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If You Want It Done Right…

It seems counterintuitive that the words “premium quality wines” and “do-it-yourself” can appear in the same sentence.  But, at Tin Lizzie Wineworks in Clarksville, MD avid do-it-yourselfers, coached and abetted by certified winemaker and instructor Dave Zuchero, produce startlingly good wines. 

In his “make-your-own-wine facility”, Zuchero provides everything “from grapes to glass” to craft personal vintage premium wines.  Since 2008, enthusiasts have come to Tin Lizzie to learn the secrets of making their own world-class wines.

“Everything is hands-on,” explained Zuchero.  “Making good wine is the ultimate combination of art and science.” 

Do It Yourself

In four 1-hour sessions, his do-it-yourselfers use professional-grade equipment to turn grapes from respected Napa Valley growers into wines worthy of bragging rights.  As important as the equipment and grapes, Zuchero’s knowledge and friendly guidance help each student design and produce the wine of their own vision.

With a Winemaking Certificate from the University of California at Davis, and a BS degree in microbiology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Zuchero knows what makes a quality wine.  Added to that knowledge, his family has a multi-generation tradition of wine making.  Crafting premium quality wine is a focus of his life and has enabled him to take a Best of Show Medal in Winemaker Magazine’s International Wine Competition in 2022 and 2023.  “…And, we’re looking to do a hat trick in 2024.”

He begins each year’s course in the autumn, after grapes arrive from Napa’s harvest.  His son Matt, a winemaker in Napa, helps secure quality grapes, and his “apprentices” help feed the grapes into a motorized destemmer and crusher, then into a fermentation tank.  In the second session, a week later, the crushed grapes go through a press, then into barrels to age.  Tin Lizzie offers both French and American oak barrels

Four months later, in the spring, the third session gives the winemakers a chance to taste their new wine.  In generically labeled bottles, these wines are an early harbinger of their ultimate character and flavor.  One tasting is for adults, but a second tasting invites family and friends to share the new vintage and enables the new winemakers to show off.

After the tasting party, they wait.  They wait until August, as the wine ages, then return to Tin Lizzie to bottle, cork, and apply a foil capsule to their bottles.  The winemakers also get to design and affix their own custom labels.

The Winemaker’s Choice

However, before even approaching the modern professional winemaking equipment, Zuchero works with do-it-yourselfers to determine the nature of the wine they want to produce.  Winemakers can choose the type of grapes to use, the winemaking package, and the amount of wine to make.  Some winemakers choose to make an entire barrel, while some choose to share a barrel with others.  The minimum is 60 bottles, a quarter-barrel.

Tin Lizzie also offers short courses such as an introduction to wine tasting, advanced wine tasting, palate training, and a blending class.  Matt will be returning from Napa and adding his wealth of experience to Wineworks’ offerings. 

More than just making a great tasting wine, Tin Lizzie Wineworks enables wine enthusiasts to participate in a tradition that spans nearly 10 millennia.  But why call a premium wine making academy “Tin Lizzie”?  Zuchero explained that his landlord rented some extra space to him on the condition that Zuchero clean it out.  Amidst the debris, he found a derelict 1915 Model T Ford, a Tin Lizzie.

http://www.tinlizziewineworks.com

301-318-9954