WineXpert WE Chocolate Raspberry Port

[St Allie]

WSG,

I ordered one here today anyway .. they are $130.00 NZD.. I'm impressed!! .. had expected to pay something along the lines of $200 NZD if they are so expensive in the US.

Also got two orange muscat ports for $180.. they had a buy one get one free special. We have a milestone wedding anniversary next year and would love to put my own wines on the table. A few kit wines in reserve won't hurt either.

The homemade berry port is looking good, split it into 3 x 11 litre carboys yesterday and topped one up with brandy the other two with vodka. leaving those to bulk age for a bit.

making the kiwifruit melomel tomorrow...

Allie

 

[WildSeedGrrrl]

Allie,

So you're going to try and make a chocolate raspberry port from scratch and you bought the chocolate raspberry port kit, as well? I thought about doing the same thing if only to see how well I can follow Wade's instructions.

The kit only makes about 3 gallons. I think it's the waiting three months until it's ready to age and then keeping my hands off it until christmas, that's going to break me.

I was actually considering using blueberries, because chocolate and blueberries sound delicious.

 

[Ceegar]

Everytime I go into this thread or think of this kit my mouth starts to water. It will take a lot of restraint to keep my hands off of it until it's ready. I think I'm going to order another one and do a double batch.

 

[Wade E]

The Orange Muscat is also very good and resting in my cellar!

 

[St Allie]

WSG,

Yes, going to fiddle with Wades recipe.. because I'm not sure how pure our local brand of cocoa is here, I'm adding hersheys choc syrup initially and go by taste.. I can always add an f-pac at the end with more choc syrup in it if the choc taste doesn't come through enough... Keeping records so Coll and I can compare the results. The raspberries are from my garden , so will keep costs down .. now that I have spent all my money on kits hehehe.

Blueberry chocolate sounds really yummy.. blackberry sound really nice too.. at any rate..going to have to manage my primaries really carefully this week to get everything I want started and bottled before the summer glut of apples again.. want to be better organised this year.

Grapefruit is ripening up and I have 6 large ones on the kitchen table, so trying jack kellers grapefruit wine and adding equal weight of kiwifruit in for a twist of flavour today... just a two gallon batch.

Allie

 

[Wade E]

Are you using the syrup instead of the cocoa in the beginning? What are the ingredients in the syrup?

 

[St Allie]

Wade,

Have scrutinised the supermarket shelves this morning..Found Nestle brand cocoa .. with no extra flavourings or bulking agents in it.. so that should be pretty pure. Will get the kit port started when it arrives and taste test to
see if I can get my homemade as close as possible to their consistency and flavour.. I'll note everything as I go, maybe I can come up with a recipe that mimics the kit finish, maybe it'll be crap.. It's worth a try.. will put the recipe up for others if it comes out.

So basically I'm using your recipe as a guide and also using the kit as a guide..

winemaking is a bit like alchemy...

Hersheys syrup has..( in order of most to least ingredients..)
high fructose corn syrup
corn syrup
water
cocoa (8%)
sugar
salt
emulsifier (xanthan gum E415)
vanillin
artificial flavour.

which on reflection, just sounds ghastly in wine, so am letting the kids make banana splits with it instead.

I'll use the nestle cocoa powder.

Allie

 

[Wade E]

I think thats a good choice!

 

[St Allie]

Wade,

When you made the orange muscat port, how long did you keep it bottled before it was gone? How long bottled before you started to drink it?

Allie

 

[Ceegar]

Wade,

When you made the orange muscat port, how long did you keep it bottled before it was gone? How long bottled before you started to drink it?

Allie

This one sounds good - I've been shopping for it. Best I've seen is $72 so far. If anyone knows of a place with a better price by all means please share

 

[Chateau Joe]

This one sounds good - I've been shopping for it. Best I've seen is $72 so far. If anyone knows of a place with a better price by all means please share

Spagnols makes an orange chocolate port. If you contact EJ Wrens in Liverpool they should be able to order you one.

 

[WildSeedGrrrl]

Wade,

So basically I'm using your recipe as a guide and also using the kit as a guide..

winemaking is a bit like alchemy...

Hersheys syrup has..( in order of most to least ingredients..)
high fructose corn syrup
corn syrup
water
cocoa (8%)
sugar
salt
emulsifier (xanthan gum E415)
vanillin
artificial flavour.

which on reflection, just sounds ghastly in wine, so am letting the kids make banana splits with it instead.

I'll use the nestle cocoa powder.

Allie

Allie, because some process chocolates have oils (that emulsifier) which I think you don't want in your wine, there are ways to get around it. I was searching on a homebrew site and some folks had interesting techniques to extract the chocolate and leave behind the oil solid. I'm adding the general conversation link and I'll try and find the specific technique this guy wrote about.

From what I gather baking cocoa is a good way to go.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/liquid-chocolate-extract-31132/

 

[Ceegar]

Spagnols makes an orange chocolate port. If you contact EJ Wrens in Liverpool they should be able to order you one.

I sort of had my heart set on the Muscat - plus I thought I saw where someone stated there really wasn't much of an orange flavor to the Orange Chocolate, if any at all.

 

[RCGoodin]

How much longer?

 

[cpfan]

How much longer?

Well it's been almost THREE YEARS since anybody posted in this thread.

So I'd think the wine would be pretty darn good right now. If there's any left.

Steve

 

[RCGoodin]

Hi Steve,

My question came from an earlier thread. I don't know how to cut and paste yet.

The thread mentioned adding additional time through each of the stages versus the instructions with the kit. So, I was wondering how much additional time to each stage?

 

[cpfan]

Hi Steve,

My question came from an earlier thread. I don't know how to cut and paste yet.

The thread mentioned adding additional time through each of the stages versus the instructions with the kit. So, I was wondering how much additional time to each stage?

An earlier thread? Like before June 2009?

I think you should start a new thread asking specific details of what you want to know.

Steve