May 2014 Wine of the Month Club

I can't believe it's already May!

For some of us, spring has sprung and we are well on our way to summer.
For others, there is still snow on the ground, and still others, far, far, away, summer is winding down.
But no matter where we live on this rock, we have all been brought together by our love of wine...making it, drinking it, babying it....

If this is your first time seeing one of these threads, welcome!
This is our official May 2014 Wine of the Month Club thread.

This is open for anyone to join, at any time in May, by making a 1 gallon experimental batch.

Post your recipe, and all the steps you do. We love pictures, so any you take will be greatly appreciated. We hope that at the end of the month you will give us a breakdown on what you learned, what you could have done better, and what you did right.
I will post a summary of who participated and wine type in the beginning post.
Then we move on to the next month's club.

In May 2015, we will all take our May 2014 experiment out for a spin and post our results in this thread. Of course, you don't have to wait until May of next year, but we like to give all of these wines a chance to grow up a bit. If yours turns out great, post it in the recipes section.
If not, feel free to open up and discuss what happened.
Remember, we are all learning and this is just one way to do it and have a little fun at the same time.


Participants:

1. Buffalofrenchy .....Peach and White Grape (with real peaches)
2. Winesleeper..... Green Chile Wine
3. Jericurl.....Petunia Wine
4. Jericurl.....Lemon Blossom Wine
5. Medic8106.....Dandelion Wine
6. Stonecreek.....Loquat wine
7. Stonecreek.....Chocolate Blackberry
8. Stressbaby.....Pomegranate-Fig
9. Aryoung1980...Dandelion Wine

Good turnout for May guys. Can't wait to taste/hear about these wines in May 2015.

Is it May already? I 'May' sit this one out. I am out of town more than in town this month and just won't be able to tend it. On the other hand... there is some really nice fruit out there in the grocery store.

Same here, will have to sit May out as I will be on vacation for a couple of weeks. Right now, just trying to get things bottled, racked, etc. so all will be well while I am gone.

June, its back on like Donkey Kong.

May!!! And thanks Jeri for getting this going!

What to make? I've been considering doing another port, or perhaps a Skeeter Pee version of my Orange Creamsicle. Ooooh, or maybe Rhubarb if mine comes up quick enough - Rhubarb Champagne? Something with Vanilla? Rhubarb Vanilla? Cantaloupe Vanilla?

Decisions, decisions...

All of these sound good.
I always wanted to try to turn white grape peach juice into wine. I am afraid that the peach will be too faint. What should I add to enhance the flavor? fresh peach cleaned and depitted in a mesh bag? would 1 or 2 lbs enough for 1 gal? also will there be enough body in the wine - I d like to keep it light-med. Should it be okay as is with the juice and fresh peaches or should I add some raisins as well for light-med body?
Thanks for the advice.

If it were me, I would probably use 3 or 4 lbs of peaches, depitted and sliced thinly. I'd place it in a mesh bag and pour boiling water over it.

I googled a few recipes for peach wine and they all say they need something to boost the body.
I'd either use several very ripe bananas or I would add some of the Welch's White Peach frozen concentrate. Don't forget to make your primary just a bit over 1 gallon so that when you rack you aren't too short.

Glad to have you join us!

I believe someone did a similar wine for the first welches competition. Every time he racked, he topped up with pure white grape peach concentrate - it helped both to up the flavour profile and with body. (50 ways to skin a cat!)

Digging in the freezer and found a small zip lock of hatch green chili’s that I missed this winter. So I’m thinking about using them in the wine for May. But, I have a few questions first. Will they ruin my plastic primary fermentation bucket? I plan on using a knee high that a “lizard could wear” and not my strainer bag. I have been looking at the capsicumel (2) recipe on the Jack Keller website. Has anybody used this and have any comments or suggestions?

I did a Hot Pepper wine for the November WOTM: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/november-2013-wine-month-club-42000/

Has turned out fantastic. I'm using it for mostly cooking though.

I made an Apple/Jalapeno wine that turned out pretty good. It is a drinker, not a marinade'er. Backsweetened slighty.

My plastic primary did take a bit to get the smell/heat out of from the jalapenos but I have used it numerous times since with no off smells/tastes.

Peach and white grape underway...

I don't know how you didn't eat those peaches!

I would have probably eaten half, then decided there wasn't enough for wine and made a pie instead.
They look delicious.

Welch's Green Chile Wine

Here is my plan for one gallon:

(4) Cans (11.5 oz) Welch’s 100% white grape juice frozen concentrate
(6) Large Roasted Hatch Green Chile
White sugar for a SG of 1.090
1/16 tsp potassium metabisulphate
2 tsp acid blend
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
½ tsp yeast energizer
Spring water to start with 1 1/4 gallons total, due to racking loss
1 packet EC1118 yeast
½ tsp potassium sorbate (Stabilizing)
1/16 tsp potassium metabisulite (Stabilizing)
1 tsp sparkolloid (Clarifier)

Will post some pictures when I get started.

Sounds like a good plan.

I'll have to wait until the fall to make green chile wine.
I mentioned it in passing the other day and Manthing just about had a stroke.
You know, because we only have a few pounds of them left in the freezer.....

May wine is underway.

I think I'll call it "April Showers Bring May Flowers" wine.
Nah, too long.

Ok, here's what I'm doing.

I bought wine concentrate from this place.
They send a 1/2 gallon of the concentrate and it makes 5 gallons of wine.
I chose to use gewurtztraminer. I think the tones found in that wine will pair very nicely with florals.

Ok, I mixed the concentrate with water and enough sugar to get the starting gravity to 1.10.
I've added 1 tsp of clay and 1 T of pectic enzyme.

I'm loosely following the instructions given here. Once my gravity hits 1.03, I plan on stirring it up, lees and all and siphoning 3 gallons into a carboy. I will split the remaining two gallons, one will be siphoned on top of approx a pint of frozen lemon blossoms. The other will be siphoned onto 4 cups of frozen petunia blossoms. I hope both will be enough to add a nice complement to the gewurtztraminer.

eta: I can't decide on the yeast. I'm leaning towards Cote des Blancs or D47. I've several others if anyone has a suggestion.

eta2: Ok, pitched the Cote des Blancs on 05/06/14. Let's get this baby going.

Lookin' good everyone!

Jeri - petunias, edible? I've never heard of anyone eating them. If they are, that's fantastic! We have so many at the house in the summer.

...hmmmm...

They are edible!

I had them once in a fancy pants salad years ago.

I googled for a petunia
wine recipe a while back. I didn't find a recipe but I did come across a winery that makes a petunia wine every year.

I grow these guys in my garden every year.
They smell amazing.

Jeri,
Wow, that looks very interesting. Looking forward to seeing how the petunia works out.

Also interested in how your flavor is. I was just running numbers through my head and thought about how I use 4 cans (Welchs 11.5oz.) concentrate for a gallon of wine. And I believe Vintners Harvest sells 1 gallon concentrates that you can make either a 3 gallon or 5 gallon batch. With yours, that is only 64oz. for 5 gallons, I am curious to see if the concentrates are different, or what.

Wow Jeri, that is a big project. Not just one wine, but 3. I bought a peach concentrate from Homewinery in January and haven't made it yet. I hear they make some really good stuff.
I can't wait to see what those purple flowers do to the color. They are so deep purple.
I thought about asking you which of the wild flowers in Texas are edible. I have a field behind my house that has loads of different varieties. I found this site and it has an amazing amount of information. Written for the botany challenged, like me.

http://www.foragingtexas.com/

DJ,

It will be interesting to see how the flavor translates.
I haven't been able to find a ton of reviews on those concentrates, but what I have found has all been good. It was pretty thick and dark colored so maybe it's some kind of super concentrate or something?

Lori,
I hear you on that! I'm trying to convince Manthing to take a drive so I can look for cactus blossoms.
If I can find any, that will definitely be my June wine! Texas has quite a few wild edibles.