# Cinnamon tea wine



## Kivanc (Jul 16, 2017)

Hi,

I decided to make cinnamon tea wine.

I just started to ferment 4 litres of cinnamon tea:

I added 1.000 gr of sugar = SG 1.100
I used 32.82 ml of grape concentration juice instead of chopped raisins
Lemon juice from 2 lemons
1 tb yeast nutrient, 1 tb yeast energizer, 1 pkt of yeast (Alcohol tolerance: 17 % vol.) 

During the primary fermentation process, does the same rule apply to tea must about stirring it twice a day?


----------



## Kivanc (Jul 21, 2017)

I took the s.g. reading on 07.20.2017. It indicates 0.985. The wine has a harsh flavor taste of cinnamon. Should I back sweeten it?

I haven't got wine bottle. Can I use a decanter to store my wine?


----------



## BernardSmith (Jul 21, 2017)

Hi Kivanc. Sounds like your wine is just over four days old. I would allow this wine to sit on the lees for a few weeks while you stir it every day or so. The "fermentation" may be finished but the yeast still need to clean up after themselves. 

When a fermentation takes only four or five days to drop 100 points you can expect some fusel alcohols to be produced. Speed is only important on a race track. You want your fementer to be filled right up to the top with virtually no headroom (read: space for air to oxidize the wine). I would leave bottling for a few months but you do want to rack (transfer) this wine to a second fermenter /carboy and so remove the wine from the sediment, the lees. Others on this forum may have other opinions but I would leave it where it is , stirring every day or so, for another month or so... 
Should you back sweeten the wine? Depends on whether you like sweeter or drier wines and whether the harshness of this wine might be softened with some sweetness.


----------



## Kivanc (Jul 22, 2017)

BernardSmith said:


> Hi Kivanc. Sounds like your wine is just over four days old. I would allow this wine to sit on the lees for a few weeks while you stir it every day or so. The "fermentation" may be finished but the yeast still need to clean up after themselves.
> 
> When a fermentation takes only four or five days to drop 100 points you can expect some fusel alcohols to be produced. Speed is only important on a race track. You want your fementer to be filled right up to the top with virtually no headroom (read: space for air to oxidize the wine). I would leave bottling for a few months but you do want to rack (transfer) this wine to a second fermenter /carboy and so remove the wine from the sediment, the lees. Others on this forum may have other opinions but I would leave it where it is , stirring every day or so, for another month or so...
> Should you back sweeten the wine? Depends on whether you like sweeter or drier wines and whether the harshness of this wine might be softened with some sweetness.



Thanks Bernard.. Because there was plenty of space to be filled in the primary, I transferred the 4 liters of must into 5 liter secondary fermenter and added a glass of grape juice concentrate. There is still enough space to be filled. Can I fill it with water?


----------



## BernardSmith (Jul 22, 2017)

You might but water dilutes..


----------



## Kivanc (Jul 23, 2017)

After I transferred it to secondary and left it out for overnight, I saw thin white films on the top of my must. I hope this is likely nothing to worry about; I have a fast airlock activity. Does it mean the CO2 forms this layer on the top of the must?


----------



## Kivanc (Aug 7, 2017)

My bottled cinnamon tea wines...


----------



## BernardSmith (Aug 7, 2017)

How does it taste? That's the most important thing. The other thing is that you could expect wine made from tea (and indeed, just about from anything) will , if given enough time, clear bright. The test is that if you shine a flashlight through the fermenter (assuming it's made of clear glass, the light will not be scattered by any particles in the wine and if you place a newspaper behind the fermenter you can read it as if you are reading through a window. Those three Grolsch type bottles look as though the wine is relatively translucent but not clear and bright.


----------



## Kivanc (Aug 9, 2017)

BernardSmith said:


> How does it taste? That's the most important thing. The other thing is that you could expect wine made from tea (and indeed, just about from anything) will , if given enough time, clear bright. The test is that if you shine a flashlight through the fermenter (assuming it's made of clear glass, the light will not be scattered by any particles in the wine and if you place a newspaper behind the fermenter you can read it as if you are reading through a window. Those three Grolsch type bottles look as though the wine is relatively translucent but not clear and bright.



It has got cinnamon flavored fruity taste (15% vol.alc.) and it tastes much better now (I didn't add any ingredient).


----------



## Kivanc (Aug 11, 2018)

Can I add cinnamon sticks to boilling water of cinnamon tea bags or would it be strong?

Any advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Zintrigue (Aug 11, 2018)

Not sure what you're asking. Like add cinnamon tea to the wine? It's a pretty color, I'm really glad it turned out well for you.


----------



## Kivanc (Aug 12, 2018)

Zintrigue said:


> Not sure what you're asking. Like add cinnamon tea to the wine? It's a pretty color, I'm really glad it turned out well for you.



Yes, my last tea wine was great. I would just ferment pure tea. I am going to make 2 gallons of cinnamon tea wine next saturday. I'm thinking of boiling 15 cinnamon tea bags and some cinnamon sticks together in two pots until they are drained for all flavor and scent.


----------



## wpt-me (Aug 12, 2018)

I have been following this thread, have a raspberry herbal tea going . I put a bag of raspberries in the primary.
Started 6/20/18.

Bill


----------



## Kivanc (Aug 24, 2018)

I‘ve just been fermenting a 1.58 gallons of cinnamon tea. Started on 08/20/2018. I used 20 bags, lemon juice from a lemon and 200 ml of concentrated grape juice added yeast starter (towel covered fermenter is half-filled).


----------



## Kivanc (Aug 27, 2018)

Have a cinnamon tea going .Started 8/20/18. On the 6th day, it read 1.065 so I transferred it to the secodary at 1.065. Does it sound like I went to secondary too soon?

Because the first fermenter was half-filled I'm scared of the wine gets oxidation. I began to ferment at 1.110. I‘ve used 15% alcohol tolerated yeast.


----------



## fuzzy (Aug 28, 2018)

i have done some tea wines and the feedback was quite surprising (good)I ferment my tea wines pretty much like other wines but keep tea wines at approx.(9% alcohol for max flavor) I do back sweeten after fermentation has ceased and flatten I have done a fabulous blackberry cinn. that some people have added club soda and a few cubes of ice for an ideal sittin on the porch watchin the sun go down the nice thing is this wine finishes in under 90 days and is quite clear I have done a caramel that is the cats meow so remember tea wines are quite delicious I do enjoy this forum


----------



## Snow (Aug 30, 2018)

its cool , I like it


----------



## Kivanc (Oct 9, 2018)

I began to ferment at 1.110. It finished at 1.020. I boiled 20 bags for approximately 50 minutes. First I boiled it on high heat for 10 minutes. The feedback is quite good..


----------



## BernardSmith (Oct 9, 2018)

Kivanc said:


> I began to ferment at 1.110. It finished at 1.020. I boiled 20 bags for approximately 50 minutes. First I boiled it on high heat for 10 minutes. The feedback is quite good..



Boiling tea for 50 minutes seems like a lot of unnecessary (and perhaps less than desirable) heat. What you are trying to do is extract flavors (and aromas) from the tea bags. You can do that in two ways: one way is to boil the tea much like you would boil the tea for drinking and allow the bags to steep for a another few minutes. That may mean a five minute boil and a five - ten minute steep. Then you strain the bags from the tea, allow the tea to cool and then add sugar and ferment. If it takes 50 minutes to extract the flavors then those leaves are peculiar. 

A second approach is to use a high alcohol source - it could be vodka or it could be a very simple mead or wine that you make but the idea is that you use the alcohol to extract the flavors - alcohol being a much better solvent than water. This approach basically means that you are not using heat but you are allowing the flavor source - the tea bags - to steep in the alcohol for 15 days, a month, two months... however long it takes to extract the flavor that you prefer. This latter method gives you far more control over the intensity of flavor. If after one week there is enough flavor you rack the bags from the fermenter. If it takes two months to extract the flavors you want then it takes two months. (if you use vodka to make the "extract" you might simply cover the bags with the alcohol and check the flavor after two weeks or so . This is how you make vanilla extract, almond extract or lemon extract etc etc. You can then decide how much of the extract you want to add to your wine... ).


----------

