Before wines from around the world could be found at any neighborhood supermarket and microbreweries began popping up like mushrooms in a wet field, John Daume provided a solution for wine and beer lovers hankering for distinctive libations. In 1972, he opened a shop in Woodland Hills and began supplying ingredients and products for do-it-yourself wine- and beer-making. Today, The Home Beer/Wine/Cheesemaking Shop attracts hobbyists of all ages. Staff reporter Claudia Peschiutta talked to Daume about the hobby and making a living off of it.
“We’ve always approached the hobby from a very professional standpoint and tried to pass along correct academic knowledge.
“Over the years, the business has developed a very solid reputation as being sort of the mecca for dedicated wine-, beer- and cheese-making hobbyists.
“Our customers are people who like a hobby. They like beer or wine or cheese or all of the above, and they enjoy the satisfaction of making it.
“Why in the world would you do that in Southern California? We don’t make things in Southern California. We’re a consumer society. We want it now. (But) there’s a satisfaction in being a consumer of what you produce.
“I always say to people, ‘If you want to make beer or wine as good as you can buy, or better, you have to do it right.’ That means knowing what you’re doing and starting with good ingredients and paying attention to details.
“You have a certain investment in start-up equipment. It’s about $100 to get into beer and about $150 to get into wine. After that, it’s just the cost of the ingredients.
“Beer is about a three-to-four-week process, and wine is about a three-month to a yearlong (process). Cheese can take anywhere from overnight for a cottage cheese to months for a sharp cheddar.
“It’s not rocket science. You would probably think wine is harder to make than beer, but the reality is that beer is much more demanding because of bacterial considerations. You have to be much more precise. Wine pretty much makes itself. Good fruit makes good wine.
“We have a very strong beer-making club and a very strong wine-making club to keep people involved. Advertising really doesn’t work. We advertise in all the Yellow Pages, of course. People have to really want to do it, and then, they find you.
“After 30 years, we’ve tried anything from fliers to radio to local newspapers. It’s almost a waste of money.”
