"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee.com is back for another round! The whole month of February, we're serving up intoxicatingly fun bars and club articles -- including guides, unique features, drink recipes and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!

About a year ago, during OnMilwaukee.com's 2008 Bar Month, I brewed beer for the first time. My husband and I made four batches last year, all of which turned out pretty potable.

This year, I plan to continue brewing beer at home, but I would also like to make my own wine. I visited The Purple Foot, 3167 S. 92nd St., so I know where to go when the time comes to make my own vino, but my backyard grapes have not been fruitful enough to warrant winemaking.

A friend makes wine, and she orders her grapes from California and doesn't mess around with trying to grow the right grapes here in Wisconsin, but I still have high hopes that our grapes will flourish this year.

I know there are gentler ways to squash the grapes, but there's something appealing about the thought of squishing grapes with your bare feet that sticks with a person. Ever since I was a kid, I have wanted to try this. Maybe it's my Italian roots.