, Nashwood Winery, just to taste and they had a "start-up" kit available for purchase. I can tell when Lee gets super excited about something because he gets this look on his face. It was the look similar to look he had on his face just before I agreed to buy the Vespa. I wouldn't have said "no" to the winemaking kit, but I need to practice my no's just in case he ever wants to buy something like his own island, a hot air balloon, a suit of armor, or a fourth dog.

Winemaking is fun, but I'm not sure where I rate it on the Dub-T scale. It's not like we're making moonshine, but we are producing alcohol. We're not making it in a bathtub, but it's still in the house. Here's how it works: We bought the wine as a mix. You have to clean and disinfect all of the parts and combine the wine mix with some water and yeast. During the first week, the wine stays in the primary fermenter (6.5-gallon plastic bucket) and is transferred into the glass 6-gallon carboy where it'll stay for the next eight weeks. I'm skipping a few steps, but overall there's not that much work involved. Lord only knows what bottling will entail.

What I love about Lee is that when he's into something, he is all in. Example: Lee bought his own Virginia oak barrel this weekend as a "surprise" for me. I was surprised alright. It's not a big one - just 5 gallons, but he's scaring me a little. Our first batch of wine is a mix, but Lee eventually wants to buy grapes and press them ourselves. He looked on the internet and actually found a vat that you throw the grapes in and then physically stomp them Lucy and Ethel style. I was able to practice my "no" skills on that suggestion. He's also toying with the idea of us growing our own grapes. I feel like one day I'll get home from aerobics and he'll be conducting tours through our wine-production facility (the garage).

So the question is - what do we call this new label? I suggested "Hair of the Dog", but shockingly, it's already taken. So I think we're going to call our label "Big Dog Winery". Lee has awarded me the task of designing the labels. Our first brew, a Cabernet Sauvignon, will be called "Lucy Dog Cabernet", and we'll probably follow up with "Morgan's Merlot". I don't know what kind of wine I see with Trudie. Maybe a "Blind Dog Chardonnay". It ferments 8 weeks in the carboy, so by my count, our first wine will be ready on September 23. We're hopeful that it will be drinkable because on a first attempt I think that's all you're really aiming for. I don't want to have to rename it "Big Dog Pile Winery". And if it's not drinkable, you all know what you'll be getting for Christmas - a big bottle of dog pile.