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the first Chardonnay I got from Shaw

I must try that. Not too long ago I opened a bottle of 1991 Kendall Jackson Private Reserve Chardonnay that I had been keeping for a few years. I hadn't drunk it because I thought I didn't like the taste of chardonnay, based on a previous experience at some tasting at the university. But this was one of the best tasting wines I've ever had, well, except for one my brother made from wild grapes from Georgia. They grew on vines way up in the trees. He spread blankets on the ground in the woods and did a Tarzan number on the vines to shake them loose. He must have gotten the very ripest ones. They were big, round, and purply red. That was the first batch of wine he made and he bottled it in little bottles with beer caps before it had fully fermented. The result was a sweet, sparkling, deep ruby colored wine. It sort of ruined everything else for me. I'm still saving a bottle of 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape, Domaine de la Janasse, Aime Sabon that one of my committee members gave me after my successful thesis defense. It's supposed to be pretty good. But I think it's still not going to be as delicious as my brother's wine.

I’ve made homemade wine for years, but have no mature vines at present. The results have been all over the map, from shockingly good to salad vinegar. ;-D

I loke some of the Aussie wines. Basically, since I have a glass at dinner for my heart, I go for inexpensive wines, and Shaw is always reliable.

From your description it sounds like your brother was making Muscadine wine. They grow wild in the south and are also cutivated. Muscadine wines are usually sweet. I have had my share of these wines. They can be very good!