Summertime is coming - Choose Your Vino

[jgmann67]

After my first year of winemaking, I decided to make a "quick drinker" summer wine for my wife and daughters. I started with the Mist kits and have since moved on to rose wines. I shoot for something that's sweet enough that my moscato-sipping 30-something daughter will like it, but still substantial enough to put out to have with dinner.

Since everyone liked it so much, I'm doing a retread of last year's WE Washington State Sangiovese Rose kit. I don't tweak it too much. Mainly, I don't use the clarifiers. And I put half the F-Pac in the primary. When it clears, I'll drop the other half of the F-Pac in the secondary. If the wine gets much above an SG of 1.000, I will drop the sorbate/sulfite packet into the mix. Otherwise, I just leave it go. With starting it in March (really should start this one in January but I never think of it at the time), it is ready to drink around end of May or the beginning of June. Crisp, strawberry and red raspberry flavors. It's usually gone before Thanksgiving.

What are your favorite summer wine kits?

 

[mainshipfred]

You got to quit buying those damn kits so you have more money for grapes and juice buckets.

I don't have a favorite summer wine. It's just what I'm in the mood for at the time, be it red, white, rose or fruit.

 

[winemaker81]

What are your favorite summer wine kits?

I'm on the same page as Fred. I drink reds regardless of ambient temperature, which is how I drink coffee (black-n-bitter). My mood and what's for dinner are my biggest factors, e.g., we're eating haddock so I snag a Vouvray or a Sauvignon Blanc.

All that said, my favorite Fun Wine was a Pomegranate/Zinfandel. I chaptalized it to ~11% ABV but otherwise made it to spec. That year I also made a Apple/Riesling (same adjustment), which surprisingly lasted 7 years, as I drank it less than the Pom/Zin. I liked it, but it wasn't something I wanted to drink a lot of.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

Huckleberry Riesling is my wife's favorite summer wine...but she does really like the WE Mist Coconut Yuzu, pineapple pear and green apple too..

 

[jgmann67]

You got to quit buying those damn kits so you have more money for grapes and juice buckets.

I don't have a favorite summer wine. It's just what I'm in the mood for at the time, be it red, white, rose or fruit.

i haven’t yet gotten the hang of wine making from grapes I’m afraid. The 2020s promise to be a decent couple of wines. And, the jury is out on my locally grown cab franc blend. But, I haven’t made a wine as good as the FWK wines yet. And that’s kind of a disappointment.

Still working on it though.

 

[winemaker81]

Still working on it though.

The hard part is getting good fruit.

 

[jgmann67]

The hard part is getting good fruit.

True.

 

[sour_grapes]

My "summer white" is whatever juice buckets I can get from our wine club in the fall! Last year it was some French/American hybrids (Seyval and Vidal). This year it is some WA state Sauv. Blanc. I also have a kit of Yakima Valley Pinot Gris almost ready to bottle.

 

[bobofthenorth]

Last summer we enjoyed having a gallon jug of white "plonk" in the fridge all the time. Usually that meant some variation of Skeeter Pee. I make several 5 gallon batches annually, ferment them to dry and then backsweeten in a variety of ways. Last year I backsweetened a batch using frozen lemonade concentrate and that turned out really well. I also bought a used Sodastream and tried carbonating some of my plonk. We enjoyed the taste but the sodastream was a complete gong show, making a huge mess every time and with inconsistent carbonation. So a couple of weeks ago I bought a beer keg carbonator and I'm really pleased with how easy it is to get good carbonation. The keg holds a little over an imperial gallon so it will easily fit in the fridge. I think it will be a great addition to our summer and it can travel with us in the trailer or boat as long as we have a cooler and ice to keep it chilled.

 

[Bmd2k1]

Made a Zinfandel Rose´ last summer that was a hit by itself or as a spritzer on the rocks w/Sprite. I've got a just bottled Chardonnay & a to be bottled next Monday Viognier...that will be enjoyed this summer. Just scored a RJS Orchard Breezin BlackBerry Blast that I'll be doing soon...jacked up with 4lbs sugar to increase ABV (per recommendations from others).

I also make hard ciders which are a summertime & fall fav.

Cheers ✌

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

I’m pretty sure it might be coconut wine.

 

[Neb Farmer]

I found a nice Rosata recently that I am looking forward to the warm days of summer to drink. It is a blend of Barbera (65%), Nebbiolo (25%), and Sangiovese (10%) from Cascade Cliffs Winery in Washington state.

 

[heatherd]

After my first year of winemaking, I decided to make a "quick drinker" summer wine for my wife and daughters. I started with the Mist kits and have since moved on to rose wines. I shoot for something that's sweet enough that my moscato-sipping 30-something daughter will like it, but still substantial enough to put out to have with dinner.

Since everyone liked it so much, I'm doing a retread of last year's WE Washington State Sangiovese Rose kit. I don't tweak it too much. Mainly, I don't use the clarifiers. And I put half the F-Pac in the primary. When it clears, I'll drop the other half of the F-Pac in the secondary. If the wine gets much above an SG of 1.000, I will drop the sorbate/sulfite packet into the mix. Otherwise, I just leave it go. With starting it in March (really should start this one in January but I never think of it at the time), it is ready to drink around end of May or the beginning of June. Crisp, strawberry and red raspberry flavors. It's usually gone before Thanksgiving.

What are your favorite summer wine kits?

I have made a Island Mist Lemon Sauvignon Blanc kit that I make white sangria with and really like it. I'd definitely do that one again. Also did the blood orange sangria kit and that's tasty.

 

[ceeaton]

My wife's favorite is the WE IM raspberry peach sangria with the added corn sugar and red grape pack. I think the one I have, if I ever make it, will be the fourth one. I'm holding off since she seems to drink it more often than other wines/beer and I want/need her to complete her nurses training so I can consider retiring, lol.

I normally knock back the f-pack to half like you do (directed towards @jgmann67 ).

 

[JBP]

Last summer we enjoyed having a gallon jug of white "plonk" in the fridge all the time. Usually that meant some variation of Skeeter Pee. I make several 5 gallon batches annually, ferment them to dry and then backsweeten in a variety of ways. Last year I backsweetened a batch using frozen lemonade concentrate and that turned out really well. I also bought a used Sodastream and tried carbonating some of my plonk. We enjoyed the taste but the sodastream was a complete gong show, making a huge mess every time and with inconsistent carbonation. So a couple of weeks ago I bought a beer keg carbonator and I'm really pleased with how easy it is to get good carbonation. The keg holds a little over an imperial gallon so it will easily fit in the fridge. I think it will be a great addition to our summer and it can travel with us in the trailer or boat as long as we have a cooler and ice to keep it chilled.

Probably a stupid question, but very glad this is a safe place to ask those. Can the small keg be carbonated without chilling? I have a bunch of aged cider and received a small keg (1.5g), CO2 tank etc for Christmas. My beer-brewing son told me I needed to carbonate at refrigerator temps, which I don't really have an easy system to do. Can I carbonate using the tank and regulator at room temp, put the dispensing tap on and then put in refrigerator? Any other pointers for someone who has never carbonated cider?

 

[bobofthenorth]

I'm far from an expert but my white plonk carbonated just fine sitting on the bench in my wine room. I'm very pleased with my new toy BTW. Yesterday I remembered that I have a bunch of cider that I made a couple of years ago. I think it will be great next winter with a few bubbles in it. One of my batches of cider is naturally carbonated but the non-bubbly ones will benefit from my new keg.

 

[JBP]

I'm far from an expert but my white plonk carbonated just fine sitting on the bench in my wine room. I'm very pleased with my new toy BTW. Yesterday I remembered that I have a bunch of cider that I made a couple of years ago. I think it will be great next winter with a few bubbles in it. One of my batches of cider is naturally carbonated but the non-bubbly ones will benefit from my new keg.

Thanks - always good to have some "life experience" in addition to all the research. My research had said "need to chill while carbonating." Think I will try to carbonate my cider at basement temps. And looking forward to carbonated cider on the boat dock at the cabin this summer. Might not get any work done...

 

[Boatboy24]

I need to bottle the Grenache Rose I made from grapes last fall.

I don't know that I'll make a Rose again - I just found a boxed Washington Rose at Wegmans that's $19.99 for three liters.

 

[mainshipfred]

I need to bottle the Grenache Rose I made from grapes last fall.

I don't know that I'll make a Rose again - I just found a boxed Washington Rose at Wegmans that's $19.99 for three liters.

When are you planning to bottle? I have friends coming down from Pittsburgh who want to help me bottle and I have over 300 bottles worth ready to bottle. I was hoping I could borrow your AIO on Saturday.

 

[Boatboy24]

When are you planning to bottle? I have friends coming down from Pittsburgh who want to help me bottle and I have over 300 bottles worth ready to bottle. I was hoping I could borrow your AIO on Saturday.

I've been meaning to do it for weeks - so chances are good I won't be doing it Saturday. You are welcome to the AIO - I can bring it by when I'm out and about the next day or two.