# Update On Mandarin Wine



## CajunTim (Feb 27, 2008)

Hey All,
OK....so I put the mandarin wine to glass tonight. The SG was at 1.006 and looking good. This is the pic just after. The color is a lot more orange then it looks. The flash made it lighter. 









Also at the same time I bottled my Muscadine Wine. It was bulk aging for 2 months. We did5 bottles buttttt one we tryed a sip and man it was close to the one the winery does down here. I can't wate to see how it is in 6 months.


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## Wade E (Feb 27, 2008)

Looks awesome Cajun! Great job!


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## Waldo (Feb 28, 2008)

Looks great Cajun.....specially that Muscadine. What variety did you make yours from?


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## CajunTim (Feb 28, 2008)

Thanks, Wade, Waldo,
I am not sure what type of Muscadine it is. They were from my father in laws vines and he had them for years and does not remember. Here is a few pic I took of them. He gave me two plants that I planted last year.


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 28, 2008)

Nice looking wine...and the fruit on the vines look wonderful....Do they taste like grapes???? Or..... tarter???


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## Wade E (Feb 28, 2008)

Now those grapes look really nice and dark too!


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## CajunTim (Feb 29, 2008)

Northern, 
I find they taste a little sweeter then grapes and have a lot more flavor. But these you don’t eat the skins. That would make them veryyy tart.


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## CajunTim (Mar 17, 2008)

I had so much fruit let on the tree a decided to make a seconded batch. &lt;Good reason tobuy another carboy.



&gt;Both have now been racked off the levees and campden added to each.

In thinking about back sweeten, I am wondering what all you guys use. I would like to use something other then sugar water because I would like more flavor and color.


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## smokegrub (Mar 17, 2008)

Nice!


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## corn field (Mar 17, 2008)

I just bottled a chocolate manderin wine and it turned out great. You may want to consider doing one if you have more fruit left. I back sweetoned mine with swetoned juice*Edited by: corn field *


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## smurfe (Mar 17, 2008)

Fantastic! That Mandarin Wine sounds good. I had a good orange wine a while back that was balanced perfectly. Not too sweet, not too tart. They handled the acidity very well.


Wish I could acquire a taste for muscadine wine. It is OK but doesn't wow me. I love fresh muscadines though. I thinktheback sweetening distorts the muscadine flavor thatdoesn't suit my palate.


I will say that Waldo makes a fine muscadine wine. I got a couple bottles from him at Winestock and they were quite nice. Very well balanced and not overly sweet. Everyone around here make theirs so sweet they would kill a diabetic. There is a commercial muscadinewinery here I help out at and I don't really like the wines produced there as they are too syrupy. They won't let me modify their recipes. 


I guess I ought to say I like Muscadine wine but don't have the urge to go and make a 5-6 gallon batch. HMM, maybe I ought to whip up a gallon batch for just a few bottles. I really have a hard time making adjustments to a gallon batch though. I usually end up overdoing things and don't get the results I hoped for. I have tried a half dozen gallonbatches of muscadine thus far without impressing myself.


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## bj4271 (Mar 17, 2008)

Smurfe,


uscadine can be made in 1 gal batches very easily. You can control them by using different yeasts &amp; varying the amount of sugar.


You're right in that Waldo makes a great muscadine wine, but when it's as polished as his, most of the muscadine flavor is lost. I did a batch using his formula &amp; it was great also, but - again - much less muscadine flavor than most others I've made.


I started making wine with 1 gal batches of muscadine &amp; still get the best results that way. Last season I made f 1-gal batches, using different yeasts &amp; all were a little different, but all had tremendous muscadine flavor. When I try to add oak, use fining agents, various chemicals, etc. - the more I get away from the basic recipe, the less musc flavor.


If you have access to ripe muscadines this season, PM me &amp; I'll give you a recipe that's so easy you'll die laughing - until you drink the wine.


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## Waldo (Mar 17, 2008)

Psssssssttttttt , hey bj...over here buddy...behind the muscadine vines...Hey, would you share that recipe with me too?


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## CajunTim (Mar 18, 2008)

CornField, What did you use to get the chocolate flaver to the wine? Or was it a kit wine?


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## corn field (Mar 18, 2008)

I use 1/2 cup hershies cocoa powder per gallon. You use some of the must in a blender and add the cocoa powder slowly at slow speed for about 1 minute then add back into the must. You will have a lot of lees in the primary and then in the first racking of the secondary. It was some what bitter and harsh after the second racking. After I back sweetoned and let age for 4 months it realy came into its own. Will let sit in the bottles for another 6 months then see how much more it has improved. But right now it is very nice. I have never made a kit. I keep planing on doing one then when i get a free carboy i have found another country wine to try. I realy want to do a kit but curosity always gets the best of me



*Edited by: corn field *


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## bj4271 (Mar 18, 2008)

Waldo,


I was shown this way by my stepson. The "secret" I think is keeping it simple. No additives, just sugar, musc, &amp; yeast. Yes, it's taking a risk, and I had one of four batches get an off taste last year, but was still good - just not great.


Start with 5.5 cups of ripe muscadines, crushed - I use your rolling pin trick, put them in a gallon jug. Add 5.5 cups of sugar, then fill a gallon jug with water towithin a couple of inches from top. AS long as you're at room temp, add yeast. You can use a stopper &amp; ari airlock, but I prefer the old rubber glove secured aroung the neck of the jug. Come back ina month - you can shake it now &amp; then if you want, I haven't noticed any difference between shaken or not. At the end of the month, rack and serve. Voila, muscadine wine, "simple" style



.


The biggest problem is: it never lasts long around here -the four gal I made at once last year allwent on Thanksgiving day, but with no additives, you know it won't last long anyway.


Thefour batches I did last year at one time, I varied the yeast- two with Cotes des Banc, one with Montrachet, one with Fleischmann's Active dry yeast (from bakery section- my preference). One of the Cotes des banc had the off taste but was ok. The others were bursting with muscadine flavor. You can vary the sugar to adjust dryness as you want.


When making larger batches, I use all the chemicals: fining agents, sulfites, etc. for a conventional recipe- in fact, I've use your formula



&amp; it comes out like a very polished wine -but not as much muscadine flavor. I have a 6 gal batch and a 3 gal (2nd run from muscadine from the 6 gal batch) going now, both done the "conventional way."


If you've still got some muscadine in the freezer, try a batch the "simple" way. See how you llike it.


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## smurfe (Mar 18, 2008)

bj4271 said:


> Waldo,
> 
> 
> I was shown this way by my stepson. The "secret" I think is keeping it simple. No additives, just sugar, musc, &amp; yeast. Yes, it's taking a risk, and I had one of four batches get an off taste last year, but was still good - just not great.
> ...




Bruce, that sounds very interesting. So you are saying the bread yeast gives you your favorite flavor? Maybe I need to try this as when I have made it the conventional way, I haven't been pleased with my results. It was OK but nothing to write home about. I am going to give your recipe a shot. Kind of like making a Joe M's Mead but with Muscadines.*Edited by: smurfe *


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## uavwmn (Mar 18, 2008)

Tim, those grapes look wonderful!!!!


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## bj4271 (Mar 18, 2008)

Steve,


Give it a shot, there's almost no expense if you don't like it. I'm going to figure out how to get the same results with larger batches when the muscadine start falling this year.


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## Waldo (Mar 18, 2008)

Thanks bj....will have to try a batch like that.


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## CajunTim (Apr 30, 2008)

I have now racked my Mandarin wine for the third time. It has cleared very nicely now. I think I will stabilize and sweeten this one just a bit to bring out the fruit a bit more. Should be ready to bottle soon.


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## Wade E (Apr 30, 2008)

Looks good Cajun.


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## CajunTim (May 1, 2008)

Thanks Wade, 
This one may take a bit more sweetener then I thought it would. My quality control person &lt;my wife&gt; after sampling a little of the bottom of the carboy said it has a little bit of a sour orange smell and taste. Now it was from the bottom of the carboy and it did have some lees mixed up in there. Hope it is just a back sweating and ageing issue and not a bad wine.


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## Wade E (May 1, 2008)

Almost all orange wines have that and will definitely benefit from back sweetening.


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## CajunTim (May 2, 2008)

Thanks Wade, that is what I was hoping to hear.


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## corn field (May 2, 2008)

my chocolate manderin needed to be back sweetoned also


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