Pepper wine thoughts, please!

[BigDaveK]

It's funny - this year "garden planning" immediately leads to "wine planning"!

I was very happy with my ground cherry wine last year and will increase the number of plants. I'll be growing litchi tomatoes for the first time - not a litchi, not a tomato, but a fruit that can be used for mock cherry pies. Sounds interesting!

But I'm mostly a pepperhead. Most of my peppers are fermented or dehydrated and this year I hope to add a 3rd use. The Black Hungarian is interesting because at first it's very sweet then 2 seconds later the heat hits. Corbaci's are delicious and very sweet, zero heat. The Aleppo has great pepper flavor and a mild spicy heat. Those are my preliminary wine candidates. Oh, and I'll have to do one with trinidad scorpion for shitsNgiggles - possibly undrinkable but maybe a cooking wine....or stain remover....or critter repellent.

So I'm planning to hit the whole scale from super sweet to super hot. I found some old threads but I was wondering if the current crop of members have any experience, thoughts, or opinions. Right now I'm more interested in pure pepper wine, learning the flavor profile, possibly adding peppers to batches in the future. Yippee, another multi-year project!
Thanks in advance!


Funny side note - I did a google search for "cabbage wine recipe" and got ZERO results. Must be a reason for that.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

well kept Japanese Secret.

https://japantoday.com/category/fea...f-vegetables-with-cabbage-wine-from-yamanashi
probably goes well with kielbasa

i would drink cabbage before peppers I think.

 

[Rice_Guy]

We have had pepper wine at vinters club meetings. The basic wine was green bell peppers, some other variety of pepper and a few percentage of a hot pepper. ,,, Fermaid and acid were added since peppers are low on both.
Tasting; The aromatics were intense green pepper, color was straw. In fermentation the sugar level goes away so that is something that you need to adjust. The heat was adjusted at a level where it was drinkable but he had some left in the bottle by the end of the meeting, ,,, that noted if it is for you exclusively put the heat where you do in your home cooking.

There is a commercial variation which I have had which was served at the tasting room with tomato juice. That one probably was a white grape backbone with a few percentage pepper for target heat level.

 

[VinesnBines]

I make a jalapeño wine. The first batch was best for cooking. The most recent was topped with a significant amount of Chardonnay and is a great sipper. Only need 8 to 16 peppers per gallon. I’ll post my recipe when I get home tomorrow.

 

[BigDaveK]

well kept Japanese Secret.

probably goes well with kielbasa

i would drink cabbage before peppers I think.

Fantastic! Thanks! Maybe I WILL try it. I think I would use red cabbage. Tastes sweeter to me. Made some sauerkraut with it a couple years ago and now it's my favorite.

Oh, and I have a boatload of kielbasa

 

[BigDaveK]

I make a jalapeño wine. The first batch was best for cooking. The most recent was topped with a significant amount of Chardonnay and is a great sipper. Only need 8 to 16 peppers per gallon. I’ll post my recipe when I get home tomorrow.

Fantastic! I'd love to see your recipe!! That's months away, unfortunately. Just did the indoor seed thing last week.

Each year I plant about a dozen pepper varieties and each year there are fewer and fewer jalapenos. So many others WOW me.

 

[winemanden]

One of the tricks from years ago was adding a few drops of tincture of capsicum to home made liqueurs to give the impression of higher alcohol.

 

[CortneyD]

It's funny - this year "garden planning" immediately leads to "wine planning"!

I was very happy with my ground cherry wine last year and will increase the number of plants. I'll be growing litchi tomatoes for the first time - not a litchi, not a tomato, but a fruit that can be used for mock cherry pies. Sounds interesting!

Would you be willing to share that ground cherry recipe? They grow really well here but are such a pain to mess with for jams and jellies- but the flavor is amazing. I'd LOVE to try to make a batch of wine.

I grew a litchi tomato last year but it got neglected and I didn't get any fruit off it, be prepared though because they are THORNY! I'm going to try again this year!

 

[VinesnBines]

I freeze my peppers so I have a supply for wine making. I hope my ground cherries do well too. I’d love the wine recipe.

 

[VinesnBines]

Here is my recipe for one gallon
16 Jalapeno peppers - seeds removed and chopped
1 lb golden raisins
12 ounces limeade frozen concentrate
1 1/2 to 2 lbs sugar - my last batch sg was 1.082
1 1/2 tsp acid blend
kmeta - either one campden or kmetta equiv.
3/4 to 1 tsp tsp yeast nutrient (Fermaid K after 1/3 sugar depleted)
1/2 tsp peptic enzyme
water to one gallon
EC 1118
I mixed everything except the peptic enzyme and yeast. After 12 hours I added the peptic enzyme ad 12 hours later pitched the yeast.

With my 2020 batch, I overshot the sg and had to add more water. The ferment was more like 3 gallons After racking the second time at the three month mark, I added 2 1/2 bottles of Chardonnay. I bottled after bulk aging one year. I like the milder blend with the Chardonnay. You need to figure out how hot you want the wine. I expect this would blend nicely with a tomato wine. I may play with that blend when I bottle my tomato wine.

 

[BigDaveK]

Would you be willing to share that ground cherry recipe? They grow really well here but are such a pain to mess with for jams and jellies- but the flavor is amazing. I'd LOVE to try to make a batch of wine.

I grew a litchi tomato last year but it got neglected and I didn't get any fruit off it, be prepared though because they are THORNY! I'm going to try again this year!

I'd be glad to, Cortney! I have a busy day ahead so it may not be until late or tomorrow AM. As I recall it's based on a recipe for gooseberry. They're kinda sorta close.

Yeah, the ground cherries are definitely a pain. Prepping them is certainly no fun. But this year I have skeeter pee - maybe that will help!!??

I'm excited about the litchi tomato. I've read they can become small trees so my plan is to pot at least one and over-winter in the house. And I'm very familiar with thorns. My gooseberries are deadly.

 

[BigDaveK]

Here is my recipe for one gallon
16 Jalapeno peppers - seeds removed and chopped
1 lb golden raisins
12 ounces limeade frozen concentrate
1 1/2 to 2 lbs sugar - my last batch sg was 1.082
1 1/2 tsp acid blend
kmeta - either one campden or kmetta equiv.
3/4 to 1 tsp tsp yeast nutrient (Fermaid K after 1/3 sugar depleted)
1/2 tsp peptic enzyme
water to one gallon
EC 1118
I mixed everything except the peptic enzyme and yeast. After 12 hours I added the peptic enzyme ad 12 hours later pitched the yeast.

With my 2020 batch, I overshot the sg and had to add more water. The ferment was more like 3 gallons After racking the second time at the three month mark, I added 2 1/2 bottles of Chardonnay. I bottled after bulk aging one year. I like the milder blend with the Chardonnay. You need to figure out how hot you want the wine. I expect this would blend nicely with a tomato wine. I may play with that blend when I bottle my tomato wine.

Fantastic!! Thank you very much. Copied, printed, in the wine binder!!

 

[BigDaveK]

I freeze my peppers so I have a supply for wine making. I hope my ground cherries do well too. I’d love the wine recipe.

I've never tried freezing peppers. Up to now I've been fermenting them. Many I'll eat like that, some I'll blend into a variety of hot sauces.

I also dehydrate a bunch and grind them just before use. The flavor of freshly ground pepper is outstanding!

 

[BigDaveK]

I wasn't sure I'd get this out today. I'm one of those that doesn't like spring only because I have 3-4 weeks of grunt work around the property just to get ready for everything else. But here it is, @CortneyD and @VinesnBines, the ground cherry recipe. Personally, I freeze my fruit and ground cherries freeze very well!

The recipe and what I did:

2 1/2 pounds ground cherries (I used 3#, might increase 25-50% next time)
2 1/4 pound sugar or until SG 1.1
1 tsp nutrient
1 Campden tablet
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
water to 1 gallon (I went to 1 1/4 ish)
yeast suggestion D47 (I used 71B because that's what I had.)

Age for 6 months or more after bottling.

I left out some of the details. Standard stuff - wait 24 hours to add yeast, regular racking regimen, blah blah blah. You know how to make wine.

Mine was in the basement, steady temp about 68 F, and finished around SG .992.

It was a test and my third batch of wine ever (after apple and pear). My goal this year is 3 gal but more would be fine by me!

 

[CortneyD]

Thanks @BigDaveK !

 

[VinesnBines]

Yes! Thanks! Now I need the darn things to produce enough for wine.

 

[SeniorHobby]

I've never tried freezing peppers. Up to now I've been fermenting them. Many I'll eat like that, some I'll blend into a variety of hot sauces.

I also dehydrate a bunch and grind them just before use. The flavor of freshly ground pepper is outstanding!

Hi BigDaveK,
I clean the peppers, slice them, freeze them on cookie sheets till frozen, then use a spatula to peel them off, freeze them in baggies. I cut them up while still frozen and throw them into omelets or scrambled eggs. This past year was the first time I tried it, with hesitation. Now I plan on doing it every year! Works great!

 

[BigDaveK]

Yes! Thanks! Now I need the darn things to produce enough for wine.

You're welcome! I'm so glad they freeze well. There's never enough ripe all at once but they sure do produce all season long. My seeds are in the mix. I'm doing six plants this year, doubling last year's three. Still time to bump it to nine plants. Hmm..

 

[BigDaveK]

Hi BigDaveK,
I clean the peppers, slice them, freeze them on cookie sheets till frozen, then use a spatula to peel them off, freeze them in baggies. I cut them up while still frozen and throw them into omelets or scrambled eggs. This past year was the first time I tried it, with hesitation. Now I plan on doing it every year! Works great!

To be honest I never even thought about freezing them. I can see the advantages, for sure! I'll have to try it this year.

 

[BigDaveK]

Thanks @BigDaveK !

You're welcome!