New bottled wine w/labels

[pkcook]

Well, I finally got a little free time and decided to get some wine in the bottles. Here are a few photos of the wines I bottled:


Here is a picture of the group: From left to right is Peach Port (6-.750 bottles), Joe M's Ancient Orange Mead (4-.750 bottles), and Concord (12-1.5L bottles and 6-.750L bottles.

Here is a single of the Peach Port. I made this wine with Welches White Grape Peach and fortified with Peach Brandy. It is "ALL PEACH!"

Next is the Ancient Orange Mead made from bread yeast! This stuff is extremely sweet! I like the flavor, but a little dab will do ya!

The last photo is the Concord. The bridge in the photo at one time was the highest unsupported train bridge in the world. It is located on the Ky-Va border on the KY side.

All labels were made in MS Word and printed on a Color Laser Printer.

 

[Wade E]

Cool wines and labels. One of these days I'm going to try making Joe's Mead. Is it easy to make?

 

[pkcook]

Joe M's is the easiest Mead I've made to date. I couldn't see making 6 gallons of it unless I found a way to alter the sweetness. It's just toooooo sweet for my taste. The thing I liked about it was making the whole thing in the secondary jug! The smell was wonderful as well! People have tweeked the recipe by using blueberries and some have even used wine yeast, but wine yeast will likely take it dry, but backsweetening with honey to taste should be good.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Looks good, wine looks nice and clear and great labels......I can hardly wait to bottle some wines and mix up some more....this is just too much fun!!!!!

 

[kutya]

Nice labels, they look great.... What is Joe's mead??? Would you post a recipe??

 

[Waldo]

Joe Mattioli's Ancient Orange and Spice Mead
It's good stuff kutya...A little too sweet for me but good. Follow the recipe exactly. DO NOT DEVIATE !!!
Recipe for a 1 gallon batch is:
3 1/2 lbs Clover or your choice honey or blend (will finish sweet)
1 Large orange (later cut in eights or smaller rind and all)
1 small handful of raisins (25 if you count but more or less ok)
1 stick of cinnamon
1 whole clove ( or 2 if you like - these are potent critters)
optional (a pinch of nutmeg and allspice )( very small )
1 teaspoon of Fleishmann’s bread yeast ( now don't get holy on me--- after all this is an ancient mead and that's all we had back then)
Balance water to one gallon

Process:

Use a clean 1 gallon carboy

Dissolve honey in some warm water and put in carboy

Wash orange well to remove any pesticides and slice in eights --add orange (you can push em through opening big boy -- rinds included -- its ok for this mead -- take my word for it -- ignore the experts)

Put in raisins, clove, cinnamon stick, any optional ingredients and fill to 3 inches from the top with cold water. ( need room for some foam -- you can top off with more water after the first few day frenzy)

Shake the heck out of the jug with top on, of course. This is your sophisticated aeration process.

When at room temperature in your kitchen, put in 1 teaspoon of bread yeast. ( No you don't have to rehydrate it first-- the ancients didn't even have that word in their vocabulary-- just put it in and give it a gentle swirl or not)(The yeast can fight for their own territory)

Install water airlock. Put in dark place. It will start working immediately or in an hour. (Don't use grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away in the 90's)( Wait 3 hours before you panic or call me) After major foaming stops in a few days add some water and then keep your hands off of it. (Don't shake it! Don't mess with them yeastees! Let them alone except its okay to open your cabinet to smell every once in a while.

Racking --- Don't you dare
additional feeding --- NO NO
More stirring or shaking -- Your not listening, don't touch

After 2 months and maybe a few days it will slow down to a stop and clear all by itself. (How about that) (You are not so important after all) Then you can put a hose in with a small cloth filter on the end into the clear part and siphon off the golden nectar. If you wait long enough even the oranges will sink to the bottom but I never waited that long. If it is clear it is ready. You don't need a cold basement. It does better in a kitchen in the dark. (Like in a cabinet) likes a little heat (70-80). If it didn't work out... you screwed up and didn't read my instructions (or used grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away) . If it didn't work out then take up another hobby. Mead is not for you. It is too complicated.
If you were successful, which I am 99% certain you will be, then enjoy your mead. When you get ready to make different mead you will probably have to unlearn some of these practices I have taught you, but hey--- This recipe and procedure works with these ingredients so don't knock it. It was your first mead. It was my tenth. Sometimes, even the experts can forget all they know and make good ancient mead.
Edited by: Waldo

 

[PolishWineP]

Great labels! I think everyone with a Joe M mead should raise their glasses of it tonight! We could have a mead party all over the country!

 

[Fly boy]

Excellent wine and labels. Can't wait to do more myself.

 

[pkcook]

Thanks everyone,


I had so much wine in carboys that I was running out of space. I got up this morning and decided to get 1/2 of my Red Raspberry bottled and labeled. I split a 6 gallon batch into 2 each 3-gallon carboys. One, which I bottled today, I sweetened to a dessert style. My wife appreciates sweet wines and really hates dry. The other 3-gallon carboy I added some oak and will let it age for a few weeks and leave it just off dry. The acid of the Raspberry needs some sugar to offset.


Here are the bottles I did this morning:

15 bottles total and this is the best raspberry wine I have ever tasted! I made it with Oregon canned fruit and some Red Raspberry concentrate added. Here is a closeup of the labels. Silear Fiona Ireannach is Gaelic (Old Irish) for Irish Wine Cellar.

I'm down to 6-gallons of Pinot Grigio, 3-gallons of Red Raspberry, 5L of Jalapeno cooking wine, 5L of Red Plum, and 4L of Niagria left to bottle.





Edited by: pkcook

 

[OldWino1]

fantastic bottles

 

[NorthernWinos]

Looking good....can hardly wait till some wine is ready to bottle...hadn't done any for 6 months....good to be back in the grove....but waiting is so hard...
What are you going to make next???

 

[bmorosco]

The bottles look awsome ...Congrats.. I bet they taste awsome too!!

 

[pkcook]

Thanksagain,


Notsure what will be done next. I'm thinking maybe another red kit! My favorite is Shiraz, so that might be it.

 

[kutya]

PK it looks very professional.... Waldo, thanks for the recipe, I'm going to start that one over Thanks giving break...

 

[smurfe]

Nice labels, they look great.... What is Joe's mead??? Would you post a recipe??

If you look over in the Mead forum, there is a big 'ol post on Ancient Mead. Many of us have made it and quite a few have tweaked it. I did a batch with kumquats that came out better than the original recipe followed exactly. I think the next time I do it I am going to try to ferment it in a primary bucket first then rack to glass. Waldo is right, it is pretty sweet but my kumquat batch wasn't near as overwhelming as the orange batch was.


Smurfe

 

[daveb50]

pk, Great Labels.
I made a gallon of AO, it is a little sweet.
I have 5 gallons going now with D-47, I also reducedthe honey by 1/2 lb. per gallon.
Dave

 

[pkcook]

Thanks Dave,


I'm wondering how regular wine yeast would change how early the mead could be drank?


I like the thoughts of trying a lemon/lime ancient mix. I just not sure howthe spices would pair with the fruit. Edited by: pkcook