*** BREAKING NEWS ***

*** BREAKING NEWS ***

Noni Bacca Winery of Wilmington, NC takes home GOLD and Bronze Medals from the World's Largest International Wine Competition!

The Gold Medal was awarded for Noni Bacca Winery's INCORVAIA brand Vino Grande, styled after the Italian Brunello and the Bronze was awarded for Noni Bacca's House Red Wine, an Italian Sangiovese.

A record number of wines were entered from a record number of wineries for Camp Good Days and Special Times' Ninth Annual Finger Lakes International Wine Competition and Auction Dinner. The Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, the world's largest charitable wine competition, was open to all commercial wineries from all wine-producing countries and 2553 Wines from 543 Wineries, representing 13 countries, 39 states, and 5 Canadian Provinces have been entered into the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition.

The Ninth Annual Finger Lakes International Wine Competition too take place on Saturday and Sunday, March 28-29, 2009 at the Rochester Plaza Hotel, in Rochester, NY. National and international judges, representing distributors, educators, enologists, sommeliers, restaurateurs, winemakers, and writers, from six countries and twelve states, evaluated the entries and medals were awarded for those wines receiving scores for bronze, silver, gold, and the unanimous double gold.

Clef du Vin

Mature young wine instantly. Clef du Vin is a scientifically-designed measuring device made from a mix of precious metals. Made for all wines, Clef du Vin, when dipped into a glass of wine, the patented metal alloy on the tip replicates the aging process. It will age the wine one year for each second the alloy is in contact with the wine. Two seconds equals two years from now, three seconds equals three years from now, etc. Take the guesswork out of collecting with this invaluable tool. Developed and tested over 10 years by one of France's leading scientists and wine industry consultants and European Champion Sommelier, Clef du Vin has received wide acclaim throughout Europe and Asia. The individual Pocket Professional is presented in a handsome burgundy leather case for easy traveling to your favorite restaurants, wine shops and tasting!

But don't take my word for it.....Let Gary sum it up for you!

Buy your very own Clef du Vin!

Wine Making....Are You Making Wine Yet?

Welcome to this wine making blog. If you are making wine now, you know that you can produce a high quality product from your home at a fraction of the cost of retail wines. If you are not making wine now, I have only one question..... Wine Not?

Wine making dates back to the days of the cave men who fermented berries in wooden bowls. Obviously we've come a long way from those days and there are new modern ways of making wine. For those of you who don't have access to vine grown grapes, there are alternatives. There are several products on the market today that produce high quality wines. They are referred to as wine kits or wine juice kits. Most of these wine kits produce 23 liters or 6 gallons of wine in about 28 - 42 days, depending on the kit.

The wine kits come in the form of concentrates, semi-concentrates, or full-strength must. Must is the term used for grape juice that is not yet fermented. With concentrated and semi-concentrated juice, you will need to add a certain amount of water to reconstitute the juice, but they produce really nice wines. Full-strength must does not require the addition of water, therefore, producing a superior quality wine.

In addition to the wine juice kit, equipment is required to produce the wine. There are equipment kits ranging from a basic "bare bones" fermenting kit to "complete" equipment kits with all of the bells and whistles that go with it. The wine making hobby is NOT expensive. The average cost per bottle is about $3.