Home-brewed wine

Brian Tuller adjusts netting over his grape vines to protect his one acre red wine grape crop against birds. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat)

This time of year, as the grapes ripen on the vine, home winemakers join the fervor of the season, the madcap crush. But for them, the season’s pace is pro-rated.

“Harvest on this scale is very manageable,” said Brian Tuller, who makes wine in his Santa Rosa garage. “It’s typically scheduled around a weekend or two with some early mornings or late nights. Occasionally, a day or two of vacation is needed to prepare or most importantly to clean up. After all harvest is a messy, sticky job.”

This messy, sticky season beckons home winemakers like Tuller with a surge of equipment displayed in stores like “The Beverage People” in Santa Rosa and ACE Hardware stores.

The Beverage People, for example, recently received its yearly shipment from Italy, 600-liter stainless steel tanks, basket presses, bladder presses and crushers, among other gear.

There’s an uptick in the number of home winemakers who frequent the store during harvest, according to employee Jennifer Harris.

“There’s definitely a sense of enthusiasm around pre-harvest,” Harris said.

At Garrett Ace Hardware in Healdsburg, you see plenty of crushers and grape presses right as you enter the big patio doors at the Healdsburg Ave. entrance. And right around the corner to the left is a big display of bottling supplies, corks and caps, etc.

Store manager Galen Butts said this time of year traffic is up for home winemakers.

“They’re trying to figure everything out,” he said. “They’re interested. They’re excited.”

This time of year the home winemaker, put simply, is being outfitted for fermentation, a chemical process Tuller finds intriguing.

“It is really a simple process at its core, yeast converting sugar into alcohol,” he said. “Everything else is refinement and improvement of flavor, texture, color, mouth-feel, etc.”

Tuller is a pharmaceutical representative who moonlights as a home winemaker. He produces up to 200 gallons, or roughly 1,000 bottles, from 2.5 tons of fruit.

In 2006, Tuller decided “to live the dream” of owning vineyard property. He purchased a two-acre spread in Santa Rosa and planted one acre to cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, and petit verdot. This year he planted malbec, anticipating fruit in 2016 or 2017.

“At harvest and in wine making I get to create something,” Tuller said. “It’s the role of an artist, choosing materials, flavors, processes, and working for an outcome you enjoy over time. At the ‘day job,’ there are creative elements but I don’t get to control and create with the same artistic touch…”

Rookie home winemakers, Tuller said, can really benefit from a group called GENCO, Garage Enologists of North County. (www.gencowinemakers.com ).

“GENCO has been a terrific way to connect with others who have a similar interest and to learn about enhanced processes and methods for making different types of wines,” Tuller said. “It also creates a forum where some home winemaking costs can be shared, as we are able to do more things in bulk by pooling our purchasing power.”

Tuller said there’s a learning curve in being a home winemaker, one that requires patience and a sense of humor.

“This will be my seventh year,” he said. “Let’s just say the first was great vinegar no one could touch. This year, so far, looks to have tremendous fruit and I am hopeful it will have tremendous flavor…”

Staff writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.