The first batch we were actually proud of

Batch one was a Merlot. We did everything wrong, in order. We rushed primary, we forgot to top up the carboy, we bottled too early, and then we drank it anyway because we'd made it ourselves and we weren't going to be honest about it for at least another year.

Batches two and three were the same kit again, on the assumption that the problem was us, not the wine. We were right about that. They were marginally better. Batch four was a Pinot Noir we had no business attempting and it tasted like cranberry juice and disappointment.

Then came batch five

Russ called on a Thursday and said, 'We're doing the Cabernet again, and this time we're doing it slow.' That was the entire pitch. We pushed primary out an extra two days. We racked when the hydrometer said to, not when our schedules said to. We did a second racking nobody told us we needed. We let it sit in the carboy for ten weeks before bottling. We added oak cubes, sparingly, because Russ had spent a month reading about it.

We bottled in March. We told ourselves we wouldn't open one until June. We made it to mid-April.

The first sip

It was good. Not 'good for homemade,' just good. The kind of red you'd be happy to find at a restaurant for forty dollars and a little surprised at for twenty. Nothing about it tasted like a kit. Nothing about it tasted like apology.

We sat in folding chairs in Russ's basement and didn't say much for about ten minutes, which for the two of us is the highest possible compliment.

What changed

Honestly? Patience. We didn't buy better gear, we didn't take a class, we didn't read a book. We just stopped trying to make the wine fit our weekend. The four batches before that, we'd been racking when we had time, bottling when we had time, opening bottles when we had time. Batch five we made the wine the boss.

If you're somewhere between batch one and batch four right now and you're not sure this is going anywhere — it is. Slow down. Hit the timing windows. Pick a varietal you actually like and make the same kit twice in a row. The fifth batch is closer than you think.