# September 2014 Wine of the Month Club



## the_rayway (Sep 2, 2014)

Welcome back from Summer Holidays!! 
I hope you all had a fun and productive season. Our 1.5 month summer is officially over here in Manitoba and we're right into Autumn.

The "Wine of the Month Club" is open to any wine/mead/port maker, new or experienced, who is interested in making, posting about, and sharing experimental 1 gallon recipes. 

The idea is that we post the proposed recipe (with pics!), chat about it with the others, post updates (with pics!), and at the end of the month we take a tally of who's making what, and who learned what. In a year - so September 2015 - we each crack open a bottle of our experimental batch and share our results (with pics! Are you getting the idea?). 

It's a nice way to keep in touch, learn new things, have a log of our experiments. Also, 1 gallon isn't so much of an investment that you can't dump it if something goes horribly wrong (see my February 2014 Pink Lady Tea Wine). I hope any interested will join the fun!

  

This month we had 3 participants:
Stressbaby: Blackberry Cold Soak Wine
Vernsgal: Plum Wine
Tenbears: Red Panicle Dogwood Wine

Please keep us posted as your wines progress!


----------



## Stressbaby (Sep 2, 2014)

I just did an experimental elderberry cold soak. Looks awesome, but it is almost 4 gallons so I'm not counting it. 

I still intend to do a cold soak on blackberry but won't have time until the third week of the month. I WILL do it in September tho!


Sent from my iPad using Wine Making


----------



## waynep (Sep 3, 2014)

This sounds interesting . . Being new here . . . also anything I make at this point is an experiment! 

I am going to start a 1 gal batch of peach wine. I need a couple things from the store first then I'll get it going. I thought about adding frozen grape concentrate like some recipes have suggested, but after talking to my brother-in-law last night, I am going to do just peach following the Recipe in "Enjoy Home Winemaking - A Guide for the Beginner". My father-in-law loves the recipes in that book.


----------



## the_rayway (Sep 3, 2014)

Hey waynep, that sounds great, and welcome to the WOTM Club!! Keep us posted.


----------



## the_rayway (Sep 4, 2014)

Thinking about what to do this month: 

Freezer status:
5Lbs blackberries
15Lbs apricots
15Lbs of chokecherries 
10Lbs of high bush cranberries
1 Gal pure crab apple juice

I've also got 40Lbs buttery honey to play with.

A choke or cran mead? A spiced mead with one of those? Or maybe I should do an all-juice wine? Apricot vanilla mead? Apple/blackberry wine?

Choices choices...


----------



## Stressbaby (Sep 17, 2014)

*Blackberry wine, with cold soak*.

I have 8# of blackberries from my new blackberry patch, so I'm aiming for a 1.5g batch. I have no recipe here, just guidelines. By the time it gets to secondary, I should have a recipe.

Pic 1: Blackberries in Ziplocks, thawed and crushed. I've already added kmeta.
Pic 2: 10.5 pints of boiling water, 3# of sugar. I will tweak the sugar after the cold soak. 
Pic 3: The must has cooled. 2t pectic enzyme added, and then the surface of the must is completely covered with Saran Wrap prior to cold soak to prevent oxidation.
Pic 4: Into the fridge.

See you in 3-4 days!


----------



## Stressbaby (Sep 17, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Thinking about what to do this month:
> 
> Freezer status:
> 5Lbs blackberries
> ...



What did you end up doing? Highbush cranberry is just about the only wine I've dumped, but I don't think my berries ripen on the same schedule as they do further north or other places.


----------



## the_rayway (Sep 17, 2014)

Stressbaby said:


> What did you end up doing? Highbush cranberry is just about the only wine I've dumped, but I don't think my berries ripen on the same schedule as they do further north or other places.



Lol, I'm still waiting on my honey guy!! When I said I'd have 40Lbs to play with, it was only on order...He runs slower than the honey he gets me 

What was the issue with your cranberry? Interested for future reference!

Also, will your cold soak increase colour/flavour extraction? I have never done this. Info please?


----------



## Stressbaby (Sep 17, 2014)

Yes and yes (I'm told).
I'm doing it per this website: http://honest-food.net/2012/08/19/elderberry-wine-recipe/


----------



## Stressbaby (Sep 20, 2014)

Blackberry (cold soak) update:
Warmed the must overnight, and this morning made my adjustments.
SG 1.076 - added 6oz sugar to get to 1.087.
pH 2.88 - after some bench trials, I ended up adding 1 3/4tsp calcium carbonate to get to 3.35.
Rehydrated 71B with GoFerm, pitched yeast.


----------



## the_rayway (Sep 22, 2014)

Ok, going to start thawing something tonight. Recipe TBA  Things are getting a bit behind with school.


----------



## vernsgal (Sep 22, 2014)

I pulled my plums out today.They'll take a day or two to thaw so I'll figure out what I'm doing with them at will let you know lol


----------



## Tenbears (Sep 22, 2014)

I'll get in on this. I have for a while wanted to try this one so this will be the perfect opportunity.. I do not have an official recipe and cannot find one, in fact I can't fine anyone who has ever made it.
I plan on making Red Panicle Dogwood wine
I will post the recipe I use when I figure it out later this week.


----------



## Stressbaby (Sep 24, 2014)

Today the cold soak blackberry is down to 1.014 and into secondary.
I was a little surprised at the volume, as I spec'd this for 1.5 gallons based on just over 8# of fruit.
We'll see how much sediment there is.


----------



## vernsgal (Sep 27, 2014)

okay so here's what I've done so far..lol
*Plum Wine* 5-6 gal
approx.34lbs plums
2 L red grape concentrate
1 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
bentonite
3 tsp acid blend
2.24 FermK
30 g oakmor
2 oz med.toast hungarian oak
water
sugar
yeast Lalvin 1118

Day 1 -added the grape concentrate to plums with 10 liters water. Then added sugar to SG 1.094,pectic enzyme, acid blend, fermk,bentonite, oakmor and oak.
Day 2 SG 1.094 Temp.20 Ph 3.3 Pitched yeast
Day 3 It had a great cap on it *see pic* which I punched down then added additional 1.25g Fermk and 1.35g Dap.
I'll step feed another 1.25g Fermk and 1.35g Dap on day 5


----------



## vernsgal (Sep 29, 2014)

vernsgal said:


> okay so here's what I've done so far..lol
> *Plum Wine* 5-6 gal
> approx.34lbs plums
> 2 L red grape concentrate
> ...



Today I punched cap down and gave final step feed (same as above) Now to wait and see that (hopefully) it goes dry.


----------



## the_rayway (Oct 3, 2014)

Hey Folks!
Apparently September is over - how did that happen?!?

I'm afraid between school and all the family stuff this week, I only ended up thawing some cranberries into juice for the kids. 

Thank you all for participating, it was a small but mighty group this month! Please keep posting your progress with your recipes as you go along!

I will update the OP with everyone's choice shortly.

Also, with October beginning, we are almost through our first full year of WOTM threads! That's right, November 2013 was the first month, so I hope the people who have gotten involved over the last year will pop in and let us know how their first WOTM turned out over the next while. I'm looking forward to popping a bottle or two myself.

Is anyone interested in 'running' an October thread?

Cheers!!


----------



## vernsgal (Oct 3, 2014)

wow these last few months have flown by! They say that's a sign of age lol.

If no takers for October I can give it a shot. I know your plate is full right now


----------



## the_rayway (Oct 3, 2014)

Thanks Kim, I'd appreciate it!
Has anyone heard from Jeri?


----------



## vernsgal (Oct 3, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Has anyone heard from Jeri?


not since her August post.


----------



## Tenbears (Oct 13, 2014)

By my starting date in mid September the Red Panicled Dogwood berries were on the verge of going out. Migrating robins had taken a heavy total on the fruit that had been so abundant only weeks earlier. Although I typically make my wines in 5 gallon batches, the passing hours and miles forced me to change my plans. when I hit the 12 pound mark after three dys of berry picking. 

The white berry of the Red Panicled Dogwood is rarely considered as a useful berry because it is a highly astringent berry, so much so it can put an unripe persimmon to shame in that department. However when you first bite into a ripe berry there is a surprising burst of sweetness combined with a nutty nuance that strikes the pallet before the astringents kick in. 
This is the flavor I am looking to bring out. 
When picking the berries I take any dried berries along with the fresh as they seem to contain less astringents and I will dry the fresh berries as well. the neat thing about these berries is they can be dried in any room without a dehydrater. just spred them on a tray with good air flow. 

My recipe is for 3 gallons and consists of

12 pounds fresh berries then dry them.
3 gallons water
6 pounds Honey (Sugar can be used) I am a Beekeeper I use honey for everything!
3 tsp yeast nutrient
1 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
acid blend as needed
5 Campden tablets

Bring water to boil, remove from heat and allow to cool some add berries and honey, allow to cool and add pectic enzyme. cover and let stand for 24 hours.

Place in a sanitized primary.

Check SG and Adjust to 1.095 to 1.100

Check acidity and adjust to between .55% -.60%

Add yeast nutrient, stir then pitch yeast. cover and allow to work for 3 to 5 days stirring daily.

after 3-5 days strain into carboy and attach airlock.


Freshly picked berries ready for cleaning, (the trash can they are in is clean, all I use it for is berry picking  )


----------



## vernsgal (Oct 14, 2014)

Well I racked my plum wine today onto 2 tsp. Grand Cru Tannin. It is at SG.995. It sure smells good, so promising so far!


----------



## Tenbears (Nov 16, 2014)

Red Panicled Dogwood wine, Which I have been calling Hair of the Dog has fermented to dryness with a SG. of 0.997. I have racked into sanitary carboy and am letting it clear, I am not big on using clearing agents so I will just let it settle and rack several times. It is clearing nicely! a nice golden white.


----------



## vernsgal (Jan 22, 2016)

vernsgal said:


> okay so here's what I've done so far..lol
> *Plum Wine* 5-6 gal
> approx.34lbs plums
> 2 L red grape concentrate
> ...





vernsgal said:


> Well I racked my plum wine today onto 2 tsp. Grand Cru Tannin. It is at SG.995. It sure smells good, so promising so far!



Well I haven't forgotten about my plum wine.Here's the update.
On April 11/2015 I racked onto 1oz of Hungarian oak cubes
Racked every 3 months onto 1/4 tsp k-meta

Bottled yesterday Jan 21/2016
I'll let it bottle age another 3 and will then pop one and update this


----------

