Notes on my wine/mead making (newbie)

[JoyofWine]

Hi ray! I enjoyed reading your notes & I'm going to check out that book by Terry Garey you mentioned. So far I've only made kit wines, but hope to one day be brave enough to try my own batch from scratch! Cute pic of your Wee Man by the grapes!

If you get a chance could you PM a recipe for pickles...since it's off topic for this forum.
I've always wanted to try making my own, and you seem like a canning pro!

 

[the_rayway]

Updates:
I decided to oak my Blackberry Mead, and man am I ever glad I did! It was in a funny spot with still no flavour to speak of so I thought I would pop in some med-heavy toast oak. It suddenly developed all these wonderful flavours, and the blackberry finally started pulling through. Awesome.

Also picked up the Cheeky Monkey Cab/Merlot/Grenache and can't wait to get it started. Their Malbec is my go to red so far, so I have good hopes about this one!

We're currently clearing the Orchard Breezin' Blood Orange and Apple Pomegranate and so far they are really disappointing. Not sure what the deal is, but I may be taking them in for my money back. The Blood Orange tastes like weak Tang (does anyone remember that from the old church Sunday school days?) And the Apple Pom is very unexciting. I'm wondering if they are old kits or something.

I'm also clearing the Blackberry Port which fermented out to a wild 19.5%. So far I'm not terribly impressed with the flavour, but am hoping it will come forward as it ages. Maybe in 5 years or so.

I head back to work in one more week, so things will probably slow down on the fermenting fronts. But hopefully spring will arrive soon so we can start having some yummy fruity wines in the back yard. Big, bold reds at the bbq. Fizzy wine by the campfire. *sigh*

Makes me wish we hadn't had a blizzard today - what a crappy way to bring in May

 

[the_rayway]

I just got around to tasting my beautiful Honeyed Riesling that I bottled back in January. It's been sitting in the fridge for a couple months and I finally popped it open. OH NO! there are bubbles in the glass! I must have not rinsed my bottled out good enough...no...wait...OH NO!! It's carbonated!!!

The BEST sparkling wine I have ever tasted. It has so many tiny, effervescent bubbles I totally understood how Brother Perignon felt.

I then had to quickly call around to the people I'd given bottles to, to let them know to either drink 'em quick, or bring them back so I can re-finish them. My girlfriend has 6 bottles and worked her way quickly through them in a weekend! Apparently it was a very good weekend It looks as though the honey I used to backsweeten had a bit of wild yeast in it. Which I would have thought about. Had I actually used some sort of thought process :<

The Orchard Breezin' Apple Pom turned out really well for something that tasted so crappy in the carboy - just goes to show, I guess, that you really can't tell with wine what it will do! The Blood Orange is still disappointing to me - but only because I was looking for that really fresh, citrusy orange flavour. It's really more of a really really ripe blood orange sweetness with none of the tart. The other girls seemed to like it though.

The Cheeky Monkey is tasting Gooooood. Like, really good. I'm so excited to see what it will be like in 6 months or so. It seems to have all of the characteristics I really like from each of the grape varieties, and none of the ones I don't. Score for me.

I popped some light toast oak in stick form into the Blackberry Mead, and added another plus a few of the med-dark toast to my Raspberry Mead as well. They are really coming along and I think I'm going to be able to just bulk age them soon. I couldn't be happier with them both at this point.

On a different note, this is my first week back to work after maternity leave. It's been both really hard to go back, and wonderful to be around adults again. I've had so much fun over the last year watching my son (and my wine cellar) grow. I can't wait to see what this next stage will bring!

 

[the_rayway]

Just bottled my WE Speciale Blackberry Port. It finished at 19%, so I didn't need to fortify any. Right now it's VERY hot, but should be fantastic in a year or two. The blackberry flavour is already starting to come forward a lot from when I added the f-pak.

Will post pics soon.

Also, filtered my Cheeky Monkey Spanish Cabernet/Merlot/Garnacha. So far it tastes like more! Totally my husband's kind of wine with that extra hit of spiciness.

Our Cheeky Monkey Malbec has been sitting for 6 months now, and when we cracked a bottle...weird. It tasted sweet (even though S.G. was .992), and almost like a flavoured wine it had so much berry flavour. Totally not what we were expecting, and nothing like the last one we made. Others seem to really like it, so I'm not complaining - I'm just astounded that it could be so entirely different from one we made a year ago!

 

[CoastalEmpireWine]

When I return home from Afghanistan I plan to start a sweet blackberry mead. I bought a mead kit which came with the honey and etc. Should I add the flavor after I ferment or before I ferment?

 

[saramc]

When I return home from Afghanistan I plan to start a sweet blackberry mead. I bought a mead kit which came with the honey and etc. Should I add the flavor after I ferment or before I ferment?

Coastal...you may want to consider 1/3 of fruit up front with remainder much later.

 

[the_rayway]

Agreed. Fruit in the secondary really makes a difference. Also, I'm in the process of a second round of oak in my blackberry mead and it makes an incredible impact on the mead

Mine is still very dry, but I will likely back sweeten soon so I can get it bottled to age another year or two (open up carboy space).

 

[CoastalEmpireWine]

What kind of oak are you planing on using? I am thinking about a french medium oak to get the mouthfeel and hopefully a hint of vanilla. What do you suggest and how much oak for a one gallon batch?

 

[the_rayway]

Mine is a 3 gal, I've used one light toast french oak stick (great, because you can break them down to any size you like), and approx. 20g of medium toast french in large chips. I basically got a little bag of pre-measured oak chips from by LHBS, and split it into 5, then added 3 parts. Mt math skills aren't great, so it seemed to be the easiest way.

I did add a vanilla bean during fermentation, but the oak addition really made it have that nice mellow vanilla flavour.

When are you back on our side of the pond? How long have you been away?

 

[CoastalEmpireWine]

I'll be home very soon. I've been gone for about 8.5 months now. I made 5 gal of apple wine before I left so when I got home it would be aged enough for me to drink

 

[the_rayway]

*Whistle* that's some time away! I'm sure it will be wonderful to be home again and in your own space.

And great fore-thought on the apple wine I'm now looking at what I need to make each season so I'm ready for the next. This is very challenging for me because I always think: 'I want to drink___ now! So I'll make that'. Instead of: 'I will want to drink ___ in 6 months, I should make it now'. Lol.

Started up my second go at Lilac Mead today. First time I poured everything through a stocking as I have heard many do...no one mentioned it had to be a nude coloured stocking! My whole first batch turned black. sigh. Oh well, lesson learned. This time around it will be better.

1 packed litre lilac flowers
4 litres water
2 bananas, chopped
8 dates, and 8 dried apricots
1.5 Kg honey
Tannin, Yeast nutrient, Lemon juice, 10g med toast French oak

Made all the major parts into a tea which I steeped for an hour. Then added the honey and powders and stirred up. I'm waiting for it to cool a bit more before I add Campden. I'm hoping to leave everything floating in there for a few days (2?3?) before taking it all out. we'll see how it goes with the flowers.

I've heard good things about Lilac mead, so here's hoping!

 

[the_rayway]

Ah summer in Manitoba - everyone goes into a frenzy of gardening, picking, freezing, and canning - including me I've even managed to sock a few things away for future wine and mead batches

The Lilac Mead is coming along nicely (I think). I risked a taste at the last racking, and while it tasted quite vegetative, there were hints of floral, vanilla and something perfume-like. With a lot of time, and some patience, I think it will be very nice!

I bottled my Autumn Spice Apfelwine, and the Schnellert Family Apple Wine from apples I picked last summer. They taste AWESOME, with some more aging and mellowing, I think they will be an excellent example of a beginners country wine.

Also, we've got a new member of the (wine supplies) family! A demijohn I picked up at a garage sale for $25! It's my very first 54L.

My CC Sterling Malbec/Shiraz is nearly ready to bulk age for a little while. While it's doing that, I'm going to be weighing the pros and cons of a med toast Vadai barrel. From what I read it sounds like a worthy investment for someone who is looking to improve on their wine making.

On other notes: I've got 75 jars of jam and jelly already put up, and the kids are enjoying it immensely. Life is sunny and good! Here are some pictures of what's been going on:

 

[JoyofWine]

Order & Chaos! Lol love it! Cool looking demijohn. Sounds like you've been busy!

 

[the_rayway]

Hey JoyofWine!
Did you ever get around to trying pickling? I'm nearly ready to do up a batch of fridge pickles

 

[JoyofWine]

Hi! Yes I did! We've done 2 batches of both pickles and asparagus! Turn out so good! Thanks for your tips!

 

[the_rayway]

Awesome JoyofWine - I'm going to try garlic scapes pickled soon - hopes are high!

Bottled today - caramel apple wine! As my first batches are getting bottled and tried I'm finding that I need to monitor the acid levels better. I'm always reading that you should monitor them, but didn't really pay attention. This stuff has a really forward tart apple flavour wrapped with caramel and subtle vanilla. Mmmmmmm!

 

[the_rayway]

With summer winding down, I've had to put everything wine on hold for everything canning. Talk about busy. Then, of course, it seems like every country in the freakin' world wants to send a delegation over right now. Long days, and long evenings.

I did manage to filter my Blackberry Mead and the Orange Creamsicle (which I bottled too). While I might lose points on the nose of the mead - which is slightly 'odd', I think I've got major points on the taste. Yum.

Been making my Liqueurs as well: apricot, blueberry, Kaluah, Manitoba Pear, etc. They're always nice to have around the house. And soo much better than from the store,

Here are some pics of the Order & Chaos "Cannery"
Blueberry Basil Vinegar
Boozy Tart Cherries
Crabby Applesauce
Pickled Garlic Scapes
Honeyed Apricots
Lemony Cauliflower Pickles
Mixed Fridge Pickles
And there has been so much more since then!

 

[the_rayway]

Right, so back at it with fall fresh California juice buckets!

In a three-sided effort, we have purchased two 'Gold Medal Series' buckets: a Malbec, and an Amarone with grape skins included. Also one 'Silver Medal Series' Merlot which I've added CabSauv grape skins to. I have also added 1.5 cups of oak to each, and will be adding fresh blackberries to the Amarone (primary), as well as raisins (secondary).

The acid levels in all three was very low: .20%, so I've added 1oz acid blend to each to start, knowing that I may need to add another 1.5oz.

We have great hopes for these, and I'm very excited to see how they come up.

I started a gallon of 'Pure Pear' a little while back in the spring: pure pear nectar, and some honey to up the s.g. It's been a bear to clear with 1/4 of the gallon clear, but 3/4 of thick clouds of sediment. I finally got around to adding sparkelloid today - which I've never used before. I hope it will do the trick.

I'm still going back and forth on the Vadai barrel. For a couple of reasons: a) cost. I need to save up! b) quantity. I'm worried that I won't make enough red wine to keep it full. and c) I really need a dedicated space to keep it, which I don't have right now. I need to get on re-doing our cold storage room!

 

[the_rayway]

California Juice buckets are looking good - I've racked them into some clearing/aging carboys for them to degas and clear. Hopefully by the time they are clear enough, I'll have received my oak barrel for Christmas Then it'll be into the barrel with each of them! I'm thinking I'll cycle the Amarone through first, then the Malbec, and finish with the Merlot.

Tasted the Lilac Mead the other day and I'm impressed. It has a really nice lilac nose, tastes sort of like a cross between a Gewurztraminer and a Chardonnay. Very dry, I'll need to do some bench trials to see if it will take any honey or sugar.

My CC Malbec Shiraz has just finished a 3 month bulk age, and I'm getting ready to bottle it (hopefully this week). I was very impressed with it a few months ago, so I'm really looking forward to tasting it again...and making the labels of course. I've nearly settled on a design I like.

The Peach-Ginger experiment is...interesting. I added another can of peach punch concentrate to it the other day (no extra sugar) and it still tastes VERY strongly of ginger. I think it's time to get this one on the right track. I'm just not sure how to do that. I could potentially add a few more cans of concentrate as a sweeter...? Perhaps a shot of Orange Oil as well just to up that peachy-citrusy flavour. Looks like more bench trials coming up.

I'll be bottling my Blackberry Mead at the same time as the Malbec/Shiraz. It's looking really good, and I'm very happy with one. The Raspberry as well. The funny thing was that I lost nearly all of the acid in both of them during fermentation. I've adjusted to a better taste.

Yesterday I started a Hot Pepper Apple Wine that's going to be for cooking (I think). I did 1 gallon of Apple Juice (not from concentrate), 2 large partially dried Cayennes (with seeds), and 3-4 Habaneros (some with seeds, some without) and sugar to get it to 1.100. I've done the Campden and the Pectic, but even without the yeast it smells like something I would just drink as is :: I love me some spicy anything! I just love spicy.

The sparkelloid went into the Pear Mead a few weeks ago and did nothing. I noticed that there seems to still be gas in the carboy though, so I've been shaking it to degas, then will read some better instructions on how to use the Sparkelloid. The ones that came on the package were vague at best.

I've also got a Peach Apricot Chard and a White Pear Pinot Gris on the go for Christmas gifts. Haven't had the Pear before, so I'm really interested to see how it is.

That about catches me up! I think I'll need to start a new thread soon with all of my recipes and steps so I can remember what I've all done/said with my Country wines and Meads. We'll see if I can find the time while I'm recovering from my surgery in a few weeks

 

[the_rayway]

Finally bottled!
CC Sterling Malbec/Shiraz - at three months, already tastes like a winner! Big, dry, oak and dark fruit, and has that hit of spice and pepper from the Shiraz.

Belligerent Blackberry Mead - the picture totally doesn't do the colour justice. It's a pinkish-purple, very delicate in the glass. Right now it needs at least a year in the bottle, to let the fruit come out and to balance a bit more. But I enjoy the hint of blackberry and honey it already has. It's slightly sweet, and mildly oaked.