March 2014 Wine of the Month Club

[the_rayway]

@jericurl Lol! I know! Every time I see that label it starts playing in my head

 

[the_rayway]

Finishing this one up in preparation for bottling! I added invert sugar to S.G. 1.010, 1 tsp of homemade vanilla, sorbate, and sulphite.

This is going to be AWESOME. I very seldom keep the sample bit to sip on after adjusting and before bottling, and I had to have this one. I'll keep it to the side for a couple of weeks, to make sure it's not re-fermenting, and will bottle it.

 

[the_rayway]

Bottled last night! Got exactly 6x750mL bottles plus a glass.

I'll take pics once I've got it labeled. I'm really excited about this one and can't wait to 'officially' crack a bottle open. I guess that will be next month!?! Lol. Wow, a year already.

 

[the_rayway]

I cracked a bottle of this Tart Cherry last night.

Taste: it was smooth (at 13% that's awesome!), slightly sweet, with a hint of cherry. Vanilla at the back of the throat.

I found it to be a bit flabby. Somehow with my early wines, I over-adjusted for the extremely acidic fruit I have to use and it comes out flat! Who knew. I'll start doing more acid adjustments post ferment I think. If this had a bit more acid the cherry would have really popped. So...note to self for next time. I would also go far heavier on the fruit, because tart cherries are awesome!

Other than the lack of zing, I'm fairly happy with this wine. There are no off flavours, the vanilla supports the cherry without being too vanilla-y. The mouth feel is lovely: not to thin, and not thick. I drank this warm, as I sometimes find that when I chill a wine it disguises the imperfections - and it was lovely.