Wine, wine, and more wine....

Wine #1.....Crab apple wine.

We are picking crab apples....about 20-30 lbs of the things. This should make about 6 gallons of crab apple wine. Once we have them all picked and destemmed, they will be crushed and fermented.....everything I have read says that these make a great wine....we shall see.
Wine#2.....Blush

This is a kit wine that is just starting its clearing phase....should be bottling this in about 2 weeks.
Wine#3......Blueberry Shiraz

I bought several kits of wine from one of my runners....this is the first one of the 5 I am making.....just started fermenting it today.

Getting ready to start constructing the wine cellar in the basement....all of these will help start to fill it up!

Detroit International Marathon

This marathon really made national headlines with the 3 deaths in the 1/2 marathon. I hope the negative publicity doesn't hurt this race, because it was a great course. We stayed at the Marriott on the Detroit River at GM headquarters. It was the race hotel and less than a mile from the start and finish. Race morning was a little cool, but close enough to perfect for me. There was very little wind.....this race would be much tougher if the winds were blowing like they were on the day after the race!

The course was outstanding.....the start is downtown and within a few miles you are crossing a bridge into Windsor, Ontario. After 4 or so miles on the north side of the Detroit river, you enter the Detroit-Windsor tunnel at mile 7 and spend the next mile running underneath the river....then back into downtown and the 1/2 marathon finish. Marathoners then get to run out to Belle Island and back. The race is very flat. The hills are at the bridges and tunnels and are not difficult at all. The medals were very heavy and well done. They did run out for some of the later finishers and will have to mail them out to those runners. The expo was a bit unorganized, but was okay. You have to have your passport for this race to get your race number at the expo....so that was a first!
The weekend in pictures......

The view from our room on the 27th floor over the Detroit River and into Canada.


GM headquarters....

Kim and I on the river walk.


At the expo....

The bling!