February 12, 2007

Mix It Up

DIY Winemaking at Gallaghers’

Deciding what to bring to a dinner party often involves a fairly complicated equation.

Take your BFF’s birthday: a decade of friendship x her fondness for bubbly / her criticism of your S.O. = a bottle of Mumm. Or a colleague’s housewarming: his tendency to confuse cab with zin + the Two-Buck Chuck he brought to your last soiree = whatever’s marked down at Met Market.

Stop running sums and make your own personalized vintage instead. Experts at the laid-back Gallaghers’ brewery will guide you through the whole winemaking process (choosing grapes; adding oak, clay, and yeast). Return six weeks later and — voila! — 28 bottles of your own wine.

Depending on the varietal, your concoction will be ready to uncork in three to twelve months. If you can’t wait that long, there’s always beer or cider, which ferment in a mere two weeks.

Next time you arrive bearing gifts, you’ll be the talk of the party.

But it certainly wasn’t calculated.

Gallaghers’ Where-U-Brew, 120 Fifth Avenue South, Edmonds (425-776-4209 or whereubrew.com).