Photo by Ed Waters, Jr. Joan Deacon and Dave Zuchero with some of their award-winning wines at the Flying Barrel in downtown Frederick. Purchase this photo

Especially if that wine wins honors.

Joan Deacon and Dave Zuchero display their awards from recent competitions. They are sponsored by the Flying Barrel on South Court Street.

Deacon, a former librarian, took first place in the International Amateur Competition.

The competition included about 5,000 entries from around the world, said Robert Frank, owner of the Flying Barrel.

Deacon loves to make wines from fruits and flowers.

She won first place for her paw paw wine. The green paw paw fruit grows on trees, usually near water and usually three in a bunch, Deacon said. Known as "Kentucky Bananas," paw paws have a lot of seeds and "are very messy to work with," she said.

She also makes wine out of dandelions that she picks around her church, which are not sprayed with chemicals.

A librarian in Montgomery County for more than 30 years, Deacon said one of her regular patrons told her about making wine at home and she found it to be a pleasant hobby.

"I'm making wine with chocolate and cherry and another with Japanese wineberries," she said. The chocolate will come from chocolate mint plants.

Zuchero is a professional microbiologist who works as a consultant for firms hoping to get new drugs through Food and Drug Administration requirements.

"That's my day job," he said.

He opened Tin Lizzie Wineworks in Clarksville, where customers can learn to make wine. His top winning wine, a cabernet sauvignon merlot, gained honors at the Fermenters International Trade Association.

"I come from an Italian-American family, so my grandfather and father were always making wine," Zuchero said. He concentrates on grape wines. He won best in show, two gold medals and two silver medals at the competition, including wine made from the syrah grape.

Asked about the secrets of award-winning winemaking, the two said the biggest mistake many people make is not keeping the process clean.

"The worst fault is letting air into the wine," Zuchero said.

"And bacteria," Deacon said. "You need to clean everything. Use sulfites to clean the equipment."

Zuchero said his family did wine "the old way," and sometimes it would turn out bad or turn to vinegar too quickly because something got into it.

"Sulfites (potassium metabisulphite) has gotten a bad name," Deacon said, because some people may be allergic. "But it É kills bacteria and protects the wine."

Once wine is fully fermented, there is usually enough alcohol in it to fight off potential problems, Zuchero said. But during the process, cleanliness is key.

Deacon said a group of her friends have started "the flying vine," where they meet once a month at a different person's home, have dinner and discuss and sometimes make wine.

"We have about 25 people," she said. "Sometimes it is a bit much to get everyone in a living room. We would like to have a public setting, but then you get into the issue of tasting the wine and that is the main thing people want to do."