December 2013 Wine of the Month Club

[buckhorn]

Cranberry-"Cutie" Wine

My lesson this month is: getting a head cold and feeling miserable puts the wine schedule way behind.....
A little later than I planned, but started my Dec. wines tonight. On the menu this month is a Cranberry Dragons Blood and Cranberry-"Cutie" Wine (Cranberry-Clementine)

Cranberry-"Cutie" Wine
(Cranberry Clementine)
Yield: 1 Gallon

3x 12 oz Fresh Cranberries (or frozen)
5 "Cutie" Orange Peels (Clementines)
1 Gal Water
5 c Sugar (= 2 1/2 lbs)
1 1/2 c Golden Raisins (= 2/3 lb)
1.5 g Acid Blend
1.0 g Pectic Enzyme
4.8 g Yeast Nutrient
1 Pkt Red Star "Montrachet" Yeast
K-Meta
K-Sorbate
Super-Kleer

Step 1 Chop Cranberries, Peel Oranges
Place 1/2 of each in 2 seperate mesh bags
Set Aside
Step 2 In Large stock pot, combine water and sugar. Heat to boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Add mesh fruit bags, stir and continue to cook 10 min.
Add acid blend, pectic enzyme, and yeast nutrient. Stir well, turn off heat, cover with lid.
Allow to cool to room temp -- overnight.
Step 3 Rack liquid out of pot into primary fermenter
Discard 1 fruit bag
Chop raisins and place in 2nd fruit bag -- place in fermenter
Take Temperature and SG reading
Sprinkle yeast into fermenter
Cover with lid and airlock -- fermentation activity should start within 48 hours.
Step 4 Daily -- take temp and SG reading
squeeze fruit bag
stir must well
replace fruit bag
Step 5 When SG < 1.020 ...
Squeeze Fruit Bag and Discard
Rack into 1 Gal Jug and Airlock
Discontinue stirring
Step 6 When SG Stable (3 days) below 1.000
Rack to clean carboy
K-Meta and Degas.
Add Clearing Agent - 3 days - Sorbate - 3 Days - Back Sweeten

 

[vernsgal]

Looks good! are you using the whole orange peel or just the zest? I've read if the white part (pith) can cause bitterness

 

[jamesngalveston]

buckhorn make sure that you split your yeast nutrient in half are in thirds using montrachet yeast...it stresses out very easy...expecially using the oranges......

 

[the_rayway]

Hey Buckhorn, that sounds really yummy! Love the name

My suggestion would be to wait until your must is room temp before adding the pectic enzyme, as it can be killed off by heat.

Good luck, keep us posted, and post pics when you mix it up!

 

[buckhorn]

I found the basic recipe on the web in someones blog -- I tweaked it a bit as their instructions didn't totally make sense to me and where kind of generic (things like "when fermentation stops then..." and they were adding the sugar to sweeten well before they racked off lees or added sorbate....)

vernsgal -- I used the whole peel since that is what the recipe called for. I know in cooking generally you want to use the zest and avoid the pith because of bitterness, but there are also some smaller members of the orange family where the peel is actually sweeter than the orange - I am hoping the extra sweetness of the clementines makes up for this...

james -- I followed the recipe, but will make a note of what you suggest for the future. I know I have read that before, but forgot when I was working this one out. I will watch and if I get stuck, will be sure to look at that as a possible cause. thanks for reminding me. (so new at this, so much to learn, even more to remember)

rayway -- again I followed the recipe. I will watch and if I get a haze problem I will attack it then to see what happens. It is pretty clear today when I transferred into my primary and I was squeezing the cranberries till they are like mush..... lets hope they stay clear.

I am leaving to see family this evening, but will hopefully get a good picture of this in the primary for you to see sometime in the next couple days. I will say that boiling the fruit REALLY brings out a very deep red color. It is even more noticeable next to the batch of cranberry dragons blood that I also started....

Thank you all for your comments and happy vinting.....
-Brian

 

[vernsgal]

Looks good Brian! It's also why these monthly 1 gal wines are great! and most of us go off the beaten path to try new. I love the flavor you get with the raisons and cranberries and with the orange this should be awesome!

 

[Stressbaby]

Racked the Costa Rican Hibiscus wine today.
Normally my hibiscus wine clears very quickly but no sign of clearing yet.

 

[buckhorn]

Cranberry-Sweetie wine, 36-hours

Here are the pics of my monthly batches just under 36 hours after pitching the yeast. The first is my batch of Cranberry Dragons Blood. The second picture is the Cranberry-Sweetie wine. As you can see the yeasties seem to have started sooner in the DB than the wine batch (I split a pkg of Montrechet between these 2 gallons). The pictures do not show the color difference as well as in person, but the wine is a MUCH deeper/darker red than the DB. I am assuming this is due to boiling the wine's fruit at the start rather than just mixing it into the cooler liquid of the DB.

 

[the_rayway]

Racked the Costa Rican Hibiscus wine today.
Normally my hibiscus wine clears very quickly but no sign of clearing yet.

Any issues with the thick gelatin stuff? Or does it seem ok?

 

[Stressbaby]

No issues. Looks normal though still bubbling.

 

[Stressbaby]

Here are the pics of my monthly batches just under 36 hours after pitching the yeast. The first is my batch of Cranberry Dragons Blood. The second picture is the Cranberry-Sweetie wine. As you can see the yeasties seem to have started sooner in the DB than the wine batch (I split a pkg of Montrechet between these 2 gallons). The pictures do not show the color difference as well as in person, but the wine is a MUCH deeper/darker red than the DB. I am assuming this is due to boiling the wine's fruit at the start rather than just mixing it into the cooler liquid of the DB.

Did you get a pH on the cranberry-cutie? I see it has acid blend. 1.5g is what, 1/4-1/2tsp? That isn't much but I've read cranberry can be pretty acidic just on its own. The color of both batches looks great to me. I will be interested in whether there is enough orange. You can always add some rind in the secondary if it is too light on orange.

Keep us posted. Thanks!

 

[Jericurl]

I finally gave up on receiving my vanilla beans. My Werther's are dissolved and I'm bringing the whole mess to a boil on the stove now.
And I do mean mess. They dissolve into the water easily enough, but it is an oily, greasy caramel colored water.
6 bags of Werther's @ 5.5 oz per bag. 30 candies per bag, minus one or two for quality control checks.
I added about 1 lb of sugar to a little over a gallon of water and bumped my gravity up to 1.085.

I think I will add oak chips and a vanilla bean during some point in secondary, if I receive the beans on time.

 

[the_rayway]

Oh boo for your beans! I wonder if it's the season holding them up?

I can't wait to see how this comes along!

 

[buckhorn]

I did not get a pH -- honestly acid test/pH is a step beyond my learning right now.... I am starting to read on it and wrap my mind around what I need (and what numbers I need to shoot for.)
By my measurements 1.5 g is just under 1/2 tsp -- I used a scale to measure this out.

I thought about squeezing the clementines and adding the juice - but decided to just go with the peel and ate the clementines instead. If I need more orange flavor, I will add it later and/or make a note for the next batch.

I just checked these batches when I got home from work and the DB has lost the full mat of yeasties that it had when I left this morning, but is still crackling with fermentation. The Cran-Cutie has not formed a mat, but I can see the tiny bubbles in the wine and can hear it plainly - so it is working along too.
The smell of both of them is still wonderful and reminds me of my grandmothers cranberry relish from holiday dinner

 

[Jericurl]

Raelene,

I'm sure it's just the season.
I really couldn't wait much longer. This is usually a pretty busy season for us at work and between that and personal life, today and tomorrow is pretty much all the free time I'll be getting before 2014.

Geez, I can't believe I'm actually typing 2014.
I wonder if the people who wrote 1914 felt the same way I do right now.

 

[Winenoob66]

lol in 1914 a lot of them didn't know how to write

 

[the_rayway]

Raelene,

I'm sure it's just the season.
I really couldn't wait much longer. This is usually a pretty busy season for us at work and between that and personal life, today and tomorrow is pretty much all the free time I'll be getting before 2014.

Geez, I can't believe I'm actually typing 2014.
I wonder if the people who wrote 1914 felt the same way I do right now.

My Granny, born in the late 1800's, would have been working on her second child at 17 years old in 1914.

Don't worry about the vanilla - lots of people say it does better in the secondary anyways. More alcohol to extract the flavour, and less active fermentation that would blow off the flavour/aroma.

 

[Stressbaby]

Looking for feedback on January WotM options.

Option1: Hibiscitrus (Hibiscus/Kumquat)
I have a fair batch of Nagami kumquats ripening. It would go roughly like this:
2oz hibiscus flowers
~1# kumquats
1 can Welch's grape concentrate (white or other?)
1/4tsp tannin
Acid blend as needed
1tsp pectic
1tsp yeast nutrient divided

Thinly slice the kumquats, removing seeds. Reserve juices. Put slices and juice in primary. Put hibiscus flowers in mesh bag. Boil water and dissolve sugar. Pour over flowers into primary. When cool, remove flower bag, add pectic, and add tannin. After 12 hours, adjust sugar and acid as needed, pitch yeast. Usual care thereafter.

Option 2: Apple cider wine
I got this from a relative. Looking for some inspiration. Ideas?

Edited to say 1) Merry Christmas and 2) check this out: http://www.kitchendaily.com/recipe/chai-cider

 

[Stressbaby]

OK, this would be an interesting version of number two above, based on the link.

Chai Cider Wine
1 32oz Williams Sonoma apple cider concentrate
~50g fresh chopped ginger root
~1# kumquats, thinly sliced, reserving juice
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
? peppercorns
1t pectic
1/8 tsp tannin
1t nutrient, divided
2# brown sugar.

Bring 2c water to boil and add ginger. Simmer 30min, then strain into primary. Add kumquats and reserved juice. Put spices in small mesh bag and add to primary. Add cider. Boil remaining water and dissolve sugar. Add to primary. When cool, add 1 campden tablet and tannin. Wait 12 hours. Add pectic. Wait 12 hours and pitch yeast. Usual care thereafter.

Thoughts?

 

[Winenoob66]

the peppercorns just seem to be out of place there to me