Shhhhhhh Wade! Gina keeps bugging me about a solar cover...lol. In retrospect, it would have been nice. Maybe we'll get one in the fall to extend the swimming season. But first the Med Cruise (July for26th anniversary), then my daughter's wedding (August). If I have a few dollars left (doubt it), I'll think about a solar cover. But fall is wine kit season too!
NW, I'm so jealous that you can grow such a variety of berries. Your post about aronia berries was intriguing. I wish you a very fruit-full growing season, and I can't wait to hear about the wines you make from your harvest.
With all the talk about black currant wine, I had to make my own batch, so I ordered a can of VH from George, and made 4 gallons. Added a bottle of WE red grape concentrate to the recipe. Hopefully this will turn out good. Secondary fermentation is done; I'll probably rack it off the lees this weekend. I've also ordered some oak spirals, but I'm not sure yet if I want to oak it.
As Appleman predicted, my original 1-gal strawberry batch began to drop sediment not long after I bottled it.
So I decided to try again. While in San Diego last week I bought a big bunch of the ripest, reddist strawberries I've ever seen and started another, larger batch of wine this time. Ended up with just over 4 gallons and 1.090 SG. Overshot my mark a bit, but with the intense color and strawberry aroma, I may be able to dilute the wine a bit. I used Montrachet yeast, and it fermented like wildfire. It's now in secondary. Oh, I also included some golden raisins in hope of increased body. We'll see how it turns out. I've committed to being patient this time...lol.
I don't know where the Marines will move me next, but hopefully somewhere I can grow wine grapes. Three to five years here, and we'll see. Meanwhile, I'm learning to grow things. I used to think I would retire and finda job with a defense contractor, but I'm finding that I'm happiest when I'm digging in the dirt.
