# May 2014 Wine of the Month Club



## Jericurl (Apr 29, 2014)

I can't believe it's already May!

For some of us, spring has sprung and we are well on our way to summer.
For others, there is still snow on the ground, and still others, far, far, away, summer is winding down.
But no matter where we live on this rock, we have all been brought together by our love of wine...making it, drinking it, babying it....

If this is your first time seeing one of these threads, welcome!
This is our official May 2014 Wine of the Month Club thread.

This is open for anyone to join, at any time in May, by making a 1 gallon experimental batch. 

Post your recipe, and all the steps you do. We love pictures, so any you take will be greatly appreciated. We hope that at the end of the month you will give us a breakdown on what you learned, what you could have done better, and what you did right. 
I will post a summary of who participated and wine type in the beginning post. 
Then we move on to the next month's club.

In May 2015, we will all take our May 2014 experiment out for a spin and post our results in this thread. Of course, you don't have to wait until May of next year, but we like to give all of these wines a chance to grow up a bit. If yours turns out great, post it in the recipes section.
If not, feel free to open up and discuss what happened.
Remember, we are all learning and this is just one way to do it and have a little fun at the same time.


Participants:

1. Buffalofrenchy .....Peach and White Grape (with real peaches)
2. Winesleeper..... Green Chile Wine
3. Jericurl.....Petunia Wine
4. Jericurl.....Lemon Blossom Wine
5. Medic8106.....Dandelion Wine
6. Stonecreek.....Loquat wine
7. Stonecreek.....Chocolate Blackberry
8. Stressbaby.....Pomegranate-Fig 
9. Aryoung1980...Dandelion Wine

Good turnout for May guys. Can't wait to taste/hear about these wines in May 2015.


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## LoneStarLori (Apr 29, 2014)

Is it May already? I 'May' sit this one out. I am out of town more than in town this month and just won't be able to tend it. On the other hand... there is some really nice fruit out there in the grocery store.


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## wineforfun (Apr 30, 2014)

Same here, will have to sit May out as I will be on vacation for a couple of weeks. Right now, just trying to get things bottled, racked, etc. so all will be well while I am gone. 

June, its back on like Donkey Kong.


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## the_rayway (Apr 30, 2014)

May!!! And thanks Jeri for getting this going!

What to make? I've been considering doing another port, or perhaps a Skeeter Pee version of my Orange Creamsicle. Ooooh, or maybe Rhubarb if mine comes up quick enough - Rhubarb Champagne? Something with Vanilla? Rhubarb Vanilla? Cantaloupe Vanilla? 

Decisions, decisions...


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## buffalofrenchy (Apr 30, 2014)

All of these sound good.
I always wanted to try to turn white grape peach juice into wine. I am afraid that the peach will be too faint. What should I add to enhance the flavor? fresh peach cleaned and depitted in a mesh bag? would 1 or 2 lbs enough for 1 gal? also will there be enough body in the wine - I d like to keep it light-med. Should it be okay as is with the juice and fresh peaches or should I add some raisins as well for light-med body?
Thanks for the advice.


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## Jericurl (Apr 30, 2014)

If it were me, I would probably use 3 or 4 lbs of peaches, depitted and sliced thinly. I'd place it in a mesh bag and pour boiling water over it.

I googled a few recipes for peach wine and they all say they need something to boost the body.
I'd either use several very ripe bananas or I would add some of the Welch's White Peach frozen concentrate. Don't forget to make your primary just a bit over 1 gallon so that when you rack you aren't too short.

Glad to have you join us!


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## the_rayway (May 1, 2014)

I believe someone did a similar wine for the first welches competition. Every time he racked, he topped up with pure white grape peach concentrate - it helped both to up the flavour profile and with body. (50 ways to skin a cat!)


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## winesleeper (May 2, 2014)

Digging in the freezer and found a small zip lock of hatch green chili’s that I missed this winter. So I’m thinking about using them in the wine for May. But, I have a few questions first. Will they ruin my plastic primary fermentation bucket? I plan on using a knee high that a “lizard could wear” and not my strainer bag. I have been looking at the capsicumel (2) recipe on the Jack Keller website. Has anybody used this and have any comments or suggestions?


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## the_rayway (May 2, 2014)

I did a Hot Pepper wine for the November WOTM: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/november-2013-wine-month-club-42000/

Has turned out fantastic. I'm using it for mostly cooking though.


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## wineforfun (May 2, 2014)

I made an Apple/Jalapeno wine that turned out pretty good. It is a drinker, not a marinade'er. Backsweetened slighty.

My plastic primary did take a bit to get the smell/heat out of from the jalapenos but I have used it numerous times since with no off smells/tastes.


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## buffalofrenchy (May 4, 2014)

Peach and white grape underway...


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## Jericurl (May 5, 2014)

I don't know how you didn't eat those peaches!

I would have probably eaten half, then decided there wasn't enough for wine and made a pie instead.
They look delicious.


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## winesleeper (May 5, 2014)

*Welch's Green Chile Wine*

Here is my plan for one gallon:

(4) Cans (11.5 oz) Welch’s 100% white grape juice frozen concentrate
(6) Large Roasted Hatch Green Chile
White sugar for a SG of 1.090
1/16 tsp potassium metabisulphate
2 tsp acid blend
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
½ tsp yeast energizer
Spring water to start with 1 1/4 gallons total, due to racking loss
1 packet EC1118 yeast
½ tsp potassium sorbate (Stabilizing)
1/16 tsp potassium metabisulite (Stabilizing)
1 tsp sparkolloid (Clarifier)

Will post some pictures when I get started.


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## Jericurl (May 5, 2014)

Sounds like a good plan. 

I'll have to wait until the fall to make green chile wine.
I mentioned it in passing the other day and Manthing just about had a stroke.
You know, because we only have a few pounds of them left in the freezer.....


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## Jericurl (May 5, 2014)

May wine is underway.

I think I'll call it "April Showers Bring May Flowers" wine.
Nah, too long.

Ok, here's what I'm doing. 

I bought wine concentrate from this place.
They send a 1/2 gallon of the concentrate and it makes 5 gallons of wine.
I chose to use gewurtztraminer. I think the tones found in that wine will pair very nicely with florals.

Ok, I mixed the concentrate with water and enough sugar to get the starting gravity to 1.10.
I've added 1 tsp of clay and 1 T of pectic enzyme.

I'm loosely following the instructions given here. Once my gravity hits 1.03, I plan on stirring it up, lees and all and siphoning 3 gallons into a carboy. I will split the remaining two gallons, one will be siphoned on top of approx a pint of frozen lemon blossoms. The other will be siphoned onto 4 cups of frozen petunia blossoms. I hope both will be enough to add a nice complement to the gewurtztraminer.

eta: I can't decide on the yeast. I'm leaning towards Cote des Blancs or D47. I've several others if anyone has a suggestion.

eta2: Ok, pitched the Cote des Blancs on 05/06/14. Let's get this baby going.


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## the_rayway (May 5, 2014)

Lookin' good everyone!

Jeri - petunias, edible? I've never heard of anyone eating them. If they are, that's fantastic! We have so many at the house in the summer.

...hmmmm...


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## Jericurl (May 6, 2014)

They are edible!

I had them once in a fancy pants salad years ago.

I googled for a petunia 
wine recipe a while back. I didn't find a recipe but I did come across a winery that makes a petunia wine every year.

I grow these guys in my garden every year.
They smell amazing.


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## wineforfun (May 6, 2014)

Jeri,
Wow, that looks very interesting. Looking forward to seeing how the petunia works out. 

Also interested in how your flavor is. I was just running numbers through my head and thought about how I use 4 cans (Welchs 11.5oz.) concentrate for a gallon of wine. And I believe Vintners Harvest sells 1 gallon concentrates that you can make either a 3 gallon or 5 gallon batch. With yours, that is only 64oz. for 5 gallons, I am curious to see if the concentrates are different, or what.


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## LoneStarLori (May 6, 2014)

Wow Jeri, that is a big project. Not just one wine, but 3. I bought a peach concentrate from Homewinery in January and haven't made it yet. I hear they make some really good stuff. 
I can't wait to see what those purple flowers do to the color. They are so deep purple. 
I thought about asking you which of the wild flowers in Texas are edible. I have a field behind my house that has loads of different varieties. I found this site and it has an amazing amount of information. Written for the botany challenged, like me.

http://www.foragingtexas.com/


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## Jericurl (May 6, 2014)

DJ,

It will be interesting to see how the flavor translates.
I haven't been able to find a ton of reviews on those concentrates, but what I have found has all been good. It was pretty thick and dark colored so maybe it's some kind of super concentrate or something?

Lori,
I hear you on that! I'm trying to convince Manthing to take a drive so I can look for cactus blossoms. 
If I can find any, that will definitely be my June wine! Texas has quite a few wild edibles.


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## Medic8106 (May 7, 2014)

I guess I'll get in on this month. I've been doing quite a lot of drinking and not enough making of wine...

Making Dandelion Wine - or at least trying. 

9 cups dandelion petals
1 lb white or golden raisins
2 lbs granulated sugar
1 lemon (juice and zest)
3 oranges (juice and zest)
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1/4 tsp tannin
water to 1 gallon
Lavlin EC-1118 yeast

Prepare flower petals beforehand. Put water on to boil. Meanwhile, prepare zest from citrus and set aside. Combine flowers and zest in nylon straining bag and tie closed. Put bag in primary and pour boiling water over it. Cover primary and squeeze bag several times a day for 3 days. Drain and squeeze bag to extract all liquid. Pour liquid into pot and bring to boil. Stir in sugar until completely dissolved. Stir in chopped or minced raisins, cover pot and remove from heat, let stand 1 hour. In primary, combine juice of citrus fruit, tannin, yeast nutrient, and heated liquid. Cover and allow to cool to room temperature. Add pectic enzyme, cover and set aside 10-12 hours. Add activated yeast and cover. Stir twice daily for 5 days. Strain through nylon straining bag into secondary and discard raisins. Fit airlock and set aside. Rack after wine falls clear, adding crushed Campden tablet and topping up and reattaching airlock. Rack again every 2 months for 6 months, , adding another crushed Campden tablet during middle racking and stabilizing at last racking. Wait another month and rack into bottles. 

Attached is a picture of the initial must preparation after boiling water and pouring it over the petals and citrus peels. The second picture is about 2 days into the fermentation process. The raisins (not chopped) are floating on the surface. The only thing that really got me on this one is the initial process of pouring the boiling water over the petals and seeping for 3 days. The smell of the must at the 3rd day was awful. Hopefully it turns out well though. Been wanting to make this for a long time. I found many different recipes out there, many different petal preparations. I have about half full flower heads and half only the yellow petals.


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## the_rayway (May 7, 2014)

Oh good Nathan! Thanks for doing a dandelion - I've been really interested in trying one this year after my lilac seems to be going so well.

Looking forward to updates.


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## Jericurl (May 7, 2014)

Nathan,

I'm glad you are doing this wine.
I've been interested in a dandelion wine for a while now.
Did you pick your own?
Believe it or not, I've been looking for dandelions since last year. I think I've seen 4 or 5 total.
Obviously nowhere near enough for a batch of wine.
I'll definitely be watching your progress on this one.


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## Medic8106 (May 7, 2014)

Jericurl said:


> Nathan,
> 
> I'm glad you are doing this wine.
> I've been interested in a dandelion wine for a while now.
> ...



Yes i picked my own. We have plenty here in PA! To be honest, i didn't even measure the flowers out. I picked 2 gallon containers full and used them all! My grandfather used to make it and it was excellent. I doubt mine will compare. We shall see...


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## StoneCreek (May 7, 2014)

Well, I think it's time for me to jump on the bandwagon and try one of these WOTM clubs. I have decided on doing a Loquat wine since they are finally in season here. However, My huge, 30+ foot, tall tree is not producing yet this year so I have been driving around town looking for additional trees since they are used primarily as ornamentals. Unfortunately, out of about 15 trees I've been able to locate, I have only gotten 5.5 pounds of fruit. Very disappointing. We did have a late hard freeze earlier this year which is very unusual for south GA. I think that has had a negative impact on these "tropical" loving trees. I was hoping for a 6 gal. batch but that seems unlikely this year unless I can work in a trip to Florida soon! The recipe I'll be using is Jack Keller's to which I'll probably add a handful of golden raisins to add a bit more body. I just put the fruit in the freezer this evening so I'll hopefully be pitching yeast soon. I'll also be keeping up with that dandelion wine. I have always wanted to try that but can't seem to find a decent supply of flowers.


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## Stressbaby (May 8, 2014)

Nathan, I made dandelion last year and the progression of smells over the 3 days was interesting. For me, it was cooked spinach > buttered popcorn > something else more wine-like.

Jericurl, that sounds like what I have heard called "secondary addition." I've considered trying this with my plumeria wine. Supposedly it keeps the esters from fermenting off and the alcohol produced in the fermentation helps the extraction from the flowers. Keep us posted!!!


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## winesleeper (May 8, 2014)

*Welch's Green Chile Wine Update*

Here is what I have got going today. Smells like green chiles.


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## Jericurl (May 9, 2014)

That wine is going to be so yummy.

I'm already thinking of meals you can eat with it.


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## Jericurl (May 9, 2014)

Ok, SG down to 1.03 so I stirred the ever lovin fizz out of this thing then transferred to my different vessels.
For some reason the close up of the lemon blossom isn't uploading.
It smells pretty darn good though, you can smell the floral aroma through the airlocks.
It's still bubbling nicely.

I've been doing a bit of reading on Cote des Blancs yeast, and it appears that wine made with it likes to sit on the lees for a bit.
I'm considering not immediately racking off as part of my May experiment.


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## the_rayway (May 9, 2014)

Great jugs Jeri!  I love the purple colour coming through.

Winesleeper - I'm very envious of your chiles. _Very envious_

Need to get on starting mine. It's going to be an Orange Creamsicle Pee thingy. I got orange juice. and vanilla. I'm thinking of doing all the tweaks that I talked about in my other 'Notes' thread. Maybe a Mother's Day start!


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## Medic8106 (May 10, 2014)

Well I racked my dandelion to the secondary last night, SG was 1.000. I have not used raisins before on wine but I think I would put them in a mesh bag prior to adding to the must. I don't know if that its the right thing to do, don't see why it would hurt but it would be easy to squeeze out the juice from the raisins instead of what I did. I seemed to lose some juice by not being able to squeeze them out real well. Smell is better at this point...


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## Jericurl (May 10, 2014)

David,

I'm not familiar with loquats. What do they taste like?

Nathan,
I agree with you.
I've used raisins a couple of times and both times I forgot to put them in a bag. They swell up quite a bit and it seemed like a lost a bit of liquid going forward.


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## StoneCreek (May 10, 2014)

Jeri, loquats are also called japanese plums, although they are not plums and they are from china. They are very sweet and tart. they have flesh like a plum and a skin similar to a peach. I have also read that they are high in pectin so I think I'll be adding more enzyme before moving to the secondary. 


Sent from my iPad using Wine Making


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## Stressbaby (May 11, 2014)

David,
I got 1.5 gal of loquat wine from 9# fruit. It has been an absolute bear to clear, despite pectice, SuperKleer, and bentonite. After 10 months it still has that amaretto/almond taste and smell.
Loquat wine threads here and here which you may have seen.


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## Jericurl (May 13, 2014)

Not much bubbling going on anymore.

I'll let it settle for a couple of days then check SG on on three carboys to see where we are.

ets: color not totally accurate but pretty close.


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## Kraffty (May 13, 2014)

I've been having a blast reading along with these and considering all the combo's the group has come up with so far. It's really surprising to me that you started this back in november, time flys huh...
Keep having fun.

Mike


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## Jericurl (May 13, 2014)

> It's really surprising to me that you started this back in november, time flys huh..



I know right?

I think there are several of us that haven't even been making wine a full year yet. It's nice to have so many people willing to experiment and share.


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## StoneCreek (May 14, 2014)

HaHa, I just got my first equipment kit for Christmas so I've only been Winemaking for about 4 months. Jeri, How did your Cactus Pear turn out? Have you tasted it recently, Mine was very drainable!


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## Jericurl (May 14, 2014)

I haven't tasted it recently.
I did top off the airlock about a week or so ago.
I need to just go ahead and futz around with it and get it bottled.
The last time I tasted, it was definitely alcoholic, it tasted almost spicy, but thick (if that makes sense), almost like it needs to be watered down a little. It's hard to describe.


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## the_rayway (May 14, 2014)

Great picture Jeri! What a beautiful shot.

I think I may have to bow out this month (boo!) Between work and a condensed class I'm taking at University - I can barely drag myself to bed at night. All wine making will likely be on hold for the next little while.

Looking forward to checking up on how this month goes though!


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## StoneCreek (May 14, 2014)

I'm doing a Loquat this month and I have a small plastic container of the loquat seeds sitting on the counter that I haven't thrown away yet. Last night I got a whiff of an amazing smell. At first I thought I had left a glass of Disaronno on the counter but couldn't remember pouring a glass recently. Upon further investigation the smell of intense Amaretto is coming from the seeds! A quick web search led me to one of my favorite foraging sites, eattheweeds.com, where I've found a Loquat seed Grappa recipe to try along with warning of certain toxicities. Two drinks from one fruit. Gotta love it. Can't wait to try the grappa soon.


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## Jericurl (May 14, 2014)

David, I want pictures and the recipe!


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## Kraffty (May 14, 2014)

StoneCreek said:


> HaHa, I just got my first equipment kit for Christmas so I've only been Winemaking for about 4 months. Jeri, How did your Cactus Pear turn out? Have you tasted it recently, Mine was very drainable!



"Very drainable" - very funny whether it was intentional or autocorrect.
Mike


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## StoneCreek (May 14, 2014)

Jeri, I will post a link to the recipe because I feel one should read the short article first so they can decide for themselves if they want to make the grappa since the seeds have known toxins. You can find the recipe here: Loquat Grappa. I'll post some pics as I make it soon. I'll need to thaw some more loquats first since I'll need more seeds. Although, I might just start another batch of wine as well.

Kraffty, nope. drainable isn't even a recognized word so there isn't a chance that auto correct messed with it. It was bad. Maybe one day I'll get around to posting what not to do with those things! However, as bad as it was, someone had to be the first to experiment with something new.


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## Stressbaby (May 15, 2014)

StoneCreek said:


> I'm doing a Loquat this month and I have a small plastic container of the loquat seeds sitting on the counter that I haven't thrown away yet. Last night I got a whiff of an amazing smell. At first I thought I had left a glass of Disaronno on the counter but couldn't remember pouring a glass recently. Upon further investigation the smell of intense Amaretto is coming from the seeds! A quick web search led me to one of my favorite foraging sites, eattheweeds.com, where I've found a Loquat seed Grappa recipe to try along with warning of certain toxicities. Two drinks from one fruit. Gotta love it. Can't wait to try the grappa soon.



Yes, I agree. I bagged the frozen fruit for my batch, including the seeds; the scent of Amaretto during the fermentation was distinctive and intense. I took a sniff last night...still there!


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## StoneCreek (May 16, 2014)

Stressbaby said:


> Yes, I agree. I bagged the frozen fruit for my batch, including the seeds; the scent of Amaretto during the fermentation was distinctive and intense. I took a sniff last night...still there!



It must be the seeds because I did not get an amaretto smell at all from my primary with just the fruit. It actually smelled kinda bad in my opinion until the SG hit about 1.020. Then the fruity smell came forward and now that it is at about 1.010 tonight the smell has improved even more.


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## StoneCreek (May 16, 2014)

I have decided to do two wines this month. I found myself eating a handful of fresh blackberries and then saw my son grab one of those small Ghirardelli chocolates from the pantry. Then a thought occurred. Guess what it was? Yep, gonna try a chocolate blackberry. I have seen some other chocolate and fruit wines but haven't found a recipe for one with blackberries. I will be starting a new thread in the country wine making section in hopes of getting some good advice. Wish me well.


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## Jericurl (May 21, 2014)

Today I racked the lemon blossom, the petunia, the blueberry mojito, and the regular mojito.
They are all just ok
Well...the mojitos are just ok.
The lemon blossom and the petunia....well, let's just say they have a lot of flavor.
A lot.
Almost a sickly sweet candy flavor.
The SG on all four was below 1.00 so I know there's really no sugar left in any of them.
Hopefully by this time next year it'll be aged out into something decent.


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## Stressbaby (May 24, 2014)

I'm not doing a 1 gal batch for WotM this month. But I bottled a 1 gal batch of Pomegranate-Fig as sort of an "Old World" country wine and it turned out fantastic: 

Pomegranate seeds 1# 11 oz
1# dried fig (chopped)
1# 10oz fresh fig (chopped)
1 can red grape concentrate
2 bananas sliced with skins, simmered, strained
1.5# sugar
1 Campden
Yeast nutrient 3/4t in thirds
1t Pectic
1t acid blend
8.5 pints water
Lalvin K1-V1116

Freeze pom seeds. Thaw, then mash in ziplock bag to break up the seed membranes. Chop figs. Place in straining bag in primary. Boil 6 pints water and add 1.5# sugar. Add to primary. Chop bananas with peels, simmer 1/2 hr in 1 pint water, strain into primary. When cool, add grape juice, 1 Campden tab. After 12 hours, add 1t pectic. After another 12 hours, adjustments: add 1.5 pints water to bring up volume; no sugar adjustments needed; 1t acid blend to get pH to 3.48. After another 12 hours, rehydrate yeast and pitch. Nutrient added in 1/3's, total of 1t. Usual care. No backsweeting. 

Rich, full bodied, red-to-garnet in color, which reminds me of the elderberry wines I've made to date.


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## Jericurl (May 26, 2014)

So I still haven't bottled any of my WOTM Club wines.

I can't decide how I want to bottle them.
For most, I'd like to bottle them in smaller bottles since there is only one gallon. I'm not a fan of the tall, skinny 375 ml bottles for most of these. I guess I always equate those bottles with something super fancy, etc. I can't imagine bottling my onion wine in that.
Any ideas on what else I can use? I'd like something the size of a beer bottle, maybe a bit bigger would be fine, but I don't want to buy any extra equipment to put a lid on it, so I would prefer something that can be corked. I also like corks, just in case I don't degass as well as I think I did. I don't want bottle bombs and I certainly wouldn't want to give a bottle to someone only to have it bottle bomb on them.
No real idea of what I'm looking for though and I thought I'd check with you guys to get some ideas on what's out there.


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## Jericurl (May 26, 2014)

Stressbaby,

I know your pomegranate-fig wasn't one of your WOTM Club wines, but I went ahead and included it in the summary at the beginning of the thread. Since you posted the recipe, I figured it would make it easier if someone went searching for it.


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## Stressbaby (May 26, 2014)

Sure thing.
I'll be back in for June, I'm thinking elderflower...


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## the_rayway (May 27, 2014)

Hey Jeri,
I suggest the port-style 375's instead of the ice wine style. That's what I'm doing with mine (the one batch I've bottled so far...)


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## Jericurl (May 27, 2014)

Oh that is much, much better looking. I'll definitely be buying that for my regular types of wine. I'll just have to find someone close by that carries it. My regular wine supplier has been out of 90% of the wine bottles they carry for close to a month now.

Have you seen anything smaller than that for things like the cooking wines?


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## the_rayway (May 27, 2014)

I used this size for my habanero wine, but I have seen the little 135ish sizes around too. IMO, they kind of feel like they are too tiny to bother with though. 

One Gallon (UK) gets me 12 of the little 375's, which is lots!


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## winesleeper (May 31, 2014)

*Welch's Green Chile Wine Update*

Wow! When I stared May’s wine I thought that I would have more time. Just now I have finished May’s wine for ageing. After the racking and back sweetening I had a small sip. Could not taste the roasted green chili flavor, but it had a little burn after you swallowed, which I liked. Next time I will use more green chili’s to get more flavor.

Jericurl & the_rayway – I’m the only one in my family that likes green chili’s. So I only buy enough in August to last me thru the winter. I grow several types of hot peppers in my garden for the summer time just for me.


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## Medic8106 (Jun 1, 2014)

My dandelion went fairly well. It needs racked here soon when i get the chance. Only thing i would have done different is when i added the raisins to the must i would have placed them in a mesh bag like everything else. They made quite a mess.


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## the_rayway (Jun 1, 2014)

Winesleeper, I'm the same. My husband and kids are not crazy about spicy anything. So I have a 'few' pepper plants just for me  

Nathan, I've got to go back and check your recipe. I've got 1.5 litres of dandelions in the freezer, just waiting to go into a mead. I'd like to see again what you did.


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## Jericurl (Jun 2, 2014)

> Jericurl & the_rayway – I’m the only one in my family that likes green chili’s. So I only buy enough in August to last me thru the winter. I grow several types of hot peppers in my garden for the summer time just for me.



I don't know if I should feel sorry for you or glad that you don't have to share with anyone!
We have about a dozen different kinds of peppers planted in the garden (and several plants of each) and we still buy a metric buttload of green chile peppers in the fall.


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## the_rayway (Jun 2, 2014)

I try and get several different types each year now, but the standards are: Habanero, Jalapeno, Big Chili, Hungarian Hot, Cayenne, and Serrano. Then I work from there. Sweet peppers don't really do well in my garden as I get maybe one per plant during the entire season!

They produce like crazy, so I've got peppers to spare that I dry or freeze for the winter months. Nearly killed myself making habanero flakes the first time...


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## aryoung1980 (Jun 19, 2014)

I hope no one minds that I'm jumping in on this thread. I made my first dandelion wine on May 11th. My recipe was as follows:

200g dandelion, petals only
20g clementine peel,
1 can OJ concentrate
1 can white grape concentrate
5.75lbs white sugar
2 lemons, juiced
1lb corn sugar
30g toasted oak powder
Super B yeast

This was for 4 gallons at 1.092. I started to ferment in the low-60s but raised the temp to 72F on day 7 and racked to secondary on day 11. 

I forgot about the wine and on day 35 I was at 0.992. I racked into a 3 gallon carboy with k-meta. Now it sits until clear.



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## aryoung1980 (Oct 4, 2014)

I'm still waiting on the dandelion to drop bright but it sure tastes great.


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## the_rayway (Oct 4, 2014)

aryoung1980 said:


> I'm still waiting on the dandelion to drop bright but it sure tastes great.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making



Excellent! I'm also surprised at how good my dandelion is tasting. Especially after all of the comments I've seen about dandelion tasting like nasty.

Keep us posted!


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## aryoung1980 (Nov 16, 2014)

The dandelion is nice and clear now. I moved the carboy to my bottling station. I'll let it settle there for a week and bottle. Looking forward to drinking a glass while starting another batch in May 2015.


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making


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## winesleeper (Nov 19, 2014)

*Welch's Green Chile Wine Update*

Bottled my wine at the 6 month mark and ended up with (5) 750 ml bottles and a very small taste.
Starting SG 1.090
Finished SG .998
Back sweetened with simple syrup
Final SG 1.008 after back sweetening. But the SG was 1.014 at the time of bottling.
TA: .75%
PH: 3.6-3.8
ABV: 12%

Could not taste the roasted green chile flavor, but it had a little burn after you swallowed, which I liked. Next time I will use more green chile’s to get more flavor. Will try a bottle in a month and try to keep a bottle for the one year mark.


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## aryoung1980 (Dec 6, 2014)

Bottled my batch of dandelion. I netted 14.8 bottles. I'll probably drink the 0.8 of a bottle when my brother visits from Connecticut in a couple weeks.


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## aryoung1980 (Jan 2, 2015)

The dandelion wine was a hit over the holidays. I won't open another bottle until May; I think a bit more age will do wonders. This will definitely be something I make again.


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## the_rayway (Jan 2, 2015)

Hey @aryoung1980 that's excellent. Can you please give a more detailed description of the taste? I'm very interested in what you're getting


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## aryoung1980 (Jan 4, 2015)

the_rayway said:


> Hey @aryoung1980 that's excellent. Can you please give a more detailed description of the taste? I'm very interested in what you're getting




I honestly cannot. I'll ask my brother for a description...if he can remember.

All that comes to mind was that it didn't taste as dry as I anticipated with a 0.992 FG.


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## Jericurl (Jan 5, 2015)

Three little ladies, all in a row.....

The gewurtztraminer was a bit ...meh...so I added zest from two grapefruits and 4 cut up nectarines to it.

The other two are good...still alcohol sharp but very floral.


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## Medic8106 (Jan 15, 2015)

I'm getting ready to backsweeten and bottle my dandelion wine soon. Anyone have any experience on how sweet this wine should be? I don't like a dry wine so I have to sweeten it, just don't know how if it's usually sweet or dry and how far to go.


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## the_rayway (Jan 15, 2015)

Sounds like time for bench testing! 

Measure out, say, 250mL of wine and split it 200ml & 50mL. Add measured doses of sugar or honey tp the 200mL until it's where it tastes good to you (use the other bit as a control). Measure the S.G. and add the required amount of sugar to the rest of the batch. I always shoot for a few points lower than my test as it tends to taste sweeter after it has aged a bit more.

'Sweet' is totally subjective, so it's always best to go with what tastes best to you.


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## Medic8106 (Jan 17, 2015)

Well I sweetened the dandelion today to 1.020 which was around 1 cup of sugar per gallon, I have two gallons total. I did try it dry and didn't care for it as I don't like dry wine. With the sugar, it brought out a different taste, almost like a honey taste to it. I really like it after sweetening. Few months in the bottle should help. Will bottle in a week or so and will open the first bottle in May. I wanted to get it done and bottled to determine if I'm going to spend some time picking more flowers this spring!


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## the_rayway (Jan 20, 2015)

Well done Nathan! I really need to start moving my butt on mine


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## Medic8106 (Jan 26, 2015)

10 bottles of dandelion wine bottled! It looks and tastes wonderful. I think I will be doing this again in the spring!


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## the_rayway (Jan 27, 2015)

Don't forget to post any good recipes to the recipe section of the forum! And it looks like this was a win!


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## Medic8106 (Feb 4, 2015)

My finished dandelion wine bottles with labels and shrink tops. I think it turned out well.


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## Jericurl (Feb 4, 2015)

That looks awesome!

You guys are so inspiring.

This almost makes me want to make dandelion wine. Even though it looks like an insane amount of work.


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## aryoung1980 (May 30, 2015)

I can't believe May is almost over. I need to put a bottle of the dandelion in the fridge and report back with the results.

How did everyone else's wines turn out?


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## Medic8106 (May 31, 2015)

Just finished #2 bottle of dandelion wine last night. Still have 8 left in stock. I think mine turned out great. It has great body and taste. I haven't had anyone else try it though... Hey as long as I like it...


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## aryoung1980 (Jun 6, 2015)

Glad to hear Medic8106!


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