Here is an interesting one I found
5 gallons flash-pasteurized preservative-free apple cider.
7-8ish pounds of granulated sugar (enough to make SG 1.085) dissolved in about 3/4 gallon water
2 cinnamon sticks broken into pieces
0.75 oz cloves
2 tsp pectic enzyme
1.5 tsp acid blend
Red Star Cotes Des Blanc yeast
The rest is self explanatory
CONSUMER INFORMATION
Make CENT$ of it all
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Does a plastic cork make for a lousy wine? - by Andrea Dickson
Here is a cute article on Cork vs Plastic. Good for a chuckle or two, I like this woman.
I remember the first time my mother opened a bottle of wine that featured a plastic cork. She gasped audibly; the family gathered in the kitchen, where we took turns poking at this odd, pliable plastic cylinder on the kitchen counter. We all knew, instinctively, that this was an INFERIOR bottle of wine, because it was corked with plastic and not... you know, cork. How unromantic! How untraditional! How... eh, pour me another glass, will you?
Since that fateful day, I've opened my fair share (OK, more than my fair share) of wine bottles that are corked with plastic. Or, more recently, with screw tops! Alright, I admit it - I've had wine from a box. The shame!
The truth is, despite the fact that I have a very strong sense of smell, I haven't noticed a difference between naturally and synthetically corked wine (there are some wine experts, or sommeliers, who claim that they can taste the difference between a wine that is sealed with a syntehtic cork and one sealed with a natural cork). My inability to differentiate might be because I'm sort of a lush, or maybe because there really ISN'T a big difference, performance-wise, between traditional corks and plastic ones. Or maybe it's because the synthetic corks are inert.
Why the switch to plastic corks/screwtops?
Nobody has a single, definite answer as to why certain wineries have moved away from natural corks - that is, corks made from the bark of the cork oak tree, which grows mostly in Portugal and Spain in lovely, arid forests. Some people have claimed that there is a shortage of cork available for wine production, as new wine regions are popping up all over the world (twenty years ago, if you had mentioned that you had a great Australian/South African/Peruvian red with dinner, you would have been involuntarily committed). Cork is also increasingly being used in other applications as well, such as flooring.
So, the demand for cork has increased. Even desirable wines are turning to "unnatural" corking methods. According to CorkFacts.com, there is enough cork growing in Portugal to last the wine-making world another 100 years. This fact is often quoted, probably in an attempt to sound reassuring, but to me, 100 years sounds like a very short amount of time.
The most oft-recited reason for switching to synthetic corkage is that natural cork allows roughly 10% of corked bottles to go bad (also known as "cork taint", or simply "corked"). A fungus that is found in cork bark may be the culprit for the loss of many hundreds of thousands of bottles annually. Synthetic corkage doesn't carry the same risk of fungal infection. Still undecided is if plastic corks allow for adequate aging of red wines.
So, plastic cork means it's a cheap wine, then?
Not necessarily. I've opened a few expensive bottles of wine that have featured plastic corks. When I started doing my cork research, I was hoping that synthetic corks were the key to finding the most frugal, sensible wine available. It turns out that you can't judge a wine by its corkage.
There are a plenty of people who likely feel that synthetic corks take the artistry out of wine-making, or that synthetic corks are indicative of a cheap, mass-produced wine, but as it turns out, you can't really tell which wines are going to feature synthetic corks until you actually open them.
My absolute favorite wine in the whole world uses natural cork. Hell, Charles Shaw uses natural cork. So, there's a mental barrier for me to jump over when I open a bottle of wine with a synthetic cork. The difference is likely purely mental. As Treehugger points out:
"Natural corks have proven themselves over the years but it’s the cultural resonance that extends even to the novice drinkers. This is something that the traditional cork industry has capitalized on and has taken huge strides to fight back. U.S. cork importers have created a rigorous testing system to weed out tainted cork while the Portuguese cork industry has launched an extensive $8 million campaign to commend the natural cork."
Besides, you can't tell what kind of cork is in the bottle when you buy it, since the cork is usually covered by foil or wax. And anyway, I tend to buy bottles based on the label design. Don't laugh - you do it, too.
I'm curious as to how Wise Bread readers feel about this: we're a frugal group, to be sure, but I get the idea that many of our readers value quality and craftsmanship over pure, industrial reliability.
Environmentally, what's the deal?
There are environmentalists who argue that allowing screwtop and synthetic corks to take over the world of wine-making will be detrimental to the cork forests in Portugal, which are home to may rare animals. It's odd to think of cork forests, which are more like orchards than forests, as wild habitats, but in truth, they're probably a combination of the two: a place for wild animals and a working forest. Some activitst posit that the loss of the natural cork industry would mean the loss of many thousands of European jobs, as well.
Besides being decidedly unsexy, plastic corks are... well, they're plastic. Plastic is so great in so many ways, and so terrible in many other ways. Tree Hugger and Wise Geek both proffer that one can recycle plastic corks, although I've never seen any evidence of this in my area. Natural cork is easily composted (or saved for the sake of memory), but plastic corks... I can't figure out what to do with them.
I'm prone to advocating for the natural cork approach, even though the thought of wasted wine due to fungus makes me die a little inside. Cork trees do grow in Portugal and Spain, which are dry Mediterranean climates. Who's to say we can't expand cork production to other ares of the world with similar climates? Parts of the east San Francisco Bay Area and North Africa come to mind almost immediately.
How do readers feel about this issue, if you've given it any thought? Do you care, one way or another, about how your wine is corked? Are you a cork snob? A two-buck-chuck swiller? A boxed-wine kind of wino? Do you feel strongly enough about the issue to boycott a wine based on its corkage. or is it a null issue for you?
Interesting cork facts:
- Corks are made from bark that has been stripped from the tree trunk. The tree is not damaged, and can regrow all of its bark every 9 years or so. However, the average cork tree only lives 150 years.
- Wine was originally made in casks that were "sealed" with a layer of olive oil to keep the wine from coming into contact with the air.
- Natural cork recycling is common in Australia and Europe.
- Wine corks are coated with a thin layer of resin or wax to prevent rotting while a wine ages.
- Many European beer bottles are sealed with cork. So are some home-brewed soft drinks.
- You can buy cork from India, apparently.
- Natural cork has a Poisson's ratio of nearly zero. And yes, I knew what Poisson's ratio was before I wrote this. Also, I like Firefly. Why yes, I am single. Why?
Source: http://www.wisebread.com
I remember the first time my mother opened a bottle of wine that featured a plastic cork. She gasped audibly; the family gathered in the kitchen, where we took turns poking at this odd, pliable plastic cylinder on the kitchen counter. We all knew, instinctively, that this was an INFERIOR bottle of wine, because it was corked with plastic and not... you know, cork. How unromantic! How untraditional! How... eh, pour me another glass, will you?
Since that fateful day, I've opened my fair share (OK, more than my fair share) of wine bottles that are corked with plastic. Or, more recently, with screw tops! Alright, I admit it - I've had wine from a box. The shame!
The truth is, despite the fact that I have a very strong sense of smell, I haven't noticed a difference between naturally and synthetically corked wine (there are some wine experts, or sommeliers, who claim that they can taste the difference between a wine that is sealed with a syntehtic cork and one sealed with a natural cork). My inability to differentiate might be because I'm sort of a lush, or maybe because there really ISN'T a big difference, performance-wise, between traditional corks and plastic ones. Or maybe it's because the synthetic corks are inert.
Why the switch to plastic corks/screwtops?
Nobody has a single, definite answer as to why certain wineries have moved away from natural corks - that is, corks made from the bark of the cork oak tree, which grows mostly in Portugal and Spain in lovely, arid forests. Some people have claimed that there is a shortage of cork available for wine production, as new wine regions are popping up all over the world (twenty years ago, if you had mentioned that you had a great Australian/South African/Peruvian red with dinner, you would have been involuntarily committed). Cork is also increasingly being used in other applications as well, such as flooring.
So, the demand for cork has increased. Even desirable wines are turning to "unnatural" corking methods. According to CorkFacts.com, there is enough cork growing in Portugal to last the wine-making world another 100 years. This fact is often quoted, probably in an attempt to sound reassuring, but to me, 100 years sounds like a very short amount of time.
The most oft-recited reason for switching to synthetic corkage is that natural cork allows roughly 10% of corked bottles to go bad (also known as "cork taint", or simply "corked"). A fungus that is found in cork bark may be the culprit for the loss of many hundreds of thousands of bottles annually. Synthetic corkage doesn't carry the same risk of fungal infection. Still undecided is if plastic corks allow for adequate aging of red wines.
So, plastic cork means it's a cheap wine, then?
Not necessarily. I've opened a few expensive bottles of wine that have featured plastic corks. When I started doing my cork research, I was hoping that synthetic corks were the key to finding the most frugal, sensible wine available. It turns out that you can't judge a wine by its corkage.
There are a plenty of people who likely feel that synthetic corks take the artistry out of wine-making, or that synthetic corks are indicative of a cheap, mass-produced wine, but as it turns out, you can't really tell which wines are going to feature synthetic corks until you actually open them.
My absolute favorite wine in the whole world uses natural cork. Hell, Charles Shaw uses natural cork. So, there's a mental barrier for me to jump over when I open a bottle of wine with a synthetic cork. The difference is likely purely mental. As Treehugger points out:
"Natural corks have proven themselves over the years but it’s the cultural resonance that extends even to the novice drinkers. This is something that the traditional cork industry has capitalized on and has taken huge strides to fight back. U.S. cork importers have created a rigorous testing system to weed out tainted cork while the Portuguese cork industry has launched an extensive $8 million campaign to commend the natural cork."
Besides, you can't tell what kind of cork is in the bottle when you buy it, since the cork is usually covered by foil or wax. And anyway, I tend to buy bottles based on the label design. Don't laugh - you do it, too.
I'm curious as to how Wise Bread readers feel about this: we're a frugal group, to be sure, but I get the idea that many of our readers value quality and craftsmanship over pure, industrial reliability.
Environmentally, what's the deal?
There are environmentalists who argue that allowing screwtop and synthetic corks to take over the world of wine-making will be detrimental to the cork forests in Portugal, which are home to may rare animals. It's odd to think of cork forests, which are more like orchards than forests, as wild habitats, but in truth, they're probably a combination of the two: a place for wild animals and a working forest. Some activitst posit that the loss of the natural cork industry would mean the loss of many thousands of European jobs, as well.
Besides being decidedly unsexy, plastic corks are... well, they're plastic. Plastic is so great in so many ways, and so terrible in many other ways. Tree Hugger and Wise Geek both proffer that one can recycle plastic corks, although I've never seen any evidence of this in my area. Natural cork is easily composted (or saved for the sake of memory), but plastic corks... I can't figure out what to do with them.
I'm prone to advocating for the natural cork approach, even though the thought of wasted wine due to fungus makes me die a little inside. Cork trees do grow in Portugal and Spain, which are dry Mediterranean climates. Who's to say we can't expand cork production to other ares of the world with similar climates? Parts of the east San Francisco Bay Area and North Africa come to mind almost immediately.
How do readers feel about this issue, if you've given it any thought? Do you care, one way or another, about how your wine is corked? Are you a cork snob? A two-buck-chuck swiller? A boxed-wine kind of wino? Do you feel strongly enough about the issue to boycott a wine based on its corkage. or is it a null issue for you?
Interesting cork facts:
- Corks are made from bark that has been stripped from the tree trunk. The tree is not damaged, and can regrow all of its bark every 9 years or so. However, the average cork tree only lives 150 years.
- Wine was originally made in casks that were "sealed" with a layer of olive oil to keep the wine from coming into contact with the air.
- Natural cork recycling is common in Australia and Europe.
- Wine corks are coated with a thin layer of resin or wax to prevent rotting while a wine ages.
- Many European beer bottles are sealed with cork. So are some home-brewed soft drinks.
- You can buy cork from India, apparently.
- Natural cork has a Poisson's ratio of nearly zero. And yes, I knew what Poisson's ratio was before I wrote this. Also, I like Firefly. Why yes, I am single. Why?
Source: http://www.wisebread.com
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Blackberry Mead - Another stab at it
OK, so after figuring out the pasteurization method of stopping fermentation I figured I would move onto a fully organized and controlled batch of mead. Being new at this whole wine making gig, I kind of mixed things up abit in the cellar (AKA basement bathroom). What was pure mead is now a mixture of Mead and wine made with brown sugar. batches that were let fully ferment are now mixed with the sweeter brown sugar versions of before. All this mixing has resulted in some stellar tasting wines but nothing consistent with a definite known recipe.
All that being said, here is what I did. This will be updated as the batch progresses.
Ingredients:
2 litres of Clover Honey
2 3/4 Litres of Frozen Pressed Blackberry juice
1 3/4 Litres Steam extracted Blackberry juice
1 1/2 Litres of Bottled Spring Water
2 Packs of 1118 Yeast
2 Tsp of Nutrient
I thawed the frozen juice out in a large pot with 1 litre of the bottled water. I kept the extra water aside to cool the must for innoculation.
It turns out I needed a little more juice to make-up the full 2 gallons required so I added in the steam extracted juice. Personally I prefer the Steam extracted juice for winemaking because it requires less straining and results in a clearer end product. In addition, the heat kills any undesirable bacteria. With the increase in fruit content, I am aiming at a fruitier tasting lower alcohol wine. My wife has been complaining about the 17 and 22% versions so this should be more to what she is used to.
measurements:
Specific Gravity is 1.105 which was temperature corrected for 90 F. This would result in wine of about 14% if allowed to ferment to dry.
Innoculation temperature: 90F
Innoculated at 12 Noon PST on October 17, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Wine storage
There are many places in your home that you can have for wine storage. When you are serious about collecting different brands and flavors of wine, you are going to need to have place to keep it safe and protected. You do not want to keep your wine in a place where it will get ruined or broken.
When you keep your delicious wine in a good wine storage area, you will be able to have your wine for a long time and use it when you are in the mood for it. You will also be able to find the perfect bottle when you are looking for it. It is up to you and the amount of space and wine bottles that you collect for the kind of wine storage that you have.
You can have wine racks for your wine storage. These wine racks can be hung in your kitchen or dining room. You can also have bigger wine racks that sit on the floor and also hold many more bottles of wine. These are great for people with limited space and who also like to collect wine bottles.
If you are lucky enough to have a large area for your wine storage, then you may want to have a great wine cellar downstairs. This is some thing that you will defiantly appreciate for all of your wine. The wine will be stored in a safe place and be kept cool. This is the best place to have your wine so that you can have it for many years. Click here For more information on making your own wine cellar
If you do need a wine cellar, then you can build a wine rack in your basement for all of your wine storage. If you were someone who loves his or her wine then this would make it much easier for you to get to the wine that you want when you want it. You will be able to enjoy having a great collection of wine and be able to enjoy it any time that you want.
When you keep your delicious wine in a good wine storage area, you will be able to have your wine for a long time and use it when you are in the mood for it. You will also be able to find the perfect bottle when you are looking for it. It is up to you and the amount of space and wine bottles that you collect for the kind of wine storage that you have.
You can have wine racks for your wine storage. These wine racks can be hung in your kitchen or dining room. You can also have bigger wine racks that sit on the floor and also hold many more bottles of wine. These are great for people with limited space and who also like to collect wine bottles.
If you are lucky enough to have a large area for your wine storage, then you may want to have a great wine cellar downstairs. This is some thing that you will defiantly appreciate for all of your wine. The wine will be stored in a safe place and be kept cool. This is the best place to have your wine so that you can have it for many years. Click here For more information on making your own wine cellar
If you do need a wine cellar, then you can build a wine rack in your basement for all of your wine storage. If you were someone who loves his or her wine then this would make it much easier for you to get to the wine that you want when you want it. You will be able to enjoy having a great collection of wine and be able to enjoy it any time that you want.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Steps in Winemaking Process
This goes through the basics
The Steps in Winemaking Process
By Milos Pesic
Wines, one of the most popular beverages in the world, is made through a special process called winemaking or vinification. Winemaking includes the choice of the grapes to bottling of the finished product.
Winemaking starts during the time of harvest. Grapes are selected and placed in containers. After harvesting, the grapes are crushed to squeeze out the juice. The juice is then given time to ferment. If red wine is desired, the skins are left to soak in the juice for a while so that the wine would take the skin’s color. If white wine is desired, the juice is extracted with minimal contact from the grape skin.
The primary fermentation stage in winemaking usually takes around one to two weeks. During this time, yeast will transform majority of the sugars in the grape juice to ethanol, which is alcohol.
The resulting liquid is then transferred to several vessels for secondary fermentation in the winemaking process. During this time, the remaining sugar is slowly converted to alcohol. As a result, the wine gets clearer in color.
Some amount of the wine is then placed in oak barrels to age before bottling. Aging adds aromas to the wine. Most, however, are placed inside bottles and shipped right away.
The length of time from harvest to opening a bottle can vary greatly. This might range from a few months for Beaujolias nouveau wines to twenty years for top wines. It is important to note though that only a small percentage of wines will be tastier after five years, compared to after one year.
This is the basic process of winemaking. However, the quality of grapes and the target wine style can force winemakers to combine or omit a step or two. Also, some wines of similar quality are made using other approaches to their production. Sometimes, the quality of wine depends on the starting raw products , or the quality of grapes, rather than the techniques applied the winemaking process.
There are variations of the normal winemaking process. For example, for Champagnes, there is an added fermentation phase that goes on inside the bottle. This traps the carbon dioxide and creates the fizz.
On the other hand, sweet wines are created by allowing some residual sugar to remain before or after fermentation. A variation is to add another alcoholic beverage to kill the yeast before fermentation is completed.
Whatever the case, the winemaking process have wastewater, pomace and lees as by products which can either be treated for some beneficial use or simply disposed.
Milos Pesic is and internationally recognized expert on wine, wine making and wine tasting. He runs a highly popular and comprehensive Red Wine and White Wine web site. For more articles and resources on wine making and tasting, wine recipes, wine reviews, vintage wine and much more visit his site at:
=>http://wine.need-to-know.net/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Milos_Pesic
The Steps in Winemaking Process
By Milos Pesic
Wines, one of the most popular beverages in the world, is made through a special process called winemaking or vinification. Winemaking includes the choice of the grapes to bottling of the finished product.
Winemaking starts during the time of harvest. Grapes are selected and placed in containers. After harvesting, the grapes are crushed to squeeze out the juice. The juice is then given time to ferment. If red wine is desired, the skins are left to soak in the juice for a while so that the wine would take the skin’s color. If white wine is desired, the juice is extracted with minimal contact from the grape skin.
The primary fermentation stage in winemaking usually takes around one to two weeks. During this time, yeast will transform majority of the sugars in the grape juice to ethanol, which is alcohol.
The resulting liquid is then transferred to several vessels for secondary fermentation in the winemaking process. During this time, the remaining sugar is slowly converted to alcohol. As a result, the wine gets clearer in color.
Some amount of the wine is then placed in oak barrels to age before bottling. Aging adds aromas to the wine. Most, however, are placed inside bottles and shipped right away.
The length of time from harvest to opening a bottle can vary greatly. This might range from a few months for Beaujolias nouveau wines to twenty years for top wines. It is important to note though that only a small percentage of wines will be tastier after five years, compared to after one year.
This is the basic process of winemaking. However, the quality of grapes and the target wine style can force winemakers to combine or omit a step or two. Also, some wines of similar quality are made using other approaches to their production. Sometimes, the quality of wine depends on the starting raw products , or the quality of grapes, rather than the techniques applied the winemaking process.
There are variations of the normal winemaking process. For example, for Champagnes, there is an added fermentation phase that goes on inside the bottle. This traps the carbon dioxide and creates the fizz.
On the other hand, sweet wines are created by allowing some residual sugar to remain before or after fermentation. A variation is to add another alcoholic beverage to kill the yeast before fermentation is completed.
Whatever the case, the winemaking process have wastewater, pomace and lees as by products which can either be treated for some beneficial use or simply disposed.
Milos Pesic is and internationally recognized expert on wine, wine making and wine tasting. He runs a highly popular and comprehensive Red Wine and White Wine web site. For more articles and resources on wine making and tasting, wine recipes, wine reviews, vintage wine and much more visit his site at:
=>http://wine.need-to-know.net/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Milos_Pesic
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Wine lingo
More stuff mooched from the other side of the world. I like it because of the word "gobbledygook"
Winemaker lingo made simpleBy LESLEY REIDY - Stuff.co.nz | Thursday, 11 October 2007
Like any industry, those within it employ a number of buzz words and abbreviations that for the rest of us are little more than gobbledygook.
Below are some commonly used terms explained in plain language.
Terroir - Basically meaning 'a sense of place' this French term originally referred to a group of vineyards from the same region, with the same soil type, appellation, weather patterns, grapes and wine making know how. Depending on where you go though, (or who you ask) the definition can be a bit different - but the all encompassing idea is that a number of factors contribute to giving a wine certain unique characteristics.
Cold soak (pre-fermentation maceration) - undertaken in order to increase the aromatic intensity of the wine while improving colour and colour stability.
Lees stirring - Lees are the deposits of residual yeast and other particles that end up in the bottom of tank or barrel after a wine has bee through the fining process. Wines are often left 'on lees' or undergo lees stiring in order for the wine to develop a lees character typified as yeasty and biscuity.
Fining - This gives wine greater clarity and removes any particles that may still remain. While filtering will remove most particles, to avoid wine developing bottle sediment natural substances are used to attract these proteins.
In New Zealand the most commonly used fining agents are milk powder, fish byproduct isinglass and egg whites. Yeast proteins and other particles bind to these agents which then fall to the bottom of the tank.
The amount of fining agent used to wine is miniscule and is barely tracable, but as no one wants to be culpable to allergy sufferers a statement is often made on the bottle alerting consumers to the fact a certain product has been used - e.g. "This wine may contain traces of egg, dairy, fish products".
Racking - the process of pumping wine from one tank to another in order to leave sediment behind.
Whole bunch pressed - This means the grapes are pressed stems and all rather than being de-stemmed first. This helps to reduce the amount of pulp that makes it into the juice and causes less breaking of the skin of the grape which contains phenolic material which can cause wine to taste more harsh and astringent.
Whole bunch pressed grapes have also been hand picked rather than harvested by machines which shake the grapes from the vine.
Lesley Reidy is an owner of online wine retailer www.winefairy.co.nz
Winemaker lingo made simpleBy LESLEY REIDY - Stuff.co.nz | Thursday, 11 October 2007
Like any industry, those within it employ a number of buzz words and abbreviations that for the rest of us are little more than gobbledygook.
Below are some commonly used terms explained in plain language.
Terroir - Basically meaning 'a sense of place' this French term originally referred to a group of vineyards from the same region, with the same soil type, appellation, weather patterns, grapes and wine making know how. Depending on where you go though, (or who you ask) the definition can be a bit different - but the all encompassing idea is that a number of factors contribute to giving a wine certain unique characteristics.
Cold soak (pre-fermentation maceration) - undertaken in order to increase the aromatic intensity of the wine while improving colour and colour stability.
Lees stirring - Lees are the deposits of residual yeast and other particles that end up in the bottom of tank or barrel after a wine has bee through the fining process. Wines are often left 'on lees' or undergo lees stiring in order for the wine to develop a lees character typified as yeasty and biscuity.
Fining - This gives wine greater clarity and removes any particles that may still remain. While filtering will remove most particles, to avoid wine developing bottle sediment natural substances are used to attract these proteins.
In New Zealand the most commonly used fining agents are milk powder, fish byproduct isinglass and egg whites. Yeast proteins and other particles bind to these agents which then fall to the bottom of the tank.
The amount of fining agent used to wine is miniscule and is barely tracable, but as no one wants to be culpable to allergy sufferers a statement is often made on the bottle alerting consumers to the fact a certain product has been used - e.g. "This wine may contain traces of egg, dairy, fish products".
Racking - the process of pumping wine from one tank to another in order to leave sediment behind.
Whole bunch pressed - This means the grapes are pressed stems and all rather than being de-stemmed first. This helps to reduce the amount of pulp that makes it into the juice and causes less breaking of the skin of the grape which contains phenolic material which can cause wine to taste more harsh and astringent.
Whole bunch pressed grapes have also been hand picked rather than harvested by machines which shake the grapes from the vine.
Lesley Reidy is an owner of online wine retailer www.winefairy.co.nz
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Fruit Wines Secrets
I found this post on making fruit wine on Winemaking.net. As everyone who reads my blog on a regular basis knows, I prefer not to use sulphites. I guess My method of juice extraction would be similar in results to method 1 except with pasturizing it after fermentation clarification is a non-issue.
Cheers,
Heinz
Fruit Wines Secrets
There is no need for me to mention the enormous popularity this branch of home wine-making enjoys, or that countless thousands of people all over the world embark with tremendous enthusiasm each summer upon turning wild fruits and surplus garden fruits into fruit wines fit to grace the tables of a banqueting hall. Just let me say that, no matter how advanced methods become and how easily obtainable special ingredients for wine making are, there will always be in the hearts of everyone a place for the true country fruit wines, for they have that indefinable 'something' which sets them apart from all others, a uniqueness that cannot be found in any other wine either commercial or home produced.
The fruit wines making methods I use myself are described here, and although they are the simplest and the surest ever evolved, it is necessary to point out the complications that arise if these methods are not used.
Years ago and, I am very sorry to say, even today many thousands of unfortunate home makers of fruit wines are following methods which advocate: 'crush the fruits, add the water and leave to ferment'. Other methods advise boiling the fruits. In both cases disappointment is almost a certainty, and the reason for this is easy enough to understand.
The grey-white bloom that forms on grapes and other fruits is yeast put there by nature and it may be said that the first wine known to early man was the result of this yeast fermenting fruits crushed for a purpose other than wine-making. In the ordinary way, this yeast might well make good wine if allowed to ferment alone. Unfortunately, with this yeast comes what we term 'undesirable' yeast (wild yeast), and several kinds of bacteria each of which can ruin our wines. They bring about what we call 'undesirable' ferments that usually take place at the same time as the ferment we want to take place so that instead of a wine of quality the result is one tasting of flat beer or cloudy evil-smelling liquid fit only for disposal. Another bacterium, known as the vinegar bacterium, will turn fruit wines into vinegar.
Since there is nothing we can do when any of these calamities has occurred, they must be prevented from happening.
Clearly, we must destroy all these enemies before beginning. The simplest method is of course at first thought, anyway is to boil the fruits. But here arises another problem. All fruits contain pectin, a glutinous substance which causes jams to 'set'. Boiling fruit releases pectin. This pectin holds itself and minute solids in suspension, giving the fruit wines a cloudiness that is impossible to clarify or even filter out. We may put the crushed fruit through a jelly-bag to remove every particle of pectin-bearing fruit and then boil the juice only, but this is a messy, tedious job that takes hours and eliminates all the pleasure from wine-making.
Obviously, what we need is a method which will destroy the wild yeast and bacteria on the fruits (as boiling does) without actually boiling, and, indeed, without heating our fruits at all because it needs very little heat to bring out the pectin.
Our method, known as the 'sulphiting' method, does just this and produces full-bodied, crystal-clear fruit wines easily and quickly without fuss or bother. All that is necessary to achieve this are tablets costing a halpenny each. Campden fruit-preserving tablets are available at most chemists in bottles of twenty costing tenpence. In the ordinary way and provided the fruit is not too heavily affected with wild yeast and bacteria one tablet will destroy the undesirable element contained in one gallon of crushed fruit pulp, but we cannot be sure of this. Now, two tablets will surely do this, but being a comparatively heavy dose this might also destroy the yeast we shall be adding so that the ferment we desire does not take place. My method takes care of both these risks, not only destroying the wild yeast and bacteria on the fruits, but also allowing the yeast we add to ferment alone and unhindered to produce fruit wines of clarity and quality the like of which cannot be produced by any other method. By adding one Campden tablet to a good deal less than one gallon of fruit pulp ('must') this will represent a rough equivalent to two tablets per gallon. But before we add our yeasts we shall have increased the amount of liquid or pulp to nearly twice the amount, consequently reducing the amount of sterilizing solution to half or the equivalent of one Campden tablet per gallon. In this way we achieve our overall aim.
Each Campden fruit-preserving tablet contains four grains of sodium metabisulphite; therefore, any makers of fruit wines finding Campden tablets in short supply may ask their chemist for four grains of sodium metabisulphite (or potassium metabisulphite there being two forms), and use this. But because a chemist would find a single order for four grains rather trivial, it would be best to ask for say, six or ten packets each containing four grains. If you are making two-gallon lots of wine the amount to use would be eight grains. Do not be tempted to buy by the ounce and measure out a grain as this is impossible unless you have the appropriate scales.
Just in case you happen to be one of those makers of fruit wines who, even in these enlightened days, abhors the use of chemicals, let me assure you that sulphur dioxide (the solution which results when Campden tablets are dissolved) is quite harmless to humans when used in the proportions recommended. Indeed, as many as eight tablets (thirty-two grains) may be used with safety, but such heavy dosing would prevent a 'must' fermenting.
The sulphiting method is used by the trade, so we shall be following a method well tired and proved.
Heaven knows how many hundreds of gallons of fruit wines I have made by this method and all with the same unfailing success.
Method 1 makes wines of the heavier type; their flavours are more pronounced and their colour more full than those produced by method 2. Those wishing for lighter fruit wines more suitable for serving with meals should use method 2. The main difference in the two methods is that we ferment the fruit pulp itself in method 1, and the juice only in method 2. It will be appreciated that when fermenting the pulp we must as a matter of course get far more from our fruits. But we do not want too much in a light wine otherwise the subtle difference between a heavier wine and the popular lighter wines is lost.
The short pulp ferment of method 1 ensures that we get all the flavour and desirable chemical matter from our fruits in the right proportion.
The best method to use for each type of fruit is given with each recipe. It should be taken into account that varied amounts of fruit and sugar with the use of the proper method produce distinctly different types of fruit wines.
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Method 1
Crush the fruit by hand in a polythene pail and pour on one quart of boiled water that has cooled. Mix well. Crush one Campden tablet and dissolve the powder in about half an egg cupful of warm water and mix this with the fruit pulp. Leave the mixture for one or two hours. A little bleaching will take place but this is nothing to worry about.
After this, take one-third of the sugar to be used (or approximately one-third) and boil this for one minute in three pints of water. Allow this syrup to cool and then stir into the pulp. Then add the yeast (or nucleus) and ferment for seven days.
After seven days, strain the pulp through fine muslin or other similar material and wring out as dry as you can. Put the strained wine into a gallon jar and throw the pulp away. Then boil another one-third of the sugar in one pint of water for one minute and when this has cooled add it to the rest.
Plug the neck of the jar with cotton wool or fit a fermentation lock and continue to ferment in a warm place for a further ten days.
At this stage, if you have not a spare jar, pour the wine into the polythene pail leaving as much of the deposit in the jar as you can. Clean out the jar, sterilize it and return the wine to this.
The remaining one-third of the sugar may now be boiled for one minute in the remaining pint of water. When this has cooled, add it to the rest. Refit the lock or plug the neck of the jar with fresh cotton wool. After this, the wine should be left in a warm place until all fermentation has ceased.
Note. If there is not quite enough space for all of this last lot of syrup, put the remainder in a sterilized screw-top bottle and store for a few days in a cool place. This may be added when fermentation has reduced the level of the liquid in the jar. If you have to do this, don't forget to refit the lock.
Method 2
Crush the fruit in a polythene pail and add one quart of boiled water that has cooled. Mix well.
Crush one Campden tablet and dissolve the powder in about half an eggcupful of warm water and mix this with the fruit pulp. Leave the mixture in a cool place for twenty-four hours, stirring twice during that time. Strain through fine muslin or other similar material and squeeze gently but not too hard. Discard the fruit pulp.
Then boil one-third of the sugar in half a gallon of water for one minute and allow to cool. Mix this with the juice and return the lot to the polythene pail. Then add the yeast (or nucleus), and ferment for ten days.
After this, pour the top wine into a gallon jar leaving as much of the deposit behind as you can. Boil another one-third of the sugar in half a pint of water for one minute and when this is cool add it to the rest. Plug the neck of the jar with cotton wool or fit a fermentation lock and ferment in a warm place for fourteen days.
After this, boil the remaining sugar in the remaining half-pint of water for one minute and when this is cool add it to the rest. Refit the lock or plug the neck of the jar with fresh cotton wool and leave in a warm place until all fermentation has ceased.
The recipes are designed to make one gallon of wine, if two gallons are being made at once twice the amount of each ingredient must be used (including Campden tablets) and the sugar and water added in double quantities. This principle applies where three or four gallons are being made and it is easy enough to work out. Just to be sure that mistakes do not occur when adding the syrup sugar and water stick a label on the jar and note on this the amounts added.
Readers will be quick to appreciate that certain fruits are more suitable than others for making certain types of wine. Clearly, it would be as hopeless to try to make port from rhubarb as it would be to try to grow potatoes on a pear tree, and I think it is in this respect that many people go astray; they make wines from the cheapest and most readily available fruits (naturally enough) but they do not give the slightest thought to what the result will be or whether they will like it or not. Before you begin decide on the type of wine you are most likely to prefer and then use the fruit and the method which will make this type of wine.
Elderberries make an excellent port-style wine and many variations, each with the basic port style underlying them, so that from this lowly wild fruit we may obtain not only a full-bodied port-style wine, but also a Burgundy style, a claret and others according to the whim of the operator. Blackberries make similar wines, as do certain varieties of plums, damsons and blackcurrants. The juice from lighter-colored fruit such as raspberries, loganberries, red and white currants and others make excellent table wines. But there is no need to cover this aspect fully here because every recipe is preceded by the name of the type or style of wine that can be expected from each recipe. I say 'expected', because to guarantee that the wine will be identical to the one expected would be unwise, but only because the amounts of sugar and acid present in the fruits vary from season to season indeed, they vary with the type of tree, soil, situation and with the sort of summer we have had while the fruits have been growing. A hot dry summer produces fruits containing more sugar and less acid than a wet sunless summer, when the effect is the reverse.
In each recipe appears the name of the best yeast to use and this is best added as a nucleus as already described. If you must use bakers' yeast or a dried yeast, merely sprinkle it over the surface of the 'must' at the time given in the method you are using.
A final word. Make sure all fruits are ripe. This is far more important than most people imagine. Half-ripe fruits or those with green patches on them should be discarded as it needs only one or two of these in enough for a gallon of wine to give an acid bite to that wine. Fully ripe fruit is essential if we hope to make the best wine.
When you have decided that your garden fruits are ripe enough or those you have your eye on in the hedgerows, leave them for another three or four days before gathering.
BLACKBERRY WINE
Port Style
4 lb. Blackberries, 4 lb. Sugar (or 5 lb. Invert), 7 pts water, port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment pulp.
BLACKBERRY AND ELDERBERRY WINE
Port Style
2 ½ lb. Elderberries, 2 ½ lb. Blackberries, 7 pts water, 3 ½ lb. Sugar (or 4 lb. Invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp after crushing and mixing together.
BLACKBERRY WINE
Burgundy Style
4-5 lb. Blackberries, 3 3/8 lb. Sugar (or 4 lb. Invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7 pts water.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp.
BLACKBERRY WINE
Beaujolais Style
Wine made from this recipe won for me 1st prize among 600 entries on the occasion of the 2nd National Conference and Show of Amateur Wine-Makers at Bournemouth last year.
4½ lb. blackberries, 2½ lb. sugar (or 3 lb. 2 oz. Invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7 pts water.
Method 1 was used. The wine was, of course, dry.
BLACKBERRY WINE
Light Table Wine
3 lb. blackberries, 3 lb. sugar (3¾ lb. invert), 7 pts water, burgundy
yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the diluted juice.
BLACKCURRANT WINE
Port Style
4 lb. black currants, 1 lb. raisins, 3 lb. sugar (or 3 ¾ lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp with the raisins.
BLACKCURRANT WINE
Port Style
4 lb. blackcurrants, 7 pts water, 3½ lb. sugar (or 4 lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp.
BLACKCURRANT CLARET
3 lb. Blackcurrants, 2 ½ lb. Sugar (or 3 lb. Invert), 7 pts water, all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the diluted juice.
BLACKCURRANT WINE
A Light, Sweet Wine
3 ¾ lb. Blackcurrants, 3 ½ lb. Sugar (or 4 lb. Invert), 7 pts water, all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the diluted juice.
CHERRY WINE
A Delightful Sweet Wine
8 lb. Black cherries, 7 pts water, 3 ½ lb. Sugar (or 4 lb. Invert), all-purpose wine yeast or Bordeaux yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Weigh with the stones and ferment the pulp.
CHERRY WINE
A Light Dry Wine
8 lb. black cherries, 7 pts water, 2 ½ lb. sugar (or 3 ¼ lb. invert), sherry yeast is best, otherwise all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
RED CURRANT WINE
Light Table Wine
3 lb. redcurrants 7 pts water, 3 lb. sugar (or 3 ¾ lb. invert), all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
REDCURRANT WINE
A Light Medium-Sweet Wine
4 lb. redcurrants, 7 pts water, 3½ lb. sugar (or 4 lb. invert), all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
DAMSON WINE
Port Style
8 lb. damsons, 7 pts water, 4 lb. sugar (or 5 lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Weigh with the stones and ferment the pulp.
DAMSON WINE
Suitable for making into Damson Gin—see ‘Recent Experiments’, page 85.
5 lb. damsons, 7 pts water, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Weight with the stones. Ferment the pulp.
DAMSON AND ELDERBERRY WINE
Port Style
3 lb. damsons, 1½ lb. elderberries, 3½ lb. sugar (or 4 lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient, 7 pts water.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp.
DAMSON AND DRIED PRUNE WINE
Burgundy Style
Prunes should be soaked overnight, the water discarded and the prunes added in the crushed state to the crushed damson.
4 lb. damsons, 2 lb. dried prunes, 7 pts water, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the crushed pulp.
RASPBERRY WINE
Light, Dry
4 lb. raspberries, 2½ lb. sugar (or 3 lb. 2 oz. Invert), 7 pts water, sherry yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
RASPBERRY WINE
Sweet Dessert
4 lb. raspberries, 1 lb. raisins, 7 pts water, 3 ½ lb. sugar (or 4 lb. invert), all-purpose wine yeast and nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice but with the chopped raisins for the first seven days.
ELDERBERRY WINE
Port Style
4 lb. elderberries, 7 pts water, 4 lb. sugar (or 5 lb. invert) port yeast, nutrient.
Use method, 1. Ferment the crushed pulp.
ELDERBERRY WINE
Medium Dry
3½ lb. elderberries, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), 7 pts water, sherry yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
ELDERBERRY CLARET
Dry, of course
3 lb. elderberries, 2½ lb. sugar (or 3 lb. invert), 7 pts water, sherry yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
PLUM WINE
Burgundy Style
8 lb. plums, any fully ripe red variety is suitable, 7 pts water 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Weigh with the stones and ferment the crushed pulp.
PLUM WINE
Port Style
Dark red, fully ripe fruits must be used. 10 lb. plums, 7 pts water, 3½ lb. sugar (or 4 lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Weigh with the stones.
Use method 1. Ferment the crushed pulp.
RHUBARB WINE
This wine is best made on the dry side and used as an appetizer. If you try to make it sweet, it would have to be rather too sweet. Four pounds of sugar will make it a medium sweet wine, but even this will not reduce the acidity which gives this wine its character and which, unfortunately, is causing it to lose its popularity. It is possible to remove the acid by using precipitated chalk, but this is hardly for beginners and a practice which, in any case, alters the whole flavor of the resulting wine.
5 lb. rhubarb, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), 7 pts water, sherry yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Crush the rhubarb with a rolling pin, starting in the middle of each stick. Soak for five days in three pints of water (boiled), and in which one Campden tablet has been dissolved.
Then strain, wring out dry and warm just enough to dissolve half the sugar.
Having done this, ferment for ten days and then proceed as you would with any other recipe here, adding the rest of the sugar and water in stages.
LOGANBERRY WINE
3 to 4 lb. loganberries, 3 lb. sugar (or 3 ¾ lb. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7 pts water.
Use method 1. Ferment the crushed pulp.
GOOSEBERRY WINE
Table Wine
6 lb. gooseberries, 3½ Ib. sugar (or 4¼ lb. invert), 7 pts water, tokay yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. But ferment pulp for three days.
GOOSEBERRY WINE
Sherry Style
The best gooseberries for this wine are those that have been left on the bushes to turn red or yellow, according to variety. They should be firm but soft and at the same time not damaged. Any damaged ones and any with a suggestion of mould or mildew on them must be discarded.
For a dry sherry style use 2½ lb. sugar, for a medium dry use 3 lb., and for a medium sweet use 3½ lb., or the corresponding amounts of invert sugar.
5lb. gooseberries, 7 pts water, sugar (as above), sherry yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. But ferment the pulp for five days only.
WHORTLEBERRY WINE
Burgundy Style
Whortleberries are a small wild fruit which many people come to the country to pick; they make excellent jams and jellies and very good wines, otherwise known as 'herts'.
6pts whortleberries, 1 pts water, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp.
WHORTLEBERRY WINE
Port Style
8 pts whortleberries, 7 pts water, 4 lb. sugar (or 5 lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp.
WHORTLEBERRY WINE
Table Wine
5 pts whortleberries, 7 pts water, 2 ½ lb. sugar (or 3 lb. 2 oz. Invert), all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
SLOE WINE
Sloes make a delightful wine which is very popular with those living in the country, and is particularly suitable for turning into sloe gin. Not more than 4 lb. should be used owing to their astringency.
4 lb. sloes, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), 7 pts water, all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. But ferment pulp for three days only.
Cheers,
Heinz
Fruit Wines Secrets
There is no need for me to mention the enormous popularity this branch of home wine-making enjoys, or that countless thousands of people all over the world embark with tremendous enthusiasm each summer upon turning wild fruits and surplus garden fruits into fruit wines fit to grace the tables of a banqueting hall. Just let me say that, no matter how advanced methods become and how easily obtainable special ingredients for wine making are, there will always be in the hearts of everyone a place for the true country fruit wines, for they have that indefinable 'something' which sets them apart from all others, a uniqueness that cannot be found in any other wine either commercial or home produced.
The fruit wines making methods I use myself are described here, and although they are the simplest and the surest ever evolved, it is necessary to point out the complications that arise if these methods are not used.
Years ago and, I am very sorry to say, even today many thousands of unfortunate home makers of fruit wines are following methods which advocate: 'crush the fruits, add the water and leave to ferment'. Other methods advise boiling the fruits. In both cases disappointment is almost a certainty, and the reason for this is easy enough to understand.
The grey-white bloom that forms on grapes and other fruits is yeast put there by nature and it may be said that the first wine known to early man was the result of this yeast fermenting fruits crushed for a purpose other than wine-making. In the ordinary way, this yeast might well make good wine if allowed to ferment alone. Unfortunately, with this yeast comes what we term 'undesirable' yeast (wild yeast), and several kinds of bacteria each of which can ruin our wines. They bring about what we call 'undesirable' ferments that usually take place at the same time as the ferment we want to take place so that instead of a wine of quality the result is one tasting of flat beer or cloudy evil-smelling liquid fit only for disposal. Another bacterium, known as the vinegar bacterium, will turn fruit wines into vinegar.
Since there is nothing we can do when any of these calamities has occurred, they must be prevented from happening.
Clearly, we must destroy all these enemies before beginning. The simplest method is of course at first thought, anyway is to boil the fruits. But here arises another problem. All fruits contain pectin, a glutinous substance which causes jams to 'set'. Boiling fruit releases pectin. This pectin holds itself and minute solids in suspension, giving the fruit wines a cloudiness that is impossible to clarify or even filter out. We may put the crushed fruit through a jelly-bag to remove every particle of pectin-bearing fruit and then boil the juice only, but this is a messy, tedious job that takes hours and eliminates all the pleasure from wine-making.
Obviously, what we need is a method which will destroy the wild yeast and bacteria on the fruits (as boiling does) without actually boiling, and, indeed, without heating our fruits at all because it needs very little heat to bring out the pectin.
Our method, known as the 'sulphiting' method, does just this and produces full-bodied, crystal-clear fruit wines easily and quickly without fuss or bother. All that is necessary to achieve this are tablets costing a halpenny each. Campden fruit-preserving tablets are available at most chemists in bottles of twenty costing tenpence. In the ordinary way and provided the fruit is not too heavily affected with wild yeast and bacteria one tablet will destroy the undesirable element contained in one gallon of crushed fruit pulp, but we cannot be sure of this. Now, two tablets will surely do this, but being a comparatively heavy dose this might also destroy the yeast we shall be adding so that the ferment we desire does not take place. My method takes care of both these risks, not only destroying the wild yeast and bacteria on the fruits, but also allowing the yeast we add to ferment alone and unhindered to produce fruit wines of clarity and quality the like of which cannot be produced by any other method. By adding one Campden tablet to a good deal less than one gallon of fruit pulp ('must') this will represent a rough equivalent to two tablets per gallon. But before we add our yeasts we shall have increased the amount of liquid or pulp to nearly twice the amount, consequently reducing the amount of sterilizing solution to half or the equivalent of one Campden tablet per gallon. In this way we achieve our overall aim.
Each Campden fruit-preserving tablet contains four grains of sodium metabisulphite; therefore, any makers of fruit wines finding Campden tablets in short supply may ask their chemist for four grains of sodium metabisulphite (or potassium metabisulphite there being two forms), and use this. But because a chemist would find a single order for four grains rather trivial, it would be best to ask for say, six or ten packets each containing four grains. If you are making two-gallon lots of wine the amount to use would be eight grains. Do not be tempted to buy by the ounce and measure out a grain as this is impossible unless you have the appropriate scales.
Just in case you happen to be one of those makers of fruit wines who, even in these enlightened days, abhors the use of chemicals, let me assure you that sulphur dioxide (the solution which results when Campden tablets are dissolved) is quite harmless to humans when used in the proportions recommended. Indeed, as many as eight tablets (thirty-two grains) may be used with safety, but such heavy dosing would prevent a 'must' fermenting.
The sulphiting method is used by the trade, so we shall be following a method well tired and proved.
Heaven knows how many hundreds of gallons of fruit wines I have made by this method and all with the same unfailing success.
Method 1 makes wines of the heavier type; their flavours are more pronounced and their colour more full than those produced by method 2. Those wishing for lighter fruit wines more suitable for serving with meals should use method 2. The main difference in the two methods is that we ferment the fruit pulp itself in method 1, and the juice only in method 2. It will be appreciated that when fermenting the pulp we must as a matter of course get far more from our fruits. But we do not want too much in a light wine otherwise the subtle difference between a heavier wine and the popular lighter wines is lost.
The short pulp ferment of method 1 ensures that we get all the flavour and desirable chemical matter from our fruits in the right proportion.
The best method to use for each type of fruit is given with each recipe. It should be taken into account that varied amounts of fruit and sugar with the use of the proper method produce distinctly different types of fruit wines.
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Method 1
Crush the fruit by hand in a polythene pail and pour on one quart of boiled water that has cooled. Mix well. Crush one Campden tablet and dissolve the powder in about half an egg cupful of warm water and mix this with the fruit pulp. Leave the mixture for one or two hours. A little bleaching will take place but this is nothing to worry about.
After this, take one-third of the sugar to be used (or approximately one-third) and boil this for one minute in three pints of water. Allow this syrup to cool and then stir into the pulp. Then add the yeast (or nucleus) and ferment for seven days.
After seven days, strain the pulp through fine muslin or other similar material and wring out as dry as you can. Put the strained wine into a gallon jar and throw the pulp away. Then boil another one-third of the sugar in one pint of water for one minute and when this has cooled add it to the rest.
Plug the neck of the jar with cotton wool or fit a fermentation lock and continue to ferment in a warm place for a further ten days.
At this stage, if you have not a spare jar, pour the wine into the polythene pail leaving as much of the deposit in the jar as you can. Clean out the jar, sterilize it and return the wine to this.
The remaining one-third of the sugar may now be boiled for one minute in the remaining pint of water. When this has cooled, add it to the rest. Refit the lock or plug the neck of the jar with fresh cotton wool. After this, the wine should be left in a warm place until all fermentation has ceased.
Note. If there is not quite enough space for all of this last lot of syrup, put the remainder in a sterilized screw-top bottle and store for a few days in a cool place. This may be added when fermentation has reduced the level of the liquid in the jar. If you have to do this, don't forget to refit the lock.
Method 2
Crush the fruit in a polythene pail and add one quart of boiled water that has cooled. Mix well.
Crush one Campden tablet and dissolve the powder in about half an eggcupful of warm water and mix this with the fruit pulp. Leave the mixture in a cool place for twenty-four hours, stirring twice during that time. Strain through fine muslin or other similar material and squeeze gently but not too hard. Discard the fruit pulp.
Then boil one-third of the sugar in half a gallon of water for one minute and allow to cool. Mix this with the juice and return the lot to the polythene pail. Then add the yeast (or nucleus), and ferment for ten days.
After this, pour the top wine into a gallon jar leaving as much of the deposit behind as you can. Boil another one-third of the sugar in half a pint of water for one minute and when this is cool add it to the rest. Plug the neck of the jar with cotton wool or fit a fermentation lock and ferment in a warm place for fourteen days.
After this, boil the remaining sugar in the remaining half-pint of water for one minute and when this is cool add it to the rest. Refit the lock or plug the neck of the jar with fresh cotton wool and leave in a warm place until all fermentation has ceased.
The recipes are designed to make one gallon of wine, if two gallons are being made at once twice the amount of each ingredient must be used (including Campden tablets) and the sugar and water added in double quantities. This principle applies where three or four gallons are being made and it is easy enough to work out. Just to be sure that mistakes do not occur when adding the syrup sugar and water stick a label on the jar and note on this the amounts added.
Readers will be quick to appreciate that certain fruits are more suitable than others for making certain types of wine. Clearly, it would be as hopeless to try to make port from rhubarb as it would be to try to grow potatoes on a pear tree, and I think it is in this respect that many people go astray; they make wines from the cheapest and most readily available fruits (naturally enough) but they do not give the slightest thought to what the result will be or whether they will like it or not. Before you begin decide on the type of wine you are most likely to prefer and then use the fruit and the method which will make this type of wine.
Elderberries make an excellent port-style wine and many variations, each with the basic port style underlying them, so that from this lowly wild fruit we may obtain not only a full-bodied port-style wine, but also a Burgundy style, a claret and others according to the whim of the operator. Blackberries make similar wines, as do certain varieties of plums, damsons and blackcurrants. The juice from lighter-colored fruit such as raspberries, loganberries, red and white currants and others make excellent table wines. But there is no need to cover this aspect fully here because every recipe is preceded by the name of the type or style of wine that can be expected from each recipe. I say 'expected', because to guarantee that the wine will be identical to the one expected would be unwise, but only because the amounts of sugar and acid present in the fruits vary from season to season indeed, they vary with the type of tree, soil, situation and with the sort of summer we have had while the fruits have been growing. A hot dry summer produces fruits containing more sugar and less acid than a wet sunless summer, when the effect is the reverse.
In each recipe appears the name of the best yeast to use and this is best added as a nucleus as already described. If you must use bakers' yeast or a dried yeast, merely sprinkle it over the surface of the 'must' at the time given in the method you are using.
A final word. Make sure all fruits are ripe. This is far more important than most people imagine. Half-ripe fruits or those with green patches on them should be discarded as it needs only one or two of these in enough for a gallon of wine to give an acid bite to that wine. Fully ripe fruit is essential if we hope to make the best wine.
When you have decided that your garden fruits are ripe enough or those you have your eye on in the hedgerows, leave them for another three or four days before gathering.
BLACKBERRY WINE
Port Style
4 lb. Blackberries, 4 lb. Sugar (or 5 lb. Invert), 7 pts water, port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment pulp.
BLACKBERRY AND ELDERBERRY WINE
Port Style
2 ½ lb. Elderberries, 2 ½ lb. Blackberries, 7 pts water, 3 ½ lb. Sugar (or 4 lb. Invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp after crushing and mixing together.
BLACKBERRY WINE
Burgundy Style
4-5 lb. Blackberries, 3 3/8 lb. Sugar (or 4 lb. Invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7 pts water.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp.
BLACKBERRY WINE
Beaujolais Style
Wine made from this recipe won for me 1st prize among 600 entries on the occasion of the 2nd National Conference and Show of Amateur Wine-Makers at Bournemouth last year.
4½ lb. blackberries, 2½ lb. sugar (or 3 lb. 2 oz. Invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7 pts water.
Method 1 was used. The wine was, of course, dry.
BLACKBERRY WINE
Light Table Wine
3 lb. blackberries, 3 lb. sugar (3¾ lb. invert), 7 pts water, burgundy
yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the diluted juice.
BLACKCURRANT WINE
Port Style
4 lb. black currants, 1 lb. raisins, 3 lb. sugar (or 3 ¾ lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp with the raisins.
BLACKCURRANT WINE
Port Style
4 lb. blackcurrants, 7 pts water, 3½ lb. sugar (or 4 lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp.
BLACKCURRANT CLARET
3 lb. Blackcurrants, 2 ½ lb. Sugar (or 3 lb. Invert), 7 pts water, all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the diluted juice.
BLACKCURRANT WINE
A Light, Sweet Wine
3 ¾ lb. Blackcurrants, 3 ½ lb. Sugar (or 4 lb. Invert), 7 pts water, all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the diluted juice.
CHERRY WINE
A Delightful Sweet Wine
8 lb. Black cherries, 7 pts water, 3 ½ lb. Sugar (or 4 lb. Invert), all-purpose wine yeast or Bordeaux yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Weigh with the stones and ferment the pulp.
CHERRY WINE
A Light Dry Wine
8 lb. black cherries, 7 pts water, 2 ½ lb. sugar (or 3 ¼ lb. invert), sherry yeast is best, otherwise all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
RED CURRANT WINE
Light Table Wine
3 lb. redcurrants 7 pts water, 3 lb. sugar (or 3 ¾ lb. invert), all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
REDCURRANT WINE
A Light Medium-Sweet Wine
4 lb. redcurrants, 7 pts water, 3½ lb. sugar (or 4 lb. invert), all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
DAMSON WINE
Port Style
8 lb. damsons, 7 pts water, 4 lb. sugar (or 5 lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Weigh with the stones and ferment the pulp.
DAMSON WINE
Suitable for making into Damson Gin—see ‘Recent Experiments’, page 85.
5 lb. damsons, 7 pts water, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Weight with the stones. Ferment the pulp.
DAMSON AND ELDERBERRY WINE
Port Style
3 lb. damsons, 1½ lb. elderberries, 3½ lb. sugar (or 4 lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient, 7 pts water.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp.
DAMSON AND DRIED PRUNE WINE
Burgundy Style
Prunes should be soaked overnight, the water discarded and the prunes added in the crushed state to the crushed damson.
4 lb. damsons, 2 lb. dried prunes, 7 pts water, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the crushed pulp.
RASPBERRY WINE
Light, Dry
4 lb. raspberries, 2½ lb. sugar (or 3 lb. 2 oz. Invert), 7 pts water, sherry yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
RASPBERRY WINE
Sweet Dessert
4 lb. raspberries, 1 lb. raisins, 7 pts water, 3 ½ lb. sugar (or 4 lb. invert), all-purpose wine yeast and nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice but with the chopped raisins for the first seven days.
ELDERBERRY WINE
Port Style
4 lb. elderberries, 7 pts water, 4 lb. sugar (or 5 lb. invert) port yeast, nutrient.
Use method, 1. Ferment the crushed pulp.
ELDERBERRY WINE
Medium Dry
3½ lb. elderberries, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), 7 pts water, sherry yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
ELDERBERRY CLARET
Dry, of course
3 lb. elderberries, 2½ lb. sugar (or 3 lb. invert), 7 pts water, sherry yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
PLUM WINE
Burgundy Style
8 lb. plums, any fully ripe red variety is suitable, 7 pts water 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Weigh with the stones and ferment the crushed pulp.
PLUM WINE
Port Style
Dark red, fully ripe fruits must be used. 10 lb. plums, 7 pts water, 3½ lb. sugar (or 4 lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Weigh with the stones.
Use method 1. Ferment the crushed pulp.
RHUBARB WINE
This wine is best made on the dry side and used as an appetizer. If you try to make it sweet, it would have to be rather too sweet. Four pounds of sugar will make it a medium sweet wine, but even this will not reduce the acidity which gives this wine its character and which, unfortunately, is causing it to lose its popularity. It is possible to remove the acid by using precipitated chalk, but this is hardly for beginners and a practice which, in any case, alters the whole flavor of the resulting wine.
5 lb. rhubarb, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), 7 pts water, sherry yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Crush the rhubarb with a rolling pin, starting in the middle of each stick. Soak for five days in three pints of water (boiled), and in which one Campden tablet has been dissolved.
Then strain, wring out dry and warm just enough to dissolve half the sugar.
Having done this, ferment for ten days and then proceed as you would with any other recipe here, adding the rest of the sugar and water in stages.
LOGANBERRY WINE
3 to 4 lb. loganberries, 3 lb. sugar (or 3 ¾ lb. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient, 7 pts water.
Use method 1. Ferment the crushed pulp.
GOOSEBERRY WINE
Table Wine
6 lb. gooseberries, 3½ Ib. sugar (or 4¼ lb. invert), 7 pts water, tokay yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. But ferment pulp for three days.
GOOSEBERRY WINE
Sherry Style
The best gooseberries for this wine are those that have been left on the bushes to turn red or yellow, according to variety. They should be firm but soft and at the same time not damaged. Any damaged ones and any with a suggestion of mould or mildew on them must be discarded.
For a dry sherry style use 2½ lb. sugar, for a medium dry use 3 lb., and for a medium sweet use 3½ lb., or the corresponding amounts of invert sugar.
5lb. gooseberries, 7 pts water, sugar (as above), sherry yeast or all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. But ferment the pulp for five days only.
WHORTLEBERRY WINE
Burgundy Style
Whortleberries are a small wild fruit which many people come to the country to pick; they make excellent jams and jellies and very good wines, otherwise known as 'herts'.
6pts whortleberries, 1 pts water, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), burgundy yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp.
WHORTLEBERRY WINE
Port Style
8 pts whortleberries, 7 pts water, 4 lb. sugar (or 5 lb. invert), port yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. Ferment the pulp.
WHORTLEBERRY WINE
Table Wine
5 pts whortleberries, 7 pts water, 2 ½ lb. sugar (or 3 lb. 2 oz. Invert), all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 2. Ferment the strained diluted juice.
SLOE WINE
Sloes make a delightful wine which is very popular with those living in the country, and is particularly suitable for turning into sloe gin. Not more than 4 lb. should be used owing to their astringency.
4 lb. sloes, 3 lb. sugar (or 3¾ lb. invert), 7 pts water, all-purpose wine yeast, nutrient.
Use method 1. But ferment pulp for three days only.
More wine and your health
Just a little article I picked up. Not exactly in the vain of wine making but it does give me an excuse for my new found hobby.
Red Wine As A Cure For Cancer and Diabetes?
Resveratrol has been making headlines for a while now and is being credited with a number of beneficial health effects – antiviral, neuroprotective, anti aging, anti inflammatory and life prolonging. The latest news is that it is to be used in a pill developed by scientists to help stop cancer. Resveratrol is found in red wine and is one of the ingredients in 4 pills being tested to protect against tumours in the breast, bowel and prostate.
Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes and is a constituent of red wine. It is a phytoalexin which is produced naturally by several plants as a defence when under attack by bacteria or fungi. White wine contains less Resveratrol than red as red wine is fermented with the grape skins and seeds allowing the wine to absorb the resveratrol. Muscadine grapes contain the highest amounts of Resveratrol. This grape is native to South Eastern USA, has a tough skin and is used mainly in dessert wines or port.
The Daily Mail has reported that Professor Will Steward from Leicester University has identified the compounds after searching for drugs that stop cells becoming malignant, a technique called chemoprevention. The 4 compounds being tested are tricin, found in Thai sticky rice, resveratrol from red wine, curcumin from turmeric and antioxidants from bilberries. Professor Steward's work was prompted by research which found that rural populations in Thailand with a diet rich in sticky rice are less likely to develop breast cancer.
In tests on human cells, compounds from the foods and wine were found to reduce cancer risk by 40%. Clinical trials on the drugs will last at least 5 years, meaning they would not be available until at least 2012.
Professor Steward said:
“These drugs have proved highly effective in the laboratory - it is extraordinary . . . They act in numerous ways on pre- cancerous cells, but they also appear to be effective on cancerous cells.”
Professor Karol Sikora of London's Imperial College said: 'We know that fruit and vegetables prevent cancer and there is no magic to it, so there must be some ingredients in different foods that are going to help. Ideally, you would get people changing their lifestyles but a tablet is clearly going to be of help. This is a really exciting area.'
Chinese Scientists Cheng Sun and Qiwei Zhai of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai have discovered that Resveratrol may counter type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. The scientists' experiments with cells in test tubes show that resveratrol spurs a gene called SIRT1 to become more active, boosting insulin sensitivity.
You can not get the health benefits of Resveratrol by drinking wine – you would have to drink litres of it a day according to Alan Crozier of The University of Glasgow. Crozier and his colleague Roger Corder of Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry in London reckon that it is the tannins in the wine and not Resveratrol that are responsible for the French Paradox (the observation that people in France suffer a lower incidence of coronary heart disease despite having a diet rich in saturated fats.)
Using the endothelial cells that line human artery walls, the researchers tested which compounds in wine had the greatest effect. The tests showed that flavonoids called oligomeric procyanidins--essentially condensed tannins, the compounds that impart bitterness to young reds--suppressed production of the peptide responsible for hardening arteries.
Taking French census data, the two researchers then compared regions that had unusually long-lived men with the wine produced in those areas. The Nuoro province of Sardinia and the Gers region of southwestern France both support relatively more men who survive past 75 years of age. Not coincidentally, these regions also produce local wines that are as much as 4 times richer in procyanidins than other wines. Traditional wine-making techniques proved key: by allowing the grapes to linger on the vine for as long as possible and then leaving them to ferment for as long as 4 weeks (compared with the more typical 1week period of major wineries, which keeps the level of harsh tannins low), vintners in these regions produce prodigious amounts of procyanidin.
Also crucial are the type of grape involved (Tannat in Gers, a small, seedy fruit rarely grown outside the southwest of France) and the elevation at which it is grown (ultraviolet helps catalyze the production of procyanidins in the high-elevation vineyards of Sardinia). Understanding exactly how procyanidins work in the human body remains to be investigated, and the researchers plan to dose people with the compound in a future clinical trial. In the meantime, a few glasses of wine - particularly a full-bodied one - may remain a recipe for a stronger heart?
Red Wine As A Cure For Cancer and Diabetes?
Resveratrol has been making headlines for a while now and is being credited with a number of beneficial health effects – antiviral, neuroprotective, anti aging, anti inflammatory and life prolonging. The latest news is that it is to be used in a pill developed by scientists to help stop cancer. Resveratrol is found in red wine and is one of the ingredients in 4 pills being tested to protect against tumours in the breast, bowel and prostate.
Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes and is a constituent of red wine. It is a phytoalexin which is produced naturally by several plants as a defence when under attack by bacteria or fungi. White wine contains less Resveratrol than red as red wine is fermented with the grape skins and seeds allowing the wine to absorb the resveratrol. Muscadine grapes contain the highest amounts of Resveratrol. This grape is native to South Eastern USA, has a tough skin and is used mainly in dessert wines or port.
The Daily Mail has reported that Professor Will Steward from Leicester University has identified the compounds after searching for drugs that stop cells becoming malignant, a technique called chemoprevention. The 4 compounds being tested are tricin, found in Thai sticky rice, resveratrol from red wine, curcumin from turmeric and antioxidants from bilberries. Professor Steward's work was prompted by research which found that rural populations in Thailand with a diet rich in sticky rice are less likely to develop breast cancer.
In tests on human cells, compounds from the foods and wine were found to reduce cancer risk by 40%. Clinical trials on the drugs will last at least 5 years, meaning they would not be available until at least 2012.
Professor Steward said:
“These drugs have proved highly effective in the laboratory - it is extraordinary . . . They act in numerous ways on pre- cancerous cells, but they also appear to be effective on cancerous cells.”
Professor Karol Sikora of London's Imperial College said: 'We know that fruit and vegetables prevent cancer and there is no magic to it, so there must be some ingredients in different foods that are going to help. Ideally, you would get people changing their lifestyles but a tablet is clearly going to be of help. This is a really exciting area.'
Chinese Scientists Cheng Sun and Qiwei Zhai of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai have discovered that Resveratrol may counter type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. The scientists' experiments with cells in test tubes show that resveratrol spurs a gene called SIRT1 to become more active, boosting insulin sensitivity.
You can not get the health benefits of Resveratrol by drinking wine – you would have to drink litres of it a day according to Alan Crozier of The University of Glasgow. Crozier and his colleague Roger Corder of Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry in London reckon that it is the tannins in the wine and not Resveratrol that are responsible for the French Paradox (the observation that people in France suffer a lower incidence of coronary heart disease despite having a diet rich in saturated fats.)
Using the endothelial cells that line human artery walls, the researchers tested which compounds in wine had the greatest effect. The tests showed that flavonoids called oligomeric procyanidins--essentially condensed tannins, the compounds that impart bitterness to young reds--suppressed production of the peptide responsible for hardening arteries.
Taking French census data, the two researchers then compared regions that had unusually long-lived men with the wine produced in those areas. The Nuoro province of Sardinia and the Gers region of southwestern France both support relatively more men who survive past 75 years of age. Not coincidentally, these regions also produce local wines that are as much as 4 times richer in procyanidins than other wines. Traditional wine-making techniques proved key: by allowing the grapes to linger on the vine for as long as possible and then leaving them to ferment for as long as 4 weeks (compared with the more typical 1week period of major wineries, which keeps the level of harsh tannins low), vintners in these regions produce prodigious amounts of procyanidin.
Also crucial are the type of grape involved (Tannat in Gers, a small, seedy fruit rarely grown outside the southwest of France) and the elevation at which it is grown (ultraviolet helps catalyze the production of procyanidins in the high-elevation vineyards of Sardinia). Understanding exactly how procyanidins work in the human body remains to be investigated, and the researchers plan to dose people with the compound in a future clinical trial. In the meantime, a few glasses of wine - particularly a full-bodied one - may remain a recipe for a stronger heart?
Monday, October 8, 2007
Put a cork in it
Here is another mooched article on the different types of corks
Wine Corks are made from cork material from the cork oat tree. Corks elasticity makes it suitable for bottle stoppers on wine bottles, which represent about sixty percent of all cork products.
There are several different types of wine corks.
Synthetic Wine Corks
Many cheaper bottles of wine are now stopped with synthetic corks, however although they are becoming popular, they tend to destroy expensive corkscrews, and a main concern is their ability to be able to preserve a bottle of wine if left un opened for a long time period; it has been claimed that synthetic corks can lose their elasticity and this oxygen can get into the bottle. They do not dry out or rot, however.
Plastic Champagne Wine Corks These corks are designed to be used with champagne bottles. The cork along with the champagne bottle is designed to make a very strong seal to withhold the pressures produced by champagne.
What Size Cork to use
The standard wine bottle has an opening of 18.5 mm and the standard cork has been designed to fit the standard wine bottle. Cork sizes are designated by a number and length and the number corresponds to the diameter of the cork. The #9 cork, is the standard diameter cork for wine bottles with a typical lengths of 1.5 inches, and 1.75 inches. Shorter corks of 1.5 inches are recommended for less than one year old and longer corks of 1.75 inches are recommended for wines that are older than one year. The #8 cork is the standard size cork for champagne bottles and the #7 cork is the standard size cork for beer bottles.
Clearly there are several different types of wine cork available, as well as varying sizes and all of these should be taken into account when choosing how to stop a bottle when preserving a bottle of wine.
Wine Corks are made from cork material from the cork oat tree. Corks elasticity makes it suitable for bottle stoppers on wine bottles, which represent about sixty percent of all cork products.
There are several different types of wine corks.
Synthetic Wine Corks
Many cheaper bottles of wine are now stopped with synthetic corks, however although they are becoming popular, they tend to destroy expensive corkscrews, and a main concern is their ability to be able to preserve a bottle of wine if left un opened for a long time period; it has been claimed that synthetic corks can lose their elasticity and this oxygen can get into the bottle. They do not dry out or rot, however.
Plastic Champagne Wine Corks These corks are designed to be used with champagne bottles. The cork along with the champagne bottle is designed to make a very strong seal to withhold the pressures produced by champagne.
What Size Cork to use
The standard wine bottle has an opening of 18.5 mm and the standard cork has been designed to fit the standard wine bottle. Cork sizes are designated by a number and length and the number corresponds to the diameter of the cork. The #9 cork, is the standard diameter cork for wine bottles with a typical lengths of 1.5 inches, and 1.75 inches. Shorter corks of 1.5 inches are recommended for less than one year old and longer corks of 1.75 inches are recommended for wines that are older than one year. The #8 cork is the standard size cork for champagne bottles and the #7 cork is the standard size cork for beer bottles.
Clearly there are several different types of wine cork available, as well as varying sizes and all of these should be taken into account when choosing how to stop a bottle when preserving a bottle of wine.
Friday, October 5, 2007
More fruit wine stuff
Here is a little article from the Mankato Free press in Minnesota.
Wine not?
By Jean Lundquist, Special to the Free Press
The Free Press
ST PETER— A chance glance at a folder containing wine recipes at a garage sale 12 years ago provided Linda Paulson with a new passion.
She bought the folder plus some wine-making supplies and has been making wine at her rural St. Peter home ever since.
The thing is, she doesn’t use grapes, unless it’s to fill in for some other fruit. As the Paulsons have learned, all it takes is a source of something sweet to make country wines or fruit wines.
“You can make wine from anything,” she said.
She and her husband, Jon, even made two separate wines from squash and onion one year. Because they have a big and bountiful garden, not to mention recipes, they decided to give it a try. It tasted, however, like squash and onions, so that was the one and only time.
They also made wine out of a flower once.
“For dandelion wine, you only use the yellow part,” Linda said.
They were sitting outside separating the yellow petals from their green bases, when a gust of wind scattered their work.
Ground cherries also proved to be too much work for wine making. When they’re ripe and fall off the plant, they’re encased in a dry husk that needs to be removed. Lots of labor involved, considering a large number of ground cherries still can mean a small quantity of fruit.
Luckily, wine made from most fruits is much easier to achieve.
“Our favorite is crabapple wine with raisins,” Linda said.
Here’s how they do it ...
Six pounds of fruit are required to make a batch of wine. The Paulsons use six-gallon glass fermentation jugs, called carboys. The carboys also are available in smaller and larger sizes. Recipes are geared toward the size of carboy used.
In a five-gallon bucket, Linda puts the washed fruit and adds two pounds of sugar. She pours two gallons of boiling water on it, mixes it, and let’s it sit overnight to cool.
In the morning, she adds yeast, several acids and acid mixtures to aid in fermentation, having learned to add a bit more tartaric acid to keep the wine from being bitter. She puts a loose cover on the bucket and stirs it once a day for a week.
One nice thing about wine, Linda says, it’s forgiving.
“People who brew beer have to pay a lot more attention to when they do things,” she said. “With wine, you have a day or two either way to get it all done.”
From the five-gallon bucket, the mixture is strained through a tight-woven cloth to remove juice from the seeds and skins. From there, it goes to the carboy. A cork with a “bubbler” is placed on top of the carboy, and the fermentation process begins in earnest.
The bubbler is a one-way valve that allows the gases created in fermentation to escape, but no air or bacteria enters the juice. At the same time, sediment falls to the bottom.
One of the secrets to good homemade wine, Linda says, is to not let the wine sit on the sediment too long. When the sediment is about an inch thick on the bottom, she siphons it off into another carboy. The process is called “racking.” Depending on how much more sediment falls, another racking process may be needed.
Wine started in the fall will be done, on average, in February, and will be ready to bottle. The Paulsons have 50 cases of wine bottles in their barn that people have saved for them just waiting to be filled.
Copyright © 1999-2006 cnhi, inc.
Wine not?
By Jean Lundquist, Special to the Free Press
The Free Press
ST PETER— A chance glance at a folder containing wine recipes at a garage sale 12 years ago provided Linda Paulson with a new passion.
She bought the folder plus some wine-making supplies and has been making wine at her rural St. Peter home ever since.
The thing is, she doesn’t use grapes, unless it’s to fill in for some other fruit. As the Paulsons have learned, all it takes is a source of something sweet to make country wines or fruit wines.
“You can make wine from anything,” she said.
She and her husband, Jon, even made two separate wines from squash and onion one year. Because they have a big and bountiful garden, not to mention recipes, they decided to give it a try. It tasted, however, like squash and onions, so that was the one and only time.
They also made wine out of a flower once.
“For dandelion wine, you only use the yellow part,” Linda said.
They were sitting outside separating the yellow petals from their green bases, when a gust of wind scattered their work.
Ground cherries also proved to be too much work for wine making. When they’re ripe and fall off the plant, they’re encased in a dry husk that needs to be removed. Lots of labor involved, considering a large number of ground cherries still can mean a small quantity of fruit.
Luckily, wine made from most fruits is much easier to achieve.
“Our favorite is crabapple wine with raisins,” Linda said.
Here’s how they do it ...
Six pounds of fruit are required to make a batch of wine. The Paulsons use six-gallon glass fermentation jugs, called carboys. The carboys also are available in smaller and larger sizes. Recipes are geared toward the size of carboy used.
In a five-gallon bucket, Linda puts the washed fruit and adds two pounds of sugar. She pours two gallons of boiling water on it, mixes it, and let’s it sit overnight to cool.
In the morning, she adds yeast, several acids and acid mixtures to aid in fermentation, having learned to add a bit more tartaric acid to keep the wine from being bitter. She puts a loose cover on the bucket and stirs it once a day for a week.
One nice thing about wine, Linda says, it’s forgiving.
“People who brew beer have to pay a lot more attention to when they do things,” she said. “With wine, you have a day or two either way to get it all done.”
From the five-gallon bucket, the mixture is strained through a tight-woven cloth to remove juice from the seeds and skins. From there, it goes to the carboy. A cork with a “bubbler” is placed on top of the carboy, and the fermentation process begins in earnest.
The bubbler is a one-way valve that allows the gases created in fermentation to escape, but no air or bacteria enters the juice. At the same time, sediment falls to the bottom.
One of the secrets to good homemade wine, Linda says, is to not let the wine sit on the sediment too long. When the sediment is about an inch thick on the bottom, she siphons it off into another carboy. The process is called “racking.” Depending on how much more sediment falls, another racking process may be needed.
Wine started in the fall will be done, on average, in February, and will be ready to bottle. The Paulsons have 50 cases of wine bottles in their barn that people have saved for them just waiting to be filled.
Copyright © 1999-2006 cnhi, inc.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Sparking Apple Wine
Not mine, but interesting none-the-less. I noticed no use of sulphites in this one either.
Cheers,
Heinz
For the past 2 months we have been on a sparkling wine-making frenzy. At first we just made a small 3 liter batch to see if it would work…and it did…so the next batch was 5 liters….and the one after that was 12 liters…ok, so we didn’t drink it all by ourselves…was served it at my birthday party and brought some to friends’ places when we were invited over. We’re making another batch again. This time it’s 5 liters.
There are only 3 ingredients required: apple juice, champagne yeast, and sugar (or fructose). (see recipe bellow)
We have tried different varieties of apple juice: “conventional” 100% apple juice and direct press (unfiltered) organic apple juice. There is actually a significant difference between the 2. The conventional apple juice will give you a clear, dry, and light flavor, while the direct press juice will give you a hardy, “typical” American cider (with fizz added). It is hard to chose which one I liked more. We did a taste test to compare them side by side, but still, they are really both excellent.
We also made a quick low alcohol version (see recipe bellow) that took 2 days to make. The fizzy-ness was really great (the same as with other champagnes/sparkling wines), but there was a much sweeter apple juice flavor there. We tried it with the direct press juice, and tonight I’ll try it with a conventional apple juice. I didn’t enjoy the sweetness of it b/c I’m generally not a big apple juice fan. That’s why I enjoy sparkling apple wine so much b/c it has the great apple flavor without the overwhelming sweetness of apple juice.
Sparkling Apple Wine (4%-6% alcohol content):
Equipment & Ingredients:
-any sized glass wine balloon or other “brewing” container from your local home-brewing store***
-a cork or plug with a water lock
-a siphon
-a funnel
-swing-top or flip-top beer bottles (the same amount as the amount of juice you use)
-granular sugar* or granular fructose
-100% “conventional” or “natural” (unfiltered) apple juice (any amount you want, just make sure you only fill up your container 3/4ths of the way!!)
-Champagne Yeast (won’t leave a bread flavor and will make really really tiny bubble - like in sparkling wine!)
Directions:
Make sure the container you are using is really really clean (try a clorox/water solution).
Pour in your desired amount of apple juice and 1 packet of champagne yeast. Notice that I don’t tell you what size a packet is. In all actuality, it doesn’t matter since the amount of yeast will only determine the length of the process.
Place your water lock/stopper on the container and set it in a room-temperature/semi-warm location that is not in direct sun light.
It will start to bubble and you water lock will bob up and down. When the water lock sits flat and doesn’t move up any more, then the first stage is complete. But, don’t drink it just yet!
Using a funnel a 4-5 grams of sugar to each bottle. Then, siphon in the fermented apple juice into each bottle, making sure to leave about 4-5 centimeters of empty space at the top of each bottle.
Flip of the caps, turn a few times to mix the sugar, and then place the bottles on their sides in a dark room-temperature location (like in a cabinet or in your pantry). Depending on how cool or warm your home is the second stage of fermentation will take between 7-14 days (ie: the warmer it is, the faster it will go). You can let it sit longer to really work in. The best tasting one that we had sat for about 3 weeks before we drank it.
You can drink it at room temperature, but I find it tastes best really really cold, so store it in your refrigerator for a whole day before enjoying!
(did I miss any steps, husband??)
Quick Sparkling Apple Wine (1%-2% alcohol content):
Equipment & Ingredients:
-a 1,5 liter plastic bottle with lid (like a used water bottle that you can squeeze)
-funnel
-1 liter of 100% apple juice (conventional or natural)
-1/8 teaspoon of Champagne yeast
Directions:
Using a funnel, pour the apple juice into your plastic bottle. Pour in the champagne yeast, screw the lid on really tight, and twirl a bit to mix.
Place the bottle in a warm locations out of direct sun light. This should take about 6-12 hours to harden - squeeze the bottle and you will notice that it’s getting harder and harder to squeeze. Once it’s really hard (can’t squeeze anymore**), place it in your refrigerator. Let it cool - the rest of the day - and then drink!
It’s that simple!
***When we lived in the US, we got our equipment at Austin Homebrew - they ship in the US. Everytime we go back, we bring some of their Champagne yeast with us…it’s just great stuff!
**If you forget about your bottle, it may explode and gush apple wine all over the immediate area. So, make sure you remember, or leave it in your bathtub/shower just in case. This has never happened to us making the sparkling apple wine, but has happened to my husband when brewing beer.
*If you have a sugar intolerance, like I do, don’t worry, once the fermentation process is complete, the sugar will all be gone (the yeast eats it). However, if you are worried that you will drink it before the process is complete (as in you are making a batch in a 7-day hurry instead of a 14-day hurry), you may use granular fructose and achieve the same exact flavor and effect.
Cheers,
Heinz
For the past 2 months we have been on a sparkling wine-making frenzy. At first we just made a small 3 liter batch to see if it would work…and it did…so the next batch was 5 liters….and the one after that was 12 liters…ok, so we didn’t drink it all by ourselves…was served it at my birthday party and brought some to friends’ places when we were invited over. We’re making another batch again. This time it’s 5 liters.
There are only 3 ingredients required: apple juice, champagne yeast, and sugar (or fructose). (see recipe bellow)
We have tried different varieties of apple juice: “conventional” 100% apple juice and direct press (unfiltered) organic apple juice. There is actually a significant difference between the 2. The conventional apple juice will give you a clear, dry, and light flavor, while the direct press juice will give you a hardy, “typical” American cider (with fizz added). It is hard to chose which one I liked more. We did a taste test to compare them side by side, but still, they are really both excellent.
We also made a quick low alcohol version (see recipe bellow) that took 2 days to make. The fizzy-ness was really great (the same as with other champagnes/sparkling wines), but there was a much sweeter apple juice flavor there. We tried it with the direct press juice, and tonight I’ll try it with a conventional apple juice. I didn’t enjoy the sweetness of it b/c I’m generally not a big apple juice fan. That’s why I enjoy sparkling apple wine so much b/c it has the great apple flavor without the overwhelming sweetness of apple juice.
Sparkling Apple Wine (4%-6% alcohol content):
Equipment & Ingredients:
-any sized glass wine balloon or other “brewing” container from your local home-brewing store***
-a cork or plug with a water lock
-a siphon
-a funnel
-swing-top or flip-top beer bottles (the same amount as the amount of juice you use)
-granular sugar* or granular fructose
-100% “conventional” or “natural” (unfiltered) apple juice (any amount you want, just make sure you only fill up your container 3/4ths of the way!!)
-Champagne Yeast (won’t leave a bread flavor and will make really really tiny bubble - like in sparkling wine!)
Directions:
Make sure the container you are using is really really clean (try a clorox/water solution).
Pour in your desired amount of apple juice and 1 packet of champagne yeast. Notice that I don’t tell you what size a packet is. In all actuality, it doesn’t matter since the amount of yeast will only determine the length of the process.
Place your water lock/stopper on the container and set it in a room-temperature/semi-warm location that is not in direct sun light.
It will start to bubble and you water lock will bob up and down. When the water lock sits flat and doesn’t move up any more, then the first stage is complete. But, don’t drink it just yet!
Using a funnel a 4-5 grams of sugar to each bottle. Then, siphon in the fermented apple juice into each bottle, making sure to leave about 4-5 centimeters of empty space at the top of each bottle.
Flip of the caps, turn a few times to mix the sugar, and then place the bottles on their sides in a dark room-temperature location (like in a cabinet or in your pantry). Depending on how cool or warm your home is the second stage of fermentation will take between 7-14 days (ie: the warmer it is, the faster it will go). You can let it sit longer to really work in. The best tasting one that we had sat for about 3 weeks before we drank it.
You can drink it at room temperature, but I find it tastes best really really cold, so store it in your refrigerator for a whole day before enjoying!
(did I miss any steps, husband??)
Quick Sparkling Apple Wine (1%-2% alcohol content):
Equipment & Ingredients:
-a 1,5 liter plastic bottle with lid (like a used water bottle that you can squeeze)
-funnel
-1 liter of 100% apple juice (conventional or natural)
-1/8 teaspoon of Champagne yeast
Directions:
Using a funnel, pour the apple juice into your plastic bottle. Pour in the champagne yeast, screw the lid on really tight, and twirl a bit to mix.
Place the bottle in a warm locations out of direct sun light. This should take about 6-12 hours to harden - squeeze the bottle and you will notice that it’s getting harder and harder to squeeze. Once it’s really hard (can’t squeeze anymore**), place it in your refrigerator. Let it cool - the rest of the day - and then drink!
It’s that simple!
***When we lived in the US, we got our equipment at Austin Homebrew - they ship in the US. Everytime we go back, we bring some of their Champagne yeast with us…it’s just great stuff!
**If you forget about your bottle, it may explode and gush apple wine all over the immediate area. So, make sure you remember, or leave it in your bathtub/shower just in case. This has never happened to us making the sparkling apple wine, but has happened to my husband when brewing beer.
*If you have a sugar intolerance, like I do, don’t worry, once the fermentation process is complete, the sugar will all be gone (the yeast eats it). However, if you are worried that you will drink it before the process is complete (as in you are making a batch in a 7-day hurry instead of a 14-day hurry), you may use granular fructose and achieve the same exact flavor and effect.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Strawberry Wine
Here is a little article on strawberry wine I pulled from http://www.betterlocalmarketing.com/?p=17
Strawberry wine sounds interesting, maybe next year I will try my hand at at. It seems like there would be less of a sugar requirement than the Blackberry wine. Of course vine ripened would be the key.
If you are looking for a recipe, I can vouch for Jack Keller's site, I pulled alot of my wine making idea's from him.
Cheers,
Heinz
The idea of making strawberry wine has become quite popular in the recent years. This may be because people have had a renewed interest in good wine and have seen the benefit of making ones own wine. Another possible reason for the interest in strawberry wine may be the song by Deana Carter titled “Strawberry Wine”. This song talks of the innocence of youth, love and strawberry wine reviving memories many people have of their first romances. With a thought to the memories, making the wine is a step to take to rekindle something thought lost and a way to celebrate youthful desires. Of course, some people may want to make the wine out of curiosity and because they are creative in the kitchen. What ever the reason for making the strawberry beverage it is important for a person to have a good recipe for their initial batch so they know the basics of the process.
Strawberry Wine Basics
There are some basic principle for making this beverage that will help insure success and good taste. The first thing to know is that the wine will take several months to age to its best flavor. A person can not cook up a batch to serve one night but will have to plan for the lengthy fermenting process.
Another basic for strawberry wine is that the strawberry’s need to be vine ripened for the best taste. Supermarket strawberries are often picked green, as with much of the produce, for better shipping but this does make the flavor of the berry decrease considerably. A person can grow their own strawberries or they can purchase from a local farm where the berries are picked when ripe. There are even some recipes that call for frozen strawberries because these berries are usually more flavorful than green picked berries.
It is also important for a person to understand all the aspects of home cooking and fermentation to make sure that the strawberry wine is well made without spoiling or bacterial growth. The winemaker will want to use clean, sanitized containers and will want to make sure to keep and cook the ingredients at the correct temperature. The enjoyment of drinking the wine should not be ruined by unsanitary cooking.
Strawberry Wine Recipes
The best recipes usually come from a grandmother or another older person. These people have tested and tried recipes that they used for years to impress family and friends. A person can ask around for someone with a secret recipe who may be willing to pass it on to a new generation.
Other strawberry wine recipes can be found at several sites on the internet. Www.winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques5.asp has a few different recipes for a person to choose from. The site www.eckraus.com/wine-making-strawberry.html has a great article on making wine including a recipe. About.com also has a strawberry wine recipe along with other sites a person may find useful. A person can try one of the sites or can easily do their own research to find a good recipe for strawberry wine.
Strawberry wine sounds interesting, maybe next year I will try my hand at at. It seems like there would be less of a sugar requirement than the Blackberry wine. Of course vine ripened would be the key.
If you are looking for a recipe, I can vouch for Jack Keller's site, I pulled alot of my wine making idea's from him.
Cheers,
Heinz
The idea of making strawberry wine has become quite popular in the recent years. This may be because people have had a renewed interest in good wine and have seen the benefit of making ones own wine. Another possible reason for the interest in strawberry wine may be the song by Deana Carter titled “Strawberry Wine”. This song talks of the innocence of youth, love and strawberry wine reviving memories many people have of their first romances. With a thought to the memories, making the wine is a step to take to rekindle something thought lost and a way to celebrate youthful desires. Of course, some people may want to make the wine out of curiosity and because they are creative in the kitchen. What ever the reason for making the strawberry beverage it is important for a person to have a good recipe for their initial batch so they know the basics of the process.
Strawberry Wine Basics
There are some basic principle for making this beverage that will help insure success and good taste. The first thing to know is that the wine will take several months to age to its best flavor. A person can not cook up a batch to serve one night but will have to plan for the lengthy fermenting process.
Another basic for strawberry wine is that the strawberry’s need to be vine ripened for the best taste. Supermarket strawberries are often picked green, as with much of the produce, for better shipping but this does make the flavor of the berry decrease considerably. A person can grow their own strawberries or they can purchase from a local farm where the berries are picked when ripe. There are even some recipes that call for frozen strawberries because these berries are usually more flavorful than green picked berries.
It is also important for a person to understand all the aspects of home cooking and fermentation to make sure that the strawberry wine is well made without spoiling or bacterial growth. The winemaker will want to use clean, sanitized containers and will want to make sure to keep and cook the ingredients at the correct temperature. The enjoyment of drinking the wine should not be ruined by unsanitary cooking.
Strawberry Wine Recipes
The best recipes usually come from a grandmother or another older person. These people have tested and tried recipes that they used for years to impress family and friends. A person can ask around for someone with a secret recipe who may be willing to pass it on to a new generation.
Other strawberry wine recipes can be found at several sites on the internet. Www.winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques5.asp has a few different recipes for a person to choose from. The site www.eckraus.com/wine-making-strawberry.html has a great article on making wine including a recipe. About.com also has a strawberry wine recipe along with other sites a person may find useful. A person can try one of the sites or can easily do their own research to find a good recipe for strawberry wine.
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