Thank you again for all the advice and ideas! That's why I love GW! CEFreeman: I know that is a common mistake- I'ld like to think that most folks are now aware that above the fridge is the last place you should put your wine. But then again, what about olive oil next to the stove? That's the most convenient place to keep it, and where most folks store it, but exposing it to the heat is also bad for the olive oil. I am keeping my design the way it is, although we tweaked the cabinet so the bottom doors line up with the glass doors above. I've decided that the "crate" wine storage is fine for us- and I like the way it breaks up the cabinetry. No wine drawers available through Medallion, but I'm fine with it.

Tj, That's exactly what you should do ... cut the amount of water in 1/2 and use the 6 gallon as a primary. The extra amount of room won't make a difference in the initial fermentation but you'll want to rack it to a 3 gallon after your primary is complete. During the portion of fermentation when the yeast is actively growing and changing the sugar to alcohol, they're also creating carbon dioxide that provides a barrier between the wine and air so the wine is protected but once the fermentation stops, you want to minimize the amount of space in the fermenter to reduce the air contact with the wine.

It's pretty much what I assumed you would be doing when I posted on the other thread. This is a very easy thing to do and we do something similar several times a week. You are just going to pan fry some meat and deglaze the pan. You can vary it - for example use veal or pork instead of chicken or turkey, or any red meat, like lamb or beef or venison, in which case you can use a bigger wine and leave out the lemon. You can deglaze the pan with Marsala, which is a type of sweet wine (in which case I might not use the capers), with a decent balsamic vinegar, or with lemon juice and chicken stock if you don't have wine, or with tomatoes from the garden or tomato sauce. If red meat, use red wine and no lemon, or use cider and sliced apples for the fall, or plums w the wine. Any of these can will be quite good. If you don't have capers, you can use some olives, but please don't use those things that come in cans or jars in grocery stores! Now as for wine, that dish is a common dish, made with minor variations in much of the Mediterranean. So you can, but need not, use an Italian white. You will have lemon juice in here, and the wine will not add too much, but you want an acidic wine. Something that has gone thru malolactic fermentation and that has been in oak barrels will not really be appropriate. Select a sauvignon blanc which will have decent acidity, and use that. Alternatively a pinot grigio, an arneis, a pinot blanc, a chenin blanc, or something similar. I use any of those that I happen to have at hand. But heat beyond just getting things warm once you add the wine. You want to evaporate a bit of the liquid to concentrate the flavors. They didn't give you good enough directions. When you remove the chicken, turn the heat up high and add the wine and whatever other liquid you have, while scraping up the browned bits on the bottom. THis is called deglazing the pan. When the liquid is reduced by about half, then remove from heat and add the butter. The purpose of the butter is to be an emulsifier. Stir it into the liquid and watch it thicken. In addition, do NOT make this in an aluminum pan. The acid will leach out some of the color and your food will be gray. Use an enamel or stainless steel pan for this. I don't know where you live, but almost any decent inexpensive dry white will be OK. Go to any wine store and tell them that you need a crisp, dry white. An unoaked chardonnay may work too but I would argue against a chardonnay since you don't know wine enough to know which is which. The suggestions they gave you above will work. The wine can be almost from anywhere - Argentina, Australia, France, the US, Italy, etc. And finally, don't stress too much about it. The wine is the least important item here. The key is NOT to overcook the chicken breasts - nothing is worse than dry chicken IMO. If you don't get any wine, just add a little more lemon juice and use water and then stir in a spoonful of some Dijon mustard at the end instead of butter. You cut a couple of calories out and have another nice dish. Bring to a boil in the pan and pour over the chicken.

I burst out laughing when I read “but it will be more garden than lawn.” Definitely not a bad thing at all. I like that you planted a native, I have the same plant and it is at least 4’x4’ now and I’ve only had it 2 years. Make the curve shallower as shown by other posters. You can easily get some annuals every season to keep color in the area. I like that you’re trying to learn and take on gardening. It’s an adventure and a lifelong learning experience, for sure.