News about wine making and wine appreciation by our Deaf fellows and friends, news not about people
Editor: Rusty Wales, the vintner of Prince of Wales wines
Webmaster: Bobby Skedsmo, the creator of the Estate of Skedsmo wines
Wine Quotation:
"I have always been intrigued by the entire production process (winemaking), from vine to bottle...."
Drew Bledsoe, retired great college and NFL quarterback
Chris ~ Drew
Editor Rusty’s Rap:Back to Basic Wine 101, Wine Tasting - Four S’ plus one Big S
(See, Swirl, Smell, Sip and Savor)
Performed by John Burke and Rusty Wales
Wine Making: Profile of a Deaf Winemaker: Keith Worek
Background:
Hometown-New Jersey, now residing in Rochester, NY
Education-HS diploma at Marie Katzenbach (NJ) School for the Deaf, BS degree in Electronic Engineering Tech at NTID/RIT
Occupation-Senior Electrical Engineer for Carrier company
Interest-golfing, been President of US Deaf Golf Association since 2006
Winemaking experience:
First brewing beer in 1990’s, 11 batches. Started making wine with his cousin in 2009 but the first two batches were not successful. However, he switched from grapes to a pressed juice kit (i.e. Winexpert.com) helping in the success, producing 8 batches in 2010. He continues making a variety of wine. He had a winemaking class at his house which all of his friends enjoyed tremendously!Keith's Comments:
Thanks to transportation technology, wine kits can be obtained from any part of the world as you need not to grow grapes in your yard to make wine! Winemakers need to educate friends more to help appreciate wine. Most important of all, keep all equipment sanitized and clean resulting in a great wine. Lastly, homemade wine is not only cheaper but a great hobby!
Keith Worek's home made wines
Fun Fact: If You Win the Lottery, What Would You Do With Your Newly-Found Wealth?
The fad of celebrities, movie stars, rich pro athletes, politicians, and many other wealthy people owning vineyards and wineries is not new. In ancient Greece and Roman times, famous people owned vineyards to make their own wine. So did Noah the Ark, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson! Look at those football greats as winery owners, only to mention a few: Joe Montana, Mike Ditka, Drew Bledsoe, Dick Vermill, Dan Marino, Alex Spanos (owner of S.D. Chargers) and even current All-Pro player, Charles Woodson. Golf greats, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo and Mike Weir are owning vineyards/wineries. Francis Ford Coppola, well-known Italian-American movie director, come from a family with a long history of winemaking. (you should visit his winery in Geyserville, Calif.!) It will be too long of a list to mention all the athletes and movie stars who own wineries but I can mention three stars here: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. Don't waste your time looking for their bottles; they own estates solely for their personal use. After the death of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, the heirs decided to invest their wealth in wineries.
So if I win a lottery prize (almost never bought a ticket, mind you), I would invest my $$$ in a winery. Would you?
Joe Montana, other great NFL quarterback,
and his wife celebrating his special wine
Mike Ditka, former coach of Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears
and his prized wines
Ditka's wines (close-up)... I gotta buy one of his "Kick-Ass Red" wine!!
