# KING OF THE NORTH WINE



## NorthernWinos (Jan 24, 2008)

Ahh...the joys of winter...More time to play with the wines. 


Mixed up a batch of wine using juice from King of the North Grapes.


King of the North Grape...found growing wild in areas of Madison Wisconcin...Unknown Parentage...[Does that make this 'Bastard Wine'?]


~~~~~~~~~~~~KING OF THE NORTH WINE~~~~~~~~~~~~


19 1/2 QUARTS JUICE [6 quartswere Frontenac juice]
2 500 mil BOTTLES WINEXPERT RED GRAPE CONCENTRATE
5 1/2# SUGAR [the juices were very sweet]
7 CAMPDEN TABLETS
3 1/2 tsp ACID BLEND
4 tsp LIQUID TANNIN
WATER TO 7 GALLONS AND S.G. OF 1.086
1 CUP TOASTED OAK CHIPS
2 VANILLA BEANS
A FEW PEPPERCORNS AND COFFEE BEANS [Liked that in the last batch of Valiant Grape wine..it enhanced the flavors]


TOMORROW:
3 tsp PECTIC ENZYME
3tsp YEAST NUTRIENT
6 tsp YEAST ENERGIZER
2 PK RED STAR PASTEUR RED YEAST









The quarts of juice had many juice [wine] diamonds]








These were in the sink draining basket...the small ones went down the drain.








They say this is probably a grape of an accidental cross of Labrusca X Rapina. It must have Concord in there someplace...but the plant outgrows the other vines...it is very vigorous. 


The clusters are long and larger than the other Wild Grape cross vines....


Got this 13 1/2 quarts of juice from one rambunctious vine.*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## Tomy (Jan 24, 2008)

I go to Madison quite frequently, and that must have been you NM planting those grapes a couple of years ago in the median of Interstate 90. Wild areas of Madison LMAO Tomy


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## Waldo (Jan 24, 2008)

Your on a roll NW.......I am going to try some coffee beans in a batch of Muscadine here soon. What roast did you use on the ones you added to your wine?


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## NorthernWinos (Jan 24, 2008)

Waldo...they are Arabica beans...They came ready to grind...but..I toasted them in a dry fry pan to 'freshen' them up.


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## NorthernWinos (Jan 24, 2008)

Tomy said:


> I go to Madison quite frequently, and that must have been you NM planting those grapes a couple of years ago in the median of Interstate 90. Wild areas of Madison LMAO Tomy




Guess they said 'old neighborhoods'...Have you been to the 'old neighborhoods'....



http://www.buggyridge.com/grapes.html
King of the North
Very productive and cold-hardy, King of the North is extremely vigorous and should be planted at wider spacings. Fairly high-acid, so use as a table grape is limited, although the juice is delicious. Vines are resistant to common grape diseases and insects. Fruit is medium size, juicy, tart and borne in tight clusters. Ripens early September. A very hardy labrusca riparia hybrid originally found in an old neighborhood in Madison, Wisconsin.


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## ehlenrg (Jan 24, 2008)

I started 3 King of the North last year. I was intriqued by the fact they were supposedly discovered in an old neighborhood in Madison. I live up the road a few miles in Sun Prairie. Plan to add a few more vines this spring. Limited space. I've also planted a few Edelweis in honor of my Swiss grandfather. So far no wine from either variety but maybe in the fall a small batch.


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## NorthernWinos (Jan 24, 2008)

ehlenrg....Hope you get a bumper crop. We love the Edelwiess...We just go out and graze them. Some say they make a good wine, hope this fall you tell us this is a fact.


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## NorthernWinos (Jan 28, 2008)

After a bum start [maybe because I called it Bastard Wine] this wine is finally on it's way.


I used Red Star Pasteur Red yeast and waited for it to start...and waited....and waited. 


There was only a slight sign of fermentation so took a reading this morning...it had hardly moved in 4 days....So I pitched old faithful Lalvin RC-212 this morning and it's off to the races now....


The Red Star Yeast had been around for awhile and had expiration of Jan 08...which really isn't too bad, but probably led to it's slow start....figured it needed a boost.


All is well now.


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## Wade E (Jan 28, 2008)

Glad to hear that NW.


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## NorthernWinos (Mar 21, 2008)

The 'Bastard Wine' has fought back from the beginning....

First slow to start fermenting and then ending up with quite a bite to the flavor. I Think I used too much of the juice in this batch and got an overload of acid, will use less juice next time with a bit more water to cut the acid....

So used the Cold Stabilization method in hope of reducing the acid a tad , as well as some Calcium Carbonate....It seems to be working.

Upon tasting it last night after bringing it it for the night I mixed 6 oz of King of the North with 2 oz of Chokecherry Wine...and Wowzers!!!! What a great tasting wine [to us anyway]

So some of this wine will be bottled as a blend...








*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## NorthernWinos (Mar 23, 2008)

Racked this wine today after trying to cold stabilize it for a couple weeks...Some nights it just had to come inside....

Last night after coming home late and it was near 10*F outside I figured this was the last night...so took it in for a few hours...then back outside and then racked it...

Here is the resulting Wine Diamonds....






Quite a haul....

Will bottle in a week or so....

Now, am wondering if it will drop any more crystals in the bottles....??? What are your thoughts????

The flavor seemed to have mellowed out....but think I will still blend some at bottling with a Chokecherry as that blend was very pleasing.





*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## NorthernWinos (Mar 30, 2008)

Racked this wine again today...it had spent another week outside in fluctuating temperatures....20's to 40's....






Got more crystals out of it and the flavor had mellowed quite a bit....So...we let it warm up and then bottled it. 






Will be interesting to see if it drops many more wine diamonds in the bottles.


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