# February Wine of the Month Club



## Jericurl (Feb 1, 2014)

This is open to anyone who wants to join in.
All participants make a 1 gallon batch of wine. 

Post your recipes, any updates and/or photos, and at the end of the month we will all post a summary of what we could have done better on a particular batch (and how), something that went very well, and something that was learned. 
Posting the experience gained is not a requirement, but I think it will help a lot since most of us that are participating are beginners. It is also a way to keep positive and look back and see how much we have learned.

In one year, February 2015, we will begin drinking our wine and post our findings/impressions, etc, for each bottle consumed.

This month's participants:

1. Stressbaby.....Calamondin-Passionfruit Wine

2. Ckvchestnut.....Blueberry/Peach Port

3. The Rayway.....Pink Lady Tea Wine 

4. Jericurl.....Bray's One Month Mead variation

5. Wineforfun.....Spiced Apple Wine

6. Jericurl.....Ars Amatoria Wine 

7. LoneStarLori.....Reisling kit (with a berry twist)

8. The Rayway.....Jasmine Tea Mead


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## Jericurl (Feb 1, 2014)

This month I plan on doing a flavored mead.

I've got cheap honey from Sam's club and I'm thinking of doing a BOMM.
I'll need to order some different yeast to use and decide if I'm going to do any flavoring at all. I'll probably go with ginger and vanilla.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 1, 2014)

I'd love to join in but have no idea what to make... It seems you all have made so many so far! I'd have to think about what to make lol

How many months has this been going on and I would have to go through all the threads to make sure I don't duplicate anything... Has anyone done any ports? I'd be interested in trying some kind of port maybe....

Hey... I have an idea - I'm about to start. 6gal blueberry/quad berry wine. I could split off 1 or 3 gals to make a port out of it... Has that been done on these threads? I think I saw that Rayway did something with blueberries but not sure if that was part of the wine of the month club. I'm thinking along the lines of blueberry/banana or blueberry/peach! What do you al think??


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## LoneStarLori (Feb 1, 2014)

Carolyn, we just do whatever seems interesting to us. We started in November and it certainly isn't too late. You can do whatever kind you want and it doesn't matter if it has been done. That's part of the beauty of this. If it was a total flop, you get to learn from someone else's problems. 
Most of us do a 1 gal since they are "experiments",but you can do as much as you want. A blueberry port sounds awesome! 
I think I'm going to do a carrot ginger for this month but I want to look at a few other things first.

Here are the links to the other months. As you will see, this is very casual. Welcome aboard! 


*November 2013 WOTM

December 2013 WOTM

January 2104 WOTM*


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 1, 2014)

LoneStarLori said:


> Carolyn, we just do whatever seems interesting to us. We started in November and it certainly isn't too late. You can do whatever kind you want and it doesn't matter if it has been done. That's part of the beauty of this. If it was a total flop, you get to learn from someone else's problems.
> 
> Most of us do a 1 gal since they are "experiments",but you can do as much as you want. A blueberry port sounds awesome!
> 
> ...




Thanks so much Lori! I appreciate the warm welcome! So I spoke to my daughter about this and she voted for blueberry/peach so I think I'll take a stab at trying that in a port! 

Carrot and ginger sounds good! I can picture a carrot cake wine lol! Love this forum


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## LoneStarLori (Feb 1, 2014)

Carrot cake. Hmm didn't think of it that way. I can serve it with cream cheese frosting on the rim. Lol


Sent from my iPhone 5s


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## jamesngalveston (Feb 1, 2014)

I want my carrot cake and eat it too....not drink it...lol
you guys come up with some dandys


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## cintipam (Feb 1, 2014)

Hi all

I enjoyed last month, and hope to join again this month. But since right now I have to focus all my attention on getting my greenhouse sterile and functional to start next years seeds I don't know if I'll have time. If I do, I have some kiwi apple strawberry waiting in the wings to be my next batch.

I've been using juice concentrates as fpaks and now I'm finding that the wine are a bit too sweet for my taste. They were perfect when I finished, but as others have warned they pick up a bit more sweetness with time. So I've called a halt to fpaks, and will focus more on blending wines.

Pam in cinti


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## the_rayway (Feb 1, 2014)

I'm pondering a Pink Lady Tea wine or mead, it'a a white tea with citrus and rose buds. More to come!


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## cintipam (Feb 1, 2014)

Rosebuds!!! awesome. Where on earth are you going to get rosebuds now when you live in Canada?

Pam in cinti


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 1, 2014)

Those wines sound good Ray and Pam! So I have my ingredients to start a blueberry/peach port... This is going to be fun!


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## Jericurl (Feb 1, 2014)

Rae,
I'm thinking I may do something similar and just do two batches for February.
I've got several cans of white grape juice, some dried rosebuds and dried rosehips. I think it would make a nice "dozen" roses to give out for Valentines Day 2015. I've been reading here that D47 yeast makes a nice white wine out of the welch's concentrate.


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## jojabri (Feb 1, 2014)

Tee-Hee, I'm such a noob that pretty much anything I make is still an "experiment". I have stuff to make a couple of oddballs already purchased, i.e. coffee, skittles, blueberry, candy canes, werthers... I suppose I could throw one of those in. Was gonna start 'em soon anyway.


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## kryptonitewine (Feb 1, 2014)

Sadly. I'm taking a pass this month. No ability to brew right now. I'm with you in spirit. 


Jim


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## countgen (Feb 1, 2014)

The wife and I are doing a blueberry dessert wine. This is only our third wine so I'm sure we're going to learn a lot. And by that I mean...we're going to screw some stuff up.::


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## the_rayway (Feb 1, 2014)

Lol! Sound like it's going to be an interesting month! Jim - I'm sorry you won't be able to join us, but there's always next month 

Pam - the rosebuds are already in there! The tea I'm thinking of using is a blend from a girl who does those home show things. It's really good stuff, so I think it will make a very decent wine. 

Jeri - I've heard the same thing about D47. I just have to comment that the BA11 I used on my traditional mead is totally the best smelling fermenting yeast I've encountered yet. Diesel was totally on with that one. I'm thinking I will use it with the Pink Lady as well just to see what happens.


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## Jericurl (Feb 2, 2014)

I just placed an order for Wyeast 1388 for my mead. I have planned on doing a BOMM style mead and all my reading shows it works best for this type. Also, despite being an ale yeast, it tops out at 12% so I can tinker around with how much alcohol I actually want in my finished mead.

I'm kicking myself though....for some odd reason I thought I already had a packet of the D47.
All I have left is EC-1118, Lalvin K1V-1116, and Redstar Montrachet. 
Off to do more research I guess. I'm not about to put in another order and pay shipping on one lousy packet of yeast.


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## Jericurl (Feb 2, 2014)

Jim,
We will miss you this month!
But as you said, you will be with us in spirit. Also, you can point and laugh at any mistakes we make.


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## Stressbaby (Feb 2, 2014)

Question - what counts as WotM?
I have a calamondin wine to make. My goal is to make it exactly like the last one which turned out great. It isn't really experimental though.
My other choice would be Cranberry Pomegranate from William Sonoma concentrate. Not exactly "home grown" though...


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## kryptonitewine (Feb 2, 2014)

It's all good stress baby. Join in. Post your recipe and let us know how it proceeds, tastes, any tweaks etc. this is a great group and we've found some good, bad, and ugly recipes. Lol. 


Jim


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## Turock (Feb 2, 2014)

Here's a suggestion for those who don't know what to make:

I was in Aldi's on Friday and saw bags of frozen peaches. They also have bags of red raspberries. And mixed fruit. We bought 40# of red raspberries one year to make rasp wine because when you find them fresh, they're so danged expensive! Flash frozen fruits are usually very good because they can pick the fruit dead ripe--then they freeze immediately. So the quality is usually very good, and there are no preservatives. Aldi's has better prices too than most stores. We bought those red rasp for $2.99 for a 1 pound bag!! Pretty cheap for red raspberry!!


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## Jericurl (Feb 2, 2014)

So I've already decided on mead. I'm just waiting on the yeast to arrive then I will start a BOMM (Bray's One Month Mead).

My second batch will be an homage to Valentine's Day.
I think I'm going to call it Kama Sutra (fanning self).

Now I've got to decide what I want to put into it.
I've got rose hips, hibiscus, rose petals, lavender, chocolate, honey, lemon balm leaf, lemon peel, dried cayenne pepper, ceylon cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, and dried kelp. I've got access to probably just about anything.
I was thinking of starting with a base of white grape concentrate, then adding sugar to my desired gravity point. I will back sweeten with honey.
Sooooo, what sounds sexy and/or "Valentiney" to you guys?
I'm definitely thinking the dried rose petals and rose hips. Probably the vanilla and cinnamon as well. Any other suggestions?

eta: My inspiration comes from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, an online store for custom blended fragrance oils. NSFW and not suitable for the easily offended.


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## cintipam (Feb 2, 2014)

Jericurl, maybe the 1116? This is from the Lalvin website

Lalvin V1116 (K1)™: The secure choice for light, fresh, crisp whites 
Lalvin V1116 (K1) was isolated in 1972 by Pierre Barre of the INRA Montpellier. V1116 (K1) tends to express the freshness of white grape varieties. Natural fresh fruit aromas are retained for longer, compared to wines fermented with standard yeast (such as Prise de Mousse). When fermented at low temperatures (below 16°C) and with the right addition of nutrients V1116 (K1) is one of the more flowery ester producers (isoamyl acetate, hexyl acetate and phenyl ethyl acetate). These esters bring fresh floral aromas to neutral varieties or high-yield grapes. Among the high ester producers, V1116 (K1) is the most resistant to difficult fermentation conditions, such as low turbidity, low temperature and low fatty acid content. V1116 (K1) is recommended for the fermentation of icewines. It can also be used for rosé or basic red wines.

Or PM me your snail mail and i'll send you a packet of D47. There are a couple places I can buy them dirt cheap so I really stock up when I go there. Stored in my fridge post purchase.

Turock, thanks for the heads up. I'll check aldi's frozen fruit. That's not a normal place to shop for me so I would have totally missed it.

Pam i cinti


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## Stressbaby (Feb 2, 2014)

After harvest, I found I had only 1# 4oz of calamondins, which wasn't enough calamondins to match last year's recipe.
Therefore, the Feb WotM for me will be a calamondin variation - calamondin-passionfruit.
I don't have too much passionfruit pulp either, so still tweaking the ingredient list, recipe to follow.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 2, 2014)

Jeri that sounds really good! Of you don't want to go with the usual spicy cinnamon route, with that combination of ingredients - rose petals, rose hips, vanilla, you could try chocolate or white chocolate? Chocolate is always valentiney to me  yum! This is getting inspiring ready!


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 2, 2014)

Sorry for the stupid question but what are calomondins? I'll have to go look that up!


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## cintipam (Feb 2, 2014)

Stessbaby, calamondins are new to me. Splain please!

pinc


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## Jericurl (Feb 2, 2014)

Or I could make two gallons and add chocolate to one.....hmmmm...decisions, decisions.

This is the description I got my idea from:

*Blood Kiss Bonbon
Dark chocolate and lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver, soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk.*

Of course, I can't make an exact wine based on that description, but oh my...it certainly sounds sexy.


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## cintipam (Feb 2, 2014)

Jericurl, got the PM. Will take to Post Office early am as I have a dentist apt. Should get it to you quickly that way.

Sounds totally totally yummy!

pinc


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 2, 2014)

Do you guys use a full pk of yeast on a 1gal batch or do you use the 1gm per gallon? I'm wondering if because I'm doing a port I should use a whole pack. Plus I'm aiming to make about 2 gals, for top up etc.


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## LoneStarLori (Feb 2, 2014)

Jericurl said:


> So I've already decided on mead. I'm just waiting on the yeast to arrive then I will start a BOMM (Bray's One Month Mead).
> 
> My second batch will be an homage to Valentine's Day.
> I think I'm going to call it Kama Sutra (fanning self).
> ...




I vote for simple Rose petals, rose hips and vanilla. The white grape should be a good base. If your'e going to do chocolate, I would consider red grape concentrate. 
Just thinking out load.


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## Jericurl (Feb 2, 2014)

I use a full packet of yeast for 1 gallon batches.
Probably shouldn't but I haven't really had to deal with any stuck fermentations either.

Lori,
I think you are right about that. Now I'm venturing into thinking I want to start a red wine/dark chocolate one.
NO, no, no! Mead plus one more batch is plenty, lol.


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## Stressbaby (Feb 2, 2014)

ckvchestnut said:


> Sorry for the stupid question but what are calomondins? I'll have to go look that up!





cintipam said:


> Stessbaby, calamondins are new to me. Splain please!
> 
> pinc



Calamondin is a small, very acidic citrus hybrid. Fruits are a little smaller than a kumquat and perfectly round. I have a small potted plant in the greenhouse and I get around 1.5# per year.

They really are not palatable raw. They make great wine though. Also, a few calamondins and some rice wine vinegar makes a nice vinaigrette dressing.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 2, 2014)

Thanks for the info! I learned something today lol


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## the_rayway (Feb 2, 2014)

OHHHH, this is going to be a great month! 

Jeri - I was fanning myself after reading that description. Phew! I've got the website bookmarked too :: I like the idea of lavender, a touch of cayenne, cinnamon and vanilla. I'm more of the fun flirty type, vs the sexy seductive. Wine via perfume - perfect!

Stressbaby - I like the idea of the citrus wines. I'm hoping to bottle my first skeeter pee and I LOVE the pop. Never heard of Calamondins either, but looking forward to hearing about it!

Carolyn, regarding the port, how do you get the blueberries and peaches to harmonize? I love the idea, but don't know who the balance would work. Please share!


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 2, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> OHHHH, this is going to be a great month!
> 
> Jeri - I was fanning myself after reading that description. Phew! I've got the website bookmarked too :: I like the idea of lavender, a touch of cayenne, cinnamon and vanilla. I'm more of the fun flirty type, vs the sexy seductive. Wine via perfume - perfect!
> 
> ...



Rayway... the heck if I know! Wasn't aware that it would be difficult?? Anyhoo, we'll see if it's going to be a complete disaster as I have already prepared the must and it and the fruit are already in the fermenter! This is going to be an interesting month! I took photos etc. I sure hope you guys can help me along the way! I am not following a recipe per se. So I'll post what I did and hopefully it will all go okay?? LOL So what is there to harmonize? are you referring to flavor, or acids?? 

When I was doing a search for some photos for blueberry/peach stuff I found tons of yummy recipes for blueberry/peach tortes and other yummy food recipes, it seems to go together I just had this in my head as being nice combo... if any of you have any feedback on this combination let me know! I plan to do a port style... I'll fortify with brandy likely but will try to max out the yeast on its own. I also plan to use the Top Shelf peach schnapps essence flavoring. I'm using bananas for mouthfeel and hopefully to add smoothness and some grape tannin. I'll also oak in the primary with med toast french oak chips and with heavy toast hungarian oak cubes in the secondary. Will likely add vanilla bean or pure vanilla extract as well, depending on what profiles I can bring out just from the oak alone.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 2, 2014)

blueberry peach torte port  lol


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## Winenoob66 (Feb 2, 2014)

kryptonitewine said:


> It's all good stress baby. Join in. Post your recipe and let us know how it proceeds, tastes, any tweaks etc. this is a great group and we've found some good, bad, and ugly recipes. Lol.
> 
> 
> Jim



Don't forget we have had some smelly ones to.


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## drumlinridgewinery (Feb 2, 2014)

I said I would join in this month. I have 12 lbs of blueberries in the freezer that were picked this last summer. Thinking about doing a port with them. Will post the recipe in the next few days.


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## Stressbaby (Feb 3, 2014)

*Calamondin-Passionfruit Wine*

1.25 lbs ripe Calamondins
1 Satsuma, rind and juice
1 grapefruit, rind and juice
1 navel orange, juice
6.5oz fresh passionfruit pulp
1 lb 10oz finely granulated sugar
11.5 oz can Welch's 100% white grape juice frozen concentrate, thawed
7 pts water 
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1/8 tsp powdered grape tannin
1 tsp yeast nutrient, staged additions
1/4 tsp yeast energizer

Put water on to boil. Slice the calamondins as thinly as is humanly possible; seeds are easy to remove by slicing off each end and squeezing the fruit over a strainer; the seeds will pop out into the strainer, letting the juice drip through into a bowl. Juice and rind the other citrus and place all fruit in a nylon straining bag in a secondary and tie closed. Cover bag with sugar and pour in any remaining juices. Pour boiling water over sugar and stir until dissolved. Cover primary and set aside for water to cool. When cool, add concentrate, pectic enzyme, tannin and yeast energizer, and 1/4tsp nutrient, stir well and allow to sit covered for 12 hours. Add activated yeast in a starter solution. Staged additions of nutrient, and usual care thereafter.

No tweaks needed; the pH was 3.14 and the SG 1.090. Pitching the yeast this morning. It is a very pleasant surprise how much the passionfruit aroma comes through. I'm saving a couple of passionfruits to toss into the secondary.


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## ColemanM (Feb 3, 2014)

Ok ok I'm in this month!! Been reading these threads since November so I guess I should contribute. You all sound like culinary experts with your fruit and adjunct combinations!! I'll probably dumb down this thread but here it goes... I bought a 500ml Warre's 10 year tawny port (a little bit just for the small bottle) and found it a little light for my taste. So I decided I will try to create something like that. A blackberry raisin port. I will most likely add a can of white grape concentrate and a banana with MFT powdered oak in primary and Bordeaux blend cubes in aging. Debating on using a Cotês des Blancs yeast and kill it with residual sugar or ec1118 and see where it takes me. Will let you all know when I start it. Thanks for the fun thread


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## Jericurl (Feb 3, 2014)

Glad you are joining in.
If it makes you feel better, I"m doing the 1 gallon fancy pants experiments just so I don't end up with several gallons of something that may not turn out the way I had hoped!
Next month I'm doing a 3 gallons of straight Welch's white grape peach as my wine club contribution (though knowing me, I'll have to pull off 1 gallon and do something to it, just to keep to the spirit of WOTMC).

eta: I think we have two people wanting to do a port this month now. If you have any questions about a port, The Rayway recently did one with James from Galveston helping her along. I'm sure either one of them would be able to steer you in the right direction if you need it. I'm working my up to feeling confident enough to try making a port.


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## Jericurl (Feb 3, 2014)

Carolyn,
Blueberry/Peach sounds lovely. When you are doing searches, are you finding any particular spice added to tie the two together, or do they naturally pair? Are you planning a 50/50 split?


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## wineforfun (Feb 3, 2014)

Ok, for this month, I just started (racked from primary yesterday) the chocolate covered cherry wine. Not sure how this is going to turn out as it looks like chocolate milk right now.

Tomorrow I am going to start a gallon of the "Awesome White" (Welchs White Niagara concentrate). It is listed in WMT's recipe section.


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## Jericurl (Feb 3, 2014)

D.J., 

I was looking at that exact recipe as a base for my Kama Sutra wine!


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## Jericurl (Feb 3, 2014)

Just got my shipping notice.

I bet I'll have my mead started by Wednesday. I'm excited.
For those who have made mead before, I'm thinking of making it between 9-10% alcohol. 
Here I have a small confession to make....I really do clean everything and sanitize, but I've also taken comfort in the fact that not many bad beasties can survive in the 12-14 % wines I've been making.

I'm a little concerned about whether or not I'll need to completely be psychotic while making this mead...


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## jamesngalveston (Feb 3, 2014)

wineforfun...I saw some chocolate wine in the grocery store yesterday, by a big winery...It looked just as you states...Chocolate milk....


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## buckhorn (Feb 3, 2014)

Wow -- it's Feb 3 and this thread is already at 5 pages....

Due to the weather and doing extra around the farm to keep my Father-in-law out of the extreme cold ... I did not get my Choco-Covered Cherry started in January. 
Since it is next on my list to be put into my large primary (want to be sure I have enough room for the fermentation on this one, just in case) - I will just carry through and do the choco-covered cherry this month instead.

@James - my cousin gave me glass of some chocolate wine he got at the state store (Choco-Vine) - it tasted like chocolate milk. Could be dangerous to have in the house...

@Carolyn - I wouldn't worry about duplicating what someone else has done. It is all about what you like and what you want to have in your winery stash. There have been some wonderful sounding recipes included here and if you "borrow" one, then at least you have someone to go to with questions on your specific recipe should you have them.


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## kryptonitewine (Feb 3, 2014)

buckhorn said:


> Wow --
> 
> 
> 
> @Carolyn - I wouldn't worry about duplicating what someone else has done. It is all about what you like and what you want to have in your winery stash. There have been some wonderful sounding recipes included here and if you "borrow" one, then at least you have someone to go to with questions on your specific recipe should you have them.





Yup it's all fair. I made lonestarloris strawberry chocolate and then the next month tweaked it to raspberry chocolate. We're all just having fun. 

Soon I'll be copying loris mezza luna and Sangiovese. She's going to think I'm stalking her. Or am I??? Mua-ha-ha-ha 



Jim


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 3, 2014)

This month's thread is looking really fun! I'm really a newbie I think I'll be only using vanilla and oak to complement the blueberry peach. If anyone has suggestions for spices let me know... But when I did my search for that combinations so many recipes (food) came up with the two - funny cuz I just got the combo idea in my head before looking to see if it could work. 

So i intended on doing a 1 or 2 gallon batch but then the next day - hubby said no do 3 gallon batch, so I threw everything in the fermenter. Now thinking I'll be needing to top up the fruit a bit. I can taste both fruit in the must with the blueberry dominating. I have a feeling that no matter what ratio I go with the blueberry will dominate. 

That said that's kind of the way I want it. So I'll aim for brewing a blueberry style port wine with peach accent flavor. Nope no 50/50 it's all in the fermenter together. So my plan is to accent my blueberry dominant port with peach
Schnapps essence and maybe peach schnapps as well if I need any backsweetening. I had a long day at work so I'll post my recipe tomorrow morning. I didn't get home til 7 and then just finished dinner. So what do you all think?


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## Jericurl (Feb 3, 2014)

Carolyn,

Sounds good so far. I was initially thinking 70% peach/ 30 % blueberry because I was afraid the blueberry would dominate, but if you are happy with the taste then great!
Do you think it needs any additional flavors to marry the two together, or do they mesh well? I have no idea as I have never attempted that particular mix. My major background in fruits is either pie or drinks and I've never tried that one. If you think it needs a spice in secondary, taste nutmeg, then taste your wine. Taste coriander, then taste your wine. Do either of those mix well?
I personally like nutmeg with peach and I like coriander with blueberry. Maybe one will work well.
(Because of that type of tinkering/experimenting, I already have a Dragon's Blood planned with rhubarb/basil. My rhubarb/basil lemonade is to DIE for, I figure a wine will be absolutely smashing as well.)


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks so much for your insights Jerry! I'll tasting and testing with some spices and they do seem to merry well on their own on fact it think they meld together but it could be due to the fact that at the moment I have more fresh blueberry than fresh (frozen) all fruit is frozen peach. The exception is I have two - 28!" Oz cans of peaches in light syrup! I'll post everything tomorrow!


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## the_rayway (Feb 3, 2014)

*February WOTM - Pink Lady Tea Wine*
Tentative recipe:
- 1 cup Pink Lady Tea (white tea, citrus peel, rose buds) steeped for 2 hours in 3L water
- Juice of 4 oranges + zest
- Juice of 1 grapefruit
- 2 bananas w peels, sliced
- 4 oz mixed raisins, chopped
- water to 1 gal
- Sugar to 1.090, ended up being about 3 Lbs
- 1 Campden tablet, crushed
- Yeast will be BA11

I steeped the loose tea, zest, raisins, and bananas for 2 hours. 
Strained into the bucket with the juice, campden, and sugar.
Put the tea and all the strained bits into a sanitized 'sock'.
Will wait 24 hours, take out the 'tea bag', then pitch the yeast.


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## wineforfun (Feb 4, 2014)

Jericurl said:


> D.J.,
> 
> I was looking at that exact recipe as a base for my Kama Sutra wine!




Jeri,
What is Kama Sutra wine..............please do tell.


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## wineforfun (Feb 4, 2014)

jamesngalveston said:


> wineforfun...I saw some chocolate wine in the grocery store yesterday, by a big winery...It looked just as you states...Chocolate milk....



James,
I have seen the wine you speak of. That is NOT what I am trying to make. I sure hope this doesn't turn out like that.
If you look in the recipe section on here, cmason has some pics of his and it is a clear, yellowish color. Not quite sure how it is going to get there, but hoping.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 4, 2014)

Ok here's my blueberry peach port recipe for 3 gallons:
- K1V-1116 yeast
- 1tsp grape tannin, 4 tsp yeast nutrient, two up front and the other two in 2 doses during ferment
- 1 tsp yeast energizer
- 4 tsp pectic enzyme
- 3 over ripe bananas peeled
- 3.5kgs (7.7lbs) frozen blueberries, (2 - 1.75kg bags of great value) 3.9lbs peaches (4 - 600gm bags of slices frozen peaches great value, and 2 - 28oz cans of sliced peaches in light syrup.
- water to top to 3.5 gals
- sugar to bring SG to 1.120 )I brought it to 1.130 by accident)
- 3 tsp acid blend
- 3.5 gms med toast oak chips or shavings for primary.
- 21 heavy toast Hungarian oak cubes for secondary 
- brandy or peach schnapps for fortifying if needed, top shelf peach essence flavoring of needed
1.5tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)
Or 1-2 large Madagascar vanilla beans 

Run peaches through food processor to make a slurry, put in straining bag or nylons, put blueberries and bananas in nylons in a clean and sanitized fermenter. Add warm water to 3.5gallon level. Add sugar to 1.130. Stir well. Add grape tannin, 2tsp nutrient, energizer and acid blend. Stir in between each addition. Add pectic enzyme and stir, squeeze fruit to work in the enzymes. Leave for 24 hours. Rehydrate yeast, as per pkg instructions. Then add 125mls of the must let sit for 5 mins. Add another 125mls of must. Let sit util foaming nicely. Add to fermenter let sit for awhile util you see bubbling, stir gently. Ferment should be active right away with this method. Once fermenting has started add med toast French oak chips. Ferment until dry - hope to get as close to the 20% abv mark as possible. Then top up with brandy and/or peach schnapps to get to 20% abv if needed. Rack with 1/8 tsp of k-meta to ssecondary. Add any brandy / peach schnapps needed to get to 20% abv. Add top shelf peach flavouring to taste. Backsweeten with simple syrup to taste. Try 1.010 to start and backsweeten in increments to taste. Add 21 heavy toast Hungarian oak cubes and age for 5 - 6 months in secondary.


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## Jericurl (Feb 4, 2014)

DJ,

It's just a fancy pants name to some concoction I'm going to make up this month to celebrate the month of LUUUURVVVEE.


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## PHISHBONE (Feb 4, 2014)

Ok, Ill give it a shot. Gonna use DB but double the fruit and the sugar is coming from a case of skittles. Yes, The candy. Taste the rainbow!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making


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## wineforfun (Feb 5, 2014)

Jericurl said:


> DJ,
> 
> It's just a fancy pants name to some concoction I'm going to make up this month to celebrate the month of LUUUURVVVEE.



Silly girl..................you had me going there. I thought it was some high-tech "nasty" wine.


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## kryptonitewine (Feb 5, 2014)

DJ

my quess is that your chococherry will clear out but it will take it's own sweet time. My choco strawberry and my choco raspberry have cleared. ALL the chocolate dropped out SLOWLY.


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## kryptonitewine (Feb 5, 2014)

I've got a lot going on right now and to deal with it for February I'm making the following as originally aired on the TV show Fantasy Island

If it's good enough for Mr. Roarke, it's good enough for us. Try this recipe for Rocket Fuel.

3 oz Sloe Gin
2 oz SoCo
2 oz Amaretto
2 oz Gin
2 oz Vodka
3 oz Grendine
9 oz Orange Juice
9 oz Cranberry juice


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## wineforfun (Feb 5, 2014)

kryptonitewine said:


> DJ
> 
> my quess is that your chococherry will clear out but it will take it's own sweet time. My choco strawberry and my choco raspberry have cleared. ALL the chocolate dropped out SLOWLY.



Jim,
I do believe you are correct. I looked at it this morning and though it is still very cloudy and early in the game, it is showing hints of getting clearer. I think your "taking time" advice is right on.
Thanks.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 5, 2014)

My blueberry peach batch is proving interesting! It's got a peach dominant flavor due to the fact that the pectic enzymes working on that faster. I'm sure interested to see how the blueberry comes forward later. So my ferment was already down to 1.000 this morning after just pitching the yeast 3 days ago! So I'm step feeding sugar to 1.010 until the yeast finally stops. Have done this twice today. Will see what the SG is tomorrow am.


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## Jericurl (Feb 7, 2014)

Well crap.

I wanted to do this as a plain BOMM. I used hot water to mix with my honey 3 hours ago. My must is still over 100 degrees!

I hit my smack pack around 7 or so. I'm thinking about going to bed in about an hour. The yeast package says to add yeast to oxygenated wort/must at 65 to 72 degrees.

I'm considering adding some frozen fruit just to get the must cooled down so I can pitch the yeast.


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## Winenoob66 (Feb 7, 2014)

Jeri why not just pitch your yeast in the morning?


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## Jericurl (Feb 7, 2014)

It's a Wyeast smack pack.
It contains something like 100 billion yeast cells.
You slap the container to bust an inner bag, then the bag swells for a couple of hours creating an insta starter.
I had smacked it at around 7 and it's quite warm in the house. The bag was already pretty swollen and I was afraid if I waited it would explode.

I just added 3 lbs of fruit to the mead must to cool it down.
I'll let it go through fermentation and then rack it onto several pounds of fruit in the primary. I'll just have to start a "real" BOMM in the near future.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 8, 2014)

OMG! I'm sorry it's funny and shouldn't be... But that is funny!


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## Jericurl (Feb 8, 2014)

Ok, Here's the recipe for my modified Bray's One Month Mead. My batch is a little over 3 gallons.

Cheap Sam's club honey to SG of 1.08
3/4 tsp DAP
1 1/2 tsp Fermaid K
3/4 tsp K2CO3
I used hot water so that it would be easier to mix my honey in...If you do this give yourself a loooong lead time. Honey/water mixture apparently holds it's heat very very well.
Added a 3 lb bag of triple berry frozen fruit, not looking for flavor, I just wanted to get the temperature down so that I didn't kill the yeast.
Pitched Wyeast 1388 on 02-08-14


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## Jericurl (Feb 8, 2014)

Just got home from work and everything appears to be chugging along happily. This is probably the best smelling ferment I've had so far.

Now I just have to go to the grocery store and wait on a couple of other items I've ordered to arrive and then I will be nailing down my Kama Sutra recipe! I'm hoping I have everything in on time so that I can actually start it on Valentines day.
I'm going to try to get some frozen cherries, I have oak powder on the way as well as some vanilla beans, saffron, and some rosewater (yayy for getting my tax return early). I haven't completely decided on my recipe yet. I'm excited though, I think it's going to come together nicely.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 8, 2014)

Wow it all sounds good Jeri! I'm happy with my blueberry peach batch so far! At first it smelled and tasted like a tart peach, now the blueberry is coming forward. It's not done fermenting yet. I'll be better able to tell what kind of flavouring boosts it will need once it's done. I'm prepared to make a blueberry concentrate if needed. And I'll have the peach essence flavoring on hand as well.


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## Jericurl (Feb 8, 2014)

Oh good, I definitely want to know how it works out.
I'm going to Sam's tomorrow and since we got a deep freeze, I'll be loading up on a ton of fruit, especially blueberries.
I'm excited to hear about how peaches/blueberries mix together.

(I'm actually considering making a peach/blueberry pie just so I can taste it myself)


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 8, 2014)

Awesome! I couldn't live without my deep freezer! I had a huge one just for our sides of pastured beef we sometimes buy. But running that was expensive I just have a nice smaller one now to keep extra meat and fruit in! I'll keep updating on my batch still step feeding it sugar. 

And yes! Do make that blueberry peach pie lol! Have you googled blueberry peach? All these wonderful food recipes come up! I hope to end up with a port style that tastes something like a blueberry peach torte or creamy pie lol. Nice dessert wine!


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 8, 2014)

And if u do make that pie I want tasting notes!!


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## Winenoob66 (Feb 8, 2014)

lol the heck with tasting notes on the pie I want a slice


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 8, 2014)

Well I would too but distance would make that a tad difficult!


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## the_rayway (Feb 9, 2014)

My Pink Lady Wine is coming along nicely - I had to move it to my bedroom to cool it down though. Started to get a slight sulfur smell and realized the library was so hot it was stressing the yeast!

Jeri - next time only use 2/3 of your water hot to dissolve the honey, then make the last third really cold (put it in the fridge for a few hours before you start). It'll help with the heat issue  

Dang it! Now because of Carolyn and Jeri I'm going to have to pick up some blueberries and peaches for a dessert. Just reading their posts made me hungry. I'm really looking forward to how that batch comes out.

Am already thinking about March's batch! Lol. Pecan Pie Wine anyone?


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 9, 2014)

Yummy!! That sounds good! Rayway! Well now I also have to get more blueberries and peaches ever since I googled blueberry peach and found all those delectable recipes and l this talk!!

Well you guys are going to have a big laugh at me! I freaking well misread my hydrometer at the beginning of my batch. I even took a picture do now I know I misread it?! I thought I had brought it up to 1.130 but only brought it up to 1.030! I've been step feeding sugar twice a day ever since lol


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## the_rayway (Feb 9, 2014)

Wahahahaha! And here I'm thinking: holy poop! That's got to be the fastest ferment ever!!!


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 9, 2014)

Ya me too! Lol it went from 1.130 to 1.020 in two days!! I even corrected my notes from 1.030 to 1.130 lol I must be losing it. If I hadn't found that picture I would have thought these were the feistiest yeasts I ever came across 

So today after this morning's breakfast sugar feed I would technically be at about 1.120 for SG with all sugar added. We'll see how far the yeasties go from here!


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## Stressbaby (Feb 10, 2014)

Calamondin-Passionfruit Wine update:

I pitched the yeast on this a week ago, Monday morning, knowing I had to be out of town Thursday-Sunday and hoping it might go fast and I might get it in a carboy before I left.
Unfortunately on Wednesday evening it was still 1.080 and not bubbling very much at all. So I put it by a register in a nice warm pantry in the center of the house and left instructions with the house sitter to stir twice a day. I braced myself for the possibility of either having to restart a stuck fermentation or possibly throwing it out. 

When I got back it was perfectly still, no bubbles at all. Uh oh. Then I tasted it - no sugar! Tested the SG and it was 0.998! It just needed some heat to get going and finish. It has a nice orange color, smell, and taste. Not sure how much passionfruit flavor will come through but I have some ideas on how to add some back.

It is amazing to me how sensitive the primary fermentation is to temperature.


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## wineforfun (Feb 10, 2014)

Started another WOTM for February. My ADD gets the best of me and I needed something fermenting. Too many ageing carboys.
Going with a spiced apple wine. Kind of took bits of two recipes and then added my own touch, so we will see what happens.
4 cans Old Orchard 100% Apple Juice concentrate
112oz. water
2 1/8c sugar
1/2tsp pectic
1/2tsp energizer
1tsp acid blend
1 crushed campden tablet
In mesh bag: 1 cinammon stick, 2 cloves, 1/2 oz ginger, pinch nutmeg and 1 1/2c somewhat sliced golden raisins

Pitched Red Star Champagne yeast last night.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 12, 2014)

Sounds interesting Wineforfun! I look forward to hearing about how it goes. I'm contemplating putting more sugar into the Primary for the upteenth time for my blueberry peach port. Right now as it sits it would be at about 18.6% abv. It's sitting at 1.001. The flavour is great heavy blueberry flavour with possibly only a hint of the peach. Not sure if I should still try to bump up the sugar to try to aim for 20% what do you all think? I'd love to try just out of curiosity as I'm getting close to the maximum alc tolerance for yeast. I just don't want to risk losing the nice fruit flavour and making rocket fuel.

If any of you care to give me your feedback I would be much appreciative.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 12, 2014)

Bah! I couldn't wait... Decided to bump up the sugar again 1.010 to see what happens! Sure would like to see how far this could go!


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## cintipam (Feb 12, 2014)

DJ, wanted to give you a heads up about apple wine, at least those made from concentrates and/or shelf juices. It can develop a rather unpleasant smell. I actually added more meta and airracked a couple times to try to reduce the bad smell. After researching on WMT I read that many folks had smelly apple wine, but the smell does go away and the wine is fine. Just in case, thought I'd mention.

Pam in cinti


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## wineforfun (Feb 12, 2014)

ckvchestnut said:


> Bah! I couldn't wait... Decided to bump up the sugar again 1.010 to see what happens! Sure would like to see how far this could go!



Atta girl. Who needs patience in winemaking.


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## wineforfun (Feb 12, 2014)

cintipam said:


> DJ, wanted to give you a heads up about apple wine, at least those made from concentrates and/or shelf juices. It can develop a rather unpleasant smell. I actually added more meta and airracked a couple times to try to reduce the bad smell. After researching on WMT I read that many folks had smelly apple wine, but the smell does go away and the wine is fine. Just in case, thought I'd mention.
> 
> Pam in cinti



Thanks Pam. I made a apple juice/jalapeno wine that only had a minor smell. This one however, is starting to get a funky smell. It is almost time to move to secondary.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 12, 2014)

I usually do try to have some patience lol but I figured that if I do want to age this port for a good long time is better up the abv just a tad. That in itself will require some of my patience - aging longer than 5 years lol! 

Wow apple/jalepeno? How does that taste? I'm very curious!


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## cintipam (Feb 12, 2014)

I felt that most of the smell seems to come from the sediment. I almost reeled when I stuck my nose in the dregs of the jar from the fridge after I poured the top off to fill up the carboy. I used a combo of shelf juice and concentrates, and was worried I had gotten some outdated shelf juice. I felt a lot better after reading it was common.

I'm with Carolyn. How do you like your apple jalepeno wine? I grow Kung Pao's for hubby but he is very against me ruining wine with hot peppers even tho he loves the KPao's.

Pam in cinti


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## the_rayway (Feb 12, 2014)

Bah! My Pink Lady SMELLS!!! Bad.

I've aerated a lot over the last few days, cooled down the must, and have popped in some copper pipe as of tonight. Stinky. Grrr...


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 12, 2014)

Stinky like what? Normal stink or something else? Lol


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## LoneStarLori (Feb 12, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Bah! My Pink Lady SMELLS!!! Bad.
> 
> I've aerated a lot over the last few days, cooled down the must, and have popped in some copper pipe as of tonight. Stinky. Grrr...



What does the copper pipe do? Keep it cooler?


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## Jericurl (Feb 12, 2014)

Lori,

I believe the copper causes some type of chemical reaction that neutralizes the smell.
I could have dreamed up that explaination though...


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## sour_grapes (Feb 12, 2014)

H2S binds with copper, removing the H2S from the wine. (H2S, hydrogen sulfide, is what smells like "rotten eggs.")


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## wineforfun (Feb 13, 2014)

ckvchestnut said:


> I usually do try to have some patience lol but I figured that if I do want to age this port for a good long time is better up the abv just a tad. That in itself will require some of my patience - aging longer than 5 years lol!
> 
> Wow apple/jalepeno? How does that taste? I'm very curious!



5 yrs. of aging? I would probably be onto a new hobby. 

The apple/jalapeno is pretty good. One I really like. We have a meadery here in town and they make a mead called "Capsumel". It is a honey wine with 3 different types of peppers in it (I don't recall the exact ones). The wine starts out somewhat sweet and then has some heat on the back end. 
That is what I was shooting for with my apple/jalapeno. I got close. If I remember correctly, I used a recipe off Keller's site and tweaked it just a touch (notes are all at home). I had to backsweeten it a bit to get it drinkable, otherwise it was going to have to be marinade due to the heat. The sugar mellowed it out. 
I will definitely be making more of it.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 13, 2014)

Haha! Me too! Well that's why I'm trying to make several different kinds - it can't all age for that long! Just a few bottles but hopefully I would keep making more to build up a small stock. Not giving everything away!

Hmmm well you make it sound good! I never would had thought to try apples and jalepnos. Is it bottled yet or aging?


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## the_rayway (Feb 13, 2014)

Hey All,
That's right, it's a sulfur smell - very strong. Not totally into rotten eggs though. More of a burned match smell. 
I stirred the heck out of it several times yesterday with the copper pipe, and then ended up leaving it in all night. We'll see how it is today when I get home. I'll try racking a few times and if it doesn't dissipate the wine might be pooched. BOOO!

Trying to figure out if I didn't pay enough attention during early fermentation, if I have a sanitation issue, or what.
Mighty peeved at this point! Also, redulees which are supposed to help, I can't find up here in Canada. This seems to happen to the wines I add citrus to. 

*Sigh* crossed fingers for tonight.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 13, 2014)

Hope it turns out ok... What a waste of time if it didn't. It's probably very unlikely a sanitary issue. So you may be in luck!


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## wineforfun (Feb 13, 2014)

ckvchestnut said:


> Haha! Me too! Well that's why I'm trying to make several different kinds - it can't all age for that long! Just a few bottles but hopefully I would keep making more to build up a small stock. Not giving everything away!
> 
> Hmmm well you make it sound good! I never would had thought to try apples and jalepnos. Is it bottled yet or aging?



Bottled. I only made 1 gallon just in case it was a flop. I bottle it into 3 - 750's and 3 - 375's. It has been in the bottles for approx. 2 months. Pretty smooth so far. I will wait another couple of months before I try another. 
I am with you though, I give a small amount away and stock away the rest.
I will get another batch going this summer. I only have a rack that holds 144 bottles and it is almost full. 

I have found a few recipes that use apple juice as a base and then add fruit, peppers, etc. for the flavoring. If you like a little sweet with a little kick, give it a shot. I haven't tried it yet, but I am thinking a bottle of it with some chips and salsa would be real good.


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## wineforfun (Feb 13, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Hey All,
> That's right, it's a sulfur smell - very strong. Not totally into rotten eggs though. More of a burned match smell.
> I stirred the heck out of it several times yesterday with the copper pipe, and then ended up leaving it in all night. We'll see how it is today when I get home. I'll try racking a few times and if it doesn't dissipate the wine might be pooched. BOOO!
> 
> ...



Ray,
I have had a couple of batches that have had some sulfur issues. At first notice, I splash racked them back and forth a couple of times. Each batch, I did this for two days. Also, when I was splash racking them, I did it over copper wire. Luckily they both came out of it and worked out in the end.
Hope yours does too.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 13, 2014)

Wineforfun that does sound like something good on with salty snacks etc!


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## cintipam (Feb 14, 2014)

Rayway, I think you should ask Seth for some advice. I know the copper pipe thing helps with the rotten egg smell, but I think it needs to be done with a lot of caution. I recall Seth saying that overdoing the copper pipe thing releases unsafe chemicals into the must. If you left the pipe in there overnight I don't think it's safe to drink anymore. But please double check my memory by asking Seth. I don't want to be the cause of you dumping a batch that could have been saved.

Pam in cinti


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## cintipam (Feb 14, 2014)

DJ, you've convinced me to try the apple Jalepeno thing. I have a 6 gallon batch of apple aging right now, think I'll rack down to a split batch and put some of our dehydrated Kung Pao's in the gallon batch to see how it turns out. Most of our friends enjoy things spicier than I do, and if I can add some sweetener to make it palatable to me then that will be a go. If I overdo it, sounds like a great marinade!

Pam in cinti


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## sour_grapes (Feb 14, 2014)

I believe it is Turock who routinely cites the dangers of getting too large a dose of copper. I do not actually know how dangerous this is, but I would pay heed to this warning. Copper is not a problem for _p_H of about 7 (think plumbing!), but copper solubility increases greatly as _p_H is lowered.


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## cintipam (Feb 14, 2014)

Paul, thanks for the correcting my feeble memory. It would be hard for Rayway to double check me when I have her looking for the wrong source. Seth is awesome on his advice on lots of scientific and often unrelated topics. I guess I figured it just had to be Seth. It's wonderful how much I learn on WMT, but I really should give credit where its due, so thanks Turock!

Pam in cinti


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## wineforfun (Feb 14, 2014)

cintipam said:


> DJ, you've convinced me to try the apple Jalepeno thing. I have a 6 gallon batch of apple aging right now, think I'll rack down to a split batch and put some of our dehydrated Kung Pao's in the gallon batch to see how it turns out. Most of our friends enjoy things spicier than I do, and if I can add some sweetener to make it palatable to me then that will be a go. If I overdo it, sounds like a great marinade!
> 
> Pam in cinti



Let me know how it goes. I am pretty happy with it.


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## the_rayway (Feb 16, 2014)

February wine is officially dumped. After asking for advice from the experts - Seth & Turock, I decided to call it quits and dump this batch. Will try again one day.

FYI, the final straw in dumping the wine was that the copper pipe managed to get rid of the smell for about a day. Then it CAME BACK.

My summary of this month's wine:
What I did well: 
I had a great idea and really good smelling must
What I could have done better: 
I should have been watching the temps in the library as it got way too hot at up and even over 28c. I'm always cold these days, so didn't really think it was TOO hot in there!
What I learned: 
1) watch my temps better in the room and in the must. 
2) Buy name brand nutrients for my musts. Generic stuff just isn't good enough.
3) Attempt to find redulees for just such situations, which I sincerely hope will not be repeated. Like, ever.
4) People on this forum rock. Turock and Seth were incredibly helpful and supportive when I PM'd them with my questions.

*sniff, sniff*

DJ - My November WOTM was Habanero. It's GOOOOOOOD!


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 16, 2014)

Aw Rayway, sorry it didn't work out but thanks for posting your experience. Let me know if you find any redulees and I'll also keep my eye out for some if I run across it.


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## Winenoob66 (Feb 17, 2014)

This what you ladies after ?

http://morewinemaking.com/search?search=reduless


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## the_rayway (Feb 17, 2014)

Winenoob66 said:


> This what you ladies after ?
> 
> http://morewinemaking.com/search?search=reduless



That's the stuff! Any idea if you can get it in Canada?


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 17, 2014)

I was just on the site and was looking for shipping info but got sidetracked


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 17, 2014)

Oh yes they do! International shipping by usps or FedEx.


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## the_rayway (Feb 17, 2014)

Watch the border charges - they can be up to 150% of the cost of the product.


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## Jericurl (Feb 17, 2014)

Oh no Raelene!
That's terrible!


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## cintipam (Feb 17, 2014)

Rayway, sorry you had to dump it, but I am so glad you didn't get sick. And at least it was just a gallon.

A bit bummed today as I have determined that I have a leak in my 6.9 gal fermenting bucket. The last couple batches I did I thought I had a wicking problem with the cover cloth when it dropped into the top of the wine. But the last batch I made totally sticky grossed out the fleece blanket I had over the heating pad. So now I"m trying to figure out if those wines are ok or not. They have been meta'd and racked a couple times now. They taste fine. Any opinions? It's just a dark mark crooked short line visible on the bottom of the bucket that has to be the culprit. I took a clean dry dishpan, put it in the sink, sat the bucket in it and filled bucket with water. Sure enough when I checked later there was water in the pan.

Pam in cinti


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 17, 2014)

Ya... I avoid FedEx and UPS at all costs!


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 17, 2014)

Just a quick update on my blueberry peach port style batch that I'm doing: The batch has just been racked off gross lees a few days ago and it's in the clearing stage. I drew off an actual small glass to get a handle on the taste and to decide what it needs. The nose on it is a bright fresh, distinctive blueberry aroma. Other than being a bit hot, the flavour is like pure blueberry (blueberry extreme), medium bodied and has the faintest hint of peach in the finish. Even though it is close to or at 20% abv, this is fruity and smooth.

My aim was for a medium-heavy body with a dark fruit flavour (mainly blueberry) but with a hint of peach to add a juicy feel to it and ever so slight tartness on the finish. I have two bottles of Top Shelf peach essence flavouring (supposed to be used to fllavour grain alcohol or vodka to make peach schnaps) with no sweetener in it laying around to give me that peach accent I'm looking for. I love fresh peaches but personally have never been a peach schnaps fan, the taste was sickening to me too sweet. So I really do just want this as an accent.

From my tasting tonight, the things I want to accomplish is to layer it with other flavours by oaking and to give it slightly more body. As well as to add that peach accent. I have heavy toast hungarian oak cubes (which I added recently to my chocolate orange port batch and LOVE it). It gives off a slightly smoky, dark layered feel and taste that is almost caramel(ish) and vanilla. I'm leaning to that, or my other option is french medium toast oak cubes. I am toying with the addition of vanilla bean or just leaving it on the oak as is... any feedback guys and gals?? I have not backsweetened it yet, it's currently sitting at 1.000 but it died out at one. It's easy to drink at the moment.

What I'm thinking in my novice head, is that this is too light bodied to be taken as a port but the strength is right on... if I can add more depth to it, I will be happy. Can tannin be added at this point or would it not be needed with the addition of the oak?

Thanks


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## Jericurl (Feb 17, 2014)

I racked my Berry BOMM mead today and started my other February wine.

As February is the month of lovers (and my birthday), I decided to highlight flavors associated with love, springtime, etc.
I nixed the name of Kama Sutra, as the ingredients I'm using don't quite seem exotic enough. I'm going with Ars Amatoria. I've very loosely modeled the recipe after Dragon's Blood.


*Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love)*

2 tsp. tannin 
2 tsp. yeast nutrient 
1 tsp. yeast energizer
2 tsp powdered French Oak
2 tsp rosewater
3 tsp pectic enzyme 

3 cans white grape juice concentrate
6 lbs frozen dark sweet cherries
water to 3 gallons
12 cups sugar (or sugar for SG of 1.09)
2 c lemon juice

I'll pitch the yeast in the morning. I'll be using D47 (Thanks Pam!!!!)

eta: I plan on lightly oaking this wine, backsweetening with honey, and probably adding a bit more rosewater in secondary.
I expect it will take the full year to settle out into something, but I've high hopes for this one.

eta2: I've added 1 ceylon cinnamon stick to this (about 5 inches long) and a 1/2 vanilla bean, as well as another 1/2 tsp of rosewater.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 17, 2014)

That sounds good!! If it turns out nice for you, I'd like to try it or try a take on it. i don't know why but I'm picturing something that tastes like an exotic cinnamon heart... this is my absolute favorite valentines treat. I could imagine that recipe with the cinnamon undertone... to give it some heat along with ripe juicy cherry flavour!


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## Jericurl (Feb 17, 2014)

Carolyn, I think the oak is going to pair very nicely with the blueberry/peach. How long are you going to wait before you add the peach flavoring?
It sounds absolutely gorgeous so far.
I think I would hold off on the vanilla. If you like what you are working with, I think the oak will add additional layers and some subtle tones to it. I don't think vanilla would be a bad addition per se, but it would completely change the overall feel of it.

As far as the Valentines wine, I have vanilla bean and ceylon cinnamon that I am considering adding in secondary...in very small amounts.
I want it to be a sweet wine, with no strong flavor dominating (which is why I only used 6 lbs of cherries).


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 17, 2014)

Thanks Jeri, I feel the exact same way as you do on tweaks needed. I'm not in a rush for the peach nor the vanilla. I think my best plan is to add the heavy oak after next racking, it's clearing rapidly even without sparkolloid right now. Just not sure how much I'll use. The typical amount would be about 21 cubes for the 3 gals, I might start out with half and see where that takes me. Maybe that will bring out some additional stuff and the peach might come forward after time. My intent is to just have that peach accent and not "muddle" the blueberry flavour. It's easily possible that if I used the peach almost at the same strength as the blueberry is already occurring, I could "confuse" it lol Then I'd have to call it Confuzion!

Your tweaks to your wine sound wonderful. Can't wait to hear how it goes.


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## the_rayway (Feb 17, 2014)

Hot dang! Carolyn, your port is sounding amazing. Just SO yummy! Have you considered any American oak at all? I've read that it contributes more vanilla flavour than Hungarian.

Jeri - cherries and rosewater? Sweet. You must have the most creative brain to come up with some of these combinations. So many I would never have thought of! I definitely want to hear how it comes along.

After my awful, _terrible, *horrible (  ) experience of having to dump a batch, I'm considering doing up a second go at February. What's love all about if not second chances? 

What do you all think of an Earl Grey Tea Mead? I've got a good 24 bags of tea, and some really nice Cara Cara oranges to pop in for zest and juice. Thoughts?*_


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 17, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Hot dang! Carolyn, your port is sounding amazing. Just SO yummy! Have you considered any American oak at all? I've read that it contributes more vanilla flavour than Hungarian.
> 
> Jeri - cherries and rosewater? Sweet. You must have the most creative brain to come up with some of these combinations. So many I would never have thought of! I definitely want to hear how it comes along.
> 
> ...


_*


Thanks Ray! I'll have to check and see what I have lying around for oak. I read that Hungarian oak imparted a fair deal as well. I have to go back to my reading and post what I found. Perhaps medium plus, but I really do want to add some darker heavier layers... Will refer back to my research on most cubes.

I have NO experience with meads or tea related alcohol but it sounds good? How could tea, honey and alcohol not blend well? Have you tried the Dutch rooibos tea?? I have z feeling that would give a really nice aromatic wine? It has a mixture of floral and spice?


Carolyn*_


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## LoneStarLori (Feb 18, 2014)

I have used the Hungarian a couple of times and I think it would go really nicely with the blueberries. It sounds like you have a really nice port going there.

I have been reading all of everyones recipes for the month and they sound so good! Sorry about having to dump yours, Rae. It reminded me how easily things can go wrong.

I was going to do a carrot for this month then got side tracked trying to salvage a bad batch of an Orchard Breezin Watermelon. The LHBS sent me a replacement of Strawberry Sensation since they didn't have any Watermelon. (Fine with me because I didn't know why I ordered watermelon anyway.)

I decided to make this my Feb project with a tweak because it won't really be the beach-wine cooler I am trying for as is. This kit is a Reisling that is back sweetened with a strawberry flavored fpac. I opened and tasted the fpac and it had no color but loads of sweetness and strawberry. So I would end up with a white wine flavored with strawberry and no color? Yuk. 

After debating what to do about this for a few days while fermentation was already underway (starting SG 1.074), I decided to try adding berries. My plan was to get some color in there but I didn't want to bump up the abv too much since it is meant to go to the beach. I thawed out and tested the juice of a no-sugar added, triple berry blend and the abv was 1.035. Now correct me if I am wrong in thinking this, but it should not up the abv since it is lower than the current SG of the must at 1.04.
So, after thawing and treating with a little pectic enzyme, I threw in 2 1/2 pounds of frozen triple berry blend and it finished fermenting in a couple of days. I racked it right on schedule so I don't think the berries kicked up the sugar. It's been 3 days of stable so I'm going to start clearing it today. The color is just what I was looking for. I will step add the fpac because I don't care for a super sweet wine and Reisling is already pretty sweet. 

Does anyone see any problem with adding the berries to the kit? I think I covered the haze by using pectic enzyme and I will kmeta it today when racking and clearing.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 18, 2014)

Sounds like a bit of a frustrating time Lori but it sounds like you have a nice light and fruity Riesling wine on your hands. I would have done the exact same thing to get the colour. Can't have something that says strawberry and is clear would seem too processed or fake to me. That would be good served up on a little ice and some sliced strawberries! 

So it was an orchard breezin strawberry kit? 


Carolyn


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## LoneStarLori (Feb 18, 2014)

You got the idea. Ice, Ice baby.  I will only bottle about 1/2 of it. The rest is going in a "party pig". It holds 2 1/2 gallons and has a spigot. That way I can fill up plastic water bottles on beach day.

Yes, Orchard Breezin Strawberry Sensation. It will probably be the only "party wine" kit I do this year.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 18, 2014)

I'll have to try it sometime! Does your party pig look like a pig or is it just a generic cooler with spigot? Sounds cool!


Carolyn


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## wineforfun (Feb 18, 2014)

Wow, I was away for a few days and you ladies are rip roarin' ahead. They all sound very good/interesting. I will keep tabs on how they turn out as I would like to give a few of your recipes a try.
Unfortunately I had to dump a 1 gal. batch a few months back Rae. It sucks, but hey, live and learn.
My two WOM are just in clearing stages right now.

I am, however, getting ready to bottle my Dec./Jan. WOM. Elderberry(1 gal. oaked, 1 gal. plain, semi-sweet) and Welchs Grape Concentrate(1 gal. spiced, cinammon/clove and 1 gal. plain, sweet)

Good work everyone, keep it up.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 18, 2014)

Sounds great wineforfun! hope you'll end up liking the elderberry - I sure do. Lori, I was just looking at some of the orchard breezin kits. I think I have to plan for the summer as well. I saw the one you bought, it says it's a white wine. They have another one as well called splendid strawberry blush... which is a blush of course. But your own tweaks probably made that white one better than what the blush could be on it's own but you might want to give it a try. I personally haven't done any of them yet. That green apple looks refreshing for summer also. Has anyone here tried the blackberry blast?


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## wineforfun (Feb 18, 2014)

Carolyn,
I am very excited about the elderberry. It tastes great already so I am hoping time in the bottle makes it even better. I used 4.5lbs. per gallon of fruit, so it is full of flavor.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 18, 2014)

that's the way I see it, starts out GOOD and only gets better! and you can tweak and play with it to give it slightly different flavour profiles. I'm going to experiment blending it with some other of my wines once I'm ready...


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## Jericurl (Feb 18, 2014)

Lori, leave it to you to come up with a genius solution! Sounds like a great idea to me.



Sooooo....I pitched my yeast this morning. It was D47. Normally by the time I get home from work it's rocking and rolling. I just checked it. Nothing. It's plenty warm here today. Hopefully it'll pick up soon.
Smells absolutely divine.


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## cintipam (Feb 19, 2014)

Jericurl don't give up. By my notes D47 doesn't show its start quickly. It took 4 days for me to see anything, and even my hydrometer only dropped a point or so a day. But it does take off. If you can smell it now I believe that means you are fine.

I don't know if you've added nutrient and or energizer, but I did sprinkle a touch on top on alternate days. Like I said, a slow starter, and I wanted to be sure. Day 2 I sprinkled a touch of energizer (since I had added nutrient into the must already) day 3 sprinkled nutrient. Not a lot, just enough to make me know the yeast was being fed no matter what.

I do love the smell of D47.

Pam in cinti


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## the_rayway (Feb 22, 2014)

I had decided to start a new batch of February wine, and since it was a tea wine that didn't work for me, I decided to try another tea batch ("why do we fall down Bruce?" "So we can learn to get back up again" - Batman anyone?). 

Then to seal the deal, a delegation from China was in this week and gifted me some seriously awesome Jasmine Tea  Like, I could sniff it all day good.

*Jasmine Tea Mead*
3Lbs Clover Honey
1Lb White sugar
water to 5L
1 Cup Chinese Jasmine tea (steeped over night)
1 small slice candied ginger
7 dates
2 bananas, no skins
juice of one cara cara orange
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient, with another teaspoon's worth stepped in as fermentation progresses.
Ec-1118 yeast

Keeping it cool, and trying for a long, cool, slow ferment. The jasmine smell is crazy good. I think jasmine and I have a past-life relationship, it stirs up all kinds of strange memories when I smell it. None are mine.

I think this will end up a nice, delicate wine. Will likely top up with steeped tea as things progress.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 22, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> I had decided to start a new batch of February wine, and since it was a tea wine that didn't work for me, I decided to try another tea batch ("why do we fall down Bruce?" "So we can learn to get back up again" - Batman anyone?).
> 
> Then to seal the deal, a delegation from China was in this week and gifted me some seriously awesome Jasmine Tea  Like, I could sniff it all day good.
> 
> ...




That sounds awesome Ray! Hopefully you'll be more fruitful with this recipe 


Carolyn


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## cintipam (Feb 23, 2014)

Jericurl, has the D47 kicked in yet? It should show some progress via hydrometer by now, even if you can't see it happening with your eyes. If no action maybe it is not good to mail yeast thru the mail in just an envelope. My D47 is slow and steady but works fine. What I sent you was from the same purchased batch.

Carolyn, that sounds like a great recipe. Can't wait to hear how it tastes. I am curious as to why you used 1118 if you wanted a long slow ferment tho. 1118 is the fastest hardest ferment you can get!

I've been trying to up my game and make a few more "socially acceptable" wines to help introduce my hubby's wine picky family to my homemade wines. Just picked up a Luna Blanca kit (I was lucky enough to try some of this at a local wineshop, and it knocked my socks off) plus 5 varietal concentrates I bought from Home winery dot com. I plan to separate out some chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to do side by side battonage vs surlies, plus one more gallon to add frozen ingredients to increase the flavor profile. Unfortunately these projects have to wait a few more weeks til I get all my seedlings well started for this years garden.

I am really tired of winter!!!!

Pam in cinti


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 23, 2014)

Hi Pam... It wasn't me who wanted a long slow ferment? I also didn't use 1118 I used k1v-1116.... It got near 20% on its own with step feeding. 

Did you forget to drink your coffee this morning? ;-) 

I racked this port this morning and put in 11 heavy toast Hungarian oak cubes. Will still wait til clear before adding any peach essence or backsweetening.


Carolyn


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## Stressbaby (Feb 23, 2014)

Calamondin-Passionfruit Wine update:
Racked today. The wine is nice golden orange color. Tastes great for it's age. The passionfruit is hard to detect taste-wise, but the aroma is there. I added pulp of 4 more passionfruit to a mesh bag in the secondary to see if I can bring forward the passionfruit taste a bit more.


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## cintipam (Feb 23, 2014)

Actually, I had coffee, but we switched brands and I didn't drink enough. Still a cup or two left so maybe I'll go hit it.

Sorry

Hey, coffee wine?

Pam in cinti


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## vernsgal (Feb 23, 2014)

cintipam said:


> Hey, coffee wine?
> 
> Pam in cinti



I actually did that with a merlot. I added about a dozen coffee beans to the secondary for a few weeks


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## Jericurl (Feb 23, 2014)

Pam, sorry, it did finally take off like a shot.

I racked it to secondary today and added a vanilla bean and another 1/2 tsp of rosewater.
I think this is going to be one that I work on slowly, bit by bit.


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## cintipam (Feb 23, 2014)

Vernsgal, how did the coffee merlot turn out? Sounds yummy.

Jericurl, glad the yeast did it's thing. I really like D47, but it is sloooowww.

Stressbaby, that wine sounds fabulous. I grow the only variety of passion fruit that is hardy here, maypops. I bet those fruits will bring a nice layer of flavor to some of my tropical fruit wines I'll be making down the road.

Right now I'm drinking some cranapple I made 7-8 months ago. All concentrate plus some vanilla to kick up the flavor. Somehow the vanilla is almost tasting like a tannin, and the wonderful berry is coming thru like this is a Cabernet Sauvignon. Ok, I freely admit I am a white wine girl, but cab Sav is the only red I actually like. Still, wanted to state that I am not an expert on it, so I am probably way off base, but I am really happy with my cranapple.

Pam in cinti


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## vernsgal (Feb 23, 2014)

cintipam said:


> Vernsgal, how did the coffee merlot turn out? Sounds yummy.
> Pam in cinti



To be honest Pam, it's still aging. I have it at 5 months now.When I pop one open I'll let you know. Before bottling it had a nice medium soft aftertaste of coffee. I'm hoping it doesn't dissipate too much with age.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 23, 2014)

That coffee wine sounds good! So does the calomondin! Pam no need to be sorry lol!


Carolyn


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## LoneStarLori (Feb 23, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> I had decided to start a new batch of February wine, and since it was a tea wine that didn't work for me, I decided to try another tea batch ("why do we fall down Bruce?" "So we can learn to get back up again" - Batman anyone?).
> 
> Then to seal the deal, a delegation from China was in this week and gifted me some seriously awesome Jasmine Tea  Like, I could sniff it all day good.
> 
> ...



Rae that recipe looks like a winner. Perfect blend of flavors. Especially the candied ginger. I have never made a Mead. In fact, I never had even a taste until about a week ago. (Hanging my head in embarrassment). It was made from a local winery and I hate to say this, but I didn't like it. It could have been just the way they made it, I think I'll have to try another to be sure. 



Stressbaby said:


> Calamondin-Passionfruit Wine update:
> Racked today. The wine is nice golden orange color. Tastes great for it's age. The passionfruit is hard to detect taste-wise, but the aroma is there. I added pulp of 4 more passionfruit to a mesh bag in the secondary to see if I can bring forward the passionfruit taste a bit more.



Stressbaby that is a great plan on adding the pulp. I think it will do exactly what you want it to.


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## the_rayway (Feb 23, 2014)

Cintipam - I think you meant me with the EC-1118? Lol, it's a fast and crazy yeast, but if you cool it down it does ok. I used it because I have crappy nutrients and I wanted to ensure I had no more issues with another country wine ferment. Looks like I will be able to get my hands on some Fermaid K/O in the next month or so - then it will be back on the yummy yeast horse!

On another note - several people have done coffee wines and they seem to go over well. You should do a forum search. There is also a coffee port thread that sounded super yummy. (Kim? We want tasting notes on the coffee merlot please!!)

Lori - I have to be honest, I don't really like many of the commercial meads that are available up here either. They are too sweet and too...fake? Something. Since you are in the areas of orange blossom and tupelo I would suggest that you make a batch of plain, traditional mead and give it a try. They can be just as complex as a white wine and then you can control the sweetness/honey in it. March WOTM perhaps? 

Jeri - just exactly how strong is your rosewater? When I think of a teaspoon of it, it seems really light and almost flavourless in my head. Is it? Or is it more of a slap you in the face with rose-type taste?


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 24, 2014)

Ray... Did u find a cdn supplier for the fermaid k?


Carolyn


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## the_rayway (Feb 24, 2014)

Nopers. Sorry Carolyn. A friend is going south soon and will pick some up for me.


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## vernsgal (Feb 24, 2014)

fermaid K in Canada- they're temporarily out but do carry it

http://homebrewsupplies.ca/category/yeast-nutrient-1/


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 24, 2014)

vernsgal said:


> fermaid K in Canada- they're temporarily out but do carry it
> 
> http://homebrewsupplies.ca/category/yeast-nutrient-1/




Thanks so much for the link Kim! 


Carolyn


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## LoneStarLori (Feb 24, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Lori - I have to be honest, I don't really like many of the commercial meads that are available up here either. They are too sweet and too...fake? Something. Since you are in the areas of orange blossom and tupelo I would suggest that you make a batch of plain, traditional mead and give it a try. They can be just as complex as a white wine and then you can control the sweetness/honey in it. March WOTM perhaps?



I think you might be right about the fake taste. That is what bothered me. It tasted too much like honey and not enough like wine. I'll give it a go probably in April or May when the local honey is cheaper. Be prepared to hold my hand through the process. I can be dim sometimes. 

On another note, I wanted to share this find since we all use fruit. These reusable produce bags showed up at my local grocery a few months ago and I love them. They are a very fine mesh nylon. So light you can weigh your produce in them at the store and it doesn't affect the price any more than the plastic bags. They're made really well and not only do they strain the fruit, DB berries included, they are real easy to wash. After the initial washing, let any left over pieces dry on the bag then you can just flick them off and wash again. 

3 bags are $1.79. I seem to find them in weird places in our store. Like today, on an end cap in the water isle. ??? If I were actually looking for them, I wouldn't have found them.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 24, 2014)

Those look cool Lori! They have a drawstring closure?


Carolyn


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## vernsgal (Feb 24, 2014)

ckvchestnut said:


> Thanks so much for the link Kim!
> 
> 
> Carolyn


word of warning though, I think they charge something like $20 flat delivery rate so if you plan to order from them stock up on other supplies to make it worth your money


LoneStarLori said:


> On another note, I wanted to share this find since we all use fruit. These reusable produce bags showed up at my local grocery a few months ago and I love them. They are a very fine mesh nylon. So light you can weigh your produce in them at the store and it doesn't affect the price any more than the plastic bags. They're made really well and not only do they strain the fruit, DB berries included, they are real easy to wash. After the initial washing, let any left over pieces dry on the bag then you can just flick them off and wash again.
> 
> 3 bags are $1.79. I seem to find them in weird places in our store. Like today, on an end cap in the water isle. ??? If I were actually looking for them, I wouldn't have found them.



Great find Lori, thanks for the share!


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## LoneStarLori (Feb 24, 2014)

Yes, they have a drawstring closure. It's pretty long too which comes in handy for hanging the spent fruit to drip all the juice out when you are done.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 24, 2014)

Thanks for the tip Lori... I checked out sweater bags at Walmart but found the mesh holes much too big for my liking. At least the ones I found.


Carolyn


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## vernsgal (Feb 24, 2014)

paint bags work great too. They carry them at all hardware stores. Home Depot, Rona's etc.


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## the_rayway (Feb 24, 2014)

Nude coloured panty hose work great for me! I just snip off as much as I need and put the rest back in the drawer 

Never do black hose though - dyed my first go at lilac mead grey.


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## vernsgal (Feb 24, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Nude coloured panty hose work great for me! I just snip off as much as I need and put the rest back in the drawer
> 
> Never do black hose though - dyed my first go at lilac mead grey.



  I use them on my smaller fruit paks but they're real hard to pack 20 lbs of fruit in. Don't understand it. It holds the weight of my leg but just can't match that with fruit


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 24, 2014)

Do you guys use the queen size ones? That's what I use. I stuff 12lbs and still lots of room... In one leg. I tie off the toe part to where I want it. And you can easily fill the other leg with just as much for 22-24lbs at least! 

I stretch the waste band over the pail lip and pour my fruit in then tie up the waste band in a knot. I do with with my water already in the pail and it's easy to push all the foot down into the legs with your arm.


Carolyn


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## the_rayway (Feb 25, 2014)

Lol, I find the largest size that they sell (is it queen?) and use the legs for smaller amounts, and the, ah, trunk (?) portion for larger amounts. It fits a good 20+ lbs of fruit


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## LoneStarLori (Feb 25, 2014)

ckvchestnut said:


> I stretch the waste band over the pail lip and pour my fruit in then tie up the waste band in a knot. I do with with my water already in the pail and it's easy to push all the foot down into the legs with your arm.
> 
> 
> Carolyn




OMG,, what a vision this must be! You're cracking me up. 

Rae, black pantyhose? That's hilarious!


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## the_rayway (Feb 25, 2014)

Just wait till they start swelling up with fermenting gas. ::


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 25, 2014)

Oops sorry I meant fruit! Haha ya and when they fill up with gas they look like some dead bloated animal floating around in your wine lol


Carolyn


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## the_rayway (Feb 26, 2014)

So, my Jasmine Tea Mead has been chugging along very nicely. Best smelling ferment I've come across yet! Just this gorgeous, lightly floral jasmine scent. I'd also decided to use 2 tsp of nutrient instead of 1 tsp, because it appears I have really crappy nutrient - and the wine has next to no nutrients to begin with.

Overnight, all of a sudden, HUGE sulfur smell (burned match, not rotten egg) eek! And it appears that the ferment had stopped dead. No fizzing, no nothing. Crap. I stirred the heck out of it right away, then worried about it all day.

So tonight, I dumped the mead back and forth between two buckets for a good few minutes. Went out for couple of hours, and voila! Ferment appears to have re-started and the smell is gone. Just a nice jasmine scent coming out of the bucket. Thank the gods!

I couldn't believe it though! This is EC1118 we're talking about. I've never had trouble with it in the past. 

Then I started thinking: (sorry for the long rant here folks) the yeast nutrient was from that other LHBS I've recently been trying, but have been questioning the quality of regarding everything they supply. So's the yeast - and the bucket! Crap. So's the supplies in the other two batches I've had H2S issues with! I think I know where my problems are coming from.    

Never, ever, buy the cheap stuff. Now I need to go back to my other guy and get new buckets, yeast, and my nutrient I'm getting the good stuff, as I've mentioned.

Learn from my mistakes people.


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## LoneStarLori (Feb 26, 2014)

Ah Rae, this stinks that you can't rely on your more local place. I am also starting to lean that you really can't trust what you get at some of these smaller shops. Several of them take the bulk chems and divide them up into little bags. No exp date or anything. 
I'm glad to hear you got it started again. 
This is sounding like a REALLY good Mead. It might just be the one that changes my mind about mead. 
(that may or may not be a hint for a bottle trade) hahaha.


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## the_rayway (Feb 27, 2014)

I'm IN! Lol! I wonder how the border feels about bringing bottles into the country? Will have to do some research on that...

It's true, even the 'good' LHBS in town splits the stuff up into their own little packages with no information on them. Kinda ticks me off to be honest. Why don't they just put it on the shelves as it is?

Seriously though Lori, you should give mead a try - I think you would enjoy it quite a bit. And I'm always happy to pitch in my $.02 (which, really is only $.015 American with the exchange rate, but still).

This morning it smells like it should - still that gorgeous jasmine scent. Bubbling slowly, but bubbling.


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## ckvchestnut (Feb 27, 2014)

Sounds really nice Rae! Can't wait to see now it turns out!

My blueberry peach port is sitting quietly and almost clear... It's on the heavy toast Hungarian oak and I haven't made any tweaks yet as far as flavoring or sweetening. It smells heavenly, can't wait to taste it at next racking to see how it's coming along!


Carolyn


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## kryptonitewine (Feb 28, 2014)

I started the March club thread today. It's a day early, but the early bird gets the worm. 

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/march-2014-wine-month-club-43943/#post495643


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## Jericurl (Feb 28, 2014)

Thanks Jim, I appreciate you taking March.


I wasn't able to quite spend the time I wanted to on February and feel a bit guilty about that.


Ok guys, I posted the summary in the first post.
It looks like we have 8 wines from 6 participants.

Thanks to Raelene's failed batch, I think some of us learned a little more about copper, H2S, and the importance of proper yeast nutrients. I hate that she had a failed batch, but it did provide some active learning points.

As far as my own observations go....

What went well....I'm pretty happy with the Ars Amatoria wine. I think I'm getting a little better at imagining what flavors will go with each other. This tastes just about like I thought it would. Also, I was able to be flexible with the mead and using frozen fruit to bring the temperature down so I wouldn't kill off the yeast. I had a plan for each wine recipe and was able to work them out fairly well, instead of flying by the seat of my pants like I usually do.

What could have gone better....having a better idea of how Wyeast comes packaged, how quickly that little foil lined bag blows up, etc. When making mead, if I use heat I'm going to need to be a little better organized. Honey/water mixtures hold their heat very, very well and it takes longer than average amount of time for them to cool down by themselves. Either start several hours earlier or have cold water or frozen additions available to add.

What I learned. See above reference honey/water.
Also, a tiny bit of rosewater goes a very, very long way. Add in small increments, probably starting with 1/2 tsp per gallon and move up from there. A ton of reading gave me that tip. The rose taste is not very strong right now, but I'm going to let this age a bit and once I backsweeten, I'll make any needed adjustments at that time.

Yeast.....some has all the subtlety of a freight train and others are pretty,pretty princess picky. 
D47 prefers cooler temperatures and produces a slow ferment.
Wyeast 1388 has a very specific temperature range it needs to operate in.


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## Jericurl (Feb 28, 2014)

Also,

Lori, you are an enabling enabler!

I looked everywhere for those drawstring bags locally and finally had to resort to Amazon. I found them here .


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## the_rayway (Feb 28, 2014)

Thanks Jim! I can't wait to try my hand at March 

Raelene the second time around in March (Jasmine Tea Mead):

*What went well:* I was able to save it from a sad, sad H2S death like try number 1. Also, best smelling stuff I've ever smelled fermenting.
*What could have gone better:* me having REAL nutrients. And some energizer. Apparently all the stores around here are out, and so am I. Boo.
*What I learned:* hope springs eternal. no, seriously! After my epic fail on Feb. batch #1, I wanted to feel really _really_ sorry for myself. Then I thought "why let it get me down? I can still do another tea wine!". And I did. With much hope in the batch turning out well.

On an update note: I racked the mead to a carboy. SG 1.020. Dropped a full 20 points in one day, after I first splash racked.


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## kryptonitewine (Feb 28, 2014)

Jeri

Here is what I use for my fruit. They go on sale for $2.00 a 3 pack.

http://www.menards.com/main/paint/p...5-gallon-strainer-3-pack/p-1479640-c-8085.htm


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## Jericurl (Feb 28, 2014)

Jim, 

I have a bunch of those already too.
The problem is, I tie a knot in the top then play hell trying to get it undone again when the ferment is done.
I end up throwing the whole thing out about 50% of the time.

Yes, it's lazy of me, but the drawstring bag has it's appeal.


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## CowboyRam (Feb 28, 2014)

Jericurl said:


> Jim,
> 
> I have a bunch of those already too.
> The problem is, I tie a knot in the top then play hell trying to get it undone again when the ferment is done.
> ...



Why not use a zip tie, and all you have to do is cut it with a pair of wire cutters.


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## kryptonitewine (Feb 28, 2014)

For the $0.67 I pay for them I don't bother even trying to open them. I just buy in bulk.


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## Jericurl (Feb 28, 2014)

Lol....
Well, now you've both just made me feel like an idiot.

Zip tips will definitely work.

And yeah, I do throw them away, I just feel a little guilty about doing that.


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## Winenoob66 (Feb 28, 2014)

kryptonitewine said:


> I started the March club thread today. It's a day early, but the early bird gets the worm.
> 
> http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/march-2014-wine-month-club-43943/#post495643



Early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese


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## ckvchestnut (Mar 2, 2014)

Hey Everyone, I racked my blueberry peach yesterday and was surprised to have it taste more peach than blueberry! Do you all think the blueberry will come forward more with age or do you think I should try using an fpack or blueberry concentrate on it? I haven't even added any peach essence yet and not sure if I'll need to. I plan to age it as long as possible in the carboy so I can do any tweaks needed if necessary. 




I currently have some head space and am contemplating on whether to top it off with brandy or blueberry or even peach... But it's already peachy I'm thinking. Sometimes I think my palate is still novice cuz I don't know what to think lol


Carolyn


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## cintipam (Mar 2, 2014)

Carolyn, I think which ever flavor you would like to predominate is what you should add. This is your wine, forget other folks palates, decide what you want. But it does help to do bench trials. I have a bunch of those little flavor extracts and I make a private party of a touch of this, taste and decide. Then on to a fresh sample, different extract, etc. I was surprised how well chocolate ext melded and softened even young wine. I use it a lot more than I thought I would. Vanilla too.

If it were mine, esp since you say peach is predominate, I'd throw in one Blueberry cranberry juice concentrate by Old Orchard. Maybe some water to reach a liquid level closer to top. Doing the addition right now there is prob enough yeast left alive to process a bit of the added sugar to help offset any ABV from adding the concentrate. Adding those right at this stage has become a standard practice of mine, adds lots of flavor and not as much sweetening as there would be if you did this later in the aging process.

By the way, that is one pretty carboy. Rich color, pretty clear for a first racking.

Pam in cint


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## ckvchestnut (Mar 2, 2014)

Thanks so much Pam! I'm definitely going to do some trialling and will start first with some blueberry concentrate my goal was for it to be predominantly blueberry with an accent of peach. I guess I was surprised by this because everyone usually says that it takes a lot of peach for the flavour to come through and I used less peach than blueberry. BUT... I did use a can or two of sliced peaches with syrup in the recipe so maybe that has something to do with it! That carboy is clearer than it looks too my phone camera isn't the best! But it's a very pretty colour I think 


Carolyn


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## the_rayway (Mar 31, 2014)

My Jasmine Mead is now perfectly clear (thanks to that Kliesol/Chitosan!) I know I could have been more patient, but I really want to get a few of these into bottles over the next month or so. 

I worry that over the summer I won't pay them the attention they will need, and they'll stay cooler in the basement all bottled and labeled  Pretty.


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## ckvchestnut (Apr 3, 2014)

I tasted a bit of my blueberry peach port after leaving it on oak for awhile. Wow it's coming along nicely! I can taste a hint I smoky vanilla from the heavy toast Hungarian oak and the blueberry is forward with the peach on the finish. Actually after my glass was empty all I could smell in the glass was the peach - so weird! It's a pleasant light peach scent. Will try it one more time to see if I new to add a touch more of peach essence or if I'll leave as is and bottle. It has a lovely dark cherry or ruby red colour. I have high hopes for this in 6 months to a year! I'll try to take a pic of a glass of it shortly!


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## vernsgal (Apr 4, 2014)

It sounds real yummy!


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## ckvchestnut (Apr 4, 2014)

Hanks Kim! It is! I'm pretty impressed! I'm not much for sweet wines but this does taste very nice.


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## the_rayway (Apr 4, 2014)

Well now, that is a sexy photo! Well done!

Don't forget to post successful recipes in the "Recipes" section of the Forum folks!


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## LoneStarLori (Apr 4, 2014)

Wow.. Beautiful, I can smell the peach down here.


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## ckvchestnut (Apr 4, 2014)

Thanks ladies! Will do! I'm going to wait a bit longer obviously to see how this matures and hopefully improves even more before posting it as an official recipe I guess! It was fun joining the wine of the month thread. I had too much on my plate for March by would like to join again soon!


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## the_rayway (Apr 9, 2014)

Jasmine Tea Mead:
Racked off the lees after the dual clarifier did it's thing. A lot more lees than I had expected!

It's nice and clear and has a really lovely citrus smell when racking.


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## ckvchestnut (Apr 12, 2014)

Wow! That looks awesome Ray! Beautiful clarity and colour! Cheers to you on that one!


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## LoneStarLori (Apr 12, 2014)

Y'all are what my Mom would have called a "bad influence". Just when I thought I wasn't a fruit/mead person and not sure the 1 gal batches were worth my time, you go showing off these gorgeous. CLEAR batches.


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## Jericurl (Apr 12, 2014)

These wines look terrific you guys!

I'm going to rack my Feb wine tomorrow and I'm hoping it looks as good as these do!


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## the_rayway (Apr 12, 2014)

LoneStarLori said:


> Y'all are what my Mom would have called a "bad influence". Just when I thought I wasn't a fruit/mead person and not sure the 1 gal batches were worth my time, you go showing off these gorgeous. CLEAR batches.



Are yours not clearing Lori? I've been using artificial 'persuasion' on mine ::


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## LoneStarLori (Apr 14, 2014)

No. Mine are clearing just fine. I just get impatient waiting on one little gallon to be drinkable. To be honest, I haven't really tasted much of them. I'm just following Jack Keller's recipe that says to wait a year. 
In the meantime, there's always those eight-week kits. Which I have plenty going 



Sent from my iPhone


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## JDesCotes (Apr 15, 2014)

Quick update on my tropical dragon blood I started. 

Original recipe had mango, pineapple and honeydew. Word of warning: honeydew leaves a VERY strange taste which lingers on the tongue. 

I bought some pineapple flavor concentrate which seems to mostly have masked that taste. 

No sure how this one will work out... May end up as a "mixer" to be used with pops and juices  but we will see in a couple of months, I'm not giving up on it yet!


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## LoneStarLori (Apr 16, 2014)

JDesCotes said:


> Quick update on my tropical dragon blood I started.
> 
> Original recipe had mango, pineapple and honeydew. Word of warning: honeydew leaves a VERY strange taste which lingers on the tongue.
> 
> I bought some pineapple flavor concentrate which seems to mostly have masked that taste.



Honeydew? That's not even a tropical fruit. That recipe must have been created by a guy.. LOL Good move on the pineapple, that should prevail. 

I haven't tried it, but it seems like I read on here a while back that watermelon is difficult to ferment and clear, so Honeydew probably has the same evil properties.

I'm sure yours will be fine. You have lots of other nummy ingredients.


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## JDesCotes (Apr 16, 2014)

Yea the honeydew required ALOT of pectic enzyme to clear out and took until last week to be perfectly clear. 

I'm looking forward to bottling this weekend

Oh and my reasoning behind using the honeydew was: "it was about to rot, but hadn't yet"

Better to use those fruit sugars for something rather than throw them in the trash


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## LoneStarLori (Apr 16, 2014)

If it cleared this soon, then I think you are 'in the clear'. My dragon blood was a complete failure. It cleared just fine then started fermenting again after bottling. Tasted great though. 

I gotta say "Ooops" for the guy comment on the recipe. I thought you used someone else's recipe. Color me embarrassed.


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## the_rayway (Apr 16, 2014)

You're all too funny 

Lori, your Dragon's Blood re-fermented? Boo-urns. My first skeeter Pee is nearly ready to bottle, and I'm nervous. Although, my basement is cool enough I think they would get through the summer anyways.

I'm in the habit now of plonking anything that's not going to get eaten before it goes bad into the freezer, and pouring off the juice from any canned fruit we open. You never know when you might need it!


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## LoneStarLori (Apr 16, 2014)

I'm considering making Skeeter Pee. I am just not sure what to expect. Something tells me it should be carbonated. 
Have you tried it? I'd like to hear some opinions.


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## JDesCotes (Apr 16, 2014)

LoneStarLori said:


> I'm considering making Skeeter Pee. I am just not sure what to expect. Something tells me it should be carbonated.
> Have you tried it? I'd like to hear some opinions.




skeeter pee is AMAZING! I literally can't keep up production enough to match demand. It is a nice, light and refreshing white wine with a very subtle lemon flavor that lingers. 

Whatever you do, do not drinking it thinking it will taste like mikes hard lemonade, it's 100% different and 1000% better!


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## the_rayway (Apr 17, 2014)

Yeah, this is my first go-round with SP, so I have no idea what to expect. It's so popular though, that I figured it had to be good! Next up - Dragon's Blood!


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## Stressbaby (May 25, 2014)

Update:
Calamondin Passionfruit is ALL PASSIONFRUIT.
This is bad news for for the calamondin in this batch but great news for the future of Stressbaby Passionfruit Wine because it really didn't have that much passionfruit in it to begin with. I'm hoping to be able to grow enough this year for a 3 gal batch...we'll see.
Anyway, this February wine so far is fantastic.


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## Stressbaby (Aug 2, 2014)

Bottled calamondin-passionfruit today. Originally I had backsweetened with 50g sugar. Then accidentally I bumped it to 75g. No harm done, the wine is great. The passionfruit comes through much more than I thought. My wife's favorite wine so far. Now I'm anxiously watching my little passionfruits to see how much wine I'll be able to make this year.


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## Jericurl (Nov 13, 2014)

I was doing a little maintenance and racking to all my carboys and I decided to go ahead and taste my two February experiments.

I really, really like both of them. The mead is absolutely fantastic! I was a bit worried about it early on. Maybe I just read too many fantasy and sci fi books or I'm too much of a romantic but I really wanted to like mead. The first time I tasted this mead, it was pretty bad.
I'm glad to say that at almost 10 months old, it's shaping up very nicely.

The rose/cherry wine is interesting.
It is very dry. The rose was pretty predominant at first. It has mellowed quite a bit. It does add both a floral note and a slight bitterness to the wine. I'll be bottling these in about a month and I'll be considering a little backsweetening here.

The lighter colored liquid is the mead and the darker is the Ars Amatoria wine. They are both clear and gorgeous colors!


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## Jericurl (Nov 13, 2014)

Holy Hannah those are huge pictures.....any more computer savvy people able to tell me how to shrink those things?
I pulled them directly off my phone.


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## the_rayway (Nov 14, 2014)

Looking good Jeri!

I'm so glad you like the mead!! (not that I was pushing or anything)


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## cmason1957 (Nov 14, 2014)

Jericurl said:


> Holy Hannah those are huge pictures.....any more computer savvy people able to tell me how to shrink those things?
> I pulled them directly off my phone.



You can probably shrink then by putting them on a computer and editing them. Long term you can tell your phone to make smaller photos, it might be called resolution or something like that. Smaller numbers make smaller files.


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## Jericurl (Nov 15, 2014)

Thank you!

I went into my phone settings and changed it.


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## Stressbaby (Nov 16, 2014)

Drank a bottle of calamondin-passionfruit a couple of nights ago and the passionfruit has subsided some, now it is pretty balanced between the two and tastes good. This recipe will be made again in a 3 gallon batch.


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## wineforfun (Nov 19, 2014)

Update:
Chocolate covered cherry wine is about 9mos. old now. At the 3-6 mo. mark, it was good but nothing to write home about. Just tasted it last weekend and the additional 3 mos. has really helped. Now I often wonder if it is just me, the time of day, what I have eaten, etc.
Nevertheless, it has a nice hint of chocolate in the beginning with a finish of the cherry from the chocolate covered cherries. It is too sweet for me to drink more than a glass, at best, but my wife really likes it. It is a fair amount of work, but will probably give it a go again when they go on sale after Christmas.
I also made a chocolate covered blueberry wine a couple of month ago. Have not tried it yet.

Also, the Awesome White turned out well, according to my wife. It is a very basic Welch's Niagara recipe listed in the recipe section of WMT.


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## Jericurl (Nov 23, 2014)

Getting ready to bottle the mead.


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## the_rayway (Jan 31, 2015)

Added invert sugar to 1.008, 1/2 tsp of vanilla, and a 1/4 tsp acid blend. The vanilla was really needed to fill in the mid-tones of the wine. I'm still considering a bit of concentrated jasmine tea to up the flavour, but am worried it will end up being too floral.


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## the_rayway (Feb 10, 2015)

Bottled this one last night also. It ended up in dark green bottles because the Tart Cherry was so pretty 

Pics to come once labeled!


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## Jericurl (Oct 5, 2015)

I finally bottled my other wine experiment...
a year and 8 months after starting it! 

At some point I added bar chocolate to this batch, a handful of medium toast cubes, and backsweetened it with regular sugar.
I racked it twice more since the last update.
It tastes pretty good. I'll make this one again for sure.


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## the_rayway (Oct 5, 2015)

It looks stunning!


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