Prelude to a Vine

Some fun facts/thoughts collected so far:

(1) Wine tastes best in the region it's from. By corollary, homemade wine must taste best when drunk at home.
(2) "There are not many peak experiences available to us for dollar or so that homemade wine costs." (Homemade wine costs a dollar?! Sign me up!)

To start off, one needs, in order of importance:

(1) grapes
(2) climate
(3) soil
(4) the winemaker

- From Vines to Wines (excerpt as seen on the amazon.com site)

Well, we have here mediocre grapes (by international wine standards), bad climate for grapes, decent soil, and, well, inexperienced winemakers. I'm hoping we have beginner's luck on our side...

Picture: from last summer, in Provence