WineXpert Chocolate Orange Port...that's right!

[ckvchestnut]

That sounds awesome if you do please share your thoughts on both! How much oaking did you do off the top of your head on the dragon port? I read that entire thread but can't remember now.

 

[Jericurl]

I was considering trying the Caramel Port kit for my first port, but I can't find it anywhere anymore!
I guess there will be no port this Christmas. *sadface

 

[ckvchestnut]

Aw!! I know how you feel because I wanted to try to do one of these for so long... Why don't you see if they place l'm getting them at will ship to you? Musca.com

 

[Jericurl]

Ahhhh.....they have the Apple Tatin as well, I've been searching for that one too.

I think I will email them and see what they say.

 

[ckvchestnut]

Plus it's in cdn $$$! They have good customer service and have been in business for a long time... I hadn't been there in a long time cuz there was another store closer to where I live but I'm switching back to Musca!

 

[ckvchestnut]

Ahhhh.....they have the Apple Tatin as well, I've been searching for that one too.



I think I will email them and see what they say.

Apple tatin and caramel blended! I might try that!

 

[dangerdave]

That sounds awesome if you do please share your thoughts on both! How much oaking did you do off the top of your head on the dragon port? I read that entire thread but can't remember now.

I keep going to work without my wine log. Rats! Work is where I do most of my posting. Firefighters have a lot of down time, unfortunately.

I know it got heavily oaked in the primary with a good dose of wine tannin in the secondary.

If I hadn't been so busy lately, I'd be checking on my aging wines. But by the time my day is over laying flooring in my family room, I'm beat. Work done soon. Wines come next.

Thank you for your patience.

 

[GaDawg]

Firefighters have a lot of down time, unfortunately.

That's a good thing

 

[kmarvel]

Wow! Look at me! Making port!

I was tooling around Columbus today after my wife's doctor appointment---and an awesome gyro at Loops! We ended up at a wine supply store we had visited before, where I tripped over a WE Chocoloate Orange Port Kit. The wife grabbed a Washington Moscato (she loves moscato!), so everyone was happy. I picked up the last three gallon carboy they had, since I didn't have one, and now I'm going to make some port...

HELP! I'M GOING TO MAKE PORT! AAAAAHHHHH!

Ok, got that out! Now, give me some ideas. I've read about bananas, raisins, oak, grapes, brandy, Cointreau, etc, etc, etc. What's the best to use on this kit? Tweak? No? Yes? What?

I'm kind of overwhelmed with the possibilites. Any suggestions from our port makers? I humbly await your kernels of wisdom...

Leave it alone!!!!! It is a flavored port kit and I have made about 5 kits and they get better with age. Don't mess up a good thing. It is awesome with following the directions with the kit.

Kathie

 

[kmarvel]

Hmmm, this is going to prove difficult lol! I am really not too much of a sweet wine lover, however I love certain flavor profiles such as vanilla, chocolate and coffee etc. Is there a way to make these less sweet or is it just some pre-sweetened syrup? I apologize for the dumb questions, I've never made one of these kits! Thanks again for your feedback, I'm going to have to try many in order to decide which ones, in fact I like best. But as far as sweet wine goes, I can picture myself sipping it from time to time as kind of like a dessert treat but I also plan to give out to others who tend to like sweeter wines.

Carolyn, in my opinion these are not overly sweet dessert wines. You get a nice balance of orange and chocolate flavor with the port. And I do present them as gifts to special ones in my life.

Kathie

 

[ckvchestnut]

Thanks Kathie! I'm going to start with the chocolate orange and the caramel. I have several people in my family that love the real chocolate oranges you that orange chocolate that shaped like an orange? It was a long tradition for us to get one of these in our Christmas stockings so now maybe they'll get a split of chocolate orange port instead!

 

[kmarvel]

Thanks Kathie! I'm going to start with the chocolate orange and the caramel. I have several people in my family that love the real chocolate oranges you that orange chocolate that shaped like an orange? It was a long tradition for us to get one of these in our Christmas stockings so now maybe they'll get a split of chocolate orange port instead!

Awesome!!! You will love this Port. The hard part is waiting for it to age. lol

I just made the Toasted Carmel last weekend. Smells wonderful! Can't wait!

Have fun with it!!!

Kathie

 

[ckvchestnut]

If I make it now it should be decent enough to give away next Christmas right? Seems it would be just under a year... I'm excited for sure!

 

[kmarvel]

If I make it now it should be decent enough to give away next Christmas right? Seems it would be just under a year... I'm excited for sure!

It will be great at Christmas.......awesome in the summer and FANTASTIC the following Christmas. hahaha

 

[ckvchestnut]

Hmmm sounds great! What are the kit instructions - do you age in carboys or the bottle? What do they recommend?

 

[LoneStarLori]

Dave, I'm a kit tweaker and didn't do anything to this except instead of adding the dextrose for chapitalization, I used 2- bottles of brandy at SG 102. It's really nice right now, but if I were to do another I would use orange zest on the secondary for a couple of weeks before clearing. It's kind if light on orange right now, but I understand that tends to come out at about a year.
Because of the brandy I ended up with 4 gals. More to give and more to drink.

 

[ckvchestnut]

That sounds like it will be good Lori... It seems that fortifying with the cointreau would be a nice balance between the two... I'd be interested in tweaking with cointreau and maybe some zest. Also some hungarian oak to see if any vanilla notes might come out, but I'm going to try the oak on the caramel kit first.

 

[kmarvel]

Hmmm sounds great! What are the kit instructions - do you age in carboys or the bottle? What do they recommend?

When I first started making wines I never bulk aged. They went straight to the bottle to age.
Now I bulk age for 5 or 6 months, than bottle.
I believe on most kit instructions they usually have you bottle the wine.

Kathie

 

[ckvchestnut]

Thanks Kathie... I'm tending to want to leave most of my stuff in carboys instead, so that means I'll be needing more 3 gal carboys! I think there's more control if something goes wrong and you don't have to go through the trouble to uncork bottles I guess!

 

[LoneStarLori]

That sounds like it will be good Lori... It seems that fortifying with the cointreau would be a nice balance between the two... I'd be interested in tweaking with cointreau and maybe some zest. Also some hungarian oak to see if any vanilla notes might come out, but I'm going to try the oak on the caramel kit first.

Cointreau might give it just the right amount of orange it needs. As a Margarita Maven, I can tell you it's pretty sweet so be sure to take that into account.
I wish I could find a caramel port, that sounds so nummy.