March 2014 Wine of the Month Club

[cintipam]

Wow!!! I want your freezer!

Pam in cinti

 

[kryptonitewine]

Always wanted to try a rhubarb wine. Going to plant some this year.


Jim

 

[JDesCotes]

Always wanted to try a rhubarb wine. Going to plant some this year.


Jim

I've done some reading in rhubarb wine and apparently there are some very different processes that need to be done. Rhubarb contains high levels of oxalic acid... Sites I've read say that if you juice your rhubarb and then freeze it in water bottles, the acid floats to the top and can be easily removed. Alternatively you can add chalk to neutralize the acid, but the levels required will leave a lot of sediment and a chalky taste to the wine...

Oxalic acid is some pretty nasty stuff... From tooth erosion to formation of bladder stones. Ouch.

Certainly a very good read!

 

[lickermaker]

IM trying a strawberry 4 lbs and 2 lbs sugar. One tsp pectic enzyme and 1/2 tsp alfa and glucose anyplace enzymes and 118 yeasr

 

[the_rayway]

I did a Rhubarb Berry Mead as my first country wine - it's pretty good, but it was before I learned about the whole acid-reduction thing. So I had to sweeten it quite a bit to get it 'balanced'. Still tastes awesome

I've heard Rhubarb Champagne is quite good too.

 

[cintipam]

Ok, not from personal experience, but from reading Mary's Recipe book. She cautions that Rhubarb is something that you do NOT want to leave in a fermenting bag in the must. Just freeze, thaw, press out the juice and use it. Most of the Oxalic acid is in the leaves. Mary also cautions that if you are using rhubarb from late season, when removing the leave also remove the last inch or so of the stalk as it has more oxalic acid than it does in early season rhubarb.

Yes, I grow it, and I love to just walk around eating it like a stalk of celery. Yes i have acid erosion on my teeth. But I also add Real Lemon to almost all my food and or beverages as a seasoning so I can't say it's just the rhubarb. Weird taste buds I got here.

Pam in cinti

 

[winesleeper]

Peach/Banana/Cinnamon Update

3-13-2014:
SG was <1.000 for 3 days, so I racked the wine to a glass jug and bottle. Added potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate. Next step will be to degas the wine and then add sparkolloid.

 

[Scott]

Mwahaha! I found frozen SOUR CHERRIES!!! So, naturally, I picked up 5.5 Lbs to make my March wine. I've always wanted to make sour cherry wine, as I've heard it can be amazing.

So here goes!

This is the potential recipe, I'll post what actually happens once I get all my ducks in a row:

5.5 Lbs Sour Cherries, pitted (except 1 Lb)
Sugar to S.G. 1.090 - est. 2.5Lbs
1.5 Tsp Nutrient - split
1/8 tsp tannin
1 campden tab
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
Lalvin 71B-1122 yeast (to metabolize malic acid)
1/2 oz oak chips (?)
1 vanilla bean, split (?)
1/2 Lb Raisins (?)

Wondering if I should add any/all of the last bits. Thoughts would be appreciated!

That is one of my favorite wines, just like a cherry pie in a bottle. I didn't add oak or vanilla bean though, the vanilla sounds good and let us know how it turns out.

 

[the_rayway]

That is one of my favorite wines, just like a cherry pie in a bottle. I didn't add oak or vanilla bean though, the vanilla sounds good and let us know how it turns out.

I'm really looking forward to it I will post pics soon, I swear!

 

[kryptonitewine]

I degassed my tomato wine today. I really thought this would be a red wine. The color reminds me of a strawberry wine. Flavor is interesting, but has an alcohol bite to it. I'm looking forward to adding some seasonings soon. I'm going to let it age and develop a little bit more first.

 

[lickermaker]

IM trying a strawberry 4 lbs and 2 lbs sugar. One tsp pectic enzyme and 1/2 tsp alfa and glucose anyplace enzymes and 118 yeasr

Well I have racked both into the secondary fermenters at a sg of 1.025 the raspberry is much clearer than the strawberry but it doesn't smell as good! I plan on letting then both continue in there untill i reach a sg of .99. are there any suggestions of other stuff i need to do or may not have read or learned yet? New guy so all advise greatly appreciated!

 

[the_rayway]

Hey LM,
Could you please post your whole recipe and process? I'm afraid I don't totally understand what you've got going on
Or did I miss the post with all your recipe info?

 

[x_diver]

My plantain and raisin wine is already clear as can be without having to add anything to help it along. It's dark orange like the last picture I posted but clear. Smells musky.

I made some banana and raisin wine about 6 months ago and it has a smooth taste and smells like bananas. Some people have said that it will lose the banana smell whereas others have said theirs hasn't. I am going to give mine another 6 months.


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

 

[CowboyRam]

Review of my blackberry wine so far: I decided to use Tom's blackberry recipe. With 36lbs of berry's, and 5 3/4 gallons of water I came to the conclusion that it was not all going to fit in my fermentor, so I then split the mixture up between two. I just racked to the carboy today; I ended up with one 6 gallons carboy, and two gallons jugs. I was a little shy on one of the gallon jugs, so I just added some water. I am now short one air lock. For now I just have the lid on loose until I can get another one ordered.

 

[lickermaker]

Hey LM,
Could you please post your whole recipe and process? I'm afraid I don't totally understand what you've got going on
Or did I miss the post with all your recipe info?

o.k. here goes everything. please dont laugh, I am new and asking for help!
what I sanitized everything then used five pounds of each fruit, juiced and strained through a cheesecloth bag added pectic enzyme and gluco amylace enzyme. Added water and suger to reach a sg of 1.085 and cooled then 24 hrs later I pitched 3.5 grams of 1118 yeast per gallon. then fermented out to about 1.02 in a few days so i racked them into a secondary fermenter and added some K-metabisulfite. it has been sitting in there settling out but still cloudy. and one smelled really good and one off.

 

[reefman]

3-13-2014:
SG was <1.000 for 3 days, so I racked the wine to a glass jug and bottle. Added potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate. Next step will be to degas the wine and then add sparkolloid.

Peach/Banana/Cinnamon Update

this one sounds good, let us know how it turns out.
I may give it a try.

 

[reefman]

what is "alfa and glucose anyplace enzymes" used for? That's one I never heard before.

 

[lickermaker]

what is "alfa and glucose anyplace enzymes" used for? That's one I never heard before.

that was supposed to be amylase enzymes. the guy at our local wine supply shop said they break down the starch in fruits to extract more natural sugars. I'm new to this and don't wanna be a sucker and put money in stuff i don't need to be using but at the same time i don't wanna pour out rotten juice either

 

[winesleeper]

Peach/Banana/Cinnamon Update

Well, finally got the wine degassed and had my first taste test. Nothing, no peach or banana flavors at all just a slight fruity smell. This is where the rookie winemaker could use some help. Do I need an fpac? If so, how do I make one using the same frozen peaches? How much do I need to make and use for a gallon of wine? Adding flavor at the end is like cheating. Right?? Still planning on adding the cinnamon sticks during ageing process. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[the_rayway]

Hey Winesleeper!

Going by your recipe, it looks like it will be a lightly flavoured wine at then end based on the amount of fruit you used. If that's not what you're going for, definitely look into an f-pack. Or an extract addition. It's not cheating if you like how it tastes There are some really good threads on making f-packs, you should check them out!

Go gently with the cinnamon - it can quickly overpower the wine I would start with a half stick and give it a week before tasting.

And remember - it's still really green! It will settle down over the next few months and the flvours will come forward more. There's my 2 cents, for what it's worth.