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Beet Wine - My First Attempt No, i'm not crazy ~ My grandfather would make different wines: chokecherry, bullberry, apple, crababbple...and beet. This makes sense, since he was German and Swedish; beets are integral to the foodways of both cultures, not to mention Ukraine, where my German...

I've been thinking about this, and it dawned on me that we are indeed going to be on that side of the state this weekend, so I will get two more pounds of cherries, for an even 8 pounds total for the gallon. Should I stick with the Lamberts, or should I be on the lookout for some possible...

Thanks - W4F!

Hi, guys, and thanks for the replies - I'll try to address them here, along with a couple of follow-up questions. I am 95% sure that these Flathead cherries are Lambert cherries, which are sweet cherries. It does make sense to use them all, except maybe 2 or 3 cherries for sampling. :I...

From the beautiful Flathead Valley in Montana, not far from Glacier National Park, comes a wonderful local specialty: flathead cherries. It seems that the entire state waits impatiently for mid-summer, when the sweet, heavenly cherries are picked and distributed far and wide. At a local...

I voted for the Master Vintner Fresh Harvest Fruit winemaking kit: http://mastervintner.com/master-vintner-fresh-harvest-fruit-winemaking-kit/

Hi - These berries are known by many different names, so I am putting the three most common names that I am aware of in the title. I am going to give this a try, using three pounds of juneberries as my base for a 1-gallon batch of wine. I have been told that juneberries are very similar...

I received some additional information from Yooper, which I am posting here so that it is in my records: Based on this, I will skip the sorbate and go straight to bottling after cold-stabilizing for a few weeks.

Update - I received a great reply from Yooper over at the HomeBrewTalk forum, which I will post here in order to add to the chronicle:

This weekend, I'll most likely rack my chokecherry wine over for the last time before bottling. I'm a little unclear on this step, since I've never done it before, so I have a few questions, if y'all don't mind - Does anyone have a general, step-by-step "checklist" for this final stage of the...

Well, I was going to transfer this stuff over to secondary last night, but a few things got in the way, so I did it this morning. I was rushed as I was trying to get ready for work etc., but I think that everything went okay, and I am reasonably certain that I washed and sanitized everything...

Agreed, D.J.! Of course, next time, If topping is needed, I'll be able to do so with chokecherry wine, as well. My samples really have been small, keeping in mind that I want to keep the fermenter filled up to the neck. In one of my earlier photos, the wine in the fermenter goes almost...

I drew out a tiny sample of this last night - maybe enough to fill a shot glass. This chokecherry wine is tasting very good, I think - especially for a first attempt. It is like a mouthful of chokecherry, without the astringency. There seems to be just a hint of vanilla in the finish - I have...

I stirred my must again last night, and drew out a small sip to see how it is coming along. I noticed a definite drop in the sweetness level, and am guessing that it is about time to transfer this over to secondary in my glass fermenter. I also noticed a drop in air-lock activity - it hasn't...

Things are still plugging along with this project, and I believe that we're in good shape. I've been stirring my must at least once each day (twice, if I am able to), and there is still a good amount of airlock activity. A couple of tiny samples are definitely giving me a rhubarb-flavoured...

I checked on my must and stirred it again this morning, 13 June; the temps were right around 68-is. The only thing that seems "different" now (compared to the wine I've made before) is the lack of a cap when I check on it to stir, but then again, it could be because of the chopped golden raisins...

Sounds good - thanks!

Hi, Arne and Pam - thanks to both of you for all of the good and practical information. I'm learning quite a bit while making some good wine. I stirred again this morning, and things continue to look good. We're starting to smell like wine, here! Another two or three days of this, then I'll...

I can definitely give that one a try too, Greg ~ I am finding that there are a few options out there, but of course finding the one that works best depends on a lot of subjective factors. Last night, 10 June, and this morning, 11 June, I stirred the must again, and there is certainly some good...

Hi, Arne - my dad and I were talking earlier this week and he suggested something similar. I'll have to give it a shot, because that little incident set this project back a few weeks. No worries, though, It seems to be pretty happy, still. I'll take a look at it in 2 or 3 weeks and see what I...