Candy Cane wine Recipe

[Angelina]

I started 1- 6 gallon batch of Peppermint Candy Cane Wine today and 1- 6 gallon batch of Jolly Rancher Watermelon Candy Cane Wine. I put 216 canes in each, oh the joy of unwrapping those. I do want to thank whoever suggested scoring the wrappers with a blade, once I remembered the suggestion it went like a breeze. They both smell really good, although I don't expect that to last after fermentation.

 

[steviepointer]

scored on some more canes at walmart. They are now $.25/box of 12 (6oz).

 

[Angelina]

I seen them at my Walmart today too. I had to restrain myself

 

[Hokapsig]

13 boxes of peppermint candy canes from Wally world (4 for a buck) and 40 boxes of chocolate covered cherry's (.33 per box) for another 6 gallons of wine....

 

[Angelina]

Did you check the ingredients of your CCC, the Queen Anne's have both sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. I almost made that mistake. Our walmart still has some of those on clearance but the cheaper ones are gone or a would have gotten more. I also noticed that the boxes are 6.6 oz not 1 pound as the recipe calls for 8-1 pound boxes so 40 boxes will make 2.5 gallons.

13 boxes of peppermint candy canes from Wally world (4 for a buck) and 40 boxes of chocolate covered cherry's (.33 per box) for another 6 gallons of wine....

 

[Hokapsig]

Duly noted on the preservatives, but my one gallon batch percolated nicely. The lower ounce boxes were compensated by adding additional sugar dissolved in the boiling water, which when poured over melts the chocolate. I am banking on Jack knowing what he is talking about when he tweeked the recipe.

It smelled so good that my wife was impressed with the aroma in the kitchen when I made it...

 

[Angelina]

So did you use the Queen Anne's? Just curious cause I would have loved to made more than the 3 gallons worth I have going right now.
They do smell good, I got mine fermenting this morning as well.
What was your starting SG? Mine was 1.160 and I used a strong starter and started it slowly to get it acclimated and rolling.

 

[Julie]

So did you use the Queen Anne's? Just curious cause I would have loved to made more than the 3 gallons worth I have going right now.
They do smell good, I got mine fermenting this morning as well.
What was your starting SG? Mine was 1.160 and I used a strong starter and started it slowly to get it acclimated and rolling.

Angelina, what yeast did you use? An sg of 1.160 is very high and you would need to use a yeast that can handle that.

 

[Hokapsig]

During the de-Christmasfying of the house, my notebook with my wine information is now missing, so I can't answer the beginning SG.

HOWEVER, on a candy cane related question, I just racked from primary to carboy (SG 1.05). How long does it take to clear or is additional processes required to clear. Like earlier posts, it looks like 3 gallons of pepto bismal....

 

[Julie]

LOL, it will take a few months. You shouldn't need anything to clear it, unless you are planning on drinking this during the summer.

 

[Angelina]

Angelina, what yeast did you use? An sg of 1.160 is very high and you would need to use a yeast that can handle that.

Hopefully I did the right thing. I used 3 packets of Lalvin 2-1118 and 1- 1116 I made a starter with them and add CCC must to the starter a few times till it was bubbling really good, then I added it all the the must. If my final SG ends at 1.025 then I should have 18%? Which is pushing it to the max. With the 3 packets and stirring often it should be able to get there?

 

[Julie]

Hopefully I did the right thing. I used 3 packets of Lalvin 2-1118 and 1- 1116 I made a starter with them and add CCC must to the starter a few times till it was bubbling really good, then I added it all the the must. If my final SG ends at 1.025 then I should have 18%? Which is pushing it to the max. With the 3 packets and stirring often it should be able to get there?

Well I would say you gave it the best stater to be able to get there but why would you want that high of an ABV, if you don't mind me asking.

 

[Angelina]

Well it is not that I was trying to get such a high ABV as much as I was trying to hold on to flavor. If I diluted the Chocolate Covered Cherry must down too much then the flavor would suffer and it wouldn't be much like a port unless I post flavored it and fortified it. I am trying not to fortify it. The only extra I want to add post fermentation is pure almond extract.

The recipe I am going for is here
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15419&highlight=cherry+chocolate+port

The only changes I made were I added enough water to get it down to 1.160 and I doubled the nutrient and energizer called for 4 gallons.

 

[Flem]

I'll be anxious to hear how it smells after all that sugar is fermented out. Keep us posted.

 

[Hokapsig]

Hershey's Chocolate Mint Candy Canes

Okay, just started the Hershey's Chocolate Mint Candy Cane wine using Julie's recipe for a three gallon batch. Starting SG was 1.075. Smells great.

Did I ever say that I loathe the person that thought to individually wrap each candy cane????

In addition, does anyone else have a regular candy cane wine that turned a light orange in color??? Pink I can believe, but ORANGE????

 

[Julie]

Okay, just started the Hershey's Chocolate Mint Candy Cane wine using Julie's recipe for a three gallon batch. Starting SG was 1.075. Smells great.

Did I ever say that I loathe the person that thought to individually wrap each candy cane????

In addition, does anyone else have a regular candy cane wine that turned a light orange in color??? Pink I can believe, but ORANGE????

LOL, that is about right. When you backsweeten with the candy canes it will become a little pinker

 

[steviepointer]

3gal -- Bananas and Welches?

hi all,
finally planning on starting a 3gal batch of 96 canes.

Are people adding both bananas and the 6cans of welches white grape juice? or just 1 or the other?

Thanks!

 

[Julie]

I added both and to let you know 96 canes is going to give you a pretty high sg.

 

[steviepointer]

how many canes would you recommend?

how many bananas or lbs of banans did you use?

did you put in 6 cans of welches niagra?

sorry for all the questions, but I want to capitalize on everyone else's knowledge, and screw up as little as possible.

 

[Julie]

lol, all i wanted was a gallon batch but after adding 54 canes and got a high sg, i ended up with a 3 gallon batch.

I found the post on where I posted what I did, here it is:

for a 3 gallon batch
54 candy canes, 6 cans of Welch's white grape concentrate, 1 tsp of nutrient, 1 tsp of energizer, one banana. sg 1.080, fermented to .995. stabilized, left it sit a day, added 24 candy canes as an fpac. The color prior to backsweetening was a faded pink, it is now a deep pink color, very pretty. The 24 canes brought the sg to 1.002, added 2 cups of sugar, sg is now 1.010. The flavor came out some more but still not as strong as I wanted, so I added .25 oz of McCormick's peppermint extract. OMG, this stuff is like eating a candy cane! I need to check the acid in it and it is a little on the thin side. I'll check acid first and adjust if needed, then taste and if still on the thin side, I'll add a bottle of corn syrup.

Once I get this all done and liking where the wine is at, I will then divide into 3 one gallon batches, one batch is going to get chocolate. The other two will just sit to see how the chocolate one comes out and just maybe one or both will get that.

I ended up adding a bottle of corn syrup when I backsweeten and this gave it a real good mouth feel and I ended making the whole batch with chocolate in it. If you like peppermint, you will love this wine.