# Trojan Horse



## Fran365 (Dec 9, 2017)

This is a bottled juice mix wine
2 gallon recipe
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6 qts. Old Orchid berry blend
4 bananas mashed , one cinnamon stick and mixed with 1 qt boiling water, sit a while and strain into fermentor
1 tbl acid blend
1 tsp yeast energizer
2 tsp yeast nutrient
1 cup frozen grape concentrate
2 pds sugar-SG was 1.100
1 tsp pectin 1 hour before pitching
pitch EC 1118
rack when dry , SG .990
after about 2 weeks rack again, campden and bulk age. At 3 weeks old I tested this wine and was amazed, it had the most fresh delicious taste with no hint of the 15% alcohol. It is dangerous for non drinkers who try it, my eyes began to cross at 3 small glasses, beware. Fran


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## Sinton4616 (Dec 11, 2017)

Sounds good, might do a gallon to see how it comes out. Couldn't find Old Orchid Berry Blend locally after checking their website. Guess a trip to Sun Harvest is in order, have the most organic juices around. Maybe find something similar.

For the bananas, do you take the peels off? I'm working on a one gallon test batch where I had to boil with the skins on.


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## PandemoniumWines (Dec 11, 2017)

When I add bananas for body, I leave the peels on.


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## Sinton4616 (Dec 12, 2017)

Sounds like a plan. I think I found my next batch......


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## Fran365 (Dec 12, 2017)

Sinton4616 said:


> Sounds good, might do a gallon to see how it comes out. Couldn't find Old Orchid Berry Blend locally after checking their website. Guess a trip to Sun Harvest is in order, have the most organic juices around. Maybe find something similar.
> 
> For the bananas, do you take the peels off? I'm working on a one gallon test batch where I had to boil with the skins on.



Hi Sinton, that juice is a common grocery store stuff. My local Krogers clears out their stock about fall, I paid .69 a half gallon on clearance. It is, when all is said and done hi 90% apple juice with a small amount of berry juice. Watch out for this level of starting SG, 1.100, I don't recommend it, 1.085 might be wiser. And yes, I did peel the bananas.Fran


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## Sinton4616 (Dec 12, 2017)

Fran365 said:


> Hi Sinton, that juice is a common grocery store stuff. My local Krogers clears out their stock about fall, I paid .69 a half gallon on clearance. It is, when all is said and done hi 90% apple juice with a small amount of berry juice. Watch out for this level of starting SG, 1.100, I don't recommend it, 1.085 might be wiser. And yes, I did peel the bananas.Fran


Thanks, now to convince the wife this is something we want next.....


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## CheerfulHeart (Jan 16, 2018)

@Fran365: Tthanks for posting this recipe. I might give it a try. The 2 gallon batch idea appeals to me and the recipe looks easy to follow. It also sounds very tasty. I'm looking forward to trying this.


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## bkisel (Jan 16, 2018)

So far I've only made 6 gallon batches... Do you think your recipe would scale well?


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## Sinton4616 (Jan 17, 2018)

@Fran365 I just finished a 1 gallon batch using White Grape-Peach from Wally-world. Letting it age in the bottles, but WOW.......It's fantastic. I can see why you named it Trojan horse, it does sneak up on you.

Thanks for sharing. Time to make another batch as this one will defiantly be a hit with friends.


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## Mango Man (Sep 9, 2020)

"At 3 weeks old I tested this wine and was amazed". Was the wine clear at 3 weeks and how long did you wait to bottle it? Have you tasted it since then and what were the results as it aged?


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## Johnd (Sep 9, 2020)

Mango Man said:


> "At 3 weeks old I tested this wine and was amazed". Was the wine clear at 3 weeks and how long did you wait to bottle it? Have you tasted it since then and what were the results as it aged?


The OP posted this 3 years ago and hasn't been active on the site since January of 2018, so don't be discouraged if you don't receive a response. Funny, I don't even remember seeing this thread in the past, but it sounds like a tasty, but deadly, recipe. Maybe you should give it a shot and revive the "Trojan Horse" wine!!!!!!!


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## CheerfulHeart (Sep 19, 2020)

@Johnd: I'm willing to revive Trojan Horse Wine. 

It's been on my "to make" list for a while so I did a pantry search today and found most of the ingredients but will need to wait until next weekend to start a batch. No frozen grape juice or cinnamon sticks in the larder at the moment. I'm hoping to get those sometime next week after work, when I am in town. At least winemaking is teaching me patience. LOL I found 3 2-quart bottles of Langer's ABC (Apple Berry Cherry) juice in the pantry so I will use that instead of the Triple Berry Blend. Will keep folks updated how this goes.


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## CheerfulHeart (Sep 27, 2020)

I started my batch of Trojan Horse yesterday. No cinnamon sticks or frozen grape concentrate to be found in the rural town where I live. (What supermarket doesn't stock frozen Welch's or the equivalent for crying out loud?! LOL I even offered to buy a case of it if they would order it. Nope. They don't do special orders. Sigh.) So this batch is being made without the frozen juice, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon for the cinnamon stick plus the extra 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar remaining in the canister. I was hoping to make this batch per the recipe but at least the spirit of the recipe is being followed.


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## G259 (Sep 28, 2020)

I have use Langer's Apple Berry Cherry before, it turned out good (from what I remember!)
From my notes, I used Premier Rouge yeast (Lalvin?, maybe Red Star) It went quickly, 1 gallon.


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## CheerfulHeart (Oct 3, 2020)

This batch keeps plugging along. It is a strange brownish color at the moment but I think that is due to the juice I used. On another note, I finally found frozen grape juice at a store 45 minutes away. I cleaned them out of the 5 cans they had. At least I am ready for future batches of wine. LOL


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## G259 (Oct 9, 2020)

Tell the store about your future needs, or possible needs, maybe they would consider holding a larger inventory for you. You take the shelf inventory, plus whatever you need from 'the back', and they restock with fresh inventory, they sell more product. Win,Win,Win! However, it all depends on the size
(and willingness) of the store to work with you. This is a customer - retailer relationship building exercise!


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## G259 (Oct 9, 2020)

McSwain said:


> This is something I'm going to have to try!



This definitely needs a little back-sweetening. Mine finished dead at .990, and I added 4T of sugar, but I never recorded the SG. This was one of the first ones I made, so of course it was good!


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## CheerfulHeart (Oct 10, 2020)

@G259: I appreciate the suggestion about the store. I wish they were interested in having some extra business. When I talked with the store manager (it is a standard sized supermarket), I offered to buy 2 cases of the juice now and definitely buy more in a few months. He told me plainly, "We don't do special orders and we don't stock that item." Since I live in a rural county of about 15, 000 residents total, I am sort of stuck with having to wait until I get to the nearest city. On the positive side, Target was very happy to sell the concentrate to me and said they will be restocking it soon if I need more.


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## G259 (Oct 10, 2020)

Cool, you get what you needed! Short sighted store, that's why Target / Amazon are taking market share. When I was a kid, I worked at a local store in a town of 5,000, they would have been happy to do it at a discount! Lazy managers ('Nothing in it for ME, I won't deal with it!'), customer service USED to be the bedrock of the local store.


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## Rembee (Feb 6, 2021)

@CheerfulHeart, do you have any updates on your trojan horse wine?


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## CheerfulHeart (Feb 8, 2021)

@Rembee: This recipe is one I would make again. A few observations I would mention...don't rush and make substitutions like I did. This wine is one that would be best made as written. The Berry Blend would be a better choice than the Apple Berry Cherry blend I substituted because the cherry gave a raisin undertone that is slightly cough syrup flavored. Cinnamon sticks for sure instead of ground cinnamon if the sticks are available. I hope to make it again soon with all the right ingredients. I think it will be a keeper.


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## CheerfulHeart (Jul 9, 2022)

I haven't been able to find Old Orchard Berry Blend lately to make the recipe as is but I found out Juicy Juice makes a Berry Blend too. I might have a go at this using the Juicy Juice.


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