Hot pepper wines

[Vitis]

Hi folks,

Last year I made a few hot chili pepper wines. They included a jalapeño wine (jack keller's recipe), an apple-jalapeno wine, and a pineapple-habenaro wine. The straight jalapeño wine was extremely hot and didn't have much flavor....it makes an excellent bloody mary in place of vodka but isn't really drinkable straight. Probably not really worth making again in my opinion. The apple-jalapeno is pretty good and is hot but quite drinkable. Unfortunately, I don't really think I like apple wine all that much. However, the pineapple-habenaro is (was) fantastic. I only made one gallon and I really struggled to even let one bottle age for six months! I'm definitely going to make 3 gallons this year.

I grow a lot of hot chili peppers, and this year looks like it is going to be a great year. So I'm looking for ideas for some experimental batches, particularly if you have used them in combination with fruits. Banana - Sante Fe sounds like it might have potential?

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I enjoy a hot spiced wine - either for sipping or cooking

Try catawba wine , or any white wine that is lite in taste. i will typically make jalapeño wine straight

 

[Julie]

My last batch of hot pepper wine I made was with raspberry, turned out pretty good.

 

[the_rayway]

I did an apple habanero and it's wicked hot. Great for cooking/marinating and warm up shots in the winter.

I like the idea of a pineapple-hab or apricot-hab wine. My apricot-habanero salsa is a hit with all hot and spicy food lovers.

 

[mikewatkins727]

Jalapeño wine

Last year made a gallon of Jalapeño wine. Good for sipping on a cold winter's night or great for cooking with, which wife does. It was such a big hit I am making 3 gallons this year. Use about 1 lb of peppers per gallon. Peppers are just about ready to harvest from my garden this year. I control the heat by the amount of seeds I use.

 

[Vitis]

Thanks folks! Apricot with some heat sounds particularly interesting, and I have some raspberries in the fridge so I will try that as well. Catawba or something like it would also probably be good. Lots of habaneros, sante fe, Hungarian hot wax, jalapeños, thai, and cayennes coming along in the garden. Looking forward to some 1-gallon experiments in another month, and I will definitely be scaling up the habanero-pineapple recipe from last year.

This was my habanero-pineapple recipe in case you are interested:

1-gallon batch

~3.5 quarts Libby's Pineapple Juice
1 Welch's frozen white grape concentrate
2 bananas (1 with skin)
3 red, fully ripe, seeded Habaneros
1.25 cups sugar
0.75 tsp acid blend
1 tsp pectin enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Lavin 1118

Starting pH: 3.5
SG: 1.088, FG 0.994

Sorbate, and back sweetened with 5 tsp sugar.

 

[Rodnboro]

I've made a Vidalia Onion/Jalapeño that was a good marinade and cooking wine.

 

[bein_bein]

I've made 3 type of hot pepper wine. The tamest is my Dragon's breath, a 3 gal pineapple/applejuicehot pepper blend. A total of 7 peppers:
1 – Hungarian Wax 1 – Habanero 1 – Jalapeno 1 – Serrano Del Sol 3 - Chili Peppers Oaked on red American for 2 months. Made it in 2012, bottled this spring (been sitting in the carboy) It is fantastic. Lite citrus with earthy tones and just a little bit of heat.
My other two, hot pepper wines were 1 gal batches of just sugar and raisins:
Dragon's Tooth
4 – Hungarian Wax 4 – Habanero 4 – Jalapeno 4 – Serrano Del Sol 10 - Chili Peppers
and Dragon's Fire
10 – Hungarian Wax 10 – Habanero 10 – Jalapeno 10 – Serrano Del Sol 20 - Chili Peppers The "Tooth' and 'Fire' are still in the carboy. They actually taste pretty good, got a LOT of heat to them. Plan is to bottle them in the little bottles (*correction* 4 oz) to use for cooking....just haven't got that far yet

 

[Vitis]

Wow, those sound hot!

 

[Vitis]

Started this a couple days ago, and it smells delicious already and I'll probably need to move it to a carboy tonight....a very fast fermentation. Looks like I'll get about 3 gallons:

Peach-habanero wine

60 peaches (I estimated about 20 pounds)
7 bananas
1 can white grape welches
6 large, seeded habaneros
Enough water to bring to about 3.5 gallons (didn't need much, maybe half gallon)
Sugar to SG 1.086
5 tsp acid blend
3 tsp Pectin enzyme
3 tsp yeast nutrient (half at 50% depletion, which was in 24 hours)
.25 tsp wine tannin
2 tsp bentonite
Montrachet yeast

 

[Vitis]

Hi folks,

Thought I'd update this thread. I racked the peach-habanero wine a week ago, and it is coming along nicely. Peach taste is very forward followed by mild heat. This one is going to be good.

I also ended up making a 3-gallon batch of pineapple-habanero, based loosely on the 1 gallon recipe I used last year, but incorporating actual fruit in addition to juice:

2.5 gallons Libby's pineapple juice
6 chopped pineapples
1 welches white grape concentrate
6 bananas (3 with skins)
7 seeded orange habaneros (3 additional added in secondary)
Sugar to 1.092 sg
2.5 tsp acid blend (to pH of 3.4)
2 tsp Pectic enzyme
3 tsp nutrient (half at 50% depletion)
0.25 tsp wine tannin
2 tsp bentonite

The three additional habaneros were added in secondary because the heat was very low. When I racked out of secondary it had a bit more heat, likely similar to the peach. Very drinkable. Can't wait for this to age a bit.

I still have lots of peppers in the freezer, and just ordered some apricot concentrate from home winery.com....so that will be the next experiment.

 

[ffemt128]

Last Jalapeno Pepper wine I made I used Niagra as a base and fermented 10 peppers per gallon. This year I have the Niagra fermenting now and will add peppers later and just let them infuse into the Niagra. I did have a Mango-Habenero Mead a few months ago that was quite nice..

 

[Vitis]

Update: Bottled the habanero-pineapple a couple days ago, and it is absolutely fantastic. The pineapple is forward and is followed by a medium heat. Doesn't need any sweetening, as it is delicious dry. Absolutely a drinking wine not a cooking wine - hopefully a few bottles make it to the 1-year mark, but I suspect it will all be gone by summer.

The peach is still hazy, so it will likely need to sit in the carboy for some time.

 

[mike_d]

Update: Bottled the habanero-pineapple a couple days ago, and it is absolutely fantastic. The pineapple is forward and is followed by a medium heat. Doesn't need any sweetening, as it is delicious dry. Absolutely a drinking wine not a cooking wine - hopefully a few bottles make it to the 1-year mark, but I suspect it will all be gone by summer.

The peach is still hazy, so it will likely need to sit in the carboy for some time.

Thanks for the update. Pineapple/Hab sounds fantastic. Will likely give that a try myself.

 

[Double Daylo]

Update: Bottled the habanero-pineapple a couple days ago, and it is absolutely fantastic. The pineapple is forward and is followed by a medium heat. Doesn't need any sweetening, as it is delicious dry. Absolutely a drinking wine not a cooking wine - hopefully a few bottles make it to the 1-year mark, but I suspect it will all be gone by summer.

The peach is still hazy, so it will likely need to sit in the carboy for some time.

Will definitely be trying this very soon. Do you have any issues with the habanero heat/flavor carrying over to the next batch you put in that fermenter or car boys? I use stainless fermenters and glass car boys and am worried about the flavor not coming all the way out for some reason and it effecting the taste of the next batch I do in there.

 

[Vitis]

I have not had any problems with this. I do primary in plastic bucket and secondary/aging in glass carboy. I just wash well.

 

[SHawkes]

However, the pineapple-habenaro is (was) fantastic.

Vitis-
Would you be willing to post the recipe you used?

 

[SHawkes]

Hi folks,

Thought I'd update this thread. I racked the peach-habanero wine a week ago, and it is coming along nicely. Peach taste is very forward followed by mild heat. This one is going to be good.

I also ended up making a 3-gallon batch of pineapple-habanero, based loosely on the 1 gallon recipe I used last year, but incorporating actual fruit in addition to juice:

2.5 gallons Libby's pineapple juice
6 chopped pineapples
1 welches white grape concentrate
6 bananas (3 with skins)
7 seeded orange habaneros (3 additional added in secondary)
Sugar to 1.092 sg
2.5 tsp acid blend (to pH of 3.4)
2 tsp Pectic enzyme
3 tsp nutrient (half at 50% depletion)
0.25 tsp wine tannin
2 tsp bentonite

The three additional habaneros were added in secondary because the heat was very low. When I racked out of secondary it had a bit more heat, likely similar to the peach. Very drinkable. Can't wait for this to age a bit.

I still have lots of peppers in the freezer, and just ordered some apricot concentrate from home winery.com....so that will be the next experiment.

 

[SHawkes]

I asked for this earlier not realizing you posted it. Did you use the pineapple skin? Thanks!

 

[RichardC]

I feel like a lightweight feeling the heat from 3 peppers in 4 gallons wine! Lol. When dumping sediment down the drain after racking, I'm coughing and sneezing from pepper fumes! Combination was about 3lbs ginger and 3 hot peppers ( not scorpian but, still hot).

It's taking it's dear time to clear.