by Denny Deaton This year we decided to make Cabernet Sauvignon for our family and friends. The entire project took a month, and we had a blast doing it! We took pictures along the way for two reasons. First of all, we wanted to prove that we actually made the wine, and secondly... we wanted to show you how we did it. Now keep in mind, we didn't get pictures of Denny stomping the grapes in the bathtub, just kidding it was concertrated juice, and that is just plain gross. Enjoy! We know it will be hard but we recommend that you wait until after March 15th to drink the wine, aging is everything! Step 1: Niki fills the glass carboy with water, so far so good... Step 2: Denny adds a little bentonite for that extra kick, buckle up!!! Step 3: Niki gets crazy with the concentrated grape juice... Step 4: Denny drops in authentic oak shavings to give the wine a barrel-fermented flavor. Step 5: Niki adds more water.. she is good at that!! Step 6: Denny checks the specific gravity of the wine... Step 7: Niki adds Wine Yeast to the mix to begin the fermentation process... Step 8: The wine fermented for 2 weeks in the spare bathtub, it sure was tricky taking a shower... Step 9: We siphoned the batch into a smaller carboy for the second stage of fermentation.... Step 10: We sterilized all the bottles to get them ready for filling...[look closely and you will see us in the background acting out a scene from Pleasantville] Step 11: Niki fills the bottles with wine... Step 12: Some hot, buff guy stopped by to help us cork the bottles... Step 13: Niki took the wine-tasting a little too far. If your bottle isn't quite full, this should explain why... Step 14: Niki is proud of her hard work, look a that smile... Step 15: We dipped the bottles in wax after corking them to seal them for freshness, as well as add a nice holiday touch.... We hope you enjoy drinking the wine as much as we enjoyed making it... please let us know how you like it!!     The HBA Wine Favorites: Vintner's Best Winemaker's Equipment Kit: All of the equipment you need to start making your own wine using our great selection of wine ingredient kits. This system includes: * 7.5 Gallon Plastic Fermenter with Lid * 6 Gallon Glass Carboy * #2 and #6.5 Drilled Stoppers for Lid and Carboy * Airlock * Bottle Brush * Hydrometer * Book - "Making Homemade Wine" * One Step Cleanser * Plunger Corker * 30 9x1 1/2 Corks * Racking Tube * 6' Siphon Tubing * Fermtech Bottle Filler * Plastic Shut Off Valve Vintner's Reserve kits: Brew King's original winemaking kit line contains 7.5 litres of pure varietal grape juice and juice concentrate in its formulation. The industry's category leader since its introduction, Vintners Reserve continues to set the standard for excellence for 28 day wine kits, creating wines of superior complexity, flavour and aroma. Vintners Reserve offers a wide spectrum of fine varieties to choose from, allowing the opportunity to experiment with numerous different styles. Selection Estate Series: Brew King's new ultra premium wine kit line redefines the home winemaking product landscape. Selection Estate Series contains 16 litres of the finest 100% pure varietal grape juice and juice concentrate, with an unprecedented quantity of pure juice within the blend, and no added sugars whatsoever. This unique line offers a limited number of prestigious wine styles sourced from specific vineyards from the world's great wine producing regions. First Steps in Winemaking: A complete month-by-month guide to winemaking (including the production of cider, perry and mead) in your own home, with over 150 tried and tested recipes. - Berry