Autumn Oak leaf

[Cosyden]

Finally bottled some of the oak leaf I started at the end of August ‘22.
It’s good, like really good. It’s a real surprise because it tasted awful just 2 weeks ago.
It definitely didn’t want to clear so I added some bentonite.
After 12 or so days It looked crystal clear in the carboy but has a very slight haze in the bottle. I think the haze was caused by the simple syrup I added being still a little warm.
I added about 2 cups of simple syrup to 11 ltrs/15 bottles, just to counter a slight bitter ‘green’ flavour.
Definitely one to do again but in a much bigger batch. 11 months is a long time to watch a jug full of dishwater.

 

[BigDaveK]

Great! What kind of oak? High tannin or low tannin? Black oaks have a lot, the white oaks much less.

A couple weeks ago I bottled last year's black walnut leaf wine. Six months ago my notes said "WOW that's astringent!" Now, love it! Bottled bone dry. So good I started another batch a few days ago.

A big plus for black walnut, it only needs 60ish leaves.

 

[VinesnBines]

Please post your recipe. I didn’t get to try the Cairn o’ Mohr oak leaf wine. I’m keen to give it a try!

 

[Cosyden]

Great! What kind of oak? High tannin or low tannin? Black oaks have a lot, the white oaks much less.

English oak (Quercus robur, common/pedunculate)
I didn’t add any tannins but there’s more than enough in the finished wine.
I wouldn’t know how it compares to black or white oak but from reading, it seems that there is much more tannin in the autumn leaves than in the spring leaves.

A couple weeks ago I bottled last year's black walnut leaf wine. Six months ago my notes said "WOW that's astringent!" Now, love it! Bottled bone dry. So good I started another batch a few days ago.

A big plus for black walnut, it only needs 60ish leaves.

Great stuff, I’ve not spotted any black walnut around here but there are a couple of English walnut trees (Juglans Regia) about. That’s one for next year I think, along with a spring oak.

 

[Cosyden]

Please post your recipe. I didn’t get to try the Cairn o’ Mohr oak leaf wine. I’m keen to give it a try!

Here goes:

In a fermenting bucket.

15ltrs of rinsed oak leaves - sticks, stems and creepy crawlies removed - packed in a fermenting bucket and measured off the scale
0.5kg sultanas (whole organic and rinsed)
2x lemon zest and juice
2x orange zest and juice
3.5kg white sugar
15ltrs boiling water
3 tsp yeast nutrient
3 crushed Campden tablets
2 tsp acid blend
4.5 tsp pectolaze

After 24 hours
Sugar/water adjusted to potential 12% abv
3 tsp yeast

Transferred through a sieve to a carboy after 10 days

Racked after 6 weeks

Added bentonite after 9 months, stirred once and left to clear for 2 weeks.

Bottled 2 weeks after bentonite with 3x crushed Campden, 1 tsp potassium sorbate and 2 cups of simple syrup (made with equal parts white sugar and water) to 11ltr / almost 15 bottles.

There’s a slight cooked mushroom smell from it which isn’t unpleasant. This might go in time. I see that cairn o mhor add elderflower to their autumn oak leaf. I don’t recall their wine having a mushroom smell, could be the elderflower, type of yeast or just time.

Anyway, it’s good.

Next year I think I’ll double the sultanas and chop them rather than leave whole. I’ll also shoot for a slightly higher abv, 13.5% maybe.

The tannin and acid are good for me so I’ll stick with what I did this year.

Like I said above, it’s not 100% clear which is a bit disappointing. I think the sugar syrup was still too warm when I added it but it could be something totally unrelated. I think stirring the bentonite once a day for 3 days before leaving to clear might help.

 

[VinesnBines]

Thank you! I’ll have to research my oaks and see what is possible!