# Garlic wine help please!!!



## BigDaveK (Mar 20, 2022)

Here I go again...

Spring time! My garlic is coming up! I always have enough for fresh use, dehydrating, and planting in October. I plant 4 varieties but half are Asian Tempest which actually has some heat.

I need a good garlic wine recipe, please!! Intended use is cooking and I plan to bottle in the 375's.

Last year I fermented the scapes and made a really good relish. They have great garlic flavor and I was thinking this year they'd be the major ingredient for the wine.

For non garlic growers, the scape is kind of a flower stalk that has bulbils, miniature garlic that can be planted. The stalk needs to be removed at a certain time to promote bulb formation.

Please help! Thanks in advance!


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## salcoco (Mar 20, 2022)

attached Keller's recipes has one for garlic


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## sour_grapes (Mar 20, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> Here I go again...
> 
> Spring time! My garlic is coming up! I always have enough for fresh use, dehydrating, and planting in October. I plant 4 varieties but half are Asian Tempest which actually has some heat.
> 
> ...



Wow! You are way ahead of us. I have not seen any growth of my garlic at all yet.


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## Rice_Guy (Mar 20, 2022)

Well Howdy Dave, I am waiting for you to ask for the recipe for white pine needle wine. It is sort of smoky and also might be good in cooking.

As a food crop garlic has low fermentable sugar and low acid, ie the same kind of recipe which is used for the pepper wine thread could be applied. The yeast will need sugar, and nutrients (Fermaid O), acid added to pull the pH to a level which prevents bacterial infection. ,,, The key question is what level of flavor to build into the beverage. For this i see two goals 1) an intense cooking liquid which basically isn't edible straight. The goal then is maximum flavor and I would try 1:1 with an extractable liquid 2) A beverage that could be enjoyed, in this case less than one percent of flavor ingredient. After bench trials I might push that down to 0.1% like a Chinese recipe.

From a food point of view. It would be easier to not do a wine fermentation. ,,, I can buy garlic juice in a five gallon cube, garlic flavor is readily available. ,,, A sour kraut style fermentation would probably accomplish higher flavor levels and not be as hard as an alcohol fermentation. Factory wise I can buy diced acidified (below pH 3) garlic in the fourty pound pail. ,,, Another shelf stable process is extracting with grain alcohol like a brandied fruit.


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## BigDaveK (Mar 20, 2022)

salcoco said:


> attached Keller's recipes has one for garlic


Thank you!! That will be my starting point. I'm hoping some adventurous member added some tweaks and made it even better.


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## mikewatkins727 (Mar 20, 2022)

My take on the garlic wine. Don't make it in the house if you want to stay married. Smelled like a garbage dump. Do it outside or somewhere the smell will not enter the living quarters. I used jack Keller's recipe. I have also made Jalapeño wine. Wife favored Jalapeño over the garlic for cooking purposes.

I did not use fresh garlic but frozen (little cubes in a tray). Noticed that ingredients listed canola oil. Upon racking I made sure to leave it behind.


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## BigDaveK (Mar 20, 2022)

Rice_Guy said:


> Well Howdy Dave, I am waiting for you to ask for the recipe for white pine needle wine. It is sort of smoky and also might be good in cooking.
> 
> As a food crop garlic has low fermentable sugar and low acid, ie the same kind of recipe which is used for the pepper wine thread could be applied. The yeast will need sugar, and nutrients (Fermaid O), acid added to pull the pH to a level which prevents bacterial infection. ,,, The key question is what level of flavor to build into the beverage. For this i see two goals 1) an intense cooking liquid which basically isn't edible straight. The goal then is maximum flavor and I would try 1:1 with an extractable liquid 2) A beverage that could be enjoyed, in this case less than one percent of flavor ingredient. After bench trials I might push that down to 0.1% like a Chinese recipe.
> 
> From a food point of view. It would be easier to not do a wine fermentation. ,,, I can buy garlic juice in a five gallon cube, garlic flavor is readily available. ,,, A sour kraut style fermentation would probably accomplish higher flavor levels and not be as hard as an alcohol fermentation. Factory wise I can buy diced acidified (below pH 3) garlic in the fourty pound pail. ,,, Another shelf stable process is extracting with grain alcohol like a brandied fruit.



I have at least 6 different conifers and yes the thought crossed my mind!!!  I was concerned that maybe it would smell like Pine Sol - definitely a no-go for me. However, my hemlocks are a different story. Hmmmm.....

I have some black walnut trees and found a recipe using the green fruit. I'd love to try it but my trees are too tall. I can't gather until they're on the ground. They ARE delicious but the processing is such a messy PITA that I only do it every 2-3 years. My hazelnuts are a different matter - time consuming but easy.

I love garlic! It's #2 on my list after peppers. Whatever quantity a recipe calls for, I double it. Each year I ferment a pint jar of garlic cloves. Absolutely delicious! Snacking, salads, cooking, it's wonderful. Some recipes benefit from the lactic acid. Others not so much. That's why I was exploring the flavor profile of a cooking wine.

Speaking of flavor profile, home grown garlic is so much more complex than store bought. I personally find the grocery store garlic to be rather boring and I'll only use it for emergencies. Hmm, you know, because of that difference I may have to consider doing a drinking wine, also. What a fun, crazy hobby!

@Rice_Guy thanks so much for your response! Truly, a boatload of useful information, as usual.


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## BigDaveK (Mar 20, 2022)

sour_grapes said:


> Wow! You are way ahead of us. I have not seen any growth of my garlic at all yet.


Must be because OH is hundreds if not thousands of miles further south than WI.


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## BigDaveK (Mar 20, 2022)

mikewatkins727 said:


> My take on the garlic wine. Don't make it in the house if you want to stay married. Smelled like a garbage dump. Do it outside or somewhere the smell will not enter the living quarters. I used jack Keller's recipe. I have also made Jalapeño wine. Wife favored Jalapeño over the garlic for cooking purposes.


Ooh, good good advice!! Each year when I cure the garlic for storage it seems like the smell is everywhere. Garlic drying is pleasant. Garlic in a fermentation bucket could be a disaster.


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## Ohio Bob (Mar 20, 2022)

I dry my garlic in my detached garage, wife won’t let me do it in the house.


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## Bliorg (May 22, 2022)

Made Jack Keller's recipe a few years ago, have a few bottles left. I'd probably forego the raisins next time I make it. We use it exclusively for cooking and eating, favoring it as a topping for steak. I didn't find the smell during fermentation objectionable, but very strong. 

My dad made wine when I was growing up. I remember fondly when he'd make garlic wine. Was such a fond memory that garlic was the first wine I made, and my daughter helped.


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## BigDaveK (May 23, 2022)

Bliorg said:


> Made Jack Keller's recipe a few years ago, have a few bottles left. I'd probably forego the raisins next time I make it. We use it exclusively for cooking and eating, favoring it as a topping for steak. I didn't find the smell during fermentation objectionable, but very strong.
> 
> My dad made wine when I was growing up. I remember fondly when he'd make garlic wine. Was such a fond memory that garlic was the first wine I made, and my daughter helped.


Thank you so much for the memory and your input.
I was thinking about reducing the amount of raisins. Why are you considering skipping them altogether?
I may reduce the quantity of garlic a bit, also. My homegrown is by far more potent and flavorful than grocery store.


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## Bliorg (May 23, 2022)

BigDaveK said:


> Thank you so much for the memory and your input.
> I was thinking about reducing the amount of raisins. Why are you considering skipping them altogether?
> I may reduce the quantity of garlic a bit, also. My homegrown is by far more potent and flavorful than grocery store.


I’m not a big fan of raisins in wine in general. I don’t think they add anything positive to the flavor of the garlic wine. I’ll likely use tannins next time around.

I'm also a fan of garlic so might actually increase the amount in the next batch. I bottled into 10 ounce hot sauce shaker bottles knowing that this was largely going to be used as a condiment. It’s aged well, but I think there’s another batch coming for this summer. Whatever non-glass items you use will likely be dedicated to garlic wine production afterwards, the smell never goes away.


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## mikewatkins727 (May 23, 2022)

Bliorg said:


> I’m not a big fan of raisins in wine in general. I don’t think they add anything positive to the flavor of the garlic wine. I’ll likely use tannins next time around.




It's not the raisin flavor you're after. It for the yeasties to enjoy.


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## Bliorg (May 23, 2022)

It adds body and mouthfeel. Which can be done otherwise. And nutrients can be used to improve conditions for yeast.


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