"WineMaking" news and stories

• Science claims that men really can drink women under the table.
• An elderly couple commemorates Veteran's Day with homemade Danish Peppernuts.
• At Parkville's Iron Horse your seating options are "car" or "caboose."
• A roundup of festive, locally made foods, including some non-perishables.
• A blue cheese dip made with turkey bacon, skim cheese and non-fat milk is not so bad for you.
• A Missouri winemaker attempts Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Mourvedre, all on his 10-acre vineyard.
• Students of the Broodmoor Bistro host a James Beard Night.

Freshly cooked brats. Photo: Three if by Bike, Flickr.

• An ode to fresh sausage, plus recipes to get you started.
• Golfer Greg Norman brings his daughter Morgan-Leigh into the world of winemaking.
• Digging into dumplings from across the world, with tips for making them at home.
• The Creole rice fritter also known as calas gives cooks another way to prep that pantry staple.
• Alexandra Guarnaschelli -- judge on "Chopped" and "Iron Chef" -- gets her own Food Network cooking show.

Over the last few years, interest in home brewing has been steadily growing. That great for the beer fans out there, but what's the wine drinker to do when they catch the DIY bug? Up until now, they haven't had many options. However the WinePod is hoping to change all that by allowing regular people to make wine right in their own homes.

WinePod is the first-ever personal winery. It is a self–contained, computer–controlled unit that allows the amateur wine maker to create up to four cases of wine per fermentation (and up to 12 fermentations a year). The company provides the grapes, as well as all the tools you'll need to cask and bottle your vino. You get software to install on your computer that will walk you through the process and will assist you in avoiding any potential pitfalls.

It's a pricey gadget, starting at $4,499, but for the right wine enthusiast, it could be the perfect holiday gift.

If you're a friend of mine, I'm sorry, but I'm about to spoil your Christmas present. You're getting my homemade corncob wine. Now get that look off your face -- it's actually pretty darned tasty, and if you don't believe me, at least trust the palates of James Beard Award winning cookbook authors and Lowcountry culinary ambassadors Matt and Ted Lee. I nabbed this method from The Lee Bros. Southern Cooking, and thought the first batch turned out so well, it was worthy of a second gallon's brewing a few weeks later.

While in Paso Robles, California, last week on a wine tour, I got to go through Steinbeck Vineyards, which has been supplying grapes to different Paso wineries for 20+ years and just started making their own wine, and Four Vines Winery, where winemaker Christian Tietje is as untraditional as they come. Here's a gallery of photos I took as we went through the winemaking process.