: Hello Robert,

: Glad you enjoyed the blog. I know you will enjoy the wood duck once
: it is completed. I am certainly not an expert, but I will be
: happy to answer any questions along the way. What kind of wine
: do you enjoy making? I generally go for the dry reds - my last
: batch being a malbec that was outstanding! We will be checking
: out the grapes in about 3 weeks or so, then time for crashing
: and pressing.

: Don

Don,

Thanks for early reply. After beveling the ends of the long pieces and the deck parts, will be ready for some wiring. Using a Buck block plane worked out real well along with a rasp. Am thinking I will use the rasp or a sanding block on the ends of the long pieces where the slope is wider and shallower. Where the width is the same on the side pieces, I am thinking the width on curved ends of the bottom pieces would be maximum at the top and gradually narrow as you approach the keel joint. What did you do there (constant width or have it change with the curve)? Other notes I have found suggest moistening the bow pieces to improve the the ease of that bending. I have used that on other past projects.

I live in Rochester NY and buy local juices or go to Niagara Falls , Canada to buy a mix of California, Chile and Argentina juices. I also like the dry reds. Merlot is a favorite. I have made on blend using riesling, foch (light body red) and chambourcin (heavier body red). I call it Windstar Red. During fermentation I add toasted oak cubes (36/5 gal. juice) to the carboy. I get those from the Stavin Co. in Sausolito CA. They sell to little people as well as the big companies. They had done tests (cubes/gallon) vs. oak barrel fermentation to see which loading came closest to the organic composition of the barrel made wine.

If more convienent, my email is windstartoo@frontiernet.net.

Regards,

Robert