What are You Wearing while You Advocate to Lower Fossil Fuel Usage?

 Note:  In this series of articles about those who advocate to lower fossil fuel usage, I do not tell people what to do.  Rather, my concern is what I perceive as hypocrisy among those who ARE telling other people to make drastic changes in their lives without examining their own dependence on the materials they rally against.  In that spirit, I offer the following research, here on the clothing industry.  In two other articles, on the floral and construction industries.  I hope you will find them interesting.

Many people who advocate for cutting back on fossil fuels focus on the transportation  and power industries.

Let’s talk about fossil fuels closer to home:  what you wearing today?  The large fashion industry is heavily dependent on petroleum products and we are, too.

Are you wearing sneakers?  How about a nylon raincoat, acrylic sweater and knit cap? Are your jeans and T shirts made with polyester threads, lycra for stretch, plastic buttons and zippers?  Does your underwear have an elastic waistband, your bra elastic straps and plastic hooks?

Are you wearing such items while waving a placard in front of a legislature or company advocating to go to Net Zero or Lower Carbon Footprint or Divest from Oil and Gas Companies?  

The quickest way to skewer an advocacy group is to point out hypocrisy (or naivete).  

One way to puncture hypocrisy and naivete is research.  

MARKET:  Worldwide, 80 billion pieces of clothing are made every year, a 400% increase from only twenty years ago.  This requires 342 million gallons of petroleum to transform plastic pellets into the plastic fibers for clothing. Moreover, these plastic fibers account for 73% of the microfiber pollution in Arctic waters. 

Plastic use in clothing is INCREASING for many reasons.

 (1) It is cheaper than natural fibers and offers some advantages, like stretch and color.

 (2) Fashion depends on trends to encourage us to discard the old and buy something new.  With “fast fashion” the quality is poorer and items do not last as long.

 (3) Acreage previously allocated to cotton and flax (linen) has been ripped up to grow food.  I witnessed this transition in the 1990’s, when I was a global Acrylonitrile Market Analyst.  China tore up its cotton fields for food production and bought vast quantities of acrylics for clothing instead.

PACKAGING:  A related aspect of the fashion industry is packaging and display.  Did you know that 128 BILLION plastic hangers are made and disposed of each year?  Plastic packaging is estimated to account for 26% of total plastic produced, and 76% of that is thrown away after a single use. 

LABOR:  Labor conditions vary from country to country and company to company, but the skills, age, and wages are low.  Globally, it is estimated that 75 million people are employed in the textile industry, many of them children, at low wages, long hours and uncomfortable or dangerous conditions, such exposure to 8,000 synthetic chemicals.  Plastic clothing is highly flammable and the fumes are toxic.

SECOND HAND:  What happens to the clothes we donate to thrift shops?  Unfortunately, (according to Resource Recycling Systems), most donated clothing are NOT sold as clothes.  12% is “downcycled,” or turned into industrial rags, stuffing, or insulation.    Although 95% of plastic fiber clothing could be recycled, only 1% is made into apparel again.  73% of those old shirts and ties ends up in incinerators or landfills.  That does not leave a very large percentage that is actually sold and worn again, as intended.

We are reliant, from head to toe, on plastic fibers.  What personal steps can be taken by someone who is seriously concerned about the plastics, landfills, or the labor practices of the industry? 

•             Many clothes made with natural fibers may last longer than those with plastic fibers, potentially saving money in the long run but costing more up front.

•             Some brands are advertising (or virtue signalling, you choose) their use of recycled plastic in their clothing.  Many of these are in the outdoor/recreational clothing sectors.  There are even some documentaries by these companies about their efforts. 

•             Many clothes made with natural fibers may last longer than those with plastic fibers, potentially saving money in the long run but costing more up front.

•             Some brands are advertising (or virtue signalling, you choose) their use of recycled plastic in their clothing.  You can research those and decide whether you wish to purchase their clothing.

•             Assess your closets.  Segregate the clothes that you have not worn for a year.  Think about tailoring or new uses for them, such as rags for cleaning instead of buying sponges.  Beware of flimsy fabrics that will stretch or rip in a year.  Be intentional about your next purchases, note wants vs needs.  Are there certain brands, countries, or fabrics you favor?

•             Learn to sew.  This way you control the inputs and may keep the items longer.

•             Research what people did before plastics, such as applying wax to jackets to make them water proof…for a while, and wholly wool , linen, or cotton garments.  You may not want to do ANY of these things, but you will learn why sneakers are ubiquitous and raincoats are popular.  They lack easy replacements.  

•             Repurpose clothing

o             for art.  My church in Houston featured an artist’s installation of gorgeous kimonos made entirely of used men’s ties. 

             Quilting and rag rug making are essentially sewing together scraps into beautiful textiles. 

             Many quilters I know make exquisite quilts from sentimental scraps, such as childhood T shirts, screenprinted school art for bedspreads, curtains, seat covers, and tablecloths.  The most touching gift was a quilt made of a husband’s shirts, given to his widow. 

             Buttons are endlessly useful to decorate rag dolls, seasonal décor, and jewelry, such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces.  For inspiration, look at websites like Pinterest and DIY sites.

•             Repurpose for functional uses. 

o             All my holey socks and torn sheets and towels become cleaning rags for the house, shop, car, and greenhouse.  

o             Thin T shirts can be used instead of cheesecloth to filter liquids.

o             Thin strips of fabric blowing in the breeze can discourage birds and deer from tasty bushes.

o             I layer dog treats inside rags tied in one another like a rag ball.  Buddy loves this toy!

•             Repurpose for whimsical uses: 

o             I use old boots and hats as flower pots. 

o             Scarecrows are a fun use of old clothes.  Make a whole family of different sizes!

•             Share and trade:  Bring items of excellent quality that you want someone else to enjoy instead.  When we moved to Alaska, we gave away most things and invited friends to share their items with each other, too. 

•             When my sister moved from a cold climate to Phoenix, she sent me two big boxes of good quality winter clothes which I have enjoyed for over a decade now.

 

In conclusion, most of us are heavily reliant on many products derived from fossil fuels.  Our clothes are up close and personal applications that deserve our individual scrutiny.  People who intend to tell other people to reduce their use of fossil fuels should look first at themselves.  The optics aren’t great if advocates for reducing fossil fuels show up with plastic water bottles, nylon rain jackets, and plastic shoes. I'd respect such groups more if I saw more "walking the walk" than just "talking the talk"  and a bit of cost/benefit analysis would be welcome, too.

Resources:

https://www.wired.co.uk/bc/article/fashion-industry-plastic-addiction-arch-and-hook

  https://studentbriefs.law.gwu.edu/ilpb/2021/10/28/fast-fashion-getting-faster-a-look-at-the-unethical-labor-practices-sustaining-a-growing-industry/

https://www.popsci.com/environment/how-to-recycle-clothes/

Despite Two Feet of Snow, Spring has Sprung

Although our land is still blanketed by 2 feet of snow and the lake remains frozen, spring has sprung this week.  How do I know?

One clue is the first of many flocks of migrating geese and one, lone sandhill crane (where is its mate?) announcing their annual return to The Great Land.  Welcome back!  I have missed you!

Birch Sapping in Spring

A second is that twice a day, my husband and I stomp through softening snow to collect sap from the birch trees we tapped on April 20.  We drink this bracingly cold liquid as a vitamin rich spring tonic, and use it instead of water to make wine, beer, coffee, and anything else.  After ten days of clear flow, the sap turns milky, ending the tree’s gift to humans.  The rest belongs to the tree.  This change signals the imminent budding of the leaves.  So, one night, a few days later, I go to sleep in a black and white world and awaken to soft, technicolor green. 

Where the snow is thinnest or has melted and refrozen as ice, as at the base of a tree or building, I am always awed by the tenacity of a green bit of fern or dandelion or myosotis (forget-me-nots) already formed and ready for the heat and light of the sun.  Wild currants pop out of the snow already in bud.  Last year the haskaps flowered when their lower trunks were still encased in snow.  These plants, too, know when spring has arrived, and they are prepared to make the most of our short summer season.

I love such seasonal changes.  They teach me to take nothing for granted.  The flying bird will disappear, the sap run will end.  The green plants and deciduous trees will leaf out in May and then shrivel or flutter, yellow, brown, and red to the ground five months later.

It is my privilege to pay attention.  To notice.  To appreciate.   Nature does not need this appreciation.  It does not need me.  But perhaps that is exactly why I say thank you and endeavor to reciprocate for her many gifts of food, home remedies, shelter, and beauty.

Every day, I take a “walk about” to pay careful attention to the plants on our property and in the woods.   JX Mason (on this site) has described this sort of activity as a walking meditation. I had never thought of it that way, but I do now.  I am focused and calm.  Maybe my heart rate or blood pressure slows – I do not know.  But the daily practice is important to me.  My spirits rise and I feel a sense of expansion in myself. 

As the snow recedes, I hop out of bed thinking about the plants.  In the spring, I prune dead or damaged branches, and cull plants girdled under the snow by hungry voles and hares.  Later, in a sort of reciprocity, I watch for short, two week periods of optimal harvest conditions for tasty and nutritious leaves, berries, roots, and shoots that I am lucky to gather and enjoy.  Shall I eat this lambs quarter raw or cooked today, or in a pesto? Shall I dry or pressure can these other leaves for winter food?   Among the edible plants, our first spring salads are of dandelion leaves, fireweed shoots, and fiddleheads (ferns).  Next I harvest the flavorful young leaves of berry bushes, birch, and alder for tea and flavored vinegars – fresh leaves now and dried for later.  In early/mid May, I harvest bright green spruce and larch tips and snip them into salads, cakes and muffins to which they confer a delightful citrusy flavor.  Other plants share their beneficence later in the summer.

Leaves to rake in the Fall

Late in the summer, I gather seeds of edible, medicinal or beautiful plants that I wish to spread to new areas – the delicacy of columbine, the hardiness of daisies, the scent of iris and yarrow, and rake birch leaves onto tarps that I dump onto raised bed gardens and around fruit bushes and trees as a winter blanket.  Under the weight of the snow, the leaves break down and leaven the soil the next year. 

I do not have a TV or radio or alarm clock.  I have plants and animals that tell me what time of year it is and to get outside and DO SOMETHING joyful and meaningful and healthful.  So I do.   

I hope that you can and do, too.

The Beauty of Winter Trees

Natural settings can speak to people, make them feel at home.  One of my sisters has  been attracted to oceans, another to the desert.  For me, it is forest settings that have always beckoned.

 Every morning, I feel a sense of peace and gratitude as I look out my window at the mature Boreal Forest in which I live.  I regard the trees as my friends, mentors, caregivers, and benefactors.  Alive, they protect me from sun, wind, and cold; they yield nutrients and medicine, as well as beauty. Dead, they continue their beneficence, transformed into my cabin, decks, docks, furniture and fire wood.   

Trees at noon in December

This time of year, I watch the long blue shadows of birch and spruce trees slither across the snow and I am dazzled by the brightness of hoarfrost that coats every surface of the trees.  An occasional owl hoots or raven caws, but otherwise, our winter woods are silent and magnificent.

Almost every afternoon in February and March, my husband and I drive a snowmachine (snowmobile) and sled into the woods along trails we groomed several days before and left to harden.  Our goal is to cull 11 cords of standing dead spruce trees each year for firewood to heat our home and the outdoor soaking tub.  

Sadly, our part of Alaska was infested by spruce beetles about eight years ago.  These tiny insects killed most of the mature white and black spruce throughout millions of acres.  It was very sad to cut down the three stately 85 foot trees near our cabin, but it is even worse to view the skeletal remains.  Dead trees are hazardous, too, both for fire and falling, so every year since the infestation, we pick an area, first on our property, and subsequently, on the state land that surrounds us, to cull dozens of dead trees.  They are put to good use. 

Hoar frost on the trees

Aside from the practical aspect of gathering firewood, this seasonal project generates joy, as well.  Although the beetles devastated mature trees, they did not kill the saplings.  Trees below about 10 feet tall survived the onslaught.  Every time we fell a thicket of dead ones, we find spindly young conifers below them.  Next summer, they will enjoy more sun and space to grow straight and tall and healthy.  In subsequent years, other plants colonize the clearings, too, predominantly prickly rose, elderberry, and highbush cranberry.  Hares, martens, and weasels burrow under the dead branches that clutter the forest floor.

In March, as the snow begins to soften and rot, springy alders and highbush cranberries pop up from their heavy blanket of snow, waving for a moment before they assume a vertical position for summer.  

When the snow starts to recede in April, brown doughnuts of soaked earth encircle the warming trees.  My husband and I tap several birch trees for ten days before the leaves emerge, drinking the bracingly cold sap straight, as well as using it in any recipe that requires water, such as coffee, rice, and homemade wine and beer.  The clear liquid is a nutritious spring tonic, chock full of vitamin C and minerals, such as iron, zinc, calcium, and potassium.  It tastes slightly sweet and vaguely woody.  Eau de paper bag.    

When the soil dries up, I wander through our property, carrying flagging tape and pruners.  I clip the broken branches of saplings and cut out trunks girdled beneath the snow line by hungry hares and voles.  With delight I flag tiny seedlings so that I will not trample or weed whack them when the fast growing wild grasses obscure them.   In subsequent years I marvel as these tiny growths add branches and height, in many cases growing out of the stumps of dead trees.

My woods are a vibrant community of the elderly and the young, the sick and the healthy.  I wander in wonder and awe.   

My Recent Survivalblog Posts

 Please follow these links for articles recently posted on Survivalblog.com:

 

Homesteading Cautionary Tales – Part 1, by Mrs. Alaska

 

Homesteading Cautionary Tales – Part 2, by Mrs. Alaska

 

Our Practical Uses of Amateur Radio – Part 1, by Mr. & Mrs. Alaska

 

Our Practical Uses of Amateur Radio – Part 2, by Mr. & Mrs. Alaska

 

How to Make Berry Wine (from fresh, frozen, or canned fruit)

For a dozen or so years, I have made palatable wine (usually pinot noir and pinot grigio) from commercial kits that vary in price from $69 - $200 per 6 gallons.  To some, I added fresh berries that we grow at home. 

I have also made 4 batches of mead with the honey that our honeybees produced.  One batch of raspberry mead was glorious, but three others failed to ferment, so I ended up with three gallons of raspberry/honey syrup – more than anyone needs.

Last month, inspired by a friend who makes about 10 types of wine from apricot and wild plum trees, dandelion flowers, and fireweed flowers, among other ingredients, I decided to start with raspberries and red currants that I gathered and canned last summer.  Next up will be high bush cranberry wine.

A mere month after starting the fermentation, I was delighted by the early flavor of the currant wine.  In fact, I vastly preferred it to the raspberry wine!  Who would have thought that!  The former already has a vibrant flavor and silky mouth feel.  It tastes so rich that I add a dollop or two to flavor occasional glasses of the commercial pinot grigio or pinot noir that I made at the same time.    

By contrast, the raspberry wine is currently disappointing, but of course I expect wines to take several months to age.  At the moment, it tastes and smells thin, with a watery aftertaste.  I also made a second gallon with the “seconds,” which I found as an extra on one recipe.  This uses the pulpy seeds left over in the cheesecloth bag after the first batch has soaked for a week or ten days.  I think this may be the berry equivalent of grappa.  This batch had a slightly leathery taste, which my mentor thinks is due to the tannins in the seeds.  Since I am not a fan of woody wines, I don’t care for this flavor in the raspberry wine, either, but another palate may like it.  Over the next six months, I will check the wine to ensure that it does not mold or go bad, but otherwise, let it age in a dark spot behind the couch.

I have concluded that my dramatically contrasting reactions to the currant and raspberry wines may result from the fact that I seeded the former in a food mill before canning, but not the latter.  Like the currants, I always seed the cranberries that I juice, so I look forward to making some of that.  In future batches, I will seed raspberries, too, for wine.  

Recipe

You can find many recipes on line for the fruit of your choice.  One of the most famous people in this industry, with dozens of fruit wine recipes, is Jack Keller, who died in 2020.  You can find his recipes on many websites, such as www.homebrewtalk.com and www.winemakermag.com. I would heartily encourage any fruit wine maker to start with his recipes and then adjust for taste after a first or second batch.

  Jack Keller’s raspberry wine recipe:

 

    3 pounds of red raspberries

    1 pound 11 ounces of granulated sugar

    Water to 1 gallon

    4 teaspoons of pectic enzyme⁹0

    1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient

    Half a teaspoon of yeast energizer

    1 gram of Fermaid K  (I did not use this)

    Lalvin’s RC 212, a red wine yeast  (I used Lanvin 47)

Heat one gallon of potable water to temperature that will allow the sugar to dissolve into a thin solution.  Stir.

If you add berry juice, just pour it in.  If you add fruit with seeds or some other chunky fruit, like cherries, put it in a cheesecloth bag first, for easy removal. (You can use fresh, frozen or canned fruit).

Let the pot cool down to about 105 degrees F.   Stir again.  If you plan to let the wine ferment in that same pot (which I do), move it to a place where it can remain undisturbed, preferably in a temperature range of 65 – 75 degrees.  Sprinkle the yeast energizer and nutrient across the top of the liquid, and then the wine yeast.  Do not stir. Loosely lid it, and add an airlock or alternative (see below, under equipment).

If you plan to ferment the liquid in a different pot, crock, or bucket, pour the liquid in, set in in a place where it can remain, undisturbed for several weeks, let the liquid settle, and then sprinkle the yeast energizer and nutrient and wine yeast over the top. If the location’s temperature is below 65, the yeast will take longer to multiply, delaying and sometimes stalling fermentation.  A stalled ferment can be fixed, but if not, you have juice or low alcohol wine. 

On the second and subsequent days, stir it vigorously with a very long spoon for a few minutes, sometimes  twice a day.  Be sure to push the cheesecloth bag down below the surface so the fruit will not mold.  (If you do not contain the fruit in a cheesecloth bag, it will float on top, creating a crust that (a) can mold and (b) segregates the yeast from the air that it needs to survive.)  I find it fascinating to see, when the yeast population grows,  the colony actively swimming in the liquid.  I would use the word, swarming, except for the negative insect imagery.  If the yeast growth has slowed to the point where I see no movement during the first week, I sprinkle a teaspoon of yeast nutrient or yeast energizer on the surface.  This will feed and energize the yeast, so they can consume more of the fruit sugar and turn it into alcohol. 

About Day 7, use your wine thief (a turkey baster) to squeeze enough liquid into the hydrometer for the thermometer to float. Read the measurement.  If it is near 1.03, this means that your juice is partially fermented.  Squeeze as much liquid as you can from your cheesecloth bag into the liquid and then remove it.  About every other day after this, measure again until the hydrometer reads 1.00 or 0.99. Numbers above this mean that much sugar remains unconverted by the yeast into alcohol.  The sweeter the taste at this point, the lower the alcohol.  If you choose not to use a hydrometer, you can simply taste a few spoonfuls of wine every other day after Day 7 until you like flavor.  (You can also use the hydrometer to calculate the percentage of alcohol, too, through a formula that you can find on-line).  My wines (from kits or from my harvested fruit) generally ferment by Day 10 - 12. 

When the wine reaches a palatable profile for you, siphon the liquid into a glass growler, leaving behind the yeasty gunk that coats the bottom of the prior container.  Install the air lock, so that any remaining CO2 can escape.  You don’t want to cap the wine too soon or residual C02 could cause the growler to explode. If there is a lot of yeast and residue at the bottom of the growler, (a reason to use a glass container), I siphon it again into a clean container.  This results in a clearer wine. 

I don’t bother to bottle and cork the wine.  I simply store it in the growlers and drink it within the year.    

Equipment

To try a few small batches without much financial outlay, you can start with the following equipment.  Note alternatives for a first batch or two to further reduce your initial expenditure.  Like many types of hobby equipment, you can probably find much of this used.

*A cooking pot bigger than one gallon to heat the liquid. 

*The same or a second pot or crock or jug with a lid that fits loosely and preferably has a hole in which to put an air lock.  For one gallon batches, I use a pressure cooker (not a pressure canner) in which I removed the plastic plug, leaving a hole in which I plunge an air lock.

*An air lock or two.  This is a small, inexpensive multi-part plastic gizmo that allows CO2 out but does not let oxygen into the liquid.  A second choice is to lay cheese cloth, a thin T shirt or even a paper napkin over the hole.  This will keep out bugs, ash, and dust, but will let oxygen in, which can influence the taste over time.  But this will work. 

*A rubber stopper or two with a hole in the bottom, that holds the plastic air lock in place.  Buy the size stopper that fits your growler or carboy (a 5-6 gallon heavy glass jug).  The former is smaller than the latter.

*A cheesecloth bag or two (big enough to hold a heavy gallon of sodden berries and juice).  (These inexpensive bags are useful for jams, jellies, cheese, teas, pickling, etc.  Buy a dozen.

*A plastic siphon (to move the wine from its initial fermenting stage container to its second, aging container).  Yes, you can simply pour it, but a siphon enables you to leave behind the yeast in the first container, so that your final product will not taste yeasty.

*A hydrometer (this looks like a 10 inch thermometer that fits in a tall, thin glass or plastic container and measures alcohol level of the liquid you pour into the container).  Alternatively, taste your wine every other day after Day 7 or 10.  A sweet flavor and a higher hydrometer reading means that the fermentation is not finished and therefore, the alcohol level is low.  A reading below 1 (0.99) means that fermentation is complete. (In my experience, unfermented fruit/sugar/water solution starts around 1.08.)

*A wine thief, which is simply a turkey baster to collect wine to squeeze into the hydrometer

*Wine yeast.  The most versatile and reliable that I have used are Lanvin 47 and Lanvin 1118, however, wine connoisseurs suggest particular yeast strains for different fruits and flavor profiles.  You can buy wine yeast on-line or at beer supply stores, along with the optional items below.  One packet is enough for a batch of 1 – 6 gallons of wine.  These will age out at some point depending on storage temperature and humidity, so do not expect to stockpile several years worth. 

Optional but useful purchases:

Yeast nutrient and yeast energizer.  These are powders that gig the yeast to consume the sugars if they have slowed down. Here in our wood heated cabin in Alaska, I need these aids and/or I move the fermenters (the first container to which you have added the yeast) closer to the wood stove.  

Citric Acid:  If your wine is too sweet for your liking, due to the fruit, you can add citric acid to balance the flavor.  If it is overly sweet because the fermentation stalled, that means that the yeast has not consumed the sugar and converted it to alcohol, so the wine will be low alcohol.  The citric acid will balance the flavor but do nothing about the alcohol level. For some wine makers, this could be an intentional choice, such as 4 or 5% alcohol wine.

Pectic enzyme:  Pectic enzyme helps draw out the liquid of fruit, requiring less mashing work from you.  This is not as necessary for juicy fruit like berries, but useful for fruit with more texture, like apricots, cherries, and plums.

Sugar or honey:  If your resulting wine is too dry for your palate, you can “back sweeten” it.  Heat the honey or sugar so that it dissolves.  Pick a test amount of wine, like a quart, and measure how much sweetener you add to your liking.  Then extrapolate to the whole batch.  Obviously if you pour the sweetener in cold, it will just sink to the bottom and you are likely to add too much. 

Clarifiers and stabilizers:  The commercial kits come with packets that clarify and stabilize the wine.  I have not used any in my initial batches of dark berry wine, but would do so if I made a light colored wine, from grapes, pineapple, or apricots, and if I intended to store the wine for longer than I currently anticipate. 

Conclusion:  There are many advantages to this hobby.  

1)  Whether you choose to make wine from a commercial kit or from store bought fruit, the cost per bottle of wine will be MUCH lower than purchasing wine.  Basically, 5 bottles = 1 gallon.  A commercial kit of concentrated wine grape juice usually makes 6 gallons = 30 bottles.  The price for kits range from $65 to $200 depending on the provenance of the grapes.  If you pay $10 - 30/bottle, that = $300 - $900 for the same volume of wine. If you grow or forage the fruit, the cost for making the wine is simply the one time purchase of equipment, ongoing yeast packets and some optional items, like yeast energizer.  If you wish to make wine from store bought fruit or juice concentrate in the freezer section, you can price that out.   

2) The expense for equipment is for hardy elements that can be used over and over for many years.  We have had to replace plastic and delicate pieces occasionally, like a broken hydrometer, but otherwise, the purchases are “one and done”… for many years.   

3) Much of the equipment, like containers, cheese cloth, and airlocks, and the baster (evocatively called a wine thief) are multi-functional for other kitchen processes. 

4) For the gardener or forager, it is a  joy to harvest fresh fruit and turn it into something delectable.  I routinely harvest 6 gallons each of raspberries, currants, and cranberries per year for a variety of gustatory pleasures.  For wine, next year, I will harvest even more. 

5) The preparatory time commitment is low.  

The negatives:

1) You need to have space to store the equipment and the aging wine.  My son did so in a dormitory closet. 

2) While store bought wine is consistent in quality along a particular brand, your fruit wine quality may vary, depending on the quality of the fruit and your temperatures, just like any other agricultural product you grow at home. 

I recommend this endeavor for anyone who wants to save money and make use of fruit that you can buy, grow, or forage.