Local enthusiasts to attend wine-tasting festival
BROWNSVILLE – The tradition of wine-making has a firm foothold in the region, and more than a dozen local wine makers will be showing off their talents this Saturday. The Brownsville Area Revitalization Corporation is sponsoring a wine-tasting event 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sons of Italy. The wine makers will be on hand to provide information about their wines and how they are produced.
“All you need are grapes, really,” said John Chan, who bottles his own wine under the Twin Hills Winery Vino De Casa DiCianna label that he prints himself.
Chan said he will be bringing six or seven varieties of wine that he’s made over the years to the wine tasting.
“I don’t drink my wine until it’s a year and a half to two years old. It spends at least one year in oak,” Chan said. “Impatience and air are wine’s two worst enemies.”
Chan said he starting making wine in 1997, using grape juice that first year.
“I did try two boxes of grapes that year also. Now I use nothing but grapes,” Chan said.
Chan said he has tried using some locally grown grapes and he has an arbor in his yard, but he’s found that California grapes provide a better flavor.
“Local grapes make a decent wine, but California are better. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough out of that arbor because of the climate and the animals. The deer and the turkeys love the grapes,” Chan said. “With California grapes, you don’t generally have to add sugar because they’re so high in sugar. By rights, you should add water, but it breaks my heart to add water, so I’ll live with the higher alcohol content.”
The higher the sugar level, the higher the final alcohol content, Chan said. His wines generally run 13 to 15 percent alcohol, higher than most commercially available wines.
Chan said he only makes the wine for his family and friends, not for sale. He also likes the excitement of trying new things.
“Everything I do, I do first-class or I don’t do it,” Chan said.
Most of his wines are aged in new American Oak wine barrels, not the old whiskey barrels his father used. Some wines, such as Zinfandel, don’t age well in oak, Chan said.
“I’m finding out now that blending is the way to go. I’ll blend the Zinfandel with the Sangiovese. I did win a ribbon one time with my 1998 Cabernet,” Chan said.
Chan said he tried his hand at wine making 30 years ago with his father-in-law, but really didn’t get involved with it until recently when he met up with other local wine makers who have dubbed themselves “The Union Club.” The group includes Dick Quarzo, Rich Dascenzo, Charles Britvich, Ken Shumar and Dr. Alan Sally, all of the Brownsville area. They will all be participating in Saturday’s event, along with Ed Capozza and Dennis Di Sora of Monongahela, Mark Di Sora of Pittsburgh, John Hilty of California, Calvin Rockwell of Uniontown and Marc Sylvester of Monessen.
“We meet every Monday night. Everybody brings some of their wine and we each have a little sip,” Chan said of the Brownsville group. “We share information and tips.”
Chan said he also makes sopressata, a dry Italian sausage, and prosciuto, a dry-cured Italian ham, which he often shares with the other wine makers.
The Fayette County group also shares information with a group of wine makers from the Mon Valley, several of whom are participating in the Saturday event.
For more information about the wine-tasting, call the Flatiron Building Heritage Center at 724-785-9331.