# Looking to make some wine for fall season



## wkingsnorth (Jul 7, 2013)

Here in Michigan Leelanau Cellars makes a wine called Witches Brew. It is best served warmed up. I would like to make my own version of the wine (not for selling, but for drinking). Here is a description



> It is our secret wine blend enhanced with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and other natural spices that makes this a crowd pleaser and favorite of Leelanau Cellars' fans. Perfect for entertaining, this wine will explode with intense flavor when served warm but can also be served chilled as an ingredient in sangria. Witches Brew is perfect for campfires, tailgating, or any gathering (large or small) on a chilly evening.



If anyone has any recipes to make something similar I would love to check it out.


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## cedarswamp (Jul 7, 2013)

Search for a Gluehwein recipe, Witch's Brew sounds similar.


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## wkingsnorth (Jul 8, 2013)

cedarswamp said:


> Search for a Gluehwein recipe, Witch's Brew sounds similar.



Thanks, I am sure that will be very close to the witches brew I am talking about. I just need to figure out how much of the flavor to make to back sweeten a batch of red wine.


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## wkingsnorth (Aug 14, 2013)

I have a question concerning this subject. Right now I have the red wine that is going to be the base for this wine I am going to try to duplicate. The wine has a couple more days of primary fermenting to do, then the instructions say I need to rack the wine and let it sit for another 10 days. This wine is Wine Expert Zinfandel Cabernet. It came with oak I added to the batch before adding the yeast. When I rack the wine for the second phase and leave all (or most) of the oak behind do you think I could then add all the spices to the wine to let those flavor the wine during the 10 days of phase 2? I would be adding cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, all spice and whole cloves. The instructions for the wine calls the next 10 days the secondary fermentation.


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## Arne (Aug 15, 2013)

Sure you can add them then. They will probably infuse more flavor in the wine by putting them in then instead of adding close to bottling. One word of caution, go easy with the cloves. They tend to overpower when making wines. Not saying don't use them, just tred lightly with them. Arne.


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## wkingsnorth (Aug 15, 2013)

Arne said:


> Sure you can add them then. They will probably infuse more flavor in the wine by putting them in then instead of adding close to bottling. One word of caution, go easy with the cloves. They tend to overpower when making wines. Not saying don't use them, just tred lightly with them. Arne.



Thanks so much!


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## snowgirl812001 (Aug 15, 2013)

wkingsnorth said:


> Here in Michigan Leelanau Cellars makes a wine called Witches Brew. It is best served warmed up. I would like to make my own version of the wine (not for selling, but for drinking). Here is a description
> 
> 
> 
> If anyone has any recipes to make something similar I would love to check it out.


 


This sounds awesome!! I will be following along to see how it goes. I want to try something like this too.


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## JohnT (Aug 16, 2013)

Couldn't you get the same thing by making a batch of mulled wine? Start with standard red wine and then add spices and warm up on the stove?
Is there some advantage to adding spice before you bottle?


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## wkingsnorth (Aug 17, 2013)

JohnT said:


> Couldn't you get the same thing by making a batch of mulled wine? Start with standard red wine and then add spices and warm up on the stove?
> Is there some advantage to adding spice before you bottle?



 Why flavor any wine then using this logic.


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## wkingsnorth (Aug 28, 2013)

OK, I racked the wine yesterday and added the stabilizer and clarifier. The wine tastes good, but needs to be sweetened. Should I use sugar or conditioner? Also, when should I add it?


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## bkisel (Aug 28, 2013)

wkingsnorth said:


> OK, I racked the wine yesterday and added the stabilizer and clarifier. The wine tastes good, but needs to be sweetened. Should I use sugar or conditioner? Also, when should I add it?



The first time I sweetened I used conditioner which was simply inverted sugar with some amount of sorbate added, cost ~$8.00. This second time around, later today or tomorrow, I will use home made simple syrup (ss). ss I made is 1 part water to 2 parts sugar. Some folks dissolve the sugar in some small mount of wine taken from the batch and then pour and stir back into the batch.


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## wkingsnorth (Aug 28, 2013)

Should I wait a few days to sweeten? I like the idea of using the wine from the batch to add the sugar to. Also, how much sugar should I add? It is a 30 gallon batch. It is a mulled wine so I don't want it too sweet.


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## Arne (Aug 29, 2013)

Do a bench trial to see how sweet you want it. Set out several glasses, draw some wine and put in them, put measured amounts of sugar in them. Stir it all in. Taste til you find the sweetness you like. Try it again the next day to make sure the sweetness is where you want it. After several tastings the sweetness tends to change. Check the s.g. of the wine you like. Now you can bring the s.g. of the big batch up to your liking. Make sure you stabalize the wine before sweetening or it is liable to referment. There are tables on here that tell you how much sugar for how many gal. to bring the s.g. up to where you want it. If you can't find them, ask back and somebody will help you find them. Arne.


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## wkingsnorth (Aug 29, 2013)

I added 3 cups of sugar to the batch tonight after doing some research. I think it is where I want it to be as far as sweetness goes. This stuff is potent. The gravity is .992. I drank a double shot glass full and have a pretty good buzz going. Not sure the alcohol content, but it is potent. I will try some again tomorrow night ( for research purposes only  )


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## wkingsnorth (Sep 15, 2013)

Bottled the wine on Friday. Here is the recipe and process for anyone interested. BTW, the wine came out great. I really can't tell the difference from the wine I tried to copy.

Ingredients

6 Gallons of Red Wine (I used Wine Expert Zinfandel Cabernet)
2 oz Orange Extract
2 oz Ground Cinnamon
2 oz Nutmeg
2 oz All Spice
2 tbl Cardamom
5 whole cloves (DO NOT USE GROUND CLOVE OR MORE WHOLE CLOVES!)
6 cup Sugar (more or less to taste)

Process

Primary Fermentation (10 days or until you reach desired gravity)
Rack wine
Add all Spice ingredients except the sugar.
Secondary Fermentation and flavoring (10 days)
Rack wine and check gravity
Stabilize and clarify wine
After clearing add sugar to sweeten
let sit a day or two and check sweetness (add more sugar if needed)
filter wine and bottle
This wine will clog the filters. I went through 2 filters doing this wine.


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## wkingsnorth (Sep 15, 2013)

Here is what the finished product looks like.


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## ou8amaus (Sep 15, 2013)

Wow, sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing!


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## wkingsnorth (Sep 15, 2013)

Oh, forgot about the drinking part. Put in microwave for 20-25 seconds to warm up a glass and enjoy on those cold fall and winter days!


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## snowgirl812001 (Sep 15, 2013)

wkingsnorth said:


> Here is what the finished product looks like.



Very nice!!!


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## vernsgal (Sep 16, 2013)

wkingsnorth said:


> Bottled the wine on Friday. Here is the recipe and process for anyone interested. BTW, the wine came out great. I really can't tell the difference from the wine I tried to copy.
> 
> Ingredients
> 
> ...



Thanks for sharing


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## snowgirl812001 (Oct 5, 2013)

Thinking of trying this with my prickly pear as the base wine


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## snowgirl812001 (Nov 21, 2013)

This has turned out great!! Did the mulled spice with prickly pear as the base


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## wkingsnorth (Nov 22, 2013)

snowgirl812001 said:


> This has turned out great!! Did the mulled spice with prickly pear as the base



It is my favorite wine that I have made so far. I need to start another batch because it is going fast!


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## Reilly (Dec 9, 2013)

*No filter...*

I do not have a filter system. Any suggestions in order to remove the sediment? What about using whole spices and not ground? Any additional time to allow for it to drop? 

I want to start some now for next winter. 

Thanks.


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## wkingsnorth (Dec 10, 2013)

Reilly said:


> I do not have a filter system. Any suggestions in order to remove the sediment? What about using whole spices and not ground? Any additional time to allow for it to drop?
> 
> I want to start some now for next winter.
> 
> Thanks.



You don't have to have a filter system. I use an inline filter and have had great results with it. This wine needs several rackings to get all the spices out. I would not suggest whole spices unless you are going to let it stay in the wine for a long time. I would not know how long that would be for the spices to absorb into the wine. I know I will never use cinnamon sticks again, They turned into a sludge at the bottom of the carboy.


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## Turock (Dec 12, 2013)

You could always make a cinnamon extract instead. When we want to add cinnamon to an apple or pear, we use extract and it works very well. Extract is nice because you can add as much or as little as you want and the effect is immediate--no waiting to see if the sticks you're using are enough, or not, in a carboy.

The interesting thing about trying to get the right amount of flavor from cinnamon or vanilla, is that the alcohol content of the wine isn't high enough to extract the oils. So the result is not as good. We experimented with cinnamon sticks in the carboy--after the wine was bottled, the flavor was good. But as the wine aged a few months, the flavor started going away to almost nothing. But with the extract, the flavor holds up very well in the bottles.


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## wkingsnorth (Mar 24, 2014)

Just started a new batch for next fall/winter. I made it through this winter with 3 bottles left over. Love the smell of the wine fermenting.


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