Happy Friday! This morning my car said it was 37 degrees, brrrrr. I definitely used the heat today.  So I thought I would mix it up today and instead of posting a recipe, workout or fitness tip. We are going to talk about one of our family hobbies, making wine.

First lets talk about the heart healthy benefits to a glass of wine! I read this article on the Yale New Haven Hospital website it discussed the health benefits to drinking a glass of red wine. Scientists believe that the antioxidants that are in the skin and seeds of the grapes have a “cardioprotective effect” and help reduce coronary heart disease risk. It is an interesting article so take a look.

Obviously being pregnant I DO NOT consume alcohol but when not pregnant I do enjoy the occasional glass of red wine!

Now on to the wine making process. About 6 and 1/2 years ago I got a wine making kit from Midwest Homebrewing & Winemaking and my family and I started making homemade wine. We have made all different kinds of red wine.. but the first batch we ever made, a French Cabernet Sauvignon stood out to me the most! This fall Marc and I decided to make it again. It will be finished a little before the holidays and will make great xmas gifts!

The wine kit made it extremely easy because you don’t need to go to a vineyard and stomp on grapes. The juice from the grapes comes in a big container and there is a step-by-step process to follow to make the wine. It is actually quite fun and fairly cheap to make.

It starts with the adding the juice to a large bucket.

Then you add in a few different packets (yeast, oak chips) add in water and some preservatives. Then we let it sit for about a week.

The second step was measuring the specific gravity. This is an important step because if it doesn’t read the proper # the wine will not ferment.  Ours was measuring perfectly so we began siphoning the wine from the bucket into a glass carboy (we use the glass carboy instead of a wooden barrel and that is why the oak chips are added for extra flavor)

There are more steps to come in this wine making process.. and I will definitely update on the progress!

Cooper is happy it’s the weekend!