# January 2014 Wine of the Month Club



## the_rayway

Hi Folks, 
This is January's official thread. 
Open to anyone who wants to join in!

Please post:
- Your recipe for a 1 gallon experimental batch
- Updates as you go along (with pictures please!)
- End of the month summary of a) what you could have done better b) what went well, and c) something you learned.
- At the one year mark (January 2015), we will taste and submit our thoughts, impressions, etc. of the 'finished product'. Hopefully everyone will post on tastings after the year mark as well.
- If the recipe is a keeper at the one year mark, please post it in the 'Recipes' section of the forum

The last two months have had 8 and 10 participants, respectively. Really fantastic conversations happening too! I think we are all learning and sharing a lot through this experience.

I will update this post closer to the end of the month with a list of who is participating, and what they are making.

Happy New Year!!!

As of 1.27.14 - 11 participants!

1) Blackberry Port - Kryptonitewine
2) Pumpkin Hazelnut Mead - Rayway
3) Dragon's Blood Twist Wine - Wineforfun
4) Onion Wine - Jericurl
5) Hibiscus Citrus Wine - Stressbaby
6) White Cranberry Limeade Wine - Cintipam
7) Cherry-Chocolate Port-Style Wine - Vernsgal
8) Orange Wine - Lonestarlori
9) Pie Cherry Wine - Mromilio
10) Chocolate Covered Cherry Wine - Buckhorn
11) Coffee Wine - Mangojack


----------



## the_rayway

*January 2015 Raelene - Pumpkin Hazelnut Mead*

Here is the plan for my January batch, I'll get on it likely next weekend. 

I got the base recipe from a friend on another site who was gracious enough to share it. It's totally my bad if I completely screw it up by making my changes ::

Batch: final 1 Gal/5L; so start with 1.5 gal/7.5L

Primary 
- Clover & Multifloral Honey to S.G. 1.085, 5Lbs
- Water to 1.5 Gallons (for a finished 1 gallon)
- 1.5 tsp Yeast Energizer, split 1-1/2
- 1.5 tsp Yeast Nutrient, split 1-1/2
- 4 grams Lalvin ICV D254 Yeast
- 1 whole allspice
- 1 medium cinnamon stick
- 1 medium vanilla bean
- 3 whole cloves

Secondary Additions
- 1 Small Pie Pumpkin- Baked
- 1 Large Sweet Potato- Baked
- 1/8 cup of home made vanilla extract (vanilla beans in vodka)

Tertiary Additions
- 15g Med toast french oak chips
- 1 Campden tab
- Sorbate
- Hazelnut Extract - I'm making this myself with toasted hazelnuts, sugar, and vodka. It's been sitting for about a month and a half now.

I'm going for something that is kind of like pumpkin pie with hazelnut whip cream. There should be spices, honey, caramel, hazelnut, vanilla, and of course - pumpkin. In my head this is an off-dry mead. No too sweet, but not completely dry.

Trying to ferment it on the cool side for this one. Shouldn't be hard at this time of year, really. Also, the yeast tends to be a 'hot' one when fermenting, so I don't want any off flavours because it was stressed out.

Lavin ICV D254 yeast "... In white wines, butterscotch, smoke, hazelnut, and almond characters are common " 53-82F fermenting temps, and an alcohol ceiling of 16%. This will be the second time using this particular yeast. 

I plan to caramelize 1 Lb of the honey, and leave the rest raw for more complexity in the final product (like a half-bochet).

Pics and more details to come!
Raelene


----------



## Stressbaby

Raelene, that sounds like a complex wine. Probably beyond my capabilities.

I have found a really easy and effective way of keeping my wine temps down during fermentation. I got these party buckets used for holding ice and drinks. They are probably 20-30 gallon size. The 7 gal primary bucket fits inside, and I have collected a couple of dozen ice packs which I keep in the freezer. I put 2-4 of the ice packs in between the party bucket and the primary with a small folded dish towel on the outside for a little insulation. I switch them out twice a day. I can drop a batch from 25C to 20C and hold it there pretty easily with this setup. 

For January I'm going for "Hibiscitrus" - hiscus/citrus wine.
I have a bunch of kumquats getting ripe. I'm going to treat them like I did my earlier calamondin wine, ultra-thinly sliced and unbagged in the primary. I'm a little concerned I won't have enough as my tree is quite small yet, but I have several nice looking satsumas ripe as well, so I may add the juice and/or rind of the satsumas in the secondary. Full recipe to follow...


----------



## vernsgal

wow Raelene sound good. I was just talking to hubby about what I should do for Jan.Will post when "we" decide.


----------



## mromilio

Hey guys,

My January wine is a Pie Cherry Wine. I'll be starting it later today.

2 15 oz cans Oregon Tart Cherries in water
2 15 oz cans of Oregon Sweet Cherries in syrup
8 oz RealLemon Lemon Juice
3 to 4 cups sugar dissolved in boiling water expected to be used to bring starting SG to 1.085-1.090
1/8 tsp tannin
3/4 tsp yeast nutrient
1/4 tsp energizer
3/4 tsp Pectic Enzyme
Water to 1 gallon 
1 packet Lalvin EC-1118 yeast

Will drain the syrup/juice from the cherries, keep it aside and put the cherries in a muslin sack, will add the saved liquid at the same time as the dissolved sugar syrup. Will also pour the hot syrup onto the fruit bag at the bottom of the primary to see if this will enhance the deep color of the cherries as I've read in other recipes. Will cool the must with cool spring water to bring the must up to a gallon and 1/2 for a finished yield of 1 gallon.

Will do the standard procedure of adding the pectic enzyme and pitching the yeast 12-24 hrs later. 

Let's see how this goes. I plan to let this one sit for the long haul, will try not to use Sparkolloid or degas this wine under regular methods. I want this one to clear and degas naturally on it's own.

Cheers and Happy New Year to all!

Mario


----------



## the_rayway

Ok, got it started today! I was feeling energetic 

I edited the recipe above to include the things I ended up changing: 
a) Added spices that I steeped in the hot honey/water mixture, 
b) Upped the amount of nutrient and energizer to reflect the 1.5 gallon total
c) Final amount of honey added

Notes: 
1) At 10 min, the honey tasted AWESOME. Seriously consider doing a light bochet one day. Very floral and sweet. 15 minutes was better, but in a different way. 
2) If 3 Lbs per gallon is estimated by US gallon; using 3 Lbs per gallon and a half Imperial will not do the trick. 5 lbs does. Remember that Raelene. Plan your supplies.
3) Don't lick the burning honey.
4) Burning honey spits, even if you're pouring in boiling water. 
5) I like spices, it's a pumpkin hazelnut mead, so it seemed like a good idea at the time. We'll see what happens with my reckless additions 

Pictures are:
1) Original honey before caramelizing
2) At then end of caramelizing (18 min)
3) Light to dark: 10 min, 15 min, 18 min
4) Yeast starter, hydrometer reading, hazelnut extract
5) Frozen, baked pumpkin & sweet potato
6) Must before pitching yeast


----------



## Jericurl

That looks amazingly delicious, Raelene.

So you are using 5 lbs of honey to one gallon of water. I need to make note of this.
I know you have made a lot of mead over the last year. Tastewise, can you describe the difference that 3 lbs vs 5 lbs gives? And the difference between the cooked honey at addition vs 10 minutes vs the "light bochet"?

I was going to do an onion cooking wine this month but I'm seriously considering mead. Heck, I may actually do both.


----------



## the_rayway

Mwahahaha! Join the mazers!! Do both, obviously 

Well, hmm. The difference is in the SG: 3Lbs only brought me to 1.055ish at almost a gallon and a half (Imperial gallon, not US gallon!). Needed the last two Lbs to get it up to 1.085. I didn't want a cooler-type wine at 6-8%; I wanted a decent 10-12% mead that I can age.

The honey raw: light, very sweet, with a slight caramel flavour
The honey at 10 min: slap-you-in-the-face with floral flavour, + tiny hint of light caramel
The honey at 15 min: caramel and light toffee
The honey at 18 min: chocolate and coffee, with dark toffee

I cooked the 1 Lb of honey first (to the 18 min. mark), added water to cool it down.
Then I stirred in the raw honey to dissolve, and added more water. Then a bit more raw honey to get the SG I wanted.

Does that kind of make sense? Or am I totally rambling?


----------



## vernsgal

sounds amazing Raelene!

I'm never going to have an empty 1gal again am I  lol


----------



## kryptonitewine

vernsgal said:


> sounds amazing Raelene!
> 
> I'm never going to have an empty 1gal again am I  lol



I'm stuck this month. I have 4 - 1 gallon carboys and they are all full.

What to do? I really want to try a port but alas will need to wait.

I found this recipe on Keller's website that I think I'm going to try once I get an empty.

Blackberry Port Wine


•8 lb. ripe blackberries (I have a bunch on blackberries and blueberries from the summer frozen)
•1/2 pt. red grape concentrate 
•1/2 c. light dry malt 
•1-3/4 lb. granulated sugar 
•1/2 tsp. pectic enzyme 
•1-1/2 tsp. acid blend 
•5 to 5-1/2 pt. water (depends of size of berries) 
•1 crushed Campden tablet 
•1/2 tsp. yeast energizer 
•1 tsp. yeast nutrient 
•1 pkt. Lalvin K1-V1116 (Montpellier) or a port wine yeast 


Wash and crush blackberries in nylon straining bag and strain juice into primary fermentation vessel. Tie top of nylon bag and place in primary. Stir in all other ingredients except pectic enzyme, yeast and red grape concentrate. Stir well to dissolve sugar, cover well, and set aside for 8-12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, recover, and set aside additional 8-12 hours. Add yeast, cover, stir ingredients daily, and press pulp in nylon bag to extract flavor. When specific gravity is 1.030 (about 5 days), strain juice from bag and siphon liquor off sediments into secondary fermentation vessel. Fit airlock and set aside. Rack in three weeks and again in two months. When wine is clear and well past last evidence of fermentation, stabilize, add red grape concentrate, and set aside for 3 weeks. If no evidence of refermentation, rack again and bottle. Allow at least a year to mature, but will improve for several years.


----------



## LoneStarLori

Ray that looks delicious! I have never even tasted a mead, much less make one. Doing the math and cost of honey for the volume, it must be pretty darn expensive to make. 

I think I am going to do a blood orange wine this month. Mostly because I want to see what color it comes out to be. 
I can't find a recipe, but Jack Kellers orange should be a good base.


----------



## vernsgal

kryptonitewine said:


> I'm stuck this month. I have 4 - 1 gallon carboys and they are all full.
> 
> What to do?



That's easy- go buy 2 more 1 gal.
And that recipe sounds great. I'm trying a mini port this month as well. Just getting my "recipe" together

Lori have you tasted your onion wine yet? So curious lol


----------



## the_rayway

Oooh. Kryptonite, that sounds super yummy! Different process than I used last month. I would be very interested to see how that comes out! Let us know when you buy your two new jugs ::

Lori: the honey was $2.5/lb, so that comes to $12.5. Pumpkin and sweet potato cost me nothing. So it would work out to less than $3.00 per bottle with all the additives. That's not too shabby! I know the cost will increase quite a bit when I start getting into honeys that are exotic to Manitoba though. Dreaming about Orange Blossom and Tupelo...


----------



## Jericurl

Raelene, 

That write up on the honey is fantastic and exactly what I was looking for. I cannot wait to get started on mead.

I think I'm going to go to Sam's Club sometime this weekend and grab some honey. I'll start a one gallon batch of regular show mead for my January WOTMC.

I also bought a few pounds of sweet onions, so I'm probably going to give Lori's wine a whirl as well.


----------



## vernsgal

Ok so after much planning and "stupid math" on this one, Here is my January recipe. Hopefully Sat. will start, if not Sunday

Choco-cherry Banana Port Style Wine 1 ½ Gal.

5 ½ lbs Maraschino Cherries
5 lbs Bananas (1/2 with peels)
1/3 c Cocoa
1 ½ c Red Grape Concentrate
1 ½ tsp Pectic enzyme
1 ½ tsp Bentonite ( made into slurry)
1 tsp Yeast Energizer ( step fed at 2 & 3 sugar feedings)
Acid Blend (if needed)
1 ½ tsp Yeast Nutrient (step fed)*
Berry Sugar
Water 
750 ml Cherry Brandy
Vintner’s Harvest SN9 Yeast
•	will step feed the 1st tsp as per usual. The other ½ will feed ¼ tsp per sugar addition

Day 1 make yeast starter – In *primary*, place fruit in straining bag, mix cocoa with ½ cup water in magic bullet, add water,grape concentrate, pectic enzyme and nutrient and sugar (to SG 1.100)

Day 2 pitch yeast

When SG reaches 1.035 draw off must to make simple syrup add to must to SG 1.055
When SG reaches 1.020 remove fruit ,make simple syrup add to must to SG 1.030
Hopefully goes dry at 1.008 = 18% alc. Approx..
Rack
Add Brandy = 20 % alc Sweetness should end between 1.025- 1.030
*Bulk Age*


----------



## the_rayway

Jericurl said:


> Raelene,
> 
> That write up on the honey is fantastic and exactly what I was looking for. I cannot wait to get started on mead.
> 
> I think I'm going to go to Sam's Club sometime this weekend and grab some honey. I'll start a one gallon batch of regular show mead for my January WOTMC.
> 
> I also bought a few pounds of sweet onions, so I'm probably going to give Lori's wine a whirl as well.



Hey Jeri - good! I can't wait to see how you like it 

Kim - there is so much happening in that port, I can barely process it! All my brain tells me is 'OMG nom nom nom'. Ahem. GREAT idea!


----------



## LoneStarLori

vernsgal said:


> Ok so after much planning and "stupid math" on this one, Here is my January recipe. Hopefully Sat. will start, if not Sunday
> 
> Choco-cherry Banana Port Style Wine 1 ½ Gal.
> 
> 5 ½ lbs Maraschino Cherries



Kim, are these the kind in syrup? I made some chocolate covered cherries this Thanksgiving and they were $4 for a little 8 oz jar. I almost choked.


----------



## kryptonitewine

Went this afternoon and bought my carboys. I got "the look" when I came home from SWMBO.


----------



## LoneStarLori

kryptonitewine said:


> Went this afternoon and bought my carboys. I got "the look" when I came home from SWMBO.




"SWMBO" haha, had to look that one up. 
I bought a 3 gal one today only to get home to find I had one in the closet I forgot I bought last month. Oh well, more wine projects.


----------



## vernsgal

kryptonitewine said:


> Went this afternoon and bought my carboys. I got "the look" when I came home from SWMBO.


hahaha! so you owe her! But now you can make your January wine!


LoneStarLori said:


> I bought a 3 gal one today only to get home to find I had one in the closet I forgot I bought last month. Oh well, more wine projects.


Lol,you buy your carboys, "hide" them til needed, then forget they're there 



LoneStarLori said:


> Kim, are these the kind in syrup? I made some chocolate covered cherries this Thanksgiving and they were $4 for a little 8 oz jar. I almost choked.


I didn't pay that much. I got the 1 jar 375ml for $3 then the other 5 lbs I found in bulk containers on sale for $14 total.So $17 for all and then $20 for the brandy which adds up to the most I've spent on a 1gal.tester lol Good thing I'm not real big on ports 



the_rayway said:


> Kim - there is so much happening in that port, I can barely process it! All my brain tells me is 'OMG nom nom nom'. Ahem. GREAT idea!


Raelene-I did a mead in December with the chocolate covered cherries from the Jack Keller site. tastes ok so far but looks like . I've seen some members adding food color or kool aid for color to this but figured I'd use the grape concentrate instead.The steps are also courtesy of Jack Keller and the bananas, well they just kinda make it like a sundae without the ice cream


----------



## the_rayway

Ok, first off - how do you make the 'mulit quote' thingy work?!?! Lol. Totally can't seem to figure it out.

Lori - I call it 'putting it in a safe place', and usually I never find what it was I had so safely put away. 

Kryptonite - congrats on the new carboys! Have you made her favourite wine yet? Apparently that assists with developing new carboy blindness.

Kim - what kind of  does it look like? It wasn't your Dec. WOTM - because that was beet, right? I agree with the bananas though  Maybe you could add a tiny bit of your beet wine to it for a red punch? Do you have a pic? 

Also , what means this 'stupid math'? All your numbers look ok to me...


----------



## LoneStarLori

vernsgal said:


> Lori have you tasted your onion wine yet? So curious lol



I tasted it last week. It's very promising. Since this is a longer aging wine, it's hard to tell if the onion will still be there in 6 months, but it's supposed to dissipate. At this time, I can still taste the onion a little but otherwise resembles a sweet white. I think it's going to be a wonderful cooking wine and possibly good to drink while using it. (saves opening other bottles while cooking, hehe).


Here's the Jack Keller recipe for my January WOTMC except I am going to use blood oranges.



_Orange Wine (2)

8 medium-sized oranges
1 lb chopped or minced golden raisins or sultanas
1 lb 7 oz ripe bananas
3 lbs finely granulated sugar
water to make up one gallon
1/4 tsp grape tannin
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
wine yeast
Put two quarts of water on to boil. Meanwhile, peel the oranges and remove all the white pith (it is bitter and will ruin the wine). Break the oranges into sections and remove all seeds. Drop them in a juicer or a blender and liquefy (you may have to add a cup of water to the blender). Peel and slice bananas and simmer in one pint of water for 20 minutes. In a primary, add chopped or minced raisins (or sultanas), 2-1/2 lbs of the sugar, the orange juice or liquefied orange pulp, and two quarts of boiling water. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Over primary, pour simmering banana slices into nylon straining bag and allow to drip until cool enough to squeeze. Squeeze lightly and then discard banana flesh. Stir in tannin and yeast nutrient and enough water to make up one gallon total. Cover with cloth and set aside to cool. When cooled to room temperature, add pectic enzyme, recover and wait 12 hours. Add wine yeast. Ferment 7 days, add remaining sugar, stir to dissolve, and ferment another 3 days. Rack off sediments into secondary and fit airlock. Rack every 30 days for 3 months. Stabilize and sweeten to taste. After additional 10 days, rack into bottles and set aside one year to age._


----------



## LoneStarLori

the_rayway said:


> Ok, first off - how do you make the 'mulit quote' thingy work?!?! Lol. Totally can't seem to figure it out.



I just figured it out this week too, lol

hit the *" *button to the right of the QUOTE button for each one you want to quote. Then hit the QUOTE button on the last one and it will pop all of them up in a window and you can type between each one.


----------



## vernsgal

the_rayway said:


> Ok, first off - how do you make the 'mulit quote' thingy work?!?! Lol. Totally can't seem to figure it out.
> Kim - what kind of  does it look like? It wasn't your Dec. WOTM - because that was beet, right? I agree with the bananas though  Maybe you could add a tiny bit of your beet wine to it for a red punch? Do you have a pic?



Like Lori said, just click the multi quote( beside the quote) to each that you want,then hit the quote on any one of them. They'll come up in the order you clicked them.

The choco-cherry mead I did in Dec is kinda brown in color. 
I find it hard sometimes to only do 1 a month lol. Actually I made it November 29 but figured it was too late to put in Novembers WOTM


----------



## cintipam

Hi everyone

I made some wine in November that is quite different. I learned a lot, and while I really like the taste already I have to make another batch this month in order to blend the two to hopefully bring the PH into acceptable to age range. Would it be ok to join here for batch 2 as long as I also post info on what I did, and what I learned from batch 1? The wine I made is from Ocean Spray white cranberry juice combined with limeade concentrate. It tastes just like a Margarita right now, hoping it will retain that taste when blended. 

Pam in cinti


----------



## cintipam

Lori, which month did you make the Onion wine? I'd really like to try one and would love to read your recipe and method. My hubby is from a very large family with lots of wine lovers and several serious chefs. I think that wine would be a winner to gift the chefs. Right now my wines are so new that I think giving a cooking wine would be the only easy way to get them to try anything I make. Besides, I prefer white wines and so far most of the fruit wines I've made are deep blush to red.

Pam in cinti


----------



## the_rayway

Hey Pam, join away! This is open to anyone.

Still can't seem to get it to work (multi quote)  I'll keep trying. 

Lori: Bananas seem to be in two camps: either people use the peel (minus tip and tail), or they don't. I think it may have to do with how ripe the banana is. You want it very ripe, like for banana bread.

Kim: I think as that one clears it will definitely become more red. With all the particles in suspension it makes it sort of milky and light coloured. Like how a white wine looks like milk at the beginning, then turns a deep yellow after.


----------



## Stressbaby

LoneStarLori said:


> I tasted it last week. It's very promising. Since this is a longer aging wine, it's hard to tell if the onion will still be there in 6 months, but it's supposed to dissipate. At this time, I can still taste the onion a little but otherwise resembles a sweet white. I think it's going to be a wonderful cooking wine and possibly good to drink while using it. (saves opening other bottles while cooking, hehe).
> 
> 
> Here's the Jack Keller recipe for my January WOTMC except I am going to use blood oranges.
> 
> 
> 
> _Orange Wine (2)
> 
> 8 medium-sized oranges
> 1 lb chopped or minced golden raisins or sultanas
> 1 lb 7 oz ripe bananas
> 3 lbs finely granulated sugar
> water to make up one gallon
> 1/4 tsp grape tannin
> 1 tsp pectic enzyme
> 1 tsp yeast nutrient
> wine yeast
> Put two quarts of water on to boil. Meanwhile, peel the oranges and remove all the white pith (it is bitter and will ruin the wine). Break the oranges into sections and remove all seeds. Drop them in a juicer or a blender and liquefy (you may have to add a cup of water to the blender). Peel and slice bananas and simmer in one pint of water for 20 minutes. In a primary, add chopped or minced raisins (or sultanas), 2-1/2 lbs of the sugar, the orange juice or liquefied orange pulp, and two quarts of boiling water. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Over primary, pour simmering banana slices into nylon straining bag and allow to drip until cool enough to squeeze. Squeeze lightly and then discard banana flesh. Stir in tannin and yeast nutrient and enough water to make up one gallon total. Cover with cloth and set aside to cool. When cooled to room temperature, add pectic enzyme, recover and wait 12 hours. Add wine yeast. Ferment 7 days, add remaining sugar, stir to dissolve, and ferment another 3 days. Rack off sediments into secondary and fit airlock. Rack every 30 days for 3 months. Stabilize and sweeten to taste. After additional 10 days, rack into bottles and set aside one year to age._



Lori,
I have made this recipe and I was not blown away. I think it needs some tweaks. Also, mine was only started about 10 months ago, so it may need more aging. I will summarize my notes and thoughts:

Do not use D47, or if you do, pay close attention to fermentation temp and step feeding of nutrients. I had a bit of off odor.
Needs more oranges.
Add some zest to secondary to improve orange flavor.
Starting pH was 3.62 which I thought was too high and I added another 1 tsp of acid blend. Possibly use citric instead.


----------



## kryptonitewine

I would suggest using zest not rind. Rind can produce off (bitter) favors.


----------



## Stressbaby

kryptonitewine said:


> I would suggest using zest not rind. Rind can produce off (bitter) favors.



That is what I meant. I used strips of zest in the secondary. Post corrected.


----------



## cintipam

Thanks for the welcome. OK, here is my original recipe complete with warnings. BTW, If you see sq it means specific gravity. I would type the correct letters but the software kept correcting me to sq. Over and over again!

White Cranberry Limeade (made scant 6 gallons)

IMPORTANT this recipe has way too high acid, do not use stated acid. 
final wine pre backsweeten has PH of 2.63. Post backsweeten PH is 2.70.
After getting greatly variable reading from 2 diff acid tests kits performed by 2 careful adults we bought a Milwaukee MW102 PH tester to ensure accurate PH readings.

9 Ocean Spray white cranberry 64oz juice
10 limeadeconcentrates (I used Kroger brand)
1 tbl pectin
1 tbl energizer
4 tbl acid blend
1/4 tsp meta
3 c level sugar (to bring to 1.090)

also used D47 yeast and 1 additional limeade later

When fermentation seemed slow to start I researched folks comments on D47 and read that it likes to be kept fed. That is why I used additional nutrient and energizer on alternate days to keep fermentation strong. Sorry, I didn't measure, just sprinkled a bit like a spice on top of the must then stirred in.

10/29 mixed all basic ingredients above. Sugar added to 1.090 (took 3 cups). Used heating pad & fleece to keep warm.
10/30 yeast starter (LalvinD47) grew 2 hrs, pitched.
Starter is ½ c warm water 1/2 tbl nutrient tsp sugar
11/2 pm sg 1.086 nutrient energizer added, stirred
11/3 am still 1.086
11/4am 1.076! Added nutrient, energizer. Good fizz.
11/5 pm nutrient added kicked. Great fizz
11/6 am sg 1.040. Energizer, stirred good fizz
11/7am sg 1.028 sm nutrient, stirred. Good fizz. 
11/8 pm sg 1.002 racked, didn't quite fill 6 galBetterBottle. 2c water 1/2 sugar invert and 1 limeade (sg 1.10) added
level still a bit low, ferming well so needs some room. Will repeat sugar water addition 11/9
11/9 more sugar water added (took total of 6c plus to top off over 2 days.)
11/12 ferment slowed considerably. Dropping sediment.
11/23 still cloudy. sg 1.00 Racked Added invert 1c sugar w 1c water to top.
11/24 added tsp pectin, stirred. Wine volcano. Needed to add pectin in increments.
11/25 sg 1.00
12/7 sg 1.00, racked to 5 gal+3 litre, rest in fridge. Wine is crystal clear.
1/2 sample 3 liter backsweetened w invert sugar to 1.030 ph 2.70 very very tasty
1/4 still no refermentation in sample gallon despite not adding any sorbate yet
1/29 meta due

Since adjusting PH that much is best done with blending I will now make the recipe again with minor tweaks to try to adjust the acid. Basically I'll leave out the acid blend, increase White cranberry juices to 10 and test the resulting PH every time I add 2 limeade concentrates. I'm guessing I'll add 6 at most. Once I think I have an acceptable must I'll pull equal samples from batch 1 and 2, combine them and take a PH reading. Hoping PH will be in acceptable range.

So far I've learned that those acid tests are basically useless. It really helped me be certain by having hubby test all my aging wines independently from my tests. We both got diff results from each test, and none matched. It did surprise me that the readings on our whites were further wrong than those of my rose and reds. Those kits are supposed to be less helpful for reds. Maybe knowing that we both were way more careful testing reds. Hubby thought whole acid test procedure to be a PITA, plus useless, and I got a PH tester for Christmas.

While I normally like my wines dry this wine really needs to be sweetened to bring back the interplay between sweet and tart that is present in Margaritas. It tasted almost the same as must as after backweetening. Without the sugar it was boring as all get out. Even at 1.030 it is not sweet. Most may choose to sweeten more.

I am so glad I read the tip from Jim (JSWordy) about tasting every step during winemaking. My first few efforts required a lot of Fpaks at the end. Now that I taste the must I adjust then and there so no more watery wine for me. 

Pam in cinti


----------



## LoneStarLori

Stressbaby said:


> Lori,
> I have made this recipe and I was not blown away. I think it needs some tweaks. Also, mine was only started about 10 months ago, so it may need more aging. I will summarize my notes and thoughts:
> 
> Do not use D47, or if you do, pay close attention to fermentation temp and step feeding of nutrients. I had a bit of off odor.
> Needs more oranges.
> Add some zest to secondary to improve orange flavor.
> Starting pH was 3.62 which I thought was too high and I added another 1 tsp of acid blend. Possibly use citric instead.


'

*Stressbaby*; Thanks for the heads up. I wouldn't have given much thought to the acid since I am still trying to get a grip on that part of winemaking. But I imagine with a citrus wine, it's got to be a problem. I am probably going to almost double the oranges. I cut one open tonight and it has very little juice. 



the_rayway said:


> Hey Pam, join away! This is open to anyone.
> 
> Still can't seem to get it to work (multi quote)  I'll keep trying.
> 
> Lori: Bananas seem to be in two camps: either people use the peel (minus tip and tail), or they don't. I think it may have to do with how ripe the banana is. You want it very ripe, like for banana bread.



*Rae*; I think I'll peel them. Although I almost would want to leave them out totally, but I'm sure there is a reason he put them in there. As long as I can't taste them, I won't mind. About the only way I like banana is just peeled and eaten raw. 



cintipam said:


> Lori, which month did you make the Onion wine? I'd really like to try one and would love to read your recipe and method. My hubby is from a very large family with lots of wine lovers and several serious chefs. I think that wine would be a winner to gift the chefs. Right now my wines are so new that I think giving a cooking wine would be the only easy way to get them to try anything I make. Besides, I prefer white wines and so far most of the fruit wines I've made are deep blush to red.
> 
> Pam in cinti



*Hi Pam*, Welcome to the WOTMC. My onion is only a few weeks old. It was in the Dec. recipe section and I got it started late. I think your family chefs would like it. It's still very young, but I think it has real promise of cooking and _maybe_ drinking. Here is the link to the recipe:*Sweet onion wine*


----------



## vernsgal

Welcome Pam, and that's awesome note taking!


----------



## kryptonitewine

vernsgal said:


> Welcome Pam, and that's awesome note taking!




Yes it is. That's my resolution this year. To take better notes. I made tags for the primary that will transfer to carboy. I can have recipe tweaks on the front and notes on the back.


----------



## Stressbaby

cintipam said:


> Since adjusting PH that much is best done with blending I will now make the recipe again with minor tweaks to try to adjust the acid. Basically I'll leave out the acid blend, increase White cranberry juices to 10 and test the resulting PH every time I add 2 limeade concentrates. I'm guessing I'll add 6 at most. Once I think I have an acceptable must I'll pull equal samples from batch 1 and 2, combine them and take a PH reading. Hoping PH will be in acceptable range.
> 
> So far I've learned that those acid tests are basically useless. It really helped me be certain by having hubby test all my aging wines independently from my tests. We both got diff results from each test, and none matched. It did surprise me that the readings on our whites were further wrong than those of my rose and reds. Those kits are supposed to be less helpful for reds. Maybe knowing that we both were way more careful testing reds. Hubby thought whole acid test procedure to be a PITA, plus useless, and I got a PH tester for Christmas.
> 
> While I normally like my wines dry this wine really needs to be sweetened to bring back the interplay between sweet and tart that is present in Margaritas. It tasted almost the same as must as after backweetening. Without the sugar it was boring as all get out. Even at 1.030 it is not sweet. Most may choose to sweeten more.
> 
> I am so glad I read the tip from Jim (JSWordy) about tasting every step during winemaking. My first few efforts required a lot of Fpaks at the end. Now that I taste the must I adjust then and there so no more watery wine for me.
> 
> Pam in cinti



Hi Pam, and welcome.

I just wanted to warn you that blending to adjust pH _upward _can be very tricky. pH is logarithmic, not linear, as you probably know. So wine at 2.7 has 10 times as much acid as 3.7. If you are able to make 5 gallons of this with pH of 4, the blend won't be 3.3, it will be more along the lines of 2.9. I'm not trying to discourage you from trying.

I agree that the acid tests are useless. You need the pH meter!

Is is strong? You have several step additions of sugar - just eyeballing it I bet you are pushing 14-15%. 

You will find that as you learn and get more comfortable the wine doesn't take as much daily attention.


----------



## Stressbaby

I guess my wife felt bad about using the Five Apple Cider concentrate for another recipe. This came last week. LOL


----------



## cintipam

Lori, thanks for the link. This is on my make it soon list, greatly appreciate the knowledge of someone who's already been there. Also read your comment about "aroma" so will plan to start this when outside temps will permit me to do primary outside.

Rayway, I'd love to get suggestions on elderberry plants. I have a great garden and have been putting in plants just for winemaking (and to feed wildlife at the same time). Elderberries are on top of Springs to do list.

As for my notetaking, it's either way too good or nonexistant. While I do have name tags w start dates on my carboys I keep my notes on a word processing program. That's why my recipe is so detailed, I just cut and pasted my notes into my post. I take rough notes on paper while testing and working on my wines, then head to my computer and put the notes into a dateline format. The name of each wine is followed by the yeast used, PH, and if sorbate and or antioxidant has been added. I also calc when meta is due next and add that due date at the bottom of my recipe notes. Before I did this I was always digging thru notes to find those facts, and this makes it a lot easier for me. 

Stressbaby, I appreciate the heads up about the acid. I had already searched for guidance from the gurus and learned there was no easy way to calculate how to fix. Seems even if I manage to use a program to calc how much at what PH would fix what I have, there is another factor called buffering that changes how each wine reacts to acid adjustment attempts. So frankly I decided to just try it and take good notes hoping to learn something from it. If somebody else learns from it too, even better. And yes, I did add sugar water along the way. While I did not always test the sg, Mary's Recipes (well respected country wine making book) states topping off with a sugar solution of 1 c water to 1/4 c sugar is acceptable practice. I assumed that meant acceptable sg range, but it's true that assumptions can really throw a wrench into things. Anyway, I did add higher sugar on the last addition just to pump it a little. This stuff tastes so good that as of this moment 2 entire gallons are gone. Prob will lose another gallon before batch 2 is ready to blend. I figure that might help, plus if this stuff keeps going this quick I really won't need to be concerned about PH and long term storage. It honestly tastes like a Margarita, but without those pesky aftereffects real Margaritas can bring.

I've really enjoyed reading your womc threads. It's great to find other adventurous beginners willing to share wins and losses.

Pam in cinti


----------



## cintipam

Winenoob66, I am fascinated by your sugar wash idea. I really like wine, but quite a few of my friends and family prefer non wine party drinks. I guess that's why I tried my Margarita wine and am working so hard to fix it. Next big batch I make will be sugar wash so I can make gallons of diff flavors like you did. that strawberry sounds delish!

Medic8106, cran corcord was one of the first wines I tried. If it matters I used Lalvin 1118 tho. I really didn't care much for it till I did a bench flavor test and found out adding choc and more cran flavor helped quite a bit. Chocolate was a shock to me, I would have sworn vanilla was the way to go. But choc beer/wine flavor made a huge difference smoothing and melding tastes in this one. Still didn't care much for it compared to my others so it sat around a few months till I tested it again. Time made a big improvement, and while I don't think I'll repeat this one we did enjoy it after all those tweaks and time helped.

Pam in cinti


----------



## Stressbaby

cintipam said:


> ...topping off with a sugar solution of 1 c water to 1/4 c sugar is acceptable practice...



My bad. I thought you were topping with simple syrup, 2c sugar to 1c water. What you did shouldn't bump the ABV too much.

Glad to hear it tastes good. I have a batch of plum with TA 1.15 and pH around 2.84 that I was kind of worried about.


----------



## cintipam

Stressbaby, you need to know that I love sour stuff. I put lemon juice in almost everything to pop the flavor. I love to eat white grapefruit like an orange. most folks don't enjoy stuff as tart as I do. And then there is that whole figure out how much meta you need to protect your wine based on it's PH thing. I struggled with it for a while but couldn't figure out how much to use, so decided to try blending to adjust acid first. At this point I think I'll make a batch with the highest PH number I can manage, then extract a lot to attempt an adjustment. The last gallon or so I'll try to bump up both taste and PH if necessary by adding more limeade. That way I'll know if there is a way to make this ending up with an acceptable PH or if this is only OK for stuff used within a few months. If I can age it I plan to stash some bottles away to try every 6 months or so. I'm betting the flavor change will be drastic. Not sure I'll like it after aging, but better to know now.

thanks so much for your advice. I'd rather get too much than too little as a newbie.

Pam in cinti


----------



## Winenoob66

kryptonitewine said:


> Went this afternoon and bought my carboys. I got "the look" when I came home from SWMBO.



This means the wine you make in one of them jugs needs to be all about pleasing SWMBO.


----------



## Winenoob66

Stressbaby said:


> I guess my wife felt bad about using the Five Apple Cider concentrate for another recipe. This came last week. LOL



maybe she didn't feel bad but instead is trying to tell you something


----------



## Winenoob66

Hi Pam and Welcome to the WOTMC,

That sugar wash is a real pain to run , it will keep getting stuck during ferment or mine did anyway, also keep in mind you don't clear this mix once you add in the concentrates so there is pulp in them, the pina colada had the most pulp in it with the orange pineapple coming in second. but all were good, Strawberry was the best, but I am kinda biased on that test as I am an avid strawberry lover.


----------



## cintipam

I appreciate the heads up. I like pulp, and I think most professionally made drinks actually have pulp so that is no problem at all. I was almost salivating while reading your post about that strawberry, I really really plan to get a batch of this going soon. Do you think if I use a more aggressive yeast and do alternate small additions of nutrient and energizer it would help? I do hover over my fermenting bucket. But once it gets racked I back off and let time work and only check when racking seems needed.

Pam in cinti


----------



## Winenoob66

That's the best part to this recipe, run primary and your done except for running the meta and sorbate wait a few days (no clearing needed in this) , then divide it up into your portions. the way I done that was I added the concentrates first to the gallon jugs make sure they are completely defrosted so they will pour easy into the funnel, then after you have all your concentrates done add the sugar wash. 

On dealing with the primary problems I done a mix of all 3 tricks to keep it going from adding more nutrient and energizer and stirring to wrapping a blanket around it to bring the temp up ( I don't have a brew belt). The sugar wash will have a blank flavor alone and resemble more of a rubbing alcohol taste almost as there is nothing in it with any flavors. So don't freak thinking something is wrong if ya taste a rubbing alcohol flavor to the sugar wash. Other than dealing with the primary this is an easy peasy mix.



After posting this last night I decided to revisit some of my wine cooler endeavors and I have to say they are not as appeasing as they once were. I bottled the strawberry, and the lime margarita now they both have stuff floating as well as sediment (lol the strawberry has little brain looking things in them) so I have determined if you are going to make this cut the sugar wash to a gallon or 2 and make a 1 or 2 gallon mix something that could be consumed quickly. Also the lemonade was in the fridge and had some sediment but nothing to over the top and was actually pretty good if you like lemonade. You could hardly even taste any alcohol in it. Maybe it being very cold had something to do with it but hey who knows.


----------



## Stressbaby

January WotM: Hibiscitrus

Inspired by odds and ends in the freezer (what's left of my hibiscus flowers) and greenhouse (Satsuma tangerines and kumquats).
The satsumas were very sweet with little acid so I tossed in a store-bought lemon.
Raisins for body.

3 satsuma tangerines, zest and juice
8oz kumquats, sliced as thinly as humanly possible
1 lemon, zest and juice
15oz raisins, chopped
1# 10oz sugar to start
1/8t tannin
1t pectic
1t yeast nutrient, divided
Red Star Champagne

Thinly slice kumquats, reserving juice. Chop raisins. Zest then juice the tangerines and lemon. Add zest, kumquats, raisins to mesh bag in primary. Add citrus juices, tannin, and sugar to primary. Bag hibiscus flowers and add to primary. Boil water, pour over sugar and mesh bags. When cool, squeeze and remove hibiscus flowers and add 1t pectic and 1/3 of nutrient. After 12-24 hours, adjust sugar and acid, then pitch yeast. Stepwise nutrient additions. Usual care thereafter.

Started tonight. I thought I might aim for 3.0-3.2 with this batch. It will be interesting to see where sugar and acid end up tomorrow night. The second pic shows everything in the primary. Interesting how the acid from the juices turns the dried hibiscus flowers bright pink.


----------



## the_rayway

Pam: if you want to know about elderberries - just pm WVMountaineerJack. He has an elderberry farm and will give you all the details. I'm hopefully planting some in the next year or so based on what will survive the temps up here.

Stressbaby: I have to ask - how on earth do you have so many hibiscus flowers? The are pretty much unheard of up here unless you have a little potted one in your house. My parents always say that theirs is 'prophetic'. Hasn't been wrong yet...

Added the last 1/2 tsp of my split nutrients to the Pumpkin Hazelnut today. Seems to be more creeping than running hot on this batch. Which is kind of ok by me as I didn't want the D254 to get stressed out and hot. When I checked the SG yesterday it was only down by 15 points. 

Smells DARN GOOD though


----------



## vernsgal

*Choco-Cherry Mead*

Ok, so I got this baby going today. Everything was going good til I got to the PH. It was at 4.3  so obviously had to be brought down for fermentation to go proper. I would have preferred to have used tartaric acid to bring it down but didn't have any so resorted to acid blend.I know with tartaric acid I can bring my TA back down if it gets high by using cold stabilization or potassium carbonate after my fermentation is complete. Does anyone know if you can do this after using acid blend?

Here's the starting pics, I'm pitching the yeast tomorrow so will update with my readings then. Fingers crossed this baby works! Lol


----------



## Stressbaby

the_rayway said:


> Stressbaby: I have to ask - how on earth do you have so many hibiscus flowers? The are pretty much unheard of up here unless you have a little potted one in your house. My parents always say that theirs is 'prophetic'. Hasn't been wrong yet...



I have a greenhouse, and we have 3 prolific tropical hibiscus bushes. They aren't producing much right now due to the season, but I spend all spring/summer/fall collecting not only hibiscus but also plumeria flowers. As an aside, I have a large bag of frozen plumeria flowers and this wine has turned out well in the past. I was contemplating an experimental WotM batch of plumeria using flowers exclusively and for prolonged time in the secondary to see if it preserves any more of the awesome fragrance as compared to using them in the primary.

Photobucket link: http://smg.photobucket.com/user/stressbaby/library/Greenhouse?sort=3&page=1



vernsgal said:


> I would have preferred to have used tartaric acid to bring it down but didn't have any so resorted to acid blend. I know with tartaric acid I can bring my TA back down if it gets high by using cold stabilization or potassium carbonate after my fermentation is complete. Does anyone know if you can do this after using acid blend?



Vernsgal, this is my understanding - all of the carbonates, including K2CO3 and KHCO3, preferentially precipitate tartaric, rather than malic acid. Only CaCO3 pulls any malic out at all. So by using acid blend, typically 40% tartaric, you limit your ability later to deacidify because 60% of the acid is citric or malic and won't respond to your carbonate additions.

However, I'm not sure why you need to be worried about that. If pH is 4.3, as long as you don't badly overshoot, you should be fine with acid blend and you won't need to worry about deacidification.


----------



## Winenoob66

Stressbaby said:


> Vernsgal, this is my understanding - all of the carbonates, including K2CO3 and KHCO3, preferentially precipitate tartaric, rather than malic acid. Only CaCO3 pulls any malic out at all. So by using acid blend, typically 40% tartaric, you limit your ability later to deacidify because 60% of the acid is citric or malic and won't respond to your carbonate additions.
> 
> However, I'm not sure why you need to be worried about that. If pH is 4.3, as long as you don't badly overshoot, you should be fine with acid blend and you won't need to worry about deacidification.



Woosh!!! right over my head


----------



## Stressbaby

Winenoob66 said:


> Woosh!!! right over my head



Winenoob,
The various carbonates, when added to wine, bind with the acid, form crystals, and fall out like lees. However, they mainly work with tartaric acid, not so much with the other acids.

If she acidifies with 100% tartaric, then most of her acid will be tartaric obviously. If she acidifies with acid blend, then only 40% will be tartaric (another 40% is malic and 20% citric typically). So if she should decide to lower the acid later, the carbonate will only work on 40% of the acid if she uses acid blend, rather than 100% of the acid if she added tartaric.

At least that is my understanding from reading. I've not done this yet but I have a plum wine sitting at 2.84, TA 1.15 right now and I've got the KHCO3 ready to go...


----------



## wineforfun

Ok, I have been slacking on keeping up.

This month I went back to the dragon blood recipe with a very minor twist. I opened a bottle of the original DB recipe(double lemon/1lb. fruit per gallon) that had been bottled for 1yr. It was incredible how smooth it was so I decided to go back and make another one similar.

1-4-14
2 gal.

3lb. Triple Berry Mix
15oz. RealLemon juice
4oz. RealLime juice
2gal. water
9 1/2c sugar
2/3tsp tannin
2tsp nutrient
1tsp pectic
1tsp energizer

SG 1.092

Added thawed fruit to fruit bag and squeezed well.

1-5-14
Added hydrated Lavlin EC-1118 yeast

1-6-13
Stirred well and squeezed fruit bag.


----------



## ckvchestnut

the_rayway said:


> Pam: if you want to know about elderberries - just pm WVMountaineerJack. He has an elderberry farm and will give you all the details. I'm hopefully planting some in the next year or so based on what will survive the temps up here.


 Hi rayway, I noticed you are in Winnipeg? What's growth hardiness zone? I have a brother in Winnipeg  I have elderberries up here in Renfrew, ON and they are super hardy, they can be grown in zones down to 3a I believe if not colder... There are a number of other fruit trees and shrubs for cold hardiness that I've been planting from this site: www.treetime.ca a lot of their stuff was developed in Saskatchewan and can be grown to zone 2a! The strain of elderberries I'm growing are sumbucus canadensis or black elderberry and are also native to Ontario... Perhaps you might have a supplier in MB already?


----------



## cintipam

Vernsgal, don't stress about PH affecting your fermentation. I read all the tutorials on PH on the site, so I can't point you at which one said it, but it clearly stated that yeast are not fussy about PH for fermentation. BUT PH really matters for knowing how much meta to put in for protection and preservation, which is why 3-3.5 is considered optimum final PH for wine to be stored. And I assure you, it is a pain to adjust PH back up if you go too low. Remember, that what I'm dealing with and Stressbaby pointed out that PH is not a straightline. 

Winenoob66, great info. I think what I'll do is only mix the wash with the concentrates the day of any get together. If you believe the wash alone will age ok then I could bottle the wash alone for this purpose. Otherwise I'll make wash a gallon at a time.

Stressbaby, what is a plumaria flower? Sounds familiar, but I can't really place it.

Rayway, thanks for the tip on elderberries. I had read that red elderberries (Racemosa) weren't safe to eat, and got mixed messages about safety to make into wine. Canadensis and Nigra are safe, but each has lots and lots of cultivars to choose from.

Pam in cinti


----------



## the_rayway

ckvchestnut said:


> Hi rayway, I noticed you are in Winnipeg? What's growth hardiness zone? I have a brother in Winnipeg  I have elderberries up here in Renfrew, ON and they are super hardy, they can be grown in zones down to 3a I believe if not colder... There are a number of other fruit trees and shrubs for cold hardiness that I've been planting from this site: www.treetime.ca a lot of their stuff was developed in Saskatchewan and can be grown to zone 2a! The strain of elderberries I'm growing are sumbucus canadensis or black elderberry and are also native to Ontario... Perhaps you might have a supplier in MB already?



Hey Chestnut,
We're a 3a over here - who's your brother? Maybe I know him 

I order most of my plants through T&T or Veseys and they have a couple different types available. I'm looking at the Black Lace if they are edible. Would look good in front of my house! 

I won't grow it if I can't make it into food. My gardens (tiny as they are) are 100% edible. Maybe one day I'll expand into decorative flowers.


----------



## ckvchestnut

the_rayway said:


> Hey Chestnut, We're a 3a over here - who's your brother? Maybe I know him  I order most of my plants through T&T or Veseys and they have a couple different types available. I'm looking at the Black Lace if they are edible. Would look good in front of my house! I won't grow it if I can't make it into food. My gardens (tiny as they are) are 100% edible. Maybe one day I'll expand into decorative flowers.


 Haha you sound like me nothing gets planted unless it's edible! My brothers name is Pete He works over at the local hospital and his wife l's name is Linda! Black lace is nice with the purple foliage and pink flowers right? I've seen them once and should have bought them when I had a chance if I find them again I'll add them they are safe. And the elderberries that aren't safe are fine once simmered to get toxins out... Ya they should be fine in 3a....

I've ordered from vesseys as well do they have elderberries as well? I chose the ones I have because the nursery was selling them as 2 or 3 year old whips for like $1.49 each so I thought it was a good deal! Not as pretty as black lace but they are already making a nice edible privacy and wind screen on the northwest side of my house.


----------



## Stressbaby

cintipam said:


> Stressbaby, what is a plumaria flower? Sounds familiar, but I can't really place it.



Plumerias are the tropical flowers from which they make Hawaiian leis. Powerfully fragrant depending on the species and variety.



the_rayway said:


> I won't grow it if I can't make it into food. My gardens (tiny as they are) are 100% edible. Maybe one day I'll expand into decorative flowers.



LOL. I went the other way.


----------



## vernsgal

cintipam said:


> Vernsgal, don't stress about PH affecting your fermentation. I read all the tutorials on PH on the site, so I can't point you at which one said it, but it clearly stated that yeast are not fussy about PH for fermentation. BUT PH really matters for knowing how much meta to put in for protection and preservation, which is why 3-3.5 is considered optimum final PH for wine to be stored. And I assure you, it is a pain to adjust PH back up if you go too low. Remember, that what I'm dealing with and Stressbaby pointed out that PH is not a straightline.


 Thanks for the reassurance Pam and Stressbaby. I found on this site PH and TA is a 50/50 split when you put it out there lol
When I made my 1st all juice wine I got a lot of help here and Turok (as well as some others)pointed me into the direction of watching my PH and making sure it's at least in the ballpark to avoid problems.Since, I have always measured my PH (never had one this high before though) and balanced it accordingly.
I don't have the actual article someone pointed me to but I copy pasted this and try to follow:

pH is at least as important as TA in a must.. It has a powerful effect upon the efficiency of sulphur dioxide and upon the ability of malolactic bacteria and yeasts to function in the must or young wine. For various chemistry type reasons, pH 3.55 is considered the magic dividing line between relative safety and more vulnerability to problems of oxidation and/or undesirable bacterial infection. Occasionally one encounters grapes with normal or high TA and a high pH, well above the 3.55 level - such grapes are difficult to work with.
If the pH of your must is too high, 3.6 or more it can be lowered by the addition of straight tartaric acid. (Acid blends create more problems than they solve and should be avoided.)

Sorry for the long read Lol I will try not to fret about it and carry onward!
Thanks!


----------



## ckvchestnut

Stressbaby said:


> Plumerias are the tropical flowers from which they make Hawaiian leis. Powerfully fragrant depending on the species and variety. LOL. I went the other way.


 Pretty! I do both myself actually love to have spring flowers in my trees, shrubs and in my perennial gardens... Lately been focusing on edible landscaping though it's never a bad thing to strive toward self sustainability!

Oops want sure I was going to post that pic as it's off topic but that was my latest addition to my cold hardy rose collection, a lovely red and yellow bi-coloured rose called Campfire its from the morden series and this rose was blooming well into October on its first season even as frost formed everywhere! I did nothing to encourage it in fact was hoping it would go dormant already lol! Ok ill stick to topic from now on - sorry everyone!


----------



## jamesngalveston

plumeria and hibiscus are a nusance where i live...come get them all.


----------



## cintipam

Too funny James. Well, they say a weed is just a plant growing where you don't want it to. Still I'd find it hard to ever call those lovely plumaria a weed. Wow!!

I'm so happy to read you all plant edibles also. My neighbor turns up his nose at my yard. While I do mix in some pretty with lots of functional, his is a mass of impatiens and cardinal climber type stuff. Mine is really pretty IMHO plus I get to experience all the wildlife coming around for snacks. I know, not high on most gardeners list but I live smack dab in the heart of cityville and it shocks folks to see our deer and groundhog, possums etc just strolling around. They mostly leave my good stuff alone as I plant stuff I know they prefer to draw them away from my trees.

Only thing I'd like to strangle is the doggone squirrels when they take one bite from a good piece of fruit, throw it down and go grab another piece, repeat ad naseum.

Pam in cinti


----------



## vernsgal

cintipam said:


> Only thing I'd like to strangle is the doggone squirrels when they take one bite from a good piece of fruit, throw it down and go grab another piece, repeat ad naseum.
> 
> Pam in cinti



Lol yup us too. We have an even bigger problem with the pesky deer eating everything! Flowers, fruit young plants.. They're real cute to look at but sometimes


----------



## the_rayway

ckvchestnut said:


> Pretty! I do both myself actually love to have spring flowers in my trees, shrubs and in my perennial gardens... Lately been focusing on edible landscaping though it's never a bad thing to strive toward self sustainability!
> 
> Oops want sure I was going to post that pic as it's off topic but that was my latest addition to my cold hardy rose collection, a lovely red and yellow bi-coloured rose called Campfire its from the morden series and this rose was blooming well into October on its first season even as frost formed everywhere! I did nothing to encourage it in fact was hoping it would go dormant already lol! Ok ill stick to topic from now on - sorry everyone!



Ha! Great minds think alike! I also added the Campfire to the ring around my Bird Spa.  Check out these pics: 
1) 7:00 a.m.
2) 2:00 p.m. same day
3) 8:00 p.m. still the same day.

Poor thing can't seem to figure out what colour it wants to be. Should make a nice Rhodomel this coming summer though. I also have a Morden Sunrise, and a Strawberry Crush. They're just beautiful!

Stressbaby - love the pictures of your greenhouse BTW


----------



## ckvchestnut

That's awesome rayway!! Yes I tell everyone how my campfire rose changes colour daily! Amazing! I also have sunrise, Jacque Cartier and a few other large hardy ones! I need stuff to be able to compete with my weed grass and dandelions! I had some issues with those darned saw flies though they lay eggs in the stems by piercing them with their oviductor thingy! I think it's saw flies?? They love to do this right underneath a cluster of rosebuds!


----------



## vernsgal

okay thought I'd post what I've done do far before calling it a night!
Day1 (yesterday)
Made yeast starter. In primary placed bananas ,cherries, cocoa, grape concentrate, pectic enzme, nutrients and 1/3 tsp yeast energizer. SG was 1.036 so added 7 cups sugar for SG 1.102. Tested PH, it was very high at 4.4. added 2 ½ tsp acid blend PH 3.62
Day 2
1:00 PM Gently squeezed fruit, removed from pail. Stirred must rechecked PH 3.64. SG 1.102, S02 50 PPM Temp 70, so put on brew belt. Pitched yeast, stirred gently and added fruit back in.
10:20 PM Good cap formed on top. Punched down fruit and stirred gently.
And that's all folks! lol


----------



## wineforfun

Kim,
What are you using to check your PH and SO?


----------



## vernsgal

for now I'm using these.On wish list is a vinmetrica but I'm not in need of something that expensive right now lol
For PH and TA I use the Hanna tester
http://www.hannainst.com/usa/prods2.cfm?id=002003&ProdCode=HI 98103
and for s02 I use the Accuvin Free s02 test
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064OFW7W/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
These aren't the sites I purchased from, I just included them so you could see what they are


----------



## LoneStarLori

I need a proper acid test kit. I can't get the hang of the vintners chemical dropper method one. 

I started my Blood Orange wine this weekend using Jack Keller's Orange wine 2 as a base. I'm not gonna lie, it is not impressing me at all yet. The first thing I noticed is the blood oranges have much less juice. I used 50% more than the recipe called for and still can't really taste or smell the orange. I'm hoping the alcohol brings out some semblance of orange.

Recipe:

Orange Wine (2)

8 medium-sized oranges
1 lb chopped or minced golden raisins or sultanas
1 lb 7 oz ripe bananas
3 lbs finely granulated sugar
water to make up one gallon
1/4 tsp grape tannin
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
wine yeast
Put two quarts of water on to boil. Meanwhile, peel the oranges and remove all the white pith (it is bitter and will ruin the wine). Break the oranges into sections and remove all seeds. Drop them in a juicer or a blender and liquefy (you may have to add a cup of water to the blender). Peel and slice bananas and simmer in one pint of water for 20 minutes. In a primary, add chopped or minced raisins (or sultanas), 2-1/2 lbs of the sugar, the orange juice or liquefied orange pulp, and two quarts of boiling water. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Over primary, pour simmering banana slices into nylon straining bag and allow to drip until cool enough to squeeze. Squeeze lightly and then discard banana flesh. Stir in tannin and yeast nutrient and enough water to make up one gallon total. Cover with cloth and set aside to cool. When cooled to room temperature, add pectic enzyme, recover and wait 12 hours. Add wine yeast. Ferment 7 days, add remaining sugar, stir to dissolve, and ferment another 3 days. Rack off sediments into secondary and fit airlock. Rack every 30 days for 3 months. Stabilize and sweeten to taste. After additional 10 days, rack into bottles and set aside one year to age. [Adapted from Brian Leverett's "Winemaking Month by Month"]

Changes I made were; used 12 blood oranges and 2 Texas Navel oranges. I used Red Star Cote Du blancs. I didn't test the SG before adding his recommended sugar and ended up with 1.12. This may end being orange flavored Everclear.


----------



## vernsgal

LoneStarLori said:


> I need a proper acid test kit. I can't get the hang of the vintners chemical dropper method one.
> 
> I started my Blood Orange wine this weekend using Jack Keller's Orange wine 2 as a base. I'm not gonna lie, it is not impressing me at all yet. The first thing I noticed is the blood oranges have much less juice. I used 50% more than the recipe called for and still can't really taste or smell the orange. I'm hoping the alcohol brings out some semblance of orange.
> 
> Recipe:
> 
> Orange Wine (2)
> 
> 8 medium-sized oranges
> 1 lb chopped or minced golden raisins or sultanas
> 1 lb 7 oz ripe bananas
> 3 lbs finely granulated sugar
> water to make up one gallon
> 1/4 tsp grape tannin
> 1 tsp pectic enzyme
> 1 tsp yeast nutrient
> wine yeast
> Put two quarts of water on to boil. Meanwhile, peel the oranges and remove all the white pith (it is bitter and will ruin the wine). Break the oranges into sections and remove all seeds. Drop them in a juicer or a blender and liquefy (you may have to add a cup of water to the blender). Peel and slice bananas and simmer in one pint of water for 20 minutes. In a primary, add chopped or minced raisins (or sultanas), 2-1/2 lbs of the sugar, the orange juice or liquefied orange pulp, and two quarts of boiling water. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Over primary, pour simmering banana slices into nylon straining bag and allow to drip until cool enough to squeeze. Squeeze lightly and then discard banana flesh. Stir in tannin and yeast nutrient and enough water to make up one gallon total. Cover with cloth and set aside to cool. When cooled to room temperature, add pectic enzyme, recover and wait 12 hours. Add wine yeast. Ferment 7 days, add remaining sugar, stir to dissolve, and ferment another 3 days. Rack off sediments into secondary and fit airlock. Rack every 30 days for 3 months. Stabilize and sweeten to taste. After additional 10 days, rack into bottles and set aside one year to age. [Adapted from Brian Leverett's "Winemaking Month by Month"]
> 
> Changes I made were; used 12 blood oranges and 2 Texas Navel oranges. I used Red Star Cote Du blancs. I didn't test the SG before adding his recommended sugar and ended up with 1.12. This may end being orange flavored Everclear.


Are you going to use some of the zest from those peels?


----------



## LoneStarLori

yes, I am going to use zest for sure. I put some from one of these in, but I am going to use some from the Texas oranges also. They are much more aromatic and juicy. These just really don't have flavor. 

At what point do you think I should add them? About 1.02?


----------



## vernsgal

I've put my zest in the secondary but honestly I don't know because its still a baby. I would PM Joe on that one. He's big on zesting! lol


----------



## LoneStarLori

Ah yes. Joe will know. As a matter of fact, he has a revived post going on now in almond wine. He's such a great mentor for me. I've learned a lot from his tweaks. 
Here is the zesting and extract lesson: *Zesting and extracts*


----------



## Stressbaby

I've used zest in primary and zest after 4 months in the secondary. You can do whatever you want.
My January wine is hibiscus-citrus and I've got zest in the primary. I'll add more in secondary if it needs a boost.


----------



## cintipam

OK guys, I started my attempt at low PH margarita wine, and in the spirit of this being a safe place for us beginners to learn I will share my results. First, somehow someway the PH on this batch is approx the same as the end point of the last finished batch. So no way to make a low PH batch. I honestly believe I did add the acid blend as written in the first recipe into that 1st batch, if so then we should see some of the acid fallout over time. Secondly, I really messed up how much sugar to add to make 1.090. I have been spot on on my calcs for the last 5 or 6 batches, so I trusted myself. Now I have sg of 1.125. Luckily I have Lalvin QA23 yeast and it not only is fine for up to 16% alc, it ferms better at lower temps. It says it excels at white wines, so I'll use it instead of D47. I will pay attention to end PH and possible flavor loss that has often been reported at wines of higher alc %. Since the first batch is still disappearing at a steady rate, I don't think I'll bother blending, just saving a sample to compare to batch 2 for the flavor loss test. This has been my recipe so far:

1/8 9 ½ gal Ocean Spray white cranberry 9 limeade concentrates PH was 2.64 prior to sugar addition
2 tbl pectin 1 tbl energizer 21 c sugar 1/4 meta warm bucket
(inverted sugar 2/3 c water w 3 c sugar x7) sg final is 1.125, PH now 2.67 
must use Lalvin QA 23 bec alc to 16%, low temp ok . Will do starter 1/9.

Only basic change I did was increasing pectin as I added some extra last time to promote clearing. It worked well. With all the added sugar (and water used to invert it) I have a good 6 plus gallons must.

So I've already learned some stuff. I'm not sure what happened with the sugar, as I used the same formula I'd been using from Mary's recipe. Each 1/2c sugar will raise sg by .10 per gallon. So since my starting sg was 1.020 I needed to raise .70, or 3 1/2 cups per gallon. 3 1/2 c x6 is 21 cups. My only guess is that I read the hydrometer incorrectly. But I'm glad I had the QA23. Higher alc should be fine unless it strips flavor.

Pam in cinti


----------



## cintipam

Wow wow wow on the roses. Very cool that they change colors. Have you guys tried using the hips in anyway?

Do these roses have a strong fragrance? I love the looks, and covet nice rose hips, but I'm probably one of the few humans who dislikes rose aroma. 

Pam in cinti


----------



## ckvchestnut

cintipam said:


> Wow wow wow on the roses. Very cool that they change colors. Have you guys tried using the hips in anyway?
> 
> Do these roses have a strong fragrance? I love the looks, and covet nice rose hips, but I'm probably one of the few humans who dislikes rose aroma.
> 
> Pam in cinti



Pam... surprisingly no these roses do not have a strong aroma, you'd have to bend down to a bloom and sniff and still very faint... I think most of these hardy types have less fragrance than the prized hybrid teas etc. I planted mine partly for rosehips as well, I have a few climbers and large bush types as well as those hardy hedge ones that look like wild roses... the hips can be used for many things, tea for one but also other medicinal and food purposes, there is a lot of info on the usage of rosehips online  I'll be people have used them in wine! I wish I could remember the name of another red morden one I bought last spring... the buds are a true red, the kind you'd picture getting on valentine's day, but after the buds open, the blooms are a marvelous fuschia colour just beautiful!


----------



## wineforfun

LoneStarLori said:


> I need a proper acid test kit. I can't get the hang of the vintners chemical dropper method one.
> 
> I started my Blood Orange wine this weekend using Jack Keller's Orange wine 2 as a base. I'm not gonna lie, it is not impressing me at all yet. The first thing I noticed is the blood oranges have much less juice. I used 50% more than the recipe called for and still can't really taste or smell the orange. I'm hoping the alcohol brings out some semblance of orange.
> 
> Recipe:
> 
> Orange Wine (2)
> 
> 8 medium-sized oranges
> 1 lb chopped or minced golden raisins or sultanas
> 1 lb 7 oz ripe bananas
> 3 lbs finely granulated sugar
> water to make up one gallon
> 1/4 tsp grape tannin
> 1 tsp pectic enzyme
> 1 tsp yeast nutrient
> wine yeast
> Put two quarts of water on to boil. Meanwhile, peel the oranges and remove all the white pith (it is bitter and will ruin the wine). Break the oranges into sections and remove all seeds. Drop them in a juicer or a blender and liquefy (you may have to add a cup of water to the blender). Peel and slice bananas and simmer in one pint of water for 20 minutes. In a primary, add chopped or minced raisins (or sultanas), 2-1/2 lbs of the sugar, the orange juice or liquefied orange pulp, and two quarts of boiling water. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Over primary, pour simmering banana slices into nylon straining bag and allow to drip until cool enough to squeeze. Squeeze lightly and then discard banana flesh. Stir in tannin and yeast nutrient and enough water to make up one gallon total. Cover with cloth and set aside to cool. When cooled to room temperature, add pectic enzyme, recover and wait 12 hours. Add wine yeast. Ferment 7 days, add remaining sugar, stir to dissolve, and ferment another 3 days. Rack off sediments into secondary and fit airlock. Rack every 30 days for 3 months. Stabilize and sweeten to taste. After additional 10 days, rack into bottles and set aside one year to age. [Adapted from Brian Leverett's "Winemaking Month by Month"]
> 
> Changes I made were; used 12 blood oranges and 2 Texas Navel oranges. I used Red Star Cote Du blancs. I didn't test the SG before adding his recommended sugar and ended up with 1.12. This may end being orange flavored Everclear.



Curious to see how this turns out. I would guess it is going to be light on the flavor. Sure looks good though. 
I made an orange juice wine(used premade 100% orange juice from store). I was surprised that it actually cleared. I ran short on topping up on the final racking so I added 5oz. vodka. I also let it sit on dark chocolate for a month and added a little orange extract to it. 
Been bottled for a month and haven't tried it yet.


----------



## vernsgal

cintipam said:


> Each 1/2c sugar will raise sg by .10 per gallon.
> 
> Pam in cinti


Looks good Pam.
I think you meant .010? I usually estimate 1 cup= .018 gal but I go to the cup before the number I want, then take a reading . I've been caught too by just going by the numbers.
It might finish a little sweet .But I think it'll still be tastey!


----------



## cintipam

Thanks for the info ckvchestnut. If you think of the name of that fuschia one pls post it. That's a fave color of mine.

Kim, sadly I meant the 1.125. It's just at the bottom of the desert wine range. But since I backsweetened batch one quite a bit, finishing with some sugar would not be a bad thing. Altho with the yeast I chose it could conceivably make it to dry. I will let you all know since the whole point here is to help each other learn.

BTW Kim I like your sugar calc numbers better than the one I had been using. I'm still confused by how I got 21 cups tho. I MUST have read it wrong. (Don't miss my sad attempt at wine puns here.)

Pam in cinti


----------



## jamesngalveston

lori make sure you watch that ferment, with the acid and the low tolerance for stress with the Cote Du blancs u dont want anything to go wrong....
Its not a real strong yeast.


----------



## ckvchestnut

Hi Pam, it's of the explorer series and it's hardy at least to -35c so that's why I picked it... it's called Nicolas here's one link to it: http://landscapeontario.com/exploring-explorer-roses from now on i'll post this stuff somewhere else sorry ladies!


----------



## vernsgal

cintipam said:


> Thanks for the info ckvchestnut. If you think of the name of that fuschia one pls post it. That's a fave color of mine.
> 
> Kim, sadly I meant the 1.125. It's just at the bottom of the desert wine range. But since I backsweetened batch one quite a bit, finishing with some sugar would not be a bad thing. Altho with the yeast I chose it could conceivably make it to dry. I will let you all know since the whole point here is to help each other learn.
> 
> BTW Kim I like your sugar calc numbers better than the one I had been using. I'm still confused by how I got 21 cups tho. I MUST have read it wrong. (Don't miss my sad attempt at wine puns here.)
> 
> Pam in cinti


 Lol that sugar calculation I got from Julie so it's one I tend to stick with. It always gets me in the ballpark anyway.
Your yeast only goes to 16% so I don't think you'll need to backsweeten because it probably won't go dry That's a good choice IMO on your yeast because if you went higher, as you've probably read on other postings, you'll lose flavor to the alc.


----------



## vernsgal

wineforfun said:


> Curious to see how this turns out. I would guess it is going to be light on the flavor. Sure looks good though.
> I made an orange juice wine(used premade 100% orange juice from store). I was surprised that it actually cleared. I ran short on topping up on the final racking so I added 5oz. vodka. I also let it sit on dark chocolate for a month and added a little orange extract to it.
> Been bottled for a month and haven't tried it yet.


 
DJ that sounds ,to term a phrase used here, yummy!


----------



## Stressbaby

Pics of the Hibiscus-Citrus, moved to secondary today at 1.002.
Looks more pale in color than other hibiscus wines I've made but already settling out and getting darker at the top of the secondary.
I was worried that it didn't have enough orange but after tasting today I think it could be just right.


----------



## Jericurl

Oh, that hibiscus/citrus looks so yummy.
I can't wait to see how it turns out.


----------



## Jericurl

Just thought I'd share with the group my WOTMC wines so far:
left to right

Prickly pear (with herbs), apple/chamomile, apple/chamomile, cranberry/chocolate/habanero, and Werther's wine.

Tomorrow I'll be making my onion wine for January's contribution.

eta: Oops...I guess it helps to actually add the picture.


----------



## vernsgal

Jericurl said:


> Just thought I'd share with the group my WOTMC wines so far:
> left to right
> 
> Prickly pear (with herbs), apple/chamomile, apple/chamomile, cranberry/chocolate/habanero, and Werther's wine.
> 
> Tomorrow I'll be making my onion wine for January's contribution.




I am interested in how your cran/choc/hab is tasting.
mine.. Beet, Choco/cherry/banana port. My January is still in the making, and my Nov. is on oak for a while yet lol. Will update both of mine in a week or so.


----------



## Jericurl

Kim, 
I haven't tasted it recently but I plan on giving everything a wee taste at the end of this month and I will let you know.
It's not clearing near as well as Lori's Strawberry/Chocolate wine.

I'm thinking about setting it outside for a couple of nights to let everything drop out.


----------



## Jericurl

Ok, here we go! I'm hoping mine doesn't reek as bad as Lori's did!
Since I plan on using this wine strictly for cooking, I'm thinking of adding a 1/2 lb of pearled barley to my onion/potato water while it's boiling. I figure that will give it a little more oomph.
Also, I've already changed my mind again since this picture was taken. I'll be using premier curvee yeast, not montrachet.


----------



## the_rayway

I've got the Habanero Apple, Apricot Port, and Pumpkin Hazelnut Mead. 

January's Pumpkin Hazelnut will be ready to rack soon, I think. It has been a slow ferment - but certainly not the slowest I've ever done! I'm to add the pumpkin, vanilla extract and sweet potato shortly. I've got to thaw it all first though.

The November and December wines are clearing. November is doing the best so far, as I can read through it already. The Dec. port just has so much sediment floating still! I don't want to add any oak until it's cleared out a bit more.


----------



## Jericurl

Raelene,

I found a mead kit for $19.99 that makes a 1 gallon batch. I'm considering getting it next month's club wine. They offer dry, semi sweet, lavender, and one with ginger/grains of paradise. I just can't decide which one to go with!


----------



## the_rayway

Oooohhhh, lavender!

They all sound pretty yummy! Paper, Rock, Scissors? Or maybe Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe?


----------



## Stressbaby

I have a 3 gal batch of Lavender wine (not mead) that is clear and ready to bottle and it's pretty good. You don't need a lot of lavender flowers.


----------



## wineforfun

Nothing too exciting to report. Racked my Dragon Blood from primary to secondary(s) yesterday. SG down to .990 so we are good to go. Haven't decided if I am going to do both of the secondaries the same or "experiment". Running low on DB so may just keep them the same.

My elderberry(Dec. WOM) is just ageing/clearing. One regular and one on oak.


----------



## Jericurl

Started my wine today.....I cannot convey to you just how much this smells. And it hasn't even started fermenting yet....


(mostly Jack Keller's recipe, except for the addition of barley and some minor changes in weight, preference, etc)

ONION WINE 
1 lb sweet onions
1 lb potato
12 oz golden raisins
2 lemons (zest and juice)
2 lbs fine granulated sugar
7½ pts water
1 crushed Campden tablet
½ tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 pkt wine yeast
½ lb pearled barley

Chop or mince raisins and soak overnight in pint of warm water. Thinly slice onions and potato into remaining water. Put on heat and bring to a simmer, holding simmer for 45 minutes. Grate zest from lemons and combine zest with raisins. Transfer raisins and zest into nylon straining bag in primary. Add sugar to primary. Strain onions and potato, pouring hot water over sugar and discarding pulp. Add juice from lemons and yeast nutrient, then stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Cover with clean cloth and set aside to cool. 

When at room temperature, add crushed Campden tablet and stir. Recover primary and set aside for 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stir, recover primary, and set aside another 12 hours. Add activated yeast. 

I will probably end up adding a whole tsp of pectic enzyme. I'm also going to pop a lid on the primary, attach an airlock, and then let it ferment down to dry under a lid. I'm not a huge fan of that fermenting smell anyway, but this...I do NOT want to smell this more than necessary.

eta: I think I'm going to bottle this in 375 ml bottles. I expect to get 10 bottles out of it that way.
I'm also going to do a hot pepper wine and a tomato wine the same way. There will be a couple of cooks on my Christmas list that are going to get a little basket with 3 different cooking wines in it this next Christmas. The rest of it will be mine all mine!!!


----------



## jamesngalveston

rayway...you should make a sugar wash and incorporate into some of your wine blends you are making....


----------



## vernsgal

Jericurl said:


> Started my wine today.....I cannot convey to you just how much this smells. And it hasn't even started fermenting yet....
> 
> 
> (mostly Jack Keller's recipe, except for the addition of barley and some minor changes in weight, preference, etc)
> 
> ONION WINE
> 1 lb sweet onions
> 1 lb potato
> 12 oz golden raisins
> 2 lemons (zest and juice)
> 2 lbs fine granulated sugar
> 7½ pts water
> 1 crushed Campden tablet
> ½ tsp pectic enzyme
> 1 tsp yeast nutrient
> 1 pkt wine yeast
> ½ lb pearled barley
> 
> Chop or mince raisins and soak overnight in pint of warm water. Thinly slice onions and potato into remaining water. Put on heat and bring to a simmer, holding simmer for 45 minutes. Grate zest from lemons and combine zest with raisins. Transfer raisins and zest into nylon straining bag in primary. Add sugar to primary. Strain onions and potato, pouring hot water over sugar and discarding pulp. Add juice from lemons and yeast nutrient, then stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Cover with clean cloth and set aside to cool.
> 
> When at room temperature, add crushed Campden tablet and stir. Recover primary and set aside for 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stir, recover primary, and set aside another 12 hours. Add activated yeast.
> 
> I will probably end up adding a whole tsp of pectic enzyme. I'm also going to pop a lid on the primary, attach an airlock, and then let it ferment down to dry under a lid. I'm not a huge fan of that fermenting smell anyway, but this...I do NOT want to smell this more than necessary.
> 
> eta: I think I'm going to bottle this in 375 ml bottles. I expect to get 10 bottles out of it that way.
> I'm also going to do a hot pepper wine and a tomato wine the same way. There will be a couple of cooks on my Christmas list that are going to get a little basket with 3 different cooking wines in it this next Christmas. The rest of it will be mine all mine!!!


 What a good idea Jeri ,for xmas. I think I'm going to have to jump in with you and Lori on these cooking wines !( I'm just not looking forward to the smell you both have mentioned!)


----------



## LoneStarLori

Jericurl said:


> Started my wine today.....I cannot convey to you just how much this smells. And it hasn't even started fermenting yet....



Wait for it....wait for it.


----------



## Jericurl

Kim, I am a cook. I LOVE to cook. I love the way onions smell when roasting or sauteing. Before today, I've never boiled onions in a pot. After today, I never will again. (inside anyway)
Not at all appetizing.

But I am looking forward to having an awesome cooking wine out of it.


----------



## ckvchestnut

Stressbaby said:


> I have a 3 gal batch of Lavender wine (not mead) that is clear and ready to bottle and it's pretty good. You don't need a lot of lavender flowers.




Stressbaby, what does it taste like? I absolutely adore lavender and grow it in my garden but I never imagined wine? I gather the flowers don't taste like the plant smells?


----------



## vernsgal

Jericurl said:


> Raelene,
> 
> I found a mead kit for $19.99 that makes a 1 gallon batch. I'm considering getting it next month's club wine. They offer dry, semi sweet, lavender, and one with ginger/grains of paradise. I just can't decide which one to go with!


 Do you think Jeri the lavender I have might work in a wine?


the_rayway said:


> Oooohhhh, lavender!
> 
> They all sound pretty yummy! Paper, Rock, Scissors? Or maybe Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe?


same question Raelene about lavender

Open question to all you WOTM members what do you think of following pics? Have any of you ever tried Elderflower? Looking for some ideas!

would the elderflowers go with elderberries, or no?

Lavender, what would I use with it?


----------



## the_rayway

Hmm, I've heard both elderberries and elderflowers make good wine, but usually the berries are for reds and the flowers are for whites.

I've made lilac mead and it's really good, but you have to let the flowers take the stage (if you ask me). I would think the same with lavender or with elderflowers.

Also, now I'm _really_ interested to know what the onion wine smells like.  ?


----------



## Jericurl

Do you know specifically what type of lavender you are growing? I know there are different strains used for fragrance and others used for their medicinal qualities. From what I understand, the fragrant lavender is better used in foods/drink and the medicinal better used in tinctures, etc.


----------



## Jericurl

the_rayway said:


> Also, now I'm _really_ interested to know what the onion wine smells like.  ?


It smells like *** Raelene. Pure D ***.


----------



## Jericurl

Kim,

Lavender pairs very well with ginger, chocolate, and surprisingly, caramel. I'm a foodie, trust me.


----------



## vernsgal

Jericurl said:


> Kim,
> 
> Lavender pairs very well with ginger, chocolate, and surprisingly, caramel. I'm a foodie, trust me.



Awesome! I always see things, but I'm not good with the pairing. 

The lavender I bought was in the food section (with the spices) so I grabbed it. Unfortunately I have no idea what to use it in. So if trying a 1 gal recipe with it, what would you recommend throwing in the pail with it! And no worries, I'm brave!


----------



## LoneStarLori

Jericurl said:


> Kim,
> 
> Lavender pairs very well with ginger, chocolate, and surprisingly, caramel. I'm a foodie, trust me.



I would have to vote for the lavender then. Especially with ginger.

I did a white kit using dried elderflowers toward the end of fermentation. They didn't smell that good to me and the wine color was VERY yellow. I don't know if the elderflowers added some deep yellow or it was just the varital of the grape. I'd be willing to try it again just to see if it was the flowers. Or, you could make a batch and we see what color it is.


----------



## vernsgal

Jericurl said:


> Kim,
> 
> Lavender pairs very well with ginger, chocolate, and surprisingly, caramel. I'm a foodie, trust me.





LoneStarLori said:


> I would have to vote for the lavender then. Especially with ginger.
> 
> I did a white kit using dried elderflowers toward the end of fermentation. They didn't smell that good to me and the wine color was VERY yellow. I don't know if the elderflowers added some deep yellow or it was just the varital of the grape. I'd be willing to try it again just to see if it was the flowers. Or, you could make a batch and we see what color it is.



Hahaha! I see Feb's wine coming! hopefully as a group effort 

I'm going to need quantities and other additives etc!!


----------



## Jericurl

Kim,

Do you have a small grinder, like a coffee grinder?
The best thing to do would probably be to grind a tiny bit of lavender and mix it with a couple of other spices and see what you like.
You can also google recipes that include lavender and see if anything appeals to you. Piggy back on what others have tried and liked, then build from there.


----------



## Stressbaby

My lavender wine smells just like, well, lavender! I left it pretty dry. I would like it more if it reminded me less of hotel shampoo.


----------



## Stressbaby

Jericurl said:


> Kim, Lavender pairs very well with ginger, chocolate, and surprisingly, caramel. I'm a foodie, trust me.



Now you have me wondering it I should try some tweaks.


----------



## vernsgal

Jericurl said:


> Kim,
> 
> Do you have a small grinder, like a coffee grinder?
> The best thing to do would probably be to grind a tiny bit of lavender and mix it with a couple of other spices and see what you like.
> You can also google recipes that include lavender and see if anything appeals to you. Piggy back on what others have tried and liked, then build from there.


I do have a grinder. I just need help with "the extras"



Stressbaby said:


> My lavender wine smells just like, well, lavender! I left it pretty dry. I would like it more if it reminded my less of hotel shampoo.


  that's how I feel when it comes to flowers. 

See why I need help Lol


----------



## the_rayway

Stressbaby - you might want to try a test with a bit of honey. My lilac mead would have been overpowering if it hadn't been for the honey (I think). Right now it has a nice lilac nose and tastes kind of like a Gewurztraminer 

I added elderflowers to a Riesling I did and it was very nice. Didn't notice a yellow colour, but it was only a small package.

Kim, maybe make a lavender 'tea' and add the test bits to that? It would give you an idea of the flavour profile, as well as the strength of the various ingredients.

Jeri - Lol!!! I see a batch of onion wine in my near future...


----------



## Jericurl

Raelene, that is an excellent idea for Kim.
Making a tea with additives is a pretty good way to determine whether or not something is going to pair nicely.


----------



## Jericurl

I really, really hope that what I am smelling is a litterbox that needs changing....


----------



## sour_grapes

Jericurl said:


> I really, really hope that what I am smelling is a litterbox that needs changing....



Words that are rarely heard in that order.....


----------



## vernsgal

Jericurl said:


> I really, really hope that what I am smelling is a litterbox that needs changing....



   

you're really scaring me from trying that wine! Maybe I'll wait til summer when we've moved out of apartment and I can hide it in basement!


----------



## the_rayway

Bhahahaha! Maybe I'll wait till summer before starting that one. That way I can either open a window, or put it into the garage 

Racked my Pumpkin Hazelnut Mead off the spices and out of primary to a 3 gallon carboy and added the roasted pumpkin/sweet potato. 

I'll give you my reasoning for the extra room: a) it wouldn't have fit into 2x1 gallon jugs with the pumpkin and sweet potato added, and b) the S.g. is 1.030, and it is very gassy. During the few weeks it will take for the ferment to finish and the fruit to sink to the bottom, it is very well blanketed with CO2. Once I get to the point where there are slow bubbles coming out the airlock, I'll rack it off the fruit and into the 1 gallon jugs.

Also, to note: I totally made too much. I should have stuck with just barely over a gallon (would have saved myself some honey too). But it kind of got out of hand when I was putting everything into the primary. Grr. However, a girlfriend of mine is going to give me her last pie pumpkin, so I'll roast that little guy up and pop it in there to make sure there is lots of flavour.


----------



## LoneStarLori

That looks like i could put it on a plate sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar. I bet it smells a whole lot better in your house than jeri's.


----------



## vernsgal

How long did the smell last with your onion wine Lori?


----------



## cintipam

OH Rayway, that looks really really tasty. I can't wait for a taste report.

Somewhat related I was checking out Old Orchard Blueberry Pom juice concentrates at the store yesterday. I've used these before and was very happy with the results. It's obvious there has been a reformulation as its now labeled as a fruit and veggie combo and the first ingredient is sweet potato. Not thrilled about using that to fpak my 6 gall of bluepom, so will have to buy a big bag of blueberries and simmer an fpak on my own.

Lori, I am sooo jealous you are still picking cabbage. I think the crazy cold we just had killed off a lot of my garden.

Jericurl, we have 6 cats, one a Maine Coon. So litterbox humor is scary. I will wait till I can ferment Onion wine in the Florida room. (outdoor room with screened windows). Hubby loves onion, but if thats the smell he'd flip.

Update on my Jan wine Margarita mania. Using newish yeast Lalvin QA23. Lalvin calls it quick acting low foam low food needs. OK, I call it slow, but probably very good. If I hadn't been taking readings I would think it is stuck. Tossed yeast on 1/9, sg 1.125 no real progress till 1/13 when it still read 1.120. 14th read 1.110 so it is moving, tho slowly. This yeast is giving off a wonderful light fruity aroma, so if the fruit taste is improved by the slow ferment I'll be thrilled. I was a bit afraid the original high sg might stun the yeast, but it is slowly chugging along. Also my november batch flavor is smoothing out, need to check PH to see if that has dropped.

Pam in cinti


----------



## the_rayway

Also jealous of the cabbage picking. Mine would be under 5 feet of snow...

I'll be updating the first post in the thread with what people are working on so far - to those who are interested: you can still start your January Wine! I'll re-update closer to the end of the month again


----------



## LoneStarLori

vernsgal said:


> How long did the smell last with your onion wine Lori?



It lasted from day 2 until it finished fermenting. About 5 days. I think it started smelling less like onions on about day 4. Just a strong ferment odor.
Once I put it in the garage, it wasn't a problem. Out of nose, out of mind.


----------



## LoneStarLori

For Feb. I'm going to wait till I get a book I ordered called Winemaking Month by Month by Brian Leverett. It has pretty good reviews and I'm hoping to see something new. The cost is kind of ridiculous at about $60 but I got a used one off amazon for $2 plus $ shipping.


----------



## cintipam

Lori, you did real good. My kind of shopping. Only thing better is getting a friend to buy it, read it, and tell me what I can learn from it. So glad you share your learnings so freely.

Pam in cinti


----------



## Jericurl

Lori, 
That sounds like a pretty interesting read. You will have to let us know if it was worth the money.

Also, yeah....I don't normally airlock during primary but this onion wine got a lid and lock on it pretty darn quick.


----------



## vernsgal

cintipam said:


> Lori, you did real good. My kind of shopping. Only thing better is getting a friend to buy it, read it, and tell me what I can learn from it. So glad you share your learnings so freely.
> 
> Pam in cinti



lol is that like hint, hint?


----------



## cintipam

Kim, yeah, maybe so. I have a ton of books already, but if Lori reads and raves about this one, then I'll put it on the find a used copy list. Around here there is a popular bookstore called Half Price Books where people sell their used books and buy others. A favorite date night for hubby and I is to go to a Chinese Buffet then that book store. Otherwise we sit around the firepit with our kitties hanging out with us. I drink my wine, he drinks his beer, we talk till 10 then head inside to maybe watch a movie. As you can tell we are real party animals.

Pam in cinti


----------



## LoneStarLori

Yeah Kim, I got the same impression. I will certainly give it a review. For the price I can afford to skim it and decide if it was work the $6.00. If I find even one good recipe, I'll call it a success.

Jeri that's hillarious! I wish I would have thought of that.


----------



## buckhorn

*Chocolate Covered Cherry Wine*

I got this recipe from Jack Keller's site, but after reading about it on this and other message boards, I am making some adjustments to the number of cherries used and how I process.

10x 6.6 oz boxes of Chocolate Covered Cherries (cordial style with the creme)
7 pints water
3.6 g acid blend
.32 g K-meta
.125 g Tannin
6 g Yeast Nutrient
1 pkg Champagne Wine Yeast

1. Bring water to a rolling boil
place cordial cherries into primary
pour boiling water over the cordial cherries to melt chocolate and creme
stir well to dissolve as much as possible
cover primary and let cool to room temp
_at some point after this, I think I will pull the cherries and slice them in half to let more of the flavor out._

2. Add acid blend, K-meta, tannin and yeast nutrient
Stir well -- cover primary
SG should be 1.090-1.100
_I think I will split the yeast nutrient here, adding it in thirds so that it does not risk getting "locked up" in the chocolate as it hardens_

3. After 10-12 hrs....
Add the activated yeast

4. After vigorous fermentation builds and subsides....
Transfer liquid to a 1 gal glass jug
Top up if necessary, attach an airlock
Toss out residue from primary

5. Ferment to completion and rack

6. After a month rack again and stabilize

7. sweeten to taste -- should be moderately sweet, don't overdue it.
_I plan to age a bit before I attempt to back-sweeten this. I am also considering using juice from maraschino cherries to back-sweeten instead of just sugar to enhance the cherry flavor._

8. Wait another month before bottle

9. Set aside at least 3 months before tasting.


This is my current plan. If anyone has tried this recipe or has any input on it, please let me know...

=====
Monthly DB recipe - after doing a bench test of the original DB recipe, I am planning to try a triple berry DB this month with 2x the amount of fruit.


----------



## Jericurl

It sounds pretty good.

The only thing I might do differently would be to add some pectic enzyme. I'd probably do that rather than fish out all the cherries and cut them in half, the enzyme should make short work of them. Plus from what I understand, there are a ton of additives in candies and the pectic enzyme may help with clearing the wine.

My Werther's wine isn't even THINKING about clearing yet and I sort of wished I had used some clay during fermentation.


----------



## mangojack

*Coffee wine Recipe*

Don't remember where I got the recipe but here it is:
1/4 cup of instant coffee of your choice,I used Maxwell
2lb sugar
3Tb sp citric acid,
Yeast nutrient 1tsp
wine yeast I used Rc-212
1 gal.Water
put Water,Sugar coffee in a pan on to boil stir until sugar is completely dissolved ,let cool,put in primary vessel,cover,when temp is at 70 degrees
add nutrients,yeast,cover,stir daily for 5 days,rack into a secondary vessel,air lock,rack after 30 days,top up,discard any pulp,air lock,rack in 60 days,discard 
any pulp,top up,air lock,rack every 60 days until fermentation stops,stabilize,sweeten if you like,bottle ,let stand 3mo. or longer,drink.


----------



## buckhorn

Jericurl - thank you, I hadn't thought of using pectic enzyme in this. Duly noted and I will be sure to add it.


----------



## the_rayway

I like Jeri's suggestion; also, you don't need to get so fancy as to cut the cherries - you could just smash the heck out of them with a sanitized potato masher  

They're not going to look pretty by the end of things anyways - I like using my masher!


----------



## buckhorn

rayway - After Jeri's suggestion I was thinking the same thing - why don't I just mash them. Have to see if the wife has a potato masher or if I will just use my spoon against the side. I plan to put the cordials in a mesh bag, so this would be easy to do.


----------



## vernsgal

hey mangojack welcome to WOTM. I'm glad you followed my link .

buckhorn I don't think you even have to mash them. Mine pretty well turned to mush on their own.lol


----------



## jojabri

In response to the rayway's post, #2 on page 2. 
This is silly and slightly off topic, but I've used Franzia bags as ice packs for years. After you empty the box, pull out the bag and rinse. Next fill it with 2 parts water, 1 part rubbing alcohol, and food coloring to your color choice (only if you want it colored.) Lay it flat in the freezer and there ya go!
This fix is for the flexible type ice packs. If you want it solid, omit the alcohol and simply fill the bag with water. 
There ya go, another "green reuse" and a reason to drink more wine, even if it is Franzia.


----------



## the_rayway

Thanks jojabri, (I think you meant post #2 on page 1? Regarding keeping it cool?)

I live in Winnipeg, in a house that has some very cold rooms, so all I do is move the bucket! Lol, although, for some like Jeri or Lori who live in constantly warm places your idea would be a great one!


----------



## vernsgal

buckhorn said:


> rayway - After Jeri's suggestion I was thinking the same thing - why don't I just mash them. Have to see if the wife has a potato masher or if I will just use my spoon against the side. I plan to put the cordials in a mesh bag, so this would be easy to do.



What I did with my cherries ( and all fruit in other wines) is place them in mesh bag in pail. Everyday I wash my hands well, spray them with a bit of k-meta and dry with paper towel then I lift the bag out of the must and squeeze it well,stir must and place the bag back in.
I found that squeezing the fruit daily I extract every bit of flavor out of it.


----------



## jojabri

the_rayway said:


> Thanks jojabri, (I think you meant post #2 on page 1? Regarding keeping it cool?)
> 
> I live in Winnipeg, in a house that has some very cold rooms, so all I do is move the bucket! Lol, although, for some like Jeri or Lori who live in constantly warm places your idea would be a great one!



You're right. I was a teensy weensy bit tipsy. Oopsie-Daisy. It was Stressbaby's post on Pg 1, post 2


----------



## jamesngalveston

I bought some of that franzia last year..dumped it down the sink, and refilled with dragon blood, for my pool parties...
worked great..
Now i just by the empty bags...
have a bunch now i will fill for friends this summer.


----------



## jojabri

jamesngalveston said:


> I bought some of that franzia last year..dumped it down the sink, and refilled with dragon blood, for my pool parties...
> worked great..
> Now i just by the empty bags...
> have a bunch now i will fill for friends this summer.



That's funny! We've been using the bags for "drink soon" wines. Will be putting some Dragon Blood (my first batch and it doing AWEOME! )in a few in a few days.

Where do you buy empty bags?


----------



## Jericurl

James, I was eyeing those bags last month and wondering if I should grab some.


----------



## jamesngalveston

its a great way to bag dragon blood...no worry about oxidation, as wine is taken out the bag collapses, so no air.

http://www.emptywinebox.com/


----------



## LoneStarLori

jamesngalveston said:


> its a great way to bag dragon blood...no worry about oxidation, as wine is taken out the bag collapses, so no air.
> 
> http://www.emptywinebox.com/



Wow, after almost completing my order, the shipping was $17. and the order was only $21. Seriously, How can they charge $17 to ship 5 cardboard boxes and 8 bags? Now I'm bummed. I wanted to order some but I'm not paying that.


----------



## sour_grapes

LoneStarLori said:


> Wow, after almost completing my order, the shipping was $17. and the order was only $21. Seriously, How can they charge $17 to ship 5 cardboard boxes and 8 bags? Now I'm bummed. I wanted to order some but I'm not paying that.



$17 + $21 = $38. $38 buys a fair amount of Franzia. Just saying.....


----------



## the_rayway

Boo for you guys. They carry both the 'Wine to Go' and the '4 L bag & box wine' at our local LHBS. They're great for camping!

http://www.mywinesense.com/equipment/


----------



## sour_grapes

the_rayway said:


> Boo for you guys. They carry both the 'Wine to Go' and the '4 L bag & box wine' at our local LHBS. They're great for camping!
> 
> http://www.mywinesense.com/equipment/



I swear you Canadians are MUCH more sensible than us south-of-the-border types when it come so alcohol conveyances. Taxes on alcohol.... now that is a different story!


----------



## Jericurl

Onion Wine racked to secondary.
I was supposed to leave it a little longer but I got tired of messing with it, plus it was dry.


----------



## LoneStarLori

That looks good. I wouldn't worry about racking too soon. I did the same thing and just HAD to get a top on it. Mine is chugging along and doing fine.


----------



## jamesngalveston

here lori, maybe this is better..

http://www.brew2bottle.co.uk/10l-bag-in-a-box-refill.html


----------



## Julie

jamesngalveston said:


> here lori, maybe this is better..
> 
> http://www.brew2bottle.co.uk/10l-bag-in-a-box-refill.html



James, this is coming out of the UK, that price they are showing is in pounds and what would the cost of shipping be?


----------



## jamesngalveston

yea, thats about 7.50 a bag...not sure about shipping...figured she would look into it..but 7.50 a bag is not bad.


----------



## jamesngalveston

lori heres a link to some stuff...kinda good reading

http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/new-wine-in-old-bottles-the-greenest-way-to-drink.html


----------



## LoneStarLori

jamesngalveston said:


> lori heres a link to some stuff...kinda good reading
> 
> http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/new-wine-in-old-bottles-the-greenest-way-to-drink.html



Haha.. I LOVE THAT. I'll just find an old gas pump and 'filler up".


----------



## LoneStarLori

jamesngalveston said:


> yea, thats about 7.50 a bag...not sure about shipping...figured she would look into it..but 7.50 a bag is not bad.



The price is right but it doesn't give an option to ship to anywhere other than UK. Dang


----------



## the_rayway

Lol, Lori - do I need to buy you a couple from up here and send them down? We even have stand alone bags with a spigot that don't require a box!


----------



## cintipam

Lori, I know this isn't exactly what you are looking for, but they will work in a pinch for a party, etc. I also have been using them to keep a gallon at a time in the fridge for easy access. I bought these at Big Lots for 5 bucks each, but later found them at Walmart for a few pennies less. The spigot rotates so you can squeeze these babies into the almost useless places in the fridge, like under the meat drawer etc. I also found that for parties I could put a cooler sideways, put a row of these into the cooler surrounded by frozen icepacks and they stayed cold quite well even in summer.

Hope this helps.

Pam in cinit


----------



## cintipam

OK, update on my wine of the month. Margarita Mania batch 2

After a full 2 weeks in primary fermentation I was finally able to rack in to secondary. SG was 1.020 at racking. I don't know if it was the yeast being slower than others (QA23), the abnormally high SG I started with (1.125) the cooler temps, or a combo of all 3, but this was the longest ferment I've ever had. 

As for the first batch of this stuff I made a couple months back I learned a few other important things. I had always read that it's important to add antioxidant to prevent color change when the wine is finished, so I added the prescribed 1/2 tsp per gallon. Remember, I like tart stuff and the original wine already tart by my standards After the antioxidant I freely admit it removed a skin layer from the inside of my mouth. No one could drink it, so I had to do something. I added Welches White grape with peach concentrate and some water til the PH was 3.11. Tasted great, so set it aside. A couple weeks later I tried it again and the wine had mellowed into something that actually tasted a lot more like wine. I actually like it better. I realize I cut the ABV by these additions, so I'm glad my batch 2 had been made with a high SG. That way when I eventually add the white grape concentrate the ABV will still be appropriate. I'm hoping down the road to finetune this recipe for easy remakes as this stuff if very tasty to me. I love Itialien Pinot Grigio, and this stuff is close enuf to make me one happy girl.

Pam in cinti


----------



## jamesngalveston

cintipam, i like that idea better then the bag..
i will get some of those this week...i got lots of db coming out of carboys next week.


----------



## cintipam

James, I'm glad you like them. They actually hold 1.25 gallons, and I've had no leakage issues from the spigot. Filled with diff flavors of dragons blood I bet they will be a pretty picture. The pic was taken when they were new, even before washing, filled with hose water. So that blue tint is permanent. It's so nice to not try to jam all those gallon jugs in the fridge at one time anymore.

Pam in cinti


----------



## the_rayway

Jericurl said:


> Onion Wine racked to secondary.
> I was supposed to leave it a little longer but I got tired of messing with it, plus it was dry.



Hey Jeri, any idea on the green colour? I would have thought it would be a yellowish


----------



## the_rayway

*Summary Time!*

Ok peoples, it's coming to the end of the month (already? How is that possible?) - time to start thinking about your homework 

a) what you learned
b) something you did right
c) something you could have done better
d) any updates on the batches and how they are coming along

Looking forward to hearing from everyone, and seeing how things are doing (pictures anyone?).
Ray


----------



## wineforfun

the_rayway said:


> Ok peoples, it's coming to the end of the month (already? How is that possible?) - time to start thinking about your homework
> 
> a) what you learned
> b) something you did right
> c) something you could have done better
> d) any updates on the batches and how they are coming along
> 
> Looking forward to hearing from everyone, and seeing how things are doing (pictures anyone?).
> Ray



haha Here we go.

a) what you learned A lot of people enjoy making unique 1 gallon batches

b) something you did rightdidn't injure anyone in making my "concoctions" for the month

c) something you could have done betterMade more

d) any updates on the batches and how they are coming alongElderberry=Ageing 30-45 more days, Welchs Grape=Ageing 30-45 more days, Cherry=Ageing 30-45 more days, Red Currant=Bottling in 30 days, Dragon Blood=Bottling this weekend


----------



## cintipam

Rayway, you can call it green onion wine.

Pam in cinti


----------



## Jericurl

It must be my cell phone picture.

It's actually a light sunny yellow color.


----------



## the_rayway

Here's my breakdown for this month:

a) What I learned: Wineforfun is a Smart A$$ 
b) Something I did well: asking that guy on the other site for his recipe. I think this is going to be killer!
c) Something I could have done better: Paid more attention. I over shot the amount and ended up with more like 2 gallons (is this actually a negative?), used more honey than I had planned, and now I'm not sure I have enough for my February batch of ________.

*November's Habanero Apple*: Bulk ageing, and mostly clear. No, I'm not afraid to taste it, I swear 
*December's Apricot Port*: bulk ageing/clearing, taking it's sweet time too. I thought it would be far more clear by this point. Considering cold crashing, it's cold enough outside to do it right quick!
*January's Pumpkin Hazelnut Mead*: sitting on the roasted fruit and thinking about starting a new batch of hazelnut extract using dark spiced rum instead of vodka. Just for more depth/interest. Undecided. Also, it's cleared to this incredible dark brown colour in the carboy. It was dark to begin with, with all the botcheted honey, but this looks like...well, like a good brown ale!

 1.29.14 Just racked the Pumpkin Hazelnut off the fruit. It's neon orange and tastes like a jack-o-lantern got drunk and  in my mead. Ah well, mead does take some time to come around! You can definitely taste the pumpkin!


----------



## LoneStarLori

the_rayway said:


> Lol, Lori - do I need to buy you a couple from up here and send them down? We even have stand alone bags with a spigot that don't require a box!




OMG, those are so pretty and functional to boot! Now I really want some.



cintipam said:


> Lori, I know this isn't exactly what you are looking for, but they will work in a pinch for a party, etc. I also have been using them to keep a gallon at a time in the fridge for easy access. I bought these at Big Lots for 5 bucks each, but later found them at Walmart for a few pennies less. The spigot rotates so you can squeeze these babies into the almost useless places in the fridge, like under the meat drawer etc. I also found that for parties I could put a cooler sideways, put a row of these into the cooler surrounded by frozen icepacks and they stayed cold quite well even in summer.
> 
> Hope this helps.
> 
> Pam in cinit



Pam, I looked for some here at our one and only Big Lots within 100 miles and they seem to be gone. Maybe they will have more of them closer to summer. (if it ever gets here).
I have been saving the juice bags that come with my kits and I just might use one of them to put a wine cooler type in. Then just pour out what I need for that particular event into something smaller. 
In the meantime, I'm gonna keep looking.


----------



## drumlinridgewinery

count me in next month


----------



## the_rayway

So...who wants to take on the February thread?


----------



## Jericurl

Woops! It's already that time again.
I'll get it.


----------



## kryptonitewine

Sorry I was gonna do it but too much life drama right now. I'll do March. 

As for my port

What I like. Flavor and aroma are excellent. 

What I don't like. Recipe does not call for brandy. 

What I'd do different. Make two gallons to experiment with brandy. 


Jim


----------



## LoneStarLori

the_rayway said:


> Hey Jeri, any idea on the green colour? I would have thought it would be a yellowish





Jericurl said:


> It must be my cell phone picture.
> 
> It's actually a light sunny yellow color.





the_rayway said:


> So...who wants to take on the February thread?



Rae, I wish I could but I have a lot going on this month. If you don't get any takers, I'll try to keep it up. 

This is my Onion from November. It didn't really take on the honey color in my photos either. But it looks rather inviting and is even starting to tasting like wine. There is hope!


----------



## ckvchestnut

Lori that's looking good!


----------



## LoneStarLori

Ok, I'm going to be super lazy here and just post the thread link for the Blood Orange wine for the recipe, original pictures and bascis.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/january-2014-wine-month-club-42739/index7.html#post480272

*What went right:* Not much in the beginning. The oranges didn't yield as much juice as I thought they would. They were also far more expensive than I anticipated. Almost $4.50 a pound. The flavor was lacking in the fruit and there was a LOT of peel verses pulp and juice. I had all the ingredients and a few extra regular Texas oranges on hand to supplement the lack of juice. I also think I chose the best yeast.

*What I could have done better;* Bought more fruit and tried to get as much juice as possible. I ended up with a lot less than one gallon. I also should have tested the SG before adding all the sugar the recipe called for up front. The starting SG was WAY too high at 1.12.

*Update and thoughts;* The color and clarity are really nice. I am surprised at how well I can taste the orange so young. Due to the high starting SG, this stuff is HOT! It goes down like a brandy. Hopefully it will mellow out in a few months.

Here is a pic from the 28th before I racked it again. I filled up the headspace with marbles. More marbles than wine in the end. 





I am pleased with the color for sure. 

I may only get 2 bottles out of this, but it might be worth a second try next year.


----------



## the_rayway

Thanks Jeri for taking on next month! If people are really busy, I'm happy to take it on 

Lori, I LOVE that colour on the Blood Orange! I've been tossing the idea of doing a grapefruit around now that the really nice ones are in from Texas. Saw a case on for $30 the other day, about 40Lbs of fruit. 

Also, I'm impressed that people are tasting the onion wine - after the cat litter comments, I was a bit concerned. Nice to see it starting to turn out though! I think it really would be a good cooking wine flavour. Not sure if I have the guts to try it before summer though, I'm afraid that the smell would be too overpowering in our little house.

Jim - I'll look forward to 'seeing' what you're up to in March!

See you all on the February thread!


----------



## mangojack

Wild Plum Wine,I started 3gal. today. here the recipe,if anyone would like it.
for two gals.7quarts water,6lb wild plums,1tsp Citric Acid,1/8 tsp tanni n,1 tsp yeast nutrient,1tsp yeast energizer,2 campden tablets ,1/2 tsp pectic enzyme,4 lbs. sugar white or Brown,
boil 1 gal of water eith sugar,put plums in a straining bag,put in primary,pour hot sugar water over plums,add all engredients when cool,,except Yeast,stir,cover for 24 hrs.make a yeast starter with 1 cup warm water,1 table spoon of sugar yeast,cover for 15 min,add to wine primary,cover stir daily for 8 days,remove bag of plums after squeezing all juice from bag,cover primary let work 6 more days stirring daily,rack into secondary vessel,discard all pulp,top up if needed,air lock,rack in 30 days,discard any pulp,top up,air lock,rack in 60 days,discard any pulp,take 1 cup of the wine,add 1/4 cup of sugar stir until completely dissolved,return to the wine,top if needed,air lock,repeat this step every 60 days until wine clears and fermentation has stopped.stabilize,sweeten to taste,degas ,bottle,wait 3 to 6 mo. to drink,9 mo. to 1yr.is best.


----------



## mangojack

LoneStarLori said:


> Rae, I wish I could but I have a lot going on this month. If you don't get any takers, I'll try to keep it up.
> 
> This is my Onion from November. It didn't really take on the honey color in my photos either. But it looks rather inviting and is even starting to tasting like wine. There is hope!



I have made sweet red onion wine it turned out quite well.yours has a nice color.


----------



## vernsgal

sorry for the delay on this post. I can't believe how much reading on you guys I have to catch up on. It's great to be back though!
update on my choco /cherry port.
I step fed the wine and got it to 17% ( which I've read isn't bad) then added my cherry brandy which brought it up just over the 18% mark. The taste of cherries is still good with a small aftertaste of chocolate. The body is med. to heavy 
( I guess the bananas came through on that). The color is good. Now I just have to decide what to sweeten it with.It ended at 1.012. I'm not sure if I want to just use simple syrup or to use some other flavoring, maybe do an fpak? Suggestions?


----------



## LoneStarLori

The color is beautiful! How does it taste to you? Is it too dry? If it is, you might want to do a little back sweetening some simple syrup. It sounds like the flavor is good and full of cherries.


----------



## the_rayway

Wow Kim, excellent colour on that one! Is the chocolate pulling through enough? Do you think it will pull through more as it ages?

My apricot port was finished at 1.045ish (I think.) so you have some room with sweetening. What about rigging up a chocolate/vanilla f-pac? I'm thinking about extracts, so it wouldn't cloud it up again. Using pure vanilla, sugar, and chocolate extract perhaps? You might even be able to mix it up with concentrated cherry juice instead of water.

Can we ship booze across Canada? We should have a Canadian Experiment Tasting!


----------



## jethro

I have been looking over the recipes to see if I could make a gallon of wine in about 8 months or so left. (God knows I need the practice!) However, because it's winter fresh fruit availability is really questionable. Any wine I make is going to be dry. That will save a step (backsweetening).

The plum wine I found here http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques12.asp 
sounds worth trying. However, I doubt I can find fresh or frozen plums this time of year. Most of the recipes don't look anything like the commerical wines I like. I am thinking of maybe making DangerDave's Dragon Blood since it uses frozen fruit that should available year-round. Is this a wine I can pull-off in 8 mos. or so? I don't want to end up with something that tastes like soda pop. But I also have an empty fermenting container and empty gallon glass jug. So I've no reason to let them sit empty for the next 8 mos. I want to try something other than the Welch's grape juice wine I now have aging in carboys. Plus I've never drunk wine made from concord grapes, so I don't know whether I will like it or whether my wait will be in vain. Any ideas?


----------



## the_rayway

jethro said:


> I have been looking over the recipes to see if I could make a gallon of wine in about 8 months or so left. (God knows I need the practice!) However, because it's winter fresh fruit availability is really questionable. Any wine I make is going to be dry. That will save a step (backsweetening).
> 
> The plum wine I found here http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques12.asp
> sounds worth trying. However, I doubt I can find fresh or frozen plums this time of year. Most of the recipes don't look anything like the commerical wines I like. I am thinking of maybe making DangerDave's Dragon Blood since it uses frozen fruit that should available year-round. Is this a wine I can pull-off in 8 mos. or so? I don't want to end up with something that tastes like soda pop. But I also have an empty fermenting container and empty gallon glass jug. So I've no reason to let them sit empty for the next 8 mos. I want to try something other than the Welch's grape juice wine I now have aging in carboys. Plus I've never drunk wine made from concord grapes, so I don't know whether I will like it or whether my wait will be in vain. Any ideas?



Hey jethro - I don't understand - why do you have an 8 month timeline? 

When we do these experimental batches for the 'club' it's a new batch each month, then we are going to taste test at the year mark from that month (February 2014 WOTM taste testing is in Feb. 2015). 

Also, the awesome thing about 1 gallon batches is that you can go wild! Try anything you like! Plum wine? great! Coffee-chocolate-caramel mead? Awesome! Concord-vanilla wine? You bet! If we end up hating it, we haven't invested a lot of money and have to dump 6 gallons of wine. We're only out a few dollars and 1 gallon. 

If it's really good, we can share the recipe and it's fairly easily replicable (side note: is that a real word? Sour_Grapes?) by multiplying the amounts by however many gallons you would like to make. And frozen fruit is just as good as fresh - sometimes better. Often we freeze our fresh fruit before making it into wine to assist in breaking it down for better extraction.

That's the basic premise for us starting these threads - just to have some fun, experiment, and learn from our own (and other's) mistakes. 

So...what's it gonna be?


----------



## vernsgal

ok so I finally got around to backsweetening my port. I added a cup of sugar (made into simple syrup using 1/2 cup of the port). It brought my SG up to 1.030 which is a good sweetness for me.
I also added 1 bottle of cherry brandy flavoring to pull out more cherry and at bottling time(about 6 mos.) I'll add a bit of chocolate flavoring for taste. I don't want it up front, just as an after taste


----------



## the_rayway

Ah! I didn't know you were using extracts on these. I'm interested to see how that will age out. I used Caramel extract on my Caramel Apple Wine and it was GOOD at bottling. Haven't had any since though, so I don't know if it's still that good. 

May have to pop into the cellar and find out.


----------



## the_rayway

I added the oak chips and vanilla to this one today. I decided to go with 2 Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans, split, instead of the vanilla extract. 

Basically because my extract isn't ready! I plonked 25 new beans into my vodka only last month, so it's going to be awhile before it's good to do anything with. Total lack of foresight on my part.

I gave a little sip when I racked the half gallon and was very surprised: it tastes like beer. Flat beer. I sure hope it starts losing that yeasty taste sometime soon, I definitely didn't expect that.

Colour is still a funny sort of orangey-type thing. 

After it clears a bit more, I think I'll add the hazelnut extract I've had on the make since November-ish. It should be close to ready by now


----------



## cintipam

Rayway, learning possibility here. I remember reading a while back that a beer taste/smell can occur when fermentation is too fast. Could you please check your notes and let us know how long primary fermentation lasted? Also just in case which yeast you used in case that turns out to be relevant.

BTW I love that chocolate extract. Bought it bec hubby loves chocolate, but in bench taste tests that choc ext did a great job of smoothing out harsh young wines and adding subtle flavor. Yes, I am trying making my own choc ext but that brand has worked wonders for me in cranberry wine specifically.

Pam in cinti


----------



## the_rayway

Hey Pam,
It looks like it took 24 days from yeast pitching (ICV D254) to dry. Not an exceptionally long fermentation for a mead, but not super fast either.

It should be noted that the sample I tasted was from the 1/2 gallon jug which had a solid 1.5" of lees in it. It sat on those lees for around 2 months, so that could be where the yeasty flavour is coming from. I sucked up a fair amount of lees into that jug and was waiting for them to settle out before I racked again.


----------



## LoneStarLori

Blood Orange wine update;
I racked this today for the first time in a couple of months. I don't know where all the wine wen,t But i am down to a 1/2 gal and a 750ml bottle. 
The taste is pretty nice, but boy it is strong. I this is the one I over added sugar on so I guess I should expect that. The color is nice and you can actually taste the orange. I think in the end, I can't see myself sipping this. It's just not my style. But it sure is pretty!

the date is slightly dyslexic, but it is 2014.


----------



## the_rayway

Pretty!! I love that colour. Did you sweeten it at all? 

IS it not a sipping wine because it's too strong? Or because you don't yet like the flavour?


----------



## LoneStarLori

I think the flavor is not bad at all. But it's a really strong wine right now. I didn't back sweeten or anything to it. It's not supersweet it's just strong. 
I'm starting to wonder if I'm just not into country fruit wines.


----------



## ckvchestnut

I think it looks beautiful Lori! I think of you backsweeten it a bit to your liking now, and bottle it and leave it alone for awhile you may have a different opinion of it! The strongness should mellow out and sweetening it a tad might also soften it a bit...


----------



## Stressbaby

January WotM update:
Hibiscitrus Wine is clearing slowly. Orange is not as prominent as I had hoped. This wine will need some tweaking but still has potential.


----------



## the_rayway

Update on the Pumpkin Mead:
Really clear after dosing with the dual clarifier, then I racked it and added stuff, so it's cloudy again.

Simmered down 1/4 cup Hazelnut extract, and 1/4 cup vanilla (both home made extracts) with a cinnamon stick until reduced by half and added it to the 1 gallon. There are still two vanilla beans sitting in the 1/2 gallon.

Smells less like pumpkin barf and more like something that might be yummy one day...the picture is after I racked and added stuff. You can kind of see the crazy orange colour - it's more pronounced when racking.

I'm going to leave it alone for a few months now - maybe till the fall if the sediment doesn't build up too deep.


----------



## Jericurl

Racked my onion wine. It still smells...onioney and something else. I poured a bit into a shot glass and tasted it. I think it'll really be fantastic with a roast in a few months. I had Manthing taste it and he proceeded to say the grossest thing I've ever heard come out of his mouth. I gagged.

I'm hoping to do a hot pepper wine for May's WOTM. I think that will pair nicely as a set with the onion wine.

Now I've got to start looking for the 375 ml bottles for my cooking wines.


----------



## vernsgal

January Choco-cherry Banana Port Style Wine update

I tried to show in pic how well it has cleared but just couldn't capture it. Took a taste-definitely cherry with after taste of chocolate. I would say it's a good med.-heavy body. Alc. still has a bite but I think by Christmas this'll be pretty good!


----------



## Stressbaby

Update:
Hibiscitrus (Hibiscus/Citrus) is quite disapppointing. Time to get some grapefruit and start tweaking.


----------



## the_rayway

Keep us updated on the tweaks Stressbaby!


----------



## Stressbaby

the_rayway said:


> Keep us updated on the tweaks Stressbaby!



Resurrection!

Tweak lesson #1: you don't need a whole grapefruit worth of rind for 1 gallon of wine. If you use an entire rind, watch it really closely; you might only need the rind in the wine for a day or so.


----------



## vernsgal

so I racked my port today and without sounding too smug I have to say "wow!" on the taste. The cherries are up front with an after taste of chocolate. Body is med-heavy.Because I only had a taste, well ,okay maybe 2, I can't say for sure but I think this is one of the best I've done to date.Looking forward to another taste in 3 more months!


----------



## Stressbaby

Bottled the hibiscus-citrus today. This might be my best wine so far. It required a grapefruit tweak. One entire grapefruit rind was in for only a couple of days. Right after I removed it, the grapefruit was too strong. Now it has mellowed and become more complex. Very nice batch.


----------



## Stressbaby

Here is a pic of the leftovers that didn't make it into a bottle. The wines are clear, what appears to be cloudiness is just condensation.
Left to right, Calamondin-Passionfruit (February), Carambola/starfruit (March), and Hibiscitrus (January).


----------



## the_rayway

Looking good Stressbaby!
(Great view too!)


----------



## LoneStarLori

Hi Folks, I have been neglecting my WOTM wines some what. All of them are Jack Keller's recipes with for the most part all take a year. Ferment, clear, rack, rack again every three months.

This is the blood Orange I did for January. Now that it is none months old, I thought it was time to bottle. I am very pleased with the color. The orange flavor is not really there but I still have hope. The taste is off dry and pretty smooth. I was fun to make and I am considering making it again when they are in season next January, I will use twice the amount of oranges next time. I think this was saved by adding almost a bottles of Pinot Blanc to top up last June. Otherwise it would have very little flavor. 

here is the recipe I used:
Here's the Jack Keller recipe for my January WOTMC except I am going to use blood oranges.



_Orange Wine (2)

8 medium-sized oranges
1 lb chopped or minced golden raisins or sultanas
1 lb 7 oz ripe bananas
3 lbs finely granulated sugar
water to make up one gallon
1/4 tsp grape tannin
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
wine yeast
Put two quarts of water on to boil. Meanwhile, peel the oranges and remove all the white pith (it is bitter and will ruin the wine). Break the oranges into sections and remove all seeds. Drop them in a juicer or a blender and liquefy (you may have to add a cup of water to the blender). Peel and slice bananas and simmer in one pint of water for 20 minutes. In a primary, add chopped or minced raisins (or sultanas), 2-1/2 lbs of the sugar, the orange juice or liquefied orange pulp, and two quarts of boiling water. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Over primary, pour simmering banana slices into nylon straining bag and allow to drip until cool enough to squeeze. Squeeze lightly and then discard banana flesh. Stir in tannin and yeast nutrient and enough water to make up one gallon total. Cover with cloth and set aside to cool. When cooled to room temperature, add pectic enzyme, recover and wait 12 hours. Add wine yeast. Ferment 7 days, add remaining sugar, stir to dissolve, and ferment another 3 days. Rack off sediments into secondary and fit airlock. Rack every 30 days for 3 months. Stabilize and sweeten to taste. After additional 10 days, rack into bottles and set aside one year to age._ 

I only racked every three months in the last six. I don't think it had any effect on the taste. It's been clear since May. Forgive the labels, for 3 bottles, I just wasn't into designing. I have moved the bottles into our spare refrigerator. Hopefully the cooler climate will help bring out the orange.








It's a little more orange and less yellow that this. It was the lighting making it a funky color.


----------



## Stressbaby

We had a bottle of hibiscitrus (hibiscus-citrus) wine yesterday and at least one of the family declared the best wine so far. Acidity is perfect, good body (hibiscus flowers seem to produce a "weighty" wine for whatever reason. The grapefruit has dropped back to just the right position. I need three more gallons of this wine ASAP.


----------



## Jericurl

I love reading this!


----------



## the_rayway

Sweet! I'd call that a success!!


----------



## the_rayway

Apologies for the late update!
Mine is bottled and put away for a little while. It didn't get below 1.004, and there was 1/4 c sugar in the hazelnut extract that I made. In fact, now that I think of it, I don't know what the final sweetness is at. I super don't remember what it tasted like at bottling, but it was waaayy better than the vomiting-pumpkin-beer-esque thing it had going on before. it had smoothed out quite a bit, but still needed time. 

I think the label accurately describes how I felt at the time...


----------



## Jericurl

Well, I never got pictures of this wine bottled but it's all gone.

I can definitely call sweet onion wine a success.

The ferment smells horrible.
The wine smells/tastes questionable for the first couple of months.

Then it turns into an amazing cooking wine.
Not bad for sipping either while you are cooking.

I mean, you won't be serving it with Easter dinner, but overall, it's a decent wine.


----------



## the_rayway

That sounds great @jericurl! I've been trying to justify fermenting something that has had such 'interesting' comments about the fermenting smell


----------



## wineforfun

the_rayway said:


> Apologies for the late update!
> Mine is bottled and put away for a little while. It didn't get below 1.004, and there was 1/4 c sugar in the hazelnut extract that I made. In fact, now that I think of it, I don't know what the final sweetness is at. I super don't remember what it tasted like at bottling, but it was waaayy better than the vomiting-pumpkin-beer-esque thing it had going on before. it had smoothed out quite a bit, but still needed time.
> 
> I think the label accurately describes how I felt at the time...



Awesome label.


----------



## the_rayway

Humbug. I popped the cork on this a couple of days ago to see if it was ready to drink. No such luck! In fact, it appears to be slowly re-fermenting in the bottle! It has thrown the balance completely off.

Seriously considering dumping it back into the bucket to de-gas, then re-bottling.

Ahhhh! I need to re-look at my notes on this batch to see if I forgot to sorbate.


----------



## Jericurl

Oh man, what a bummer!


----------



## drainsurgeon

This one sounds wonderful. A blackberry port has been on my bucket list. Two questions; did you shoot for a specific SG when starting? And you did not mention fortifying, did you? I thought most ports were fortified with brandy or something similar. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

This is to kryptonitewine from his 2014 recipe.


----------

