Has anyone made their own wine?

I would like to make wine by mixing Merlot 1/2 and Pinot Noir 1/2 I think

this would be a nice strong blend deep in color and robust in taste.

could use some advice?

James Laube's recent article on blending of wines suggests that pinot noir doesn't blend well with most other varietals. I have fiddled with it a bit, and am somewhat inclined to agree. However, there is an Italian wine called Quater Nas, made by Manzone, which includes both pinot noir and merlot as two of the four compenent parts. It is quite good.

For starters, go buy a few bottles of varietals in which you have interest and start mixing. You'll soon discover what works and what doesn't. For example, I recently dumped a good zin in with a good syrah, and all that tried the wine thought that it was extremely good-- better than the component parts.

As for making wine in Michigan, I guess the big question is where will you find ripe, high-quality, pinot and merlot fruit? Obviously, it will need to be shipped in from somewhere else. Some of the wines from the peninsula in Traverse City are getting to be reasonably good, but I don't think you'll find any merlot or pinot there. Some folks do ship the fruit around... but it seems like a lot of work and expense to degrade the quality of fruit.

Not to be negative, but there IS a reason why most of the exciting U.S. wine is made on the coasts.

1945,
There was a Michigan winery at the International Pinot Noir Celebration this year that made a Pinot from local grapes. The winery was The Winery at Black Star Farms in Sutton Bay. Their phone number is 231-271-4882. They may be able to help you find grapes for next year...Good luck!