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Maieli, a 59-year-old former school administrator who lives in Wilder, began by using kits to guide her through the process. Then, she tried working with fresh juice, purchased from M&M Wine Grape Co. in Hartford, Conn.
Maieli’s hobby has led her to experiment with grapes of various origins. Now, through her business, Vagabond Vintner, she offers lessons and tastings, which allow her to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with others.
“I have been a wine lover all my life and I’ve basically traveled for 30-some-odd years … going to vineyards and wineries just because it’s something I enjoy,” she said in a phone interview earlier this month.
Maieli’s embrace of all facets of wine spurred her to cultivate her own grapes, planting Marquette vines in her small yard in Wilder in 2010, shortly after her move to the Upper Valley. Marquette, a pinot noir relative, is a hardy grape variety capable of withstanding the region’s winters. Though she said she’s not a farmer, this year she harvested 75 pounds of her own grapes, enough for a 6-gallon batch.
But, pure batches aren’t Maieli’s primary interest. She most enjoys making blends from several different varietals.
“I don’t have any rules,” she said. “I can blend Chilean with the Marquette.”
After her retirement from her last job, as registrar at Vermont Law School in South Royalton, Maieli bought some more equipment and moved her winery outside the laundry room.
“I really got more serious about it,” she said.
Under federal law, a single adult can make up to 100 gallons of wine annually and a household of two or more adults can make up to 200 gallons for home consumption, she said.
Then, about a year ago, Maieli began offering one-on-one winemaking courses in people’s homes.
“I really love sharing my passion,” she said. “That’s why I was in education.”
She also offers grape stomping workshops and has organized a monthly Meetup group of fellow wine enthusiasts. (Meetup is website that facilitates social gatherings around shared interests.)
Shelley Saylor, of Charlestown, favors sweet dessert wines and the Meetup group has expanded her horizons, she said in a phone interview. The Meetup group made a batch of wine from Chilean Malbec grapes.
The group has also sampled wines from around the world, including those from Chile, Argentina and Italy. As they sample the wine, they watch a video about the region where the wine is from, Saylor said.
The Meetup group also introduced Saylor to using an aerator to improve the flavor of wines, she said.
“I was totally shocked,” Saylor said. “I tried one wine which I did not like, put it through the aerator and I liked it.”
While wine connoisseurship has a rarefied air, Maieli is more down to earth. She wants all participants to enjoy themselves and isn’t afraid to alter wines’ flavors. When the group samples drier wines, Maieli gives Saylor simple syrup to add as she likes.
“Actually, it helps a lot,” said Saylor.
The Meetup group celebrated its first anniversary earlier this month. For this month’s gathering, Maieli prepared mulled red wine hot chocolate — “the new, trendy thing,” she said. She tweaked her recipe so she could put together spice packets to sell for those looking to recreate the flavor at home. The packets were a “hot seller” at a recent market in Enfield, she said.
“I think the mulled spices really bring out the chocolate,” she said.
People’s first reactions to mulled red wine hot chocolate can be adverse, but their tongues tend to adjust, she said.
“The more you drink, the more you really like it,” she said.
Maieli’s other unusual mulled options include a white wine with pear brandy and a cranberry-apple cider, served with apple brandy.
Her activities change with the seasons. Last summer, she partnered with two local vineyards to pick grapes and then make wine. One of the workshops included a tour of and grape picking at Walpole Mountain View Winery, a family-owned vineyard on the banks of the Connecticut River.
The day included picking Marquette grapes, and removing their stems and stomping them, said two of the participants, Kathryn and Larry Doughty, of Sharon, in a phone interview.
Larry, who had a knee operation shortly after the October workshop, was the first of the group to take off his shoes and socks, disinfect his feet with alcohol and stomp the grapes. He didn’t let his bum knee get in the way.
“He was the brave one,” said his wife.
He was glad he made the effort, he said, because in later tastings the difference in flavor between the grapes he stomped and those they mashed by stepping on plastic bags full of grapes was apparent. It was a sensory experience, allowing him to feel with his toes when grapes were still whole, he said.
“It does a really good job of getting the juice out of the grapes,” he said.
The day also included sampling wines at the winery, munching on bread and cheese and meeting new people, they said.
The workshop was more than worth the price tag, the Doughtys said. They couldn’t remember how much it cost, but Maieli generally charges $325-$450 for hands-on winemaking workshops, which include all the equipment necessary: At least one fermentation pail with a lid; a 6-gallon carboy, a glass or plastic bottle with a narrow neck; a racking tube to siphon the wine; a hydrometer, which measures the wine’s density; a floating thermometer, as well as cleaner and sanitizer. Maieli also provides workshop participants with 24-28 bottles, corks and labels.
As an added perk, the Doughtys said Maieli has made herself available to answer questions that crop up along the way. One such task Maieli has helped them with over the months since the workshop is removing solids from the liquid.
“She wants you to be successful,” Kathryn Doughty said.
They are aging their 6 gallons for six months in their stairwell — consistent, coolish temperatures are recommended, they said. As the wine ages, they taste it along the way.
“We’re coming up with a very tasty pinot noir,” said Larry Doughty. “Great stuff.”
They expect to wind up with 24 bottles. This was the Doughtys’ first experience making wine and it was one they would recommend to others. They were partly motivated by a planned move to Nova Scotia, where wine is more expensive, but vineyards are prevalent, Kathryn Doughty said.
Understanding the process with Maieli’s support means that with practice, “You can fly on your own,” Kathryn Doughty said.
More information about the home winemaking Meetup group is available at meetup.com/HomeWinemaking and more information about Vagabond Vintner is at vagabondvintner.com.
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
