I’m just back from a thrilling trip to Napa Valley where the second annual WineMaker Magazine’s conference was held. It was thrilling not only because I got to tour many, many wineries where I was tasted great wines, but I also met many amateur winemakers. I got to taste their wines; this is always fun, of course, but I derive immense pleasure because I too learn a lot from fellow winemakers. In fact, I learn more from amateurs than professional winemakers because the former are not inhibited, biased or constrained in their winemaking. So I have tasted many great wines and discovered very interesting blends. I am continually impressed by the increased improvements in the winemaking and quality of wines. And winemakers are a proud bunch, and they should be; after all, great wine is the labor of one’s hands. Most impressive though is that, very often, kit wines are indistinguishable from wines made from, for example, grapes. That says a lot about the quality of kit wines. If you have never made wine and want to start slow and easy, then kits is the way to go. You may want a copy of my newest book Kit Winemaking: The Illustrated Guide to Making Wines from Concentrate. Check it out. And I hope to see you (and taste your wines) at next year’s conference in Washington State on May 21-22. Cheers!