# November 2013 Wine of the Month Club



## Jericurl (Nov 17, 2013)

Ok, 
I'm starting a new thread for those participating in the November Wine of the Month Club. The previous thread was not titled as such and could hamper attempts to search for it in the future
Post your recipes, any updates and/or photos, and at the end of the month we will all post a summary of what we could have done better on a particular batch (and how), something that went very well, and something that was learned. 
Posting the experience gained is not a requirement, but I think it will help a lot since most of us that are participating are beginners. It is also a way to keep positive and look back and see how much we have learned.


ETA:

Jericurl.....Chocolate Cranberry Habanero (I need to come up with a cool sci/fi-fantasy name for it)

Rayway.....Hot Pepper 

LoneStarLori.....Strawberry Chocolate

Stressbaby.....Lime Ginger

Winenoob66.....Sugar Wash (bacardi mixer experiment)

Reefman.....Candy Cane/Peppermint Patty

Buckhorn.....Pumpkin Pie Wine

Elmer.....Chocolate Raspberry Wine


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## Jericurl (Nov 17, 2013)

*Chocolate Cranberry Habanero*

Chocolate Cranberry Habanero 

1 gal craberry juice
4 oz crushed cocoa bits
2 cans grape/cranberry concentrate
1 cup Hershey’s special dark cocoa
1 tsp tannin
1 tsp yeast energizer
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1/2 habanero pepper
1 campden tablet
2 lbs sugar
SG @ 1.12
pitched Lavlin EC 1118 on 11/12/13

Total amount of extra water added to batch was probably a little less than a quart. I expect a lot of lees to drop out of this one so I wanted to end up with a little over a gallon. From what I understand about adding chocolate, it will continue to drop a significant amount of material for quite awhile. After I siphon off to secondary, I will put any overage amount in a mason jar and in the fridge. At each racking, I will add from this jar so as to keep a full gallon of the wine.
I will need to find out how long I can keep the overage amount in the fridge and/or if freezing will be an option. Does anyone know? I'd really rather not top up with a different type of wine.

I purchased two 3.5 oz Lindt Supreme Dark 90% cocoa bars.
When I transfer to secondary, I'll taste the wine and see how much chocolate comes through and I may add a few pieces of the bars at that time as well.


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## the_rayway (Nov 17, 2013)

*Raelene's November Wine - Hot Pepper*

Re-posted from our original thread. 

I've heard all kinds of wonderful things about hot pepper cooking wine, and just had to give a try to making my own. I'm hoping this will take the place of my hot pepper oil - which is very labour intensive, only lasts for a month in the fridge, and is never quite as hot as I would like it to be. My family likes it spicy, but I played it fairly conservative for my first batch as I wan't sure what the ferment would do to the hotness of the peppers. And they were HOT this year!

Ingredient List
- 4L pure apple juice
- .5 tsp pectic enzyme
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- .25 tsp tannin
- 1 campden tab
- .25 tsp bentonite
- sugar to 1.104
- k1-V1116 yeast
- 2 cayenne peppers, split, with seeds
- 4 habanero peppers, split, no seeds

10.28.13
- Chucked everything into the primary except yeast and pectic enzyme. 
- Stirred like mad until the sugar was dissolved.
- O.G. 1.104

10.29.13
- Added Pectic enzyme. 
- Stir.

10.30.13
- Pitched yeast

10.31.13-11.3.13
- Stirred like a mad thing a few times per day. Decent foaming action during fermentation. 
- Had to be very careful, as the gas that came up burned the eyes, nose, and throat because of the hot peppers. 

11.4.13
- 'Racked' to a 1 gallon carboy (i.e. dumped through a strainer to get chunks out)
- S.G. .999

FYI, every time I see the words "November Wine" it immediately translates into "November Rain" in my head. I've been singing or humming it for several days now.


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## LoneStarLori (Nov 17, 2013)

*Nov 2013 Strawberry-Chocolate (Jack Kellers recipe)*

*Strawberry-Chocolate Wine*

I set out to make onion wine for the wine of the month Club, but started going through my 'I wanna make this' file and decided to start with the Chocolate strawberry from Jack Keller. Because this needs a year to become it's best, I thought I would bump it up so I can give it as gifts next Christmas. This is Jacks recipe from his website. 


4 pounds sliced ripe strawberries (frozen sliced have best ripeness)
4 oz Dutched cocoa powder _(I ordered some from Amazon to be sure it was Dutch)_
11.5-oz can Welch's 100% Red Grape frozen concentrate _(couldn't find Welches but our local grocery brand appears to be red grapes since the ones on the can are red and they also have a can with purple grapes)_
1 1/2 lb finely granulated sugar _(I sprung for pure cane)_
2 tsp acid blend
1 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
1/8 oz powdered grape tannin
1 finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet
5 pts water
1 pkt Gervin Wine Yeast Varietal B, or Lalvin 71B-1122 _( I used Lavlin 71b-1122)_


If using frozen strawberries, thaw. In a primary, pour into a fine-meshed nylon straining bag and tie closed. Do not mash.

Measure the Dutched cocoa powder (see Dutched Cocoa Powder, my February 5th, 2012 WineBlog entry for background on Dutched cocoa powder) in dry ounces and add to one pint of warm water in a blender, pulsing until thoroughly mixed. Add tannin, acid blend and yeast nutrient and pulse again to ensure all are well mixed and then set aside.

Pour the sugar over the strawberries and pour the boiling water over the sugar. Stir very well to dissolve sugar. Add the thawed grape concentrate and stir again to integrate. Finally, add the cocoa water while stirring and continue stirring for a full minute. Cover the primary and set aside to cool to room temperature.

When cooled, add activated yeast in a starter solution and cover primary. Punch down the bag of strawberries several times a day, checking their condition after several days. When they start looking thoroughly ravaged by the yeast (about 4-5 days), remove the bag and hang to drip (do NOT squeeze) to extract readily available liquid (I hang the bag from a kitchen cabinet door handle with a bowl underneath for about 20-30 minutes). Add dripped liquid back to primary and cover primary. Discard the strawberry pulp.

When the vigorous fermentation slows, transfer to secondary and attach an airlock. Do not top up. Allow fermentation to finish and rack, adding the finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet and then top up. Set aside in dark place for 60 days and rack again; top up with distilled water (this will not noticeably affect the flavor or alcohol level). Return to darkness another 60 days and rack again, topping up as before. Set aside in darkness 4-6 months to bulk age. Rack if required, bottle and age an additional 6 months before tasting. Yes, it is a protracted process, but well worth it. [Jack Keller's own recipe]

The resulting wine is full-bodied and delicious, the marriage of strawberry and chocolate perfect. To retain color, this wine is best bottled in dark glass and cellared in darkness or very low light. It should be consumed within a year -- two years at most.

_There is a mention of boiling water in the recipe, but it isn't clear whether it is part of the 5 pts in the recipe. I decided to use 4 1/2 pts in addition to the one used for the chocolate blending. 
My starting SG was 1.095 but I measured it after adding the chocolate which was rather thick so I don't know if that affected the reading. My taste buds tell me it was probably a solid 1.09+. I added everything on day one except the campden as the recipe stated. _


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## Stressbaby (Nov 18, 2013)

Copied from original thread:

*Lime-Ginger*
8 limes, rind and juice (this batch had 2 store-bought limes and 6 large Persian limes from my greenhouse)
1 can Welch's concentrate
30g chopped fresh ginger root
30g crystallized ginger
1# 10oz sugar
1t yeast nutrient, divided additions
1/4t tannin
1t pectic
3.75 quarts water
D47 yeast

Zest and juice fruit. Chop ginger, at to 1 pint water, bring to boil. Strain water into primary, add ginger back to pot and add another 1 pint water. Bring back to boil, simmer 1 hr, then strain water into primary. Add zest, juice, tannin, sugar, water, 1/2 nutrient, grape concentrate. When cool, 1t pectic. After 12 hours, yeast starter. Keep fermentation temp down to 20C (I do this by putting the bucket in a larger bucket and putting 2-4 ice packs in between the two buckets, changing out every 12 hours or so). Add second half teaspoon nutrient at around 1/3 sugar depletion. At 1.010 move to secondary, then usual care after that.


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## LoneStarLori (Nov 18, 2013)

Stressbaby said:


> Copied from original thread:
> 
> *Lime-Ginger*
> 8 limes, rind and juice (this batch had 2 store-bought limes and 6 large Persian limes from my greenhouse)
> ...




StressBaby, what kind of concentrate was this? White or purple? I'm guessing white, but I can be dense sometimes


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## Stressbaby (Nov 18, 2013)

Yes, white.


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## wineforfun (Nov 18, 2013)

I won't be starting any new batches(5 - 1 gal. batches aging now) until next month but will definitely be keeping an eye on this thread. Thanks for starting it.


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## Winenoob66 (Nov 18, 2013)

5 Gallon Sugar wash

20 cups sugar (dissolved in hot water, then let cool)
5 tsp. Yeast Nutrient
2 1/2 tsp Yeast Energizer
Lalvin EC-1118

Heat 1 gal water to melt sugar, and let cool repeat if needed and then add to primary along with everything else and stir to dissolve nutrient and energizer. When mix cools to around 70 to 75 degrees F toss in Yeast.
Run it till it bottoms out at or below 1.000 and stays at the same reading for a few days. then add
5 Campden tablets and potassium sorbate according to label instructions
wait 24 hrs.
rack off 5 1 gal containers and mix with either all juice concentrates or Barcardi mixers

2 juice concentrates or 3 barcardi mixers per gallon. any flavors you like. Enjoy

Update
11/21/13 Been going for 14 days now. So glad I took a Gravity reading first seems I am stuck at 1.030 but getting a bubble once a min so it is slowly moving will wait and check it again in a few days to see where it is.


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## reefman (Nov 18, 2013)

I'm starting my second Candy Cane/Peppermint Patty batch. Did the first last winter, and it's not yet bottled....I'm bulk aging and tweaking the taste.
Here's Julies recipe, which I'm using as the base:

_For a 3gallon batch:
54 candy canes
1/8 peptic enzyme
6 cans Welch's white grape concentrate
1 tsp nutrient
1 tsp energizer
1 banana

I started with an sg of 1.084, acid .60%, after it ferments to dry, stabilize and taste,there really wasn't much in the way of taste so I use about a tablespoon of McCormicks peppermint but I have found Watkins peppermint at Walmart, this is a natural extract so use this if you can find it. Start with a tsp of peppermint, taste and add more to your liking, then backsweeten, I used 24 candy canes (this will also bring out a nice pick color) and one bottle of corn syrup (corn syrup gives it a real nice mouth feel), final gravity was 1.032 BUT I added Ghirardelli 80% chococate, 2 pkgs, should be 7 oz. for 2 months., rack, let it clear and bottle.

Peppermint Patty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! _
___________________
Julie_

I'll list my tweaks as I get started. I still have about 5 lbs of candy canes in the freezer from last year.


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## wineforfun (Nov 18, 2013)

I am eagerly waiting for the holidays to pass so all the candy canes and chocolate covered cherries will go on sale. I want to make 1 gal. of candy cane and 1 gal. of chocolate covered cherries or blueberries.


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## Jericurl (Nov 18, 2013)

That's my plan as well.
I plan on buying a ridiculous amount of the chocolate covered cherries to make into wine.


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## Julie (Nov 18, 2013)

I think this is an awesome idea! I ask for one favor, after you have made your wine aged it and when you decide this is a keeper, please copy the recipe to our recipe section. We have a lot of members who search the recipes and I think it would be awesome to have these recipes there as well as here.


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## kryptonitewine (Nov 19, 2013)

I'm starting the strawberry chocolate that Lori posted tonight. 

Thanks for the recipe, sounds like fun. 

That's not your Welch's wine for the contest is it? 6 months seems too short for this one.


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## Winenoob66 (Nov 19, 2013)

I'm gonna have to agree with Kryptonitewine that Strawberry Chocolate wine has a strong alluring quality to it. I'm just waiting to see how hers turns out to, maybe I will do this one in the near future myself.


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## LoneStarLori (Nov 20, 2013)

kryptonitewine said:


> I'm starting the strawberry chocolate that Lori posted tonight.
> 
> Thanks for the recipe, sounds like fun.
> 
> That's not your Welch's wine for the contest is it? 6 months seems too short for this one.



So far it is looking good. I racked it a couple of days ago and it is starting to separate all the lees and looking more red. The smell is defiantly chocolate. Nummy!

No, this will not be the contest wine. It needs to be 80% juice and you're right, this will take too long.

I am curious to all of those who are making wines out of chocolate bars and precessed candies; Most all commercial chocolate candies are made with a certain amount of wax or paraffin so I'm wondering how that breaks down in the wine. Has anyone seen any floaties?


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## reefman (Nov 20, 2013)

I used a chocolate slab my wife bought at the farmers market, and I have an oil slick on top of my candy cane wine. 
I will be racking off the choco. in about two weeks, and hopefully leaving the slick behind. 
If it comes along, I will try a filter to absorb some of the oil.


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## vernsgal (Nov 20, 2013)

LoneStarLori said:


> I am curious to all of those who are making wines out of chocolate bars and precessed candies; Most all commercial chocolate candies are made with a certain amount of wax or paraffin so I'm wondering how that breaks down in the wine. Has anyone seen any floaties?



I used the Lindt chocolate in my cherry wine. It left an oily slick on top while it was in carboy but since racking (2 months ago)it's all clear


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## LoneStarLori (Nov 20, 2013)

reefman said:


> I used a chocolate slab my wife bought at the farmers market, and I have an oil slick on top of my candy cane wine.
> I will be racking off the choco. in about two weeks, and hopefully leaving the slick behind.
> If it comes along, I will try a filter to absorb some of the oil.





vernsgal said:


> I used the Lindt chocolate in my cherry wine. It left an oily slick on top while it was in carboy but since racking (2 months ago)it's all clear



I suspected that might happen but I'm glad it 'racks' away. The Jack Keller recipe I'm using calls for 'dutched' chocolate. After reading about it, the dutch processing removes the acid that naturally comes in chocolate. It must also remove oils because I have no slick. Makes a great hot chocolate too.


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## wineforfun (Nov 20, 2013)

I use Lindt 85% dark chocolate and normally put it in the secondary after it has cleared. I leave it in 4-6 weeks.


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## Jericurl (Nov 20, 2013)

Good to know.

As soon as mine ferments down I'm going to see if it needs more chocolate.
I did take a little taste when I put it in secondary and I liked it.

Lori,
What is this contest you guys are doing?


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## the_rayway (Nov 20, 2013)

Hey Jeri,
We signed up to do the next Unofficial WMT Wine Competition! You should join as well!


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## Jericurl (Nov 20, 2013)

Ahhhh, I'll have to post stalk you guys and see the thread.

Maybe it'll be something I can be part of next year.
Right now I've just got too much going on.
Things should slow down sometime in February. If I'm lucky!


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## LoneStarLori (Nov 20, 2013)

Jericurl said:


> Ahhhh, I'll have to post stalk you guys and see the thread.
> 
> Maybe it'll be something I can be part of next year.
> Right now I've just got too much going on.
> Things should slow down sometime in February. If I'm lucky!



Post stalk.. haha, never heard of that. I am probably guilty of it though. 

The contest won't take too much time. After all, it's grocery store items. It has to be 80% Welchs juice. Concentrated or bottled. Any flavor you like. I think you should go for it since you have a talent for blending flavors most of us would never think of. And the judging isn't till May or june. 

Here is the thread so you don't have to stalk for 30 mins. 
*Welchs wine competition*


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## buckhorn (Nov 21, 2013)

Well, I got my stuff together and have jumped into the Win-o-the-month club. So far I have only made 2 kits that are bulk aging in a carboy right now before I bottle. I have been reading and preparing to make some Dragon's Blood, and then this monthly idea was brought up. I like my wines on the sweet side and the 1 gallon batches will let me try more flavors rather than having 30 bottles of a wine I don't care for.

Tonight I mixed up my November wine (a little late in the month, but I made it) and plan to pitch the yeast tomorrow evening. I may add a twist to the idea (assuming I like the first batch of Dragon's Blood) I plan to make a 1 gallon batch of Dragon's Blood of various flavors to stock up for summer. I will also make a 1 gallon batch of wine each month and will be looking for recipes that I think sound good. 

For November I am making:
Dragon's Blood -- the original triple berry blend as per DangerDave's recipe.
Pumpkin Pie Wine -- I adapted a recipe I got from Val (here on WMT) for canned pumpkin wine. I made adjustments that are not too outlandish but I think will bring closer to the taste of a pumpkin pie.

A couple things I observed:
1a. The DB color is already starting to show in the fermenter
1b. My SG read at 1.055 (recipe says target of 1.075) - I was very careful doing my conversions to scale down to 1 gallon. I will test SG again tomorrow before I pitch the yeast, but I am not sure I want to venture into trying to boost it with sugar before I finish 1 batch by the recipe and see how it tastes.

2a. The Pumpkin Pie smells WONDERFUL, if the final wine tastes anything close to how this smells, I will have a smashing success.
2b. The pumpkin in a 2 gallon fermenter has me a little concerned whether it has enough room for the foam without overflowing (as I have seen some others dealt with on here). My local supply store did not have any anti-foam to try. I placed the fermenter into a large plastic tub in case it does overflow I don't have the whole room a mess. I may also leave a spatula in the bucket to see if that helps reduce the bubbles similar to placing a wooden spoon across a boiling pot to keep it from boiling over.

Well -- this post seems to have turned into a babble...... in short, I'm in.....
-Brian


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## LoneStarLori (Nov 21, 2013)

Hi Brian, glad we hooked another. 

Sounds like you are off to a great start. I will have to lookup that pumpkin pie recipe. It sounds pretty good. How long is it till it's drinkable? Next fall or sooner.

I'm not sure what type of fermenter your 2 gal is, but I buy 5 gal FOOD GRADE buckets at Lowes for about $5 they also have lids available but I just you a cotton cloth over mine secured with a piece of elastic to keep the fruit flies at bay. I usually start out with at least 3.5 gals so these for perfect for me.


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## the_rayway (Nov 21, 2013)

buckhorn said:


> Well, I got my stuff together and have jumped into the Win-o-the-month club. So far I have only made 2 kits that are bulk aging in a carboy right now before I bottle. I have been reading and preparing to make some Dragon's Blood, and then this monthly idea was brought up. I like my wines on the sweet side and the 1 gallon batches will let me try more flavors rather than having 30 bottles of a wine I don't care for.
> 
> Tonight I mixed up my November wine (a little late in the month, but I made it) and plan to pitch the yeast tomorrow evening. I may add a twist to the idea (assuming I like the first batch of Dragon's Blood) I plan to make a 1 gallon batch of Dragon's Blood of various flavors to stock up for summer. I will also make a 1 gallon batch of wine each month and will be looking for recipes that I think sound good.
> 
> ...



Hey Brian! 
Could you post the recipe for the Pumpkin Pie Wine? I'd love to hear what you put together.


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## Jericurl (Nov 21, 2013)

Buckhorn,

If you wouldn't mind, please post your recipe/method for your November wine.

These threads are going to be used for learning together and that will make it easier to pinpoint any great successes or dismal failures.



Ok all, I posted a summary in the first post of who has joined so far and what each person is making.
I wish I could fast forward a year to see how all of these turn out. They all sound fantastic!


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## Jericurl (Nov 21, 2013)

Lori,

Thanks for the link to the contest. It sounds like a lot of fun. 
I'll fitz around a bit after Thanksgiving and see if I can come up with anything that sounds good.


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## buckhorn (Nov 21, 2013)

*Pumpkin Pie Wine (untested recipe)*

Here is the recipe as I have tweaked it, the ingredients do not list the original recipe that I did not use..... Be aware I am a total newbie at this (started my first kit barely 2 months ago) and this is my first actual recipe. So, what you see is a major experiment and this time next year may end up as 1 gallon of "lessons learned - don't do this" 

*Pumpkin Pie Wine*
volume: 1 gallon
4 Lbs Canned Pumpkin _[I used 2-29 oz cans of Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin]_
3 Tbsp McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spices _[Directions say 1 TBSP per pound for a pie]_
4 cups White Granulated Sugar
2 cups Light Brown Sugar
1 tsp Bentonite
1 tsp Acid Blend
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient
1 tsp Wine Tannin
1 tsp Pectic Enzyme
1/4 tsp Amylase Enzyme _[Not sure if this is enough, but directions on the bottle said 1/2 tsp for 5 Gallons]_
1 Gallon Water _[I used a whole gallon of water to give me some extra when racking off the lees, hoping to retain a finished gallon]_
Yeast _[original recipe called for Montrachet, I am actually going to split a packet of Lavlin EC-1118 with my gallon of Dragon's Blood]_
1 Campden Tablet (or equivalent K-meta)

_I will also add 1 cinnamon stick (broken) and 1 vanilla bean (cracked) if I can find them in the next couple days._

1. Put pumpkin paste and Pumpkin Pie spices in a mesh bag, tie the end and place in fermenter.
2. Boil water, Stir in Bentonite, Add White and Brown Sugar. Stir until Sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Pour boiled mixture over mesh bag containing Pumpkin
_This is where I am at this point -- the remainder of the instructions are my planned steps for the rest of the process. They are subject to change if circumstances necessitate._
_*Note: Through this process, do not squeeze the bag - it will cause the pumpkin to squish out and possibly cause trouble clearing the haze*_
4. Let Cool to Room Temperature, remove mesh bag and place in a sanitized bowl. Add Acid Blend, Yeast Nutrient, Wine Tannin, Pectic Enzyme, and Amylase Enzyme. Stir well.
Take Temperature and SG Reading. SG should be 1.080-1.090, as white sugar if necessary/desired. Replace Mesh Bag.
5. *Daily*: Remove Mesh Bag and place in sanitized bowl. Record Temperature and SG. Stir must Vigorously. Replace Mesh Bag.
6. When SG reaches around 1.040, transfer to a secondary and fit with an airlock. Let Mesh Bag drip (Do Not Squeeze) and add to secondary. Discard Pumpkin from the Mesh Bag. Add 1 Campden Tablet (or equivalent amount of K-Meta) to secondary
_SG of 1.040 is from original recipe, wondering if I should wait until 1.020, like my kits were, to have less fermentation in secondary_
7. After a few days when Fermentation has slowed, top up as necessary
8. When Fermentation has ended (3 days at same SG); rack, stabilize and sorbate. Back Sweeten with Simple Syrup of Brown Sugar.
I will sample to see how it goes, but current plan is to bulk age for 6 months, then bottle age until Next November (1 year from start).

As I said, this is the current plan - I always welcome suggestions/comments from others. The mixture smells fabulous at this point -- if the wine tastes half as good as the smell, this will be a keeper of a recipe. 

-Brian


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## Winenoob66 (Nov 21, 2013)

Hi Brian,
If your a member of a Sam's club in PA check there for the cinnamon sticks and Vanilla as they carry them here in NC.

Your recipe looks pretty good on the pumpkin, Keep us up to date so we can see how it is going.

Update on Sugar wash posted in original post.
Seems it is still at 1.030 after 14 days.


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## Jericurl (Nov 21, 2013)

Hmmmm....

How long has it stayed at that sg?
Do you think you have a stuck fermentation or is it just moving slow?

Is it pretty warm where it is fermenting or pretty cool?
Do you have any yeast nutrient or energizer?


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## Winenoob66 (Nov 22, 2013)

Yeah were on the same wave length tomorrow I plan on hitting my LHBS and grabbing some, but in the room where it is it is a little cooler round 65 so I placed a sweater around the carboy to try and warm it some.


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## Stressbaby (Nov 22, 2013)

Pics of my lime-ginger.
I left a lot of head space since it was still fermenting when I moved to secondary. I plan to rack and top off this weekend.


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## LoneStarLori (Nov 22, 2013)

That look pretty nice Stressbaby. Almost like a big margarita waiting for a glass and some salt.


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## buckhorn (Nov 23, 2013)

This is what my Pumpkin Pie Wine looks like 24-hours after pitching the yeast. It sounds like a good bowl of Rice Krispies, and you can easliy see the bubbles rising from low in the bucket to the surface ..  ... SG has dropped from 1.090 to 1.066 in the first 24 hours.


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## Jericurl (Nov 24, 2013)

So far, so good. I wonder how it's going to finish out.


Stressbaby, that looks delicious. Have you tasted it yet?


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## Stressbaby (Nov 24, 2013)

Not yet. Racked it yesterday, though, and it is VERY limey!


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## Elmer (Nov 29, 2013)

A little late to the thread, but the month is not over yet.

Chocolate/raspberry wine:
1 gallon water
1/2 gallon white grape juice
2lbs home grown black raspberries
4TBS cocoa (baking)
Tannin
Yeast nut
Yeast energizer ( all according to package directions)
5 cups white sugar

SG 1.080


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## the_rayway (Nov 29, 2013)

Racked my hot pepper the other day. SG is .992! 
So hot it'll burn you both ways. 

Very hazy, so I might have to hit it with some more pectic enzyme. Darn Apple Juice!


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## Jericurl (Nov 29, 2013)

Elmer,

Did you use the solid chocolate or the powder form?
Just curious.
I used powder and it was quite a bit more than what you added.
I'm wondering if I could have gotten away with using less.


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## Jericurl (Nov 29, 2013)

Ok,

November is winding down and I'm still stuffed from all the food we ate yesterday.

Time to start gathering your thoughts about if you learned anything ref winemaking this month, something that went really well for you, and if you would have done anything differently.


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## Stressbaby (Nov 29, 2013)

No changes for me.
I've got my December wine ready to go...


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## the_rayway (Nov 29, 2013)

November

*What went well:* this wine was super easy, fermented well, and has great taste. Creating a recipe and _actually following the plan_ makes things go a lot smoother.

*What could have gone better:* I should have made a bigger batch, and done it last year - so it would be ready to give away as Christmas prezzies this year. (hindsight: 20/20)

*What I learned:* never underestimate the pectin in apples. Always add a bit extra pectic enzyme to assist with preventing pectin hazes.


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## Elmer (Nov 30, 2013)

Jericurl said:


> Elmer, Did you use the solid chocolate or the powder form? Just curious. I used powder and it was quite a bit more than what you added. I'm wondering if I could have gotten away with using less.



I used powder.
I decided to use more than one of the recipe structures I was following suggested.
It has a heck of a strong chocolate smell. & flavor!


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## Jericurl (Dec 1, 2013)

*What went well:* Making a plan and sticking with it. 

*What could have gone better:* Making sure I had ALL of the supplies before I started. I thought I was covered, but didn't have a stopper to fit a 1 gallon jug. I had Manthing tinker around with the original packaging that the cranberry juice came in and he was able to make a temporary barrier using the lid, a grommet, and an airlock. It is all PET plastic so it should work until I get my new jugs/stoppers next week. It'll be about time to rack it again anyway.

*What I would have done differently:* I don't regret using habanero pepper in the wine, but I think I should have gone ahead and used the whole pepper instead of taking out half of it. I can't taste any pepper in the wine now. Hopefully the flavor will pop up again after some aging. I also wonder if I should have made two gallons and put habanero in one and cayenne in the other.

Overall, I feel like it's going to be a good batch and will work out great. I do feel like it's going to take forever for the lees to drop out. Hopefully it will be ready for drinking in a years time.


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## Stressbaby (Dec 1, 2013)

Let's try to remember to come back and update our wines on this thread.
Jeri, are you going to start a December thread?

Edited: I see that you already did.


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## LoneStarLori (Dec 1, 2013)

Oh I feel so inept for not posting. These reports are looking good. 
Can I get a Mulligan till Dec. 3rd? I haven't been able to tend mine for a week._ Grandkids are time suckers. _


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## Jericurl (Dec 1, 2013)

No hurry Lori.

We aren't on any kind of a timeline here!

Enjoy those littles while you have em.


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## Winenoob66 (Dec 2, 2013)

Just a quick note on my sugar wash, it is moving so slowly its not even funny I hit it again with 5tsp nutrient and 2 1/2 energizer heated the room to 75 degrees and stirred it some to introduce some oxygen into it and still it is slowly going but at least it is a bubble every 10 seconds now instead of once a minute. More to come later.


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## Stressbaby (Dec 2, 2013)

Winenoob,
Are you going to carbon filter it?


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## LoneStarLori (Dec 12, 2013)

Yep, I'm still here. It's been a busy couple of weeks trying to get ready for Christmas. So much Amazon, so little time. 
My strawberry chocolate is resting nicely. The color is beautify. This is a pic from when I reached it last week. It has gotten a little darker since then. The taste is very strawberry, and chocolate is upfront. 

*What went well:* Being able to get all the ingredients in a reasonable time frame. The fun of smelling it in the process.

*What could have gone better:* Keeping better notes after the secondary. Lesson learned. 

*What I would have done differently:* It seems that everything went pretty well as I expected. However, I think I may have racked it off the lees from the secondary too early. There was a lot of pulp floating on the top as well as some lees on the bottom after being in the secondary for ten days, so I racked it. That lost of a lot of the floating pulp which I later realized would have settled. I'm sure it took some flavor of the strawberries with it.

In conclusion; I plan to let this bulk age for the next 3 months, then rack again and bulk age some more. According to the recipe, it should be bulk aged for 9 months. I am looking forward to tasting again in 3 months, and again at each racking. I think this is going to be a good first attempt at a true country fruit wine.

this picture was taken at the second racking and is how it sits now. I love the color!


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## Winenoob66 (Dec 12, 2013)

Sorry Stressbaby I didn't see your post until now.

No I wasn't planning on filtering it at all, I was kinda going by a video I seen on youtube

heres the link for what I am following it is kinda long you can skip the math part if ya like on how many bottle he is going to need. I basically am just using the mix and going from there.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3nWUa4FkMw[/ame]


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## Winenoob66 (Dec 12, 2013)

Nice looking wine Lori 
I hope it tastes as good as it looks I so want to try this as I am a avid strawberry lover and will eat about anything that has chocolate in it.


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## kryptonitewine (Dec 12, 2013)

LoneStarLori said:


> this picture was taken at the second racking and is how it sits now. I love the color!



Interesting. I made your recipe other than I used welch's concord. Mine still looks like a jug of chocolate milk.


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## LoneStarLori (Dec 13, 2013)

kryptonitewine said:


> Interesting. I made your recipe other than I used welch's concord. Mine still looks like a jug of chocolate milk.



It's not settling at all? What kind of chocolate did you use? Was it "dutch".


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## kryptonitewine (Dec 13, 2013)

LoneStarLori said:


> It's not settling at all? What kind of chocolate did you use? Was it "dutch".


I retread your post and you're farther along then me. I'm in secondary and it's still very slowly perking.


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## Stressbaby (Dec 22, 2013)

Here is the November WotM, Lime-Ginger.
Starting to clear up a bit. 
I have had to fine most of my citrus wines (usually with Isinglass) so I won't be surprised if this doesn't completely clear on its own.


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## the_rayway (Dec 22, 2013)

How's the taste Stressbaby? I'm interested to see if it's as much like a margarita as it is in my head...


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## Stressbaby (Dec 22, 2013)

Taste is very good for a young wine... more lime than ginger at this point. I haven't made lime from other limes but these Persian limes I grow make great wines.


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## Winenoob66 (Dec 26, 2013)

OK update on the sugar wash for wine coolers

After it getting stuck a few times, it is finally done.

I ended up with 5.5 gallons of plain sugar wash as I had done a 6 gallon mix to start.

I mixed as follows

3 Strawberry Daiquiari mix and sugar wash to 1 gallon
3 Lime Margarita mix and sugar wash to 1 gallon 
3 Pina colada mixes and sugar wash to 1 gallon
2 Lemonade concentrates and sugar wash to 1 gallon
2 Orange Pineapple concentrates and sugar wash to 1 gallon

These are not cleared, they are done by running sugar wash dry which I settled for a FG of 1.000, granted I probably could of stomped my feet and danced around it a few more times again to get it to drop a little bit more but I figured I was close enough. The Pina Colada has massive pulp but if you overlook that and consider that most wine coolers are not clear. The Pina colada one is actually pretty good its on the sweet side. but has a decent flavor not weak at all and has a creaminess to it.
The others I haven't tried yet.

(PS tomorrow I need more concentrates I still have 1 gallon of sugar wash left.)

UPDATE
The lime is tart but very good but the Strawberry is off the hook good, strong strawberry flavor. The pina colada is good but has a ton of pulp but wasn't bad I could of tried to strain it after it sat for a few days to get as much flavor from it as possible but it kept evaporating for some reason a glass at a time. Still haven't had the chance to try the last 2 flavors but with what I have seen in the first 3 I am sure the last 2 will be good also.


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## Elmer (Jan 3, 2014)

Had my Raspberry Chocolate (or is it Choco/Rasp?) clearing.
I oaked 1 gallon and left 1 unoaked.

1 gallon is in the basement at 60 degree (cleared nicely, but has a haze, will cold clear when it warms in a few days)

1 gallon is cold clearing in the garage. actually turned to slush when the temp hit 1!

the gallon in the garage is crystal clear. I intend to sweeten & bottle this weekend. (after it thaws)

Unsweetened, the oaked version has way more chocolate taste. Almost overpowers the raspberry. ( I am thinking about 1/2 cup of sugar per gallon, maybe little less)


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## the_rayway (Jan 7, 2014)

Ok WOTMC'ers - it's label time!

Who's gonna show what they're thinking of for this month's batch?

(I'm posted this in December's Thread too)


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## LoneStarLori (Jan 7, 2014)

Labels? I completely forgot about making those. Most of my recipes are year long ones and I didn't even think about that.. I'll have to get on it soon before I lose the love for my 'experiments' in the gallon carboys. lol


I will say the strawberry chocolate is clearing nicely and smells like heaven. I need to taste it!


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## LoneStarLori (Jan 8, 2014)

Ok, you guilted me into making labels. lol

I racked the strawberry chocolate today and had a taste. WOW! The chocolate is really there. It kind of overtakes the strawberry but I think the fruit will come out in time. Here is picture of how nicely it's clearing. Also one of my label. (sexy, huh?)
It kind of seems like a lot of work to create labels for only four bottles. But, since this will be a prize wining wine (in my head) I thought it deserved some effort.


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## Jericurl (Jan 8, 2014)

Oh Lori, that looks fantastic.

Both the wine and the label.

Rae,
I haven't even started thinking about labels. Not sure if I want to do one for each wine or if I want to do a WOTM label and just highlight different months.


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## vernsgal (Jan 8, 2014)

LoneStarLori said:


> Ok, you guilted me into making labels. lol
> 
> I racked the strawberry chocolate today and had a taste. WOW! The chocolate is really there. It kind of overtakes the strawberry but I think the fruit will come out in time. Here is picture of how nicely it's clearing. Also one of my label. (sexy, huh?)
> It kind of seems like a lot of work to create labels for only four bottles. But, since this will be a prize wining wine (in my head) I thought it deserved some effort.



the color of that wine is amazing! and I love the label.

I just don't have the imagination some of you have, but I'll see what I can do for December's ( I stole your homework remark Lori  )


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## LoneStarLori (Jan 8, 2014)

It is a really pretty color in the carboy. It's not as red in a glass. But to me that makes it look more like a true homed wine and not Boonesfarm. hehe

I don't know if Googling chocolate covered strawberry and stealing a pic counts as imagination. It's all Photoshop magic after that.


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## the_rayway (Jan 8, 2014)

Oh Lori, I totally love both of those pictures. Sexy is right. Loving the colour of the wine as it clears. Oh, and that label makes me want to purr ::

I'm working on the labels - my gallon is 6 bottles, which equals 1 sheet. Perfect! Unfortunately, I don't appear to have any creativity lately. Total creator's block. Grrr...


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## ckvchestnut (Jan 9, 2014)

LoneStarLori said:


> Ok, you guilted me into making labels. lol I racked the strawberry chocolate today and had a taste. WOW! The chocolate is really there. It kind of overtakes the strawberry but I think the fruit will come out in time. Here is picture of how nicely it's clearing. Also one of my label. (sexy, huh?) It kind of seems like a lot of work to create labels for only four bottles. But, since this will be a prize wining wine (in my head) I thought it deserved some effort.



Wow that wine is a beautiful colour! I'm sure if the wine is as good as you say, the labels won't have been a waste of time - you could modify and use them for future batches!


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## Elmer (Jan 9, 2014)

Lori,

My raspberry/Chocolate has very little Distinct raspberry flavor.
It has a very chocolate flavor. Dry chocolate if that makes any sense.

Of course I have only tried the oaked version

by the way, GREAT Label!


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## LoneStarLori (Jan 9, 2014)

Elmer said:


> Lori,
> 
> My raspberry/Chocolate has very little Distinct raspberry flavor.
> It has a very chocolate flavor. Dry chocolate if that makes any sense.




I guess chocolate is a better survivor of the yeast attack. I wonder how kryptonitewine's version with welches concord is coming alone.


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## kryptonitewine (Jan 9, 2014)

You rang?

I like my chocolate raspberry much better than the strawberry. The strawberry is good but I taste much more chocolate. The raspberry comes thru much better. I did not oak mine.


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## the_rayway (Jan 9, 2014)

Hey chocolate-y folks, here's a question: do you think it's an acid thing? As in, the raspberry pulls through because it has that acid to cut the chocolate? Just a thought.


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## kryptonitewine (Jan 9, 2014)

Might be Ray. but strawberry can be such a light flavor plus it sometimes takes awhile for strawberry to develop. Not gonna panic or truly judge it for a long time.


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## LoneStarLori (Jan 9, 2014)

Jim, I wish my Hubs came running that easily. 

Rae, I think you are onto something. The Keller recipe I used called for "ductched" chocolate which according to my research, has less acid. maybe to compensate for the lower acid in strawberries? I dunno. I am really anxious to see what comes out of this in the end. It smells and tastes so good, I will probably start another gal batch in hopes it will be a winner.


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## the_rayway (Jan 9, 2014)

Well, before bottling, make sure to bench test with some acid too!

Both the Raspberry & Blackberry meads that I did ended up having nearly no acid after fermentation. The addition suddenly made the fruit come alive for both, totally different meads before and after!


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## the_rayway (Jan 11, 2014)

Ok, going for pretty plain on this one.
Again, I can't figure out how to save these in a .jpeg format, so .pdf it is!  

View attachment Habanero Apple Wine.pdf


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## ckvchestnut (Jan 11, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Ok, going for pretty plain on this one.
> Again, I can't figure out how to save these in a .jpeg format, so .pdf it is!



In adobe reader with the file open click file save as .jpg I love how you put the flame on the pepper! how'd you do that!


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## the_rayway (Jan 11, 2014)

Thanks! I'm totally trying that.

The flame was already there - google! 

Edit: nope, didn`t work, it doesn't give me the option


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## ckvchestnut (Jan 11, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Thanks! I'm totally trying that. The flame was already there - google!  Edit: nope, didn`t work, it doesn't give me the option



Do you have the adobe suite? Or just the free reader download?


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## vernsgal (Jan 11, 2014)

I use google too! I go to google images and enter 1 or 2 words matching what I'm looking for and go from there.Throw it in photoshop and adjust


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## LoneStarLori (Jan 11, 2014)

vernsgal said:


> I use google too! I go to google images and enter 1 or 2 words matching what I'm looking for and go from there.Throw it in photoshop and adjust



Yep, that's how I found my strawberry image. It had a white background so I just lasso'd it and deleted the background. Then gave it some glow to stand out against the black.
On my big batches I try to name the wine for a coastal theme since I live near one. I also like to take my own pictures that tie in with the name for the labels. But not for the strawberry. That was too easy to Google.


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## the_rayway (Jan 12, 2014)

Ok, someone needs to give me a lesson here. 
I only have the free downloader, not the suite.

And what the f** is a lasso? Seriously, you can do that?


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## vernsgal (Jan 12, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Ok, someone needs to give me a lesson here.
> I only have the free downloader, not the suite.
> 
> And what the f** is a lasso? Seriously, you can do that?



OK that really did make me LOL


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## ckvchestnut (Jan 12, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Ok, someone needs to give me a lesson here. I only have the free downloader, not the suite. And what the f** is a lasso? Seriously, you can do that?



Haha! Well those are two different software suites... Both from adobe though. So in Adobe photoshop you have a tool called lasso which you click and it outlines an object in a photo and you can cut it out or do other things to it from what I remember. It's definitely not what the cowboys and girls  do lol 

The other is the full adobe suite for the PDFs where the software makes the PDFs completely editable and modifiable etc. The reader doesn't have any of those capabilities only reading PDFs. See if you can get your hands on the full adobe software suite it does have some very handy tools etc.


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## cmason1957 (Jan 12, 2014)

For us cheap folks, you might consider getting gimp photo editing. I really like the price, as in free. I know there is a pc and a Linux version, not sure about Mac.


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## Winenoob66 (Jan 12, 2014)

Or you can just use this

www.picmonkey.com/

And you can get pics of labels in google and edit them the way that you want them for faster results using this


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## ShelleyDickison (Jan 12, 2014)

Winenoob66 said:


> Or you can just use this
> 
> www.picmonkey.com/
> 
> And you can get pics of labels in google and edit them the way that you want them for faster results using this




I use pic monkey and print shop both. Not high end but they work for me. I used to have a real good photo editing software but apparently PC software from 2000 doesn't work on my 2013 Mac.


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## the_rayway (Jan 12, 2014)

Wow, thanks everyone! I think it's time to look into something like one of these. I'm definitely cheap, so it sill likely be one of the free programs to start.

 Lasoo!


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## buckhorn (Jan 13, 2014)

*Pumpkin Pie Wine Update*: ran a bench test past the wife tonight for back-sweetening.
sample 1 (.3 g sugar to 2 oz wine) : dryer than we like, can taste the spices and a hint of the pumpkin
sample 2: (.5 g sugar to 2 oz wine) : taste was lacking all around. Didn't like this sample for sweetness or flavor
sample 3: (1.0 g sugar to 2 oz wine) : this sample was sweeter, but the sweetness seemed to drown out some of the spice flavor. Still not a lot of the pumpkin taste.

The pumpkin seems to be lacking all around. I am hoping that it will become stronger as this ages and also meld into the spices. 

Plan: to let this bulk age in the jug until April and rack/re-taste to see how it is progressing.
Things to watch: does the pumpkin flavor come forward as it ages? (I hope so)


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## Stressbaby (Jan 13, 2014)

Lime-Ginger wine is still very hazy. I've had to use Isinglass on most of my citrus wines so that is not a big surprise. I'm in no hurry, though, still needs a few months/rackings.


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## Stressbaby (Jan 19, 2014)

Pic of the Lime Ginger. Clearing slowly. Tastes and smells fantastic.


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## mangojack (Jan 26, 2014)

LoneStarLori said:


> *Strawberry-Chocolate Wine*
> 
> I set out to make onion wine for the wine of the month Club, but started going through my 'I wanna make this' file and decided to start with the Chocolate strawberry from Jack Keller. Because this needs a year to become it's best, I thought I would bump it up so I can give it as gifts next Christmas. This is Jacks recipe from his website.
> 
> ...


This looks like a good recipe to try thanks for posting,Have you made this before? How did it turn out?Thanks.


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## kryptonitewine (Jan 26, 2014)

I have two versions of this recipe going on right now. 1 as the recipe states the other I used raspberries instead of strawberries. Both are clear, and look amazing. Smell of both is phenom! So far I like the taste of the rasp version much better but I have no intention on bottling or drinking for a very long time.


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## LoneStarLori (Jan 26, 2014)

mangojack said:


> This looks like a good recipe to try thanks for posting,Have you made this before? How did it turn out?Thanks.




So far so good. It is clearing beautifully. It's not a fast wine, but it already has a load of chocolate flavor and the strawberry is coming through slowly. I recommend it. It's a beautiful color.


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## the_rayway (Mar 31, 2014)

After a bit of playing with an extra pack of Kliesol/chitosan I had laying around (I split it between 5-1 gallon batches), this is finally perfectly clear.

I'm very much a fan of filtering my wine before bottling because it gives it such a gorgeous gloss, and there's no sediment in the bottle afterwards. However. I'm mildly afraid of doing that with this one. A set of filter pads can usually get me two 5 gallon batches - but I'm not sure I'd want to put anything through after this wine! I may have to accept the fact that 1 gal batches are not meant to be filtered *sigh*.

Working on the energy to bench test and get this puppy bottled. And the courage. It's bloody HOT! Lol. I've got to clean up the ice wine bottles I plan to put it in too. It think it'll look pretty sexy when it's all done


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## reefman (Mar 31, 2014)

reefman said:


> _
> I started with an sg of 1.084, acid .60%, after it ferments to dry, stabilize and taste,there really wasn't much in the way of taste so I use about a tablespoon of McCormicks peppermint but I have found Watkins peppermint at Walmart, this is a natural extract so use this if you can find it. Start with a tsp of peppermint, taste and add more to your liking, then backsweeten, I used 24 candy canes (this will also bring out a nice pick color) and one bottle of corn syrup (corn syrup gives it a real nice mouth feel), final gravity was 1.032 BUT I added Ghirardelli 80% chococate, 2 pkgs, should be 7 oz. for 2 months., rack, let it clear and bottle.
> 
> Peppermint Patty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! _
> ...


Well,
I racked this over the weekend. It's been sitting since Dec. 2013
I left the Chocolate in 2 months longer than called for. I'll back sweeten in two weeks and then bottle. Then let it sit till the holidays.
Out of curiosity, I tasted the chocolate pieces still sitting in the bottom of the carboy.
No Chocolate taste at all!!!!! I didn't care for the wine taste either, but it's not sweetened yet. Time will tell!


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## LoneStarLori (Mar 31, 2014)

Strawberry Chocolate update.

What have I done? I went to add some Sparkleoid today and decided to take an SG reading. When I poured it in the vial, it started bubbling like a beer head. I see tiny bubbles coming up in the gal jug. Could this be MLF?
I checked my notes and back in Jan, I topped it up with some DB. Well, I ended up throwing that a DB out in law Jan because it wouldn't finish and tasted like kaka. I am wondering if it has started fermenting back up.
As far as the taste, chocolate all the way with a hint of strawberry. If it ever settles down, I think it will be tasty.

Any thoughts folks?


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## the_rayway (Mar 31, 2014)

Huh, I wonder if you're right and the leftover yeast from the KakaPee got going again. 

Shake like hell and let it sit for a few days. What's you're current SG?


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## LoneStarLori (Mar 31, 2014)

Yeah, that what I did. Shake and I put about an 1/8 of a campden tablet in and it was like pouring baking soda in vinegar. Volcano!
The SG was at .99 when it finished in December and today .997.
Stupid DB


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## Stressbaby (Apr 6, 2014)

November WotM Club Update:
Lime Ginger is going to be awesome. Flavors are balanced. Still not quite clear, but I generally have had to hit my citrus wines with Isinglass. Maybe next month. Will be be drinkable young!


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## the_rayway (Apr 6, 2014)

This is my version of a 'double like' 

I love it when an experiment comes together!


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## the_rayway (Apr 18, 2014)

Finished an bottled.

It starts out like a dry white wine with a hint of apple, then it rips your throat out with habanero awesomeness. Bryan is still complaining that his insides are on fire.  I ended up putting it in clear port bottles instead of the ice wine bottles - purely out of laziness.

I think this will make a nice, simple cooking wine - and likely mid-winter shots or sipping drinks to warm up a little bit. At 14.5% both the heat and the alcohol will warm you up!

Really looking forward to my next batch of chili.


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## Stressbaby (Aug 2, 2014)

Bottled Lime-Ginger today. Not so great. It has the medicinal smell that most of my citrus wines have. The taste is fine but I don't like the aroma. It is drinkable however.


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## LoneStarLori (Oct 24, 2014)

*Strawberry chocolate is bottled!*

Strawberry chocolate is finally in the bottle. I give up! This will never be a truly clear wine. As you will see from the pictures, when the light hits it just right, it's hazy. That is the chocolate.
My final take on this is that although it is a nice sweet wine, neither the chocolate or the strawberry has much presence. There is _some _chocolate on the nose, but strawberry is not coming through. This is supposed to be best at a least a year, I think it may take longer. I have had quite a bit of trouble stabilizing it. On one racking, it started fizzing when I added campden. Today when I bottled, I used my vacu-vin to test the bubbles. Yep, there were plenty. I went ahead and degassed the best I could on each bottle before corking with a Zork cork. I am pretty afraid of bottle bombs so I moved them into the refrigerator to finish aging. 

the original recipe from the beginning of the thread is here if anyone would like to try. http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/november-2013-wine-month-club-42000/#post467925

a few pics from today. No fancy labels on these. I doubt they will ever leave my house. 

hazy at a tilted angle








Angle 2, same time, same lighting.


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## kryptonitewine (Nov 6, 2014)

Hi Lori. My strawberry chocolate never cleared very well either but my raspberry did. Strawberry has a definite haze. Pectin maybe???? No idea what the differences are between the berries as to why the one is harder to clear. The taste of both are good but but not great. I will continue to age for awhile longer.


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## LoneStarLori (Nov 6, 2014)

Was your raspberry infused with chocolate as well? I'm leaning toward chocolate being the culprit. In certain light, it appears almost brown.


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## Jericurl (Nov 10, 2014)

Sweet mother of Hades...epic fail. EPIC!

I don't have any pictures of it, mainly because I wasn't planning on actually tasting it last night.

It's fairly hazy, very similar to the wine in Lori's first photo. 

Manthing had some friends over last night and we were meeting his friend's new girlfriend. He thought it would be nice to have a few bottles of wine in the fridge so he grabbed 3 different kinds.
One was the chocolate cranberry habanero. Thank goodness we were the only ones in the kitchen when he opened it.
It smelled.....off. Really off. Something went bad, thought about dying, was very sick first, then hurled itself into a volcano bad. Just to be completely scientific, I took a very small taste. Gaaaag. It was bitter and...rancid? I poured the bottle down the drain. After our guests left, we opened the other 3 bottles and they were the same. 

I have absolutely no idea what could have happened.


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## LoneStarLori (Nov 10, 2014)

Youch! So sorry to hear that. Good thing you checked it before pouring to your guests. 

I am beginning to think chocolate doesn't belong in wine. Doesn't it just make you sick that all that trouble and love went to waste? 
TBH, this is part of why I kind of vanished from the WOTM club. I came to realize in about March that I don't like country wine. I'm not saying I'll never do one from "homemade" ingredients, I will just be more selective. 
I think I'm going to start a 3 gal. batch of the Elderberry or black currant from the Vintner's Harvest concentrate cans.


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## Jericurl (Nov 10, 2014)

I think you may be right about that.

Just grab your dark chocolate hazelnut bar and eat it with your glass of wine, instead of in your glass of wine, lol.

I do still like the country wines.
We also poured cranberry/strawberry that I made last December? January?
And the prickly pear wine was really good too.

but yes, I cannot imagine if I would have served that to anyone. *shuddering*


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## Jericurl (Nov 10, 2014)

> I think I'm going to start a 3 gal. batch of the Elderberry or black currant from the Vintner's Harvest concentrate cans.



I haven't made any wine in several months. I simply haven't had the time, room, or motivation to deal with it.
I do believe that my next batch will probably come from one of those concentrate cans though.
If you end up making this, please let me know how it turns out.
I'm finding that I really love the taste of elderberry in wine. I seem to want to add it to everything.


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## wineforfun (Nov 10, 2014)

Ladies,
If you are using cocoa powder, that may be the culprit as I have used Lindt 85% chocolate bars in a few different wines(dragon blood, orange juice, etc.) and have had no clearing issues.
Just a thought.

Lori, 
Good luck with the elderberry. Arne(on WMT) gave me some fresh elderberries and it turned out being one of my favorite wines. I used 9lbs. for 2 gallons. It has a very unique taste. One gallon I backsweetened to 1.008 and one gallon I oaked and brought back to 1.000.


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## LoneStarLori (Nov 10, 2014)

I wish I could get my hands on some fresh elderberries. Not much chance down here though. I would love to make some from fresh.

I used Jack Keller's recipe for the Strawberry Chocolate. He says it must be Dutched chocolate. It would seem to me that the bars would leave a film since they use oil or paraffin in them when they make the bars. But, that might be just the thing that binds the chocolate and helps it clear.
Maybe I'll try something with the Lindt chili chocolate bars. Those are wonderful!


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## wineforfun (Nov 10, 2014)

Not sure about the oils, etc. I normally use the chocolate bars after the wine has cleared and been stabilized. I then rack onto the chocolate and it just sits on the bottom of the carboy for however long I want. 
I did add some to an earlier racking of DB and then again in it's clearing stage but so far I have been lucky to not have any issues. 
Julie helped me with alot of my chocolate questions too.


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## the_rayway (Nov 10, 2014)

You know, on one of the other sites, there is a fellow who is experimenting with putting meat into mead...I think I'd rather go the chocolate route!

Mmmmm...strawberry with a hint of chocolate and of smokey beef jerky. 

Sorry about yours @jericurl that totally sucks!

@lonestarlori I also got a bit discouraged several months ago with my country wines, but then went back and tasted a few from earlier on. Finding out that quality ingredients and aging really are everything. Kit wines I can age no problem, but found that I was too impatient with my country wines. Also, it appears that my extended family are suckers for country-style wines. They're the folks who also love the mist-style kits, so if it tastes like fruit and is a bit sweet, they're all in!


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## the_rayway (Nov 30, 2014)

Well it's Nov. 30 and I finally cracked open the Habanero Apple Wine I made last year. My intention was to make something spicy for cooking with, or maybe a shot on a cold, cold day in the winter.

It's got a nice deep yellow colour, and has fairly long legs. Seeing as how it is around the 14% mark, that makes sense. I didn't use any bodybuilders in this wine, as my final goal didn't really require it, and I didn't backsweeten. I didn't filter it, but it's nice and clear without sediment.

In the glass, it smells entirely of crushed habaneros; but no burn in the nose though, which was a bit of a concern during fermentation. You couldn't put your face over the bucket for fear it would melt off.

It the mouth it was thin (expected), and very, very hot. There was no young wine taste, and absolutely no off tastes present. It was simple heat and wine. After a minute or so, it had an aftertaste of pepper and a hint of apple.

This wine has absolutely hit the mark in what I was shooting for. You wouldn't want to drink a glass of it unless you were ok with living without taste buds, but a sip or a shot will do the trick to warm you up. I'm very much looking forward to using this bottle in my chili this week and see how it holds up with all that meat and acid.

I will definitely enter this into the recipes section of the site. Great recipe!


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## wineforfun (Dec 1, 2014)

Ray,
WOW, that looks like a bullet to the mouth. 

I made something almost identical excepty with 8 jalapenos(seeds from only half of them). I backsweetened it some and it turned out awesome, as far as a drinker.

I just started another batch of it. I may give yours a go after this one. Very curious how hot yours is.
Good work.


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