# Great Grandmothers "Recipe"



## DaveL (Aug 2, 2013)

This year I am going to make my first Grape wine from the grapevine where I grew up. The house was originally my Great grandmothers'
While digging through her recipe box my Mom found this old recipe.
She is going to make a gallon from this recipe beside what I make.


----------



## Rocky (Aug 2, 2013)

DaveL, now that is really neat! Let us know how it turns out.


----------



## wineforfun (Aug 2, 2013)

That is awesome. Love to see old stuff like that.


----------



## robie (Aug 2, 2013)

Wow! Memories for sure. Certainly a doable recipe.
Three pounds of sugar to one qt. of grapes - that is going to be very sweet.


----------



## cimbaliw (Aug 2, 2013)

Very cool. Perhaps someday your great grandchildren will make the same recipe.


----------



## GreginND (Aug 2, 2013)

It will certainly make a grape flavored alcoholic beverage and it might be pretty good. The nostalgia level here is off the charts. Wouldn't it be a treat to taste that history? I'm hoping for the best and that no nasties get a foothold in it. I presume it is meant to be drunk young.


----------



## DaveL (Aug 2, 2013)

GreginND said:


> It will certainly make a grape flavored alcoholic beverage and it might be pretty good. The nostalgia level here is off the charts. Wouldn't it be a treat to taste that history? I'm hoping for the best and that no nasties get a foothold in it. I presume it is meant to be drunk young.



Yeah I guess the sugar would mostly dissolve or dissipate during fermentation. Anxious to try.


----------



## Rocky (Aug 2, 2013)

The sugar will turn into alcohol and CO2. That should be some high potency "medicine" that your Great Grandma made. I think the really great part of all of it is the date on the calendar or diary page. April 10, 1945. Just think of all that was going on at that time. FDR would die two days later, the Battle of Okinawa was raging and the war in Europe was winding down. That slip of paper is from a very historic time.

BTW Did you research who "Ellen" was? Was that your Great Grandma or someone else? The note at the bottoms says, "Ellens - good" Was she saying this is Ellen's recipe and it is good?


----------



## DaveL (Aug 2, 2013)

Rocky said:


> The sugar will turn into alcohol and CO2. That should be some high potency "medicine" that your Great Grandma made. I think the really great part of all of it is the date on the calendar or diary page. April 10, 1945. Just think of all that was going on at that time. FDR would die two days later, the Battle of Okinawa was raging and the war in Europe was winding down. That slip of paper is from a very historic time.
> 
> BTW Did you research who "Ellen" was? Was that your Great Grandma or someone else? The note at the bottoms says, "Ellens - good" Was she saying this is Ellen's recipe and it is good?



I don't know who Ellen was. My GGma was Sadie. At this time her son, my grandfather was either at Walter Reed or still in New Guinea. 

My mom will make 1 gallon straight from this recipe while IK make the rest using all available tricks short of barrel aging.
should be fun.


----------



## jdmyers (Aug 2, 2013)

dude that's sweet Id get its frames and hang it in my wine room


----------



## robie (Aug 2, 2013)

Rocky said:


> The sugar will turn into alcohol and CO2. That should be some high potency "medicine" that your Great Grandma made.



I haven't done the math on this recipe, but 4 pounds of sugar in a gallon of must just might not ever ferment to dry. I could be wrong, but if I'm right, no worries about it refermenting in the bottle!
No mention of adding yeast, so she went with what ever was native at her home. I might be tempted to use a known wine yeast; something to handle higher ABV.

You definitely should try it and let us know.


----------



## becca (Aug 2, 2013)

Is it green grapes or red? I lost my red grapes this year. 


Becky


----------



## Tess (Aug 2, 2013)

I love the Name Sadie. Maybe she got the recipe from Ellen or was going to give it to Ellen. You should name it after Sadie. Sadie's "Something" Let us know how its gos


----------



## DaveL (Aug 2, 2013)

They are concord. So I plan on needing to add Sugar to get the Brix up. I also don't plan to leave them long on the skins as I understand they can impart a "foxy" flavor. Whatever that is. So it should end up a Rose or blush color. 
When I was a child mom always made Jelly from these. 
The vine is about 45 feet long with only 1 main vine. 
Can't wait.


----------



## Sammyk (Aug 3, 2013)

Dave, that is just so cool! I tend to agree, it was Ellen's recipe and she marked it good because she liked it!
Do keep us informed.


----------



## Fabiola (Aug 4, 2013)

My grandfather used to make his own wine in Mexico using a similar recipe:

*Grape wine*

1 qt. grapes
2 lb. sugar
3 qt. warm water (non-chlorinated)
1 oz. dry yeast

Mash grapes in a glass jar, add sugar and mash again with a potato masher or a similar item and stir. Dissolve yeast in warm water, and add the liquid mixture to the mashed grapes. Cover glass with cheese cloth or any other porous piece of cloth to allow fumes to go out and air to go in. Let it ferment for approximately 28 days, stirring every few days, strain and bottle, preferably is dark color bottles. Do not seal, cover tightly with a piece of cloth. Keep in a cool place.


----------



## jswordy (Aug 5, 2013)

DaveL, did you know your handwritten recipe has migrated onto Facebook via this site? Yep. I got it.

The yeast will die in the alcohol, leaving residual sugars, just like the Welch's Super Sugar Method in my sig. 

If you age it and clarify it using modern techniques instead of filtering it through cloth, you can end up with a very good wine. It's what I did with the Moonshiner's Muscadine recipe I have in my sig. Old-timey up front, modern on the back. 

Fabiola needs to look at the Moonshiner's Muscadine recipe, too. 

Good luck. You can learn a lot that's good and unlearn a lot that's maybe not necessary by trying these old recipes.


----------



## garymc (Aug 5, 2013)

Three pounds of sugar in a gallon. That's 15 pounds in 5 gallons. My friend uses 8 pounds. I used 10 pounds and got incredibly hot wine. I'm betting this won't ferment to dry and will be extremely sweet and high in alcohol.


----------



## DaveL (Aug 5, 2013)

Did anyone ever watch The Waltons? Remember the 2 older spinsters with "Daddy's Recipe"?
This is about the same time and less than 100 miles away. Are you surprised its Hot and sweet?


----------



## jswordy (Aug 6, 2013)

Sweet, yes. Hot, no. The recipe uses native wild yeasts that are likely going to die off due to alcohol poisoning at around 10-12% if the fermentation temps are kept cool. 

Really, anyone who has not tried making wine this way ought to do at least a small batch. Even if you don't like the result, it is a good exercise with potential future apps if you stay open to what it's showing you. Use your usual settling and cold stabilization methods after fermentation for superior results.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp7_u0kcQRo[/ame]


----------



## WVMountaineerJack (Aug 6, 2013)

This could take off like JAOM, better come up with a catchname quick. Very cool. WVMJ



DaveL said:


> This year I am going to make my first Grape wine from the grapevine where I grew up. The house was originally my Great grandmothers'
> While digging through her recipe box my Mom found this old recipe.
> She is going to make a gallon from this recipe beside what I make.


----------



## WVMountaineerJack (Aug 6, 2013)

The Foxy part is what makes it good, deep dark purple like the jelly, you might try 2 batches, pull one off early and leave one on longer, it look like she left it on there until it was done fermenting, you also probably have the same yeast on the grapes as when she was making it. Dont be shy about the foxy, it makes the concord special. WVMJ



DaveL said:


> They are concord. So I plan on needing to add Sugar to get the Brix up. I also don't plan to leave them long on the skins as I understand they can impart a "foxy" flavor. Whatever that is. So it should end up a Rose or blush color.
> When I was a child mom always made Jelly from these.
> The vine is about 45 feet long with only 1 main vine.
> Can't wait.


----------



## DaveL (Aug 6, 2013)

Mom couldn't wait to pick them in bunches she picked enough individually to get this going. I think she should have let them sweeten some more on the vine. I was there Sunday and some were still green. A few were just ripe. I am going over tomorrow to check them.


----------



## GreginND (Aug 7, 2013)

Looks interesting. I suspect they will be sweet enough with that much sugar in it. Now, do those grapes ever get crushed?


----------



## DoodleBug (Aug 8, 2013)

I need to try this when my concords are ripe!


----------



## jswordy (Aug 8, 2013)

:< Now that it's in the jar, that is a lot of sugar. Looks like the pic is done backward to the instructions? 

1. Put grapes in jar
2. Pour in sugar
3. Fill jar with water

If you do it again, might try striating the sugar and water together and then add it to the grapes. I'm watching this one so please keep us posted.


----------



## saramc (Aug 8, 2013)

Foxy Lady....my name suggestion! So many country folk made, and still make wine like this. A true heirloom recipe.


----------



## GreginND (Aug 8, 2013)

I think the sugar should slowly dissolve as it ferments. That way you don't shock the yeast with so much sugar in solution.

But I would crack open the grapes myself.


----------



## DaveL (Aug 9, 2013)

*missing the point?*

No doubt there are countless ways to improve on this to be more consistent, to obtain more flavor, to better regulate the process. 
That's not the experiment here. We want to make it just as my Great Grandma did. To reach back in time and share in her experiences in her home with her same grapes from the same water and soil. 
As a side project, my Mom has looked into wine making in the past but felt like you had to be a chemist or such. I want her to see the most basic eases with which we can produce wine. At the same time I am going to produce my first batch of wine from grapes with the remainder of her grapes that I am going to harvest today. I will use all the best steps available to me and in my budget at her house so she can see its really no harder than making the jelly she has done for years.


----------



## JohnT (Aug 9, 2013)

I think this is cool and I wish you luck, but I do have one question. 

I notice that the recipe is written on a calandar page. The date is 4/10/1945. Wasn't sugar in short supply during the war?


----------



## Pumpkinman (Aug 9, 2013)

I think the statute of limitations for this "crime" has probably passed.....
Gheesh....

I admire the fact that you are carrying on this tradition, I would involve as many relatives as possible to honor your grandmother and do it every year, a celebration of family traditions.


----------



## LAgreeneyes (Aug 9, 2013)

jdmyers said:


> dude that's sweet Id get its frames and hang it in my wine room



Yes! I agree!


----------



## DaveL (Aug 10, 2013)

Picked the grapes yesterday. 50 lbs before destemming and washing to yield 40 lbs.


----------



## Pumpkinman (Aug 13, 2013)

Very cool! Keep us updated!


----------



## DaveL (Aug 14, 2013)

Latest pic. 
Seems to be going Soooooooooooo sloOOOOOOOww
I hope thee was enough wild yeast present.


----------

