December 2013 Wine of the Month Club

[Winenoob66]

hehe

 

[vernsgal]

wow it feels like I've been away for ever, lol. Well I'm back and here is my update on my beet wine
BLEH!!
The recipe had stated that you could serve to friends and they would never know it's beets- UH UH! I have tried a variety of things to change the taste ( I like the taste of beets, but not in my wine! )I added heavy french oak for the last month and still the taste and smell is there. Today I racked and gave it a heavy dose of orange zest and will leave it for a year before tasting again lol. ( racking every few months of course). Maybe age will change it.

 

[the_rayway]

Oh no! Does it taste exactly like beets? Is it the earthiness that is too much? Did you try sweetening it a pinch? Lol.

I've read good things about beet wine - but also that all vegetable wines need a long time to come around. Like, 5ish years(?).

Also, love the new profile pic

 

[vernsgal]

Oh no! Does it taste exactly like beets? Is it the earthiness that is too much? Did you try sweetening it a pinch? Lol.

I've read good things about beet wine - but also that all vegetable wines need a long time to come around. Like, 5ish years(?).

Also, love the new profile pic

It tastes exactly like beets! The other additives are secondary in the taste. It's not earthy but it does have a sweet taste in the beets even though it's dry ( does that make sense? lol)so I don't think sweetening would help. I guess I'll just age, age, age!

That's my hubby with me.One of our daughters does makeup artistry on the side and last halloween was hired to do a devil and my hub agreed to be the test subject . I think it shows some of his attributes

 

[the_rayway]

I say put a cork in it and forget them for a few years (or until tasting time next year?).

That makeup is fantastic - your daughter is really talented!

 

[vernsgal]

I say put a cork in it and forget them for a few years (or until tasting time next year?).

That makeup is fantastic - your daughter is really talented!

I have to say, even the thought of having to taste again makes me lol but I think I will just bottle next month and throw them in the cellar.

and thanks for the compliment on daughters work. I think she does good too!

 

[ckvchestnut]

Very cool makeup Kim! When you open it up next time have someone who doesn't know it's made from beets taste it with you.. Yes it may be exaggerated now but may mellow later - but because you know you made it with beets you may taste it more than someone else might.


Carolyn

 

[the_rayway]

This port is being a super bear to clear! I tucked it into the attic for a few weeks, and it dropped a bit of sediment. Then I used the kliesol/chitosan on it and it's dropped a bit more. S-l-o-w-l-y.

At this point I'm thinking it's going to be pectin haze. After I rack it I'll give it another shot of pectic enzyme and see if that helps. I'll have to do a search and see what others do with apricots or peaches and haze.

I haven't popped in any oak or vanilla as I want it to be clear before I move forward!

 

[LoneStarLori]

Rayway, I did a mustang grape wine last fall and squeezed the heck out of the grapes ending up with far too much pectin. Is it kind of thick? Mine still isn't clear almost 9 months later. it may be destined to be a fertilizer.

Seeing your post reminded me it's time to update my WOTM projects.
The sweet onion wine is coming along really nice. It's starting to have a fruitiness come through on it. If you didn't have the smell of onion up front and a seriously onion finish, you might have a hard time guessing what it was. All in all, not a bad wine. Nice body and mouthfeel.

I added some Sparkleoid to it today hoping to get it all clear before summer so I can start using it.

 

[Stressbaby]

Here is my Dec WotM Club update:
Spiced sweet potato wine is awful. It has a nasty vegetative smell which is very difficult to get past and which is not at all adequately masked by the spices. Pretty clear though, so this may be one where I'll cork the carboy and forget about for a while.
Costa Rican Hibiscus is very nice though. Quite zesty. Gonna need some help clearing however.

 

[LoneStarLori]

I'm kind of surprised at how the sweet potato is so clear and also tastes so bad. I would think it make a pretty nice wine. I wonder what component caused the off smell.
The Hisbicus looks beautiful. Is it a floral aroma>

 

[ckvchestnut]

This port is being a super bear to clear! I tucked it into the attic for a few weeks, and it dropped a bit of sediment. Then I used the kliesol/chitosan on it and it's dropped a bit more. S-l-o-w-l-y.

At this point I'm thinking it's going to be pectin haze. After I rack it I'll give it another shot of pectic enzyme and see if that helps. I'll have to do a search and see what others do with apricots or peaches and haze.

I haven't popped in any oak or vanilla as I want it to be clear before I move forward!

I read quite a bit about stone fruits taking a long time to clear don't give up on it. The pectic enzyme should hopefully help with it. Unless it's also a protein haze?

 

[jkrug]

Could zap it with a clearing agent.

 

[the_rayway]

I'm also wondering about the sweet potato - I would have thought it would be a nice flavour. Were the veggies peeled before tossing in? Green anywhere? Don't give up on it! Let it sit

The apricot port is sluggishly dropping a bit more sediment - I'm going to give it another few days before I hit it with the pectic enzyme. I'm completely shocked that the kliesol/chitosan combo didn't make it crystal clear!

 

[Stressbaby]

Update (sorry for the late reply):
I did peel the sweet potatoes first. No green. That is exactly my plan, let it sit. I didn't even bother to open it up these past couple of months. Beautiful clarity and color though.
Costa Rican Hibiscus wine has mellowed, but not in a bad way. It no longer tastes like a red hot. Going to be a nice wine but will need to be clarified.

 

[the_rayway]

So...I finally got around to popping the pectic enzyme into my Apricot last night. With that last minute class this spring term it really threw my timing off with my wines. I realized that many of my WOTM wines haven't really been touched since March!

I'm going to call that 'careful bulk aging management'.

 

[vernsgal]

I noticed the same with all of mine. Spent days catching up on it all

 

[Stressbaby]

Update:
The Costa Rican Hibiscus wine has cleared now after 9 months and it is awesome.
I will post some pics after it is bottled.

 

[LoneStarLori]

Sweet Onion wine finished, the final result.

I finally bottled and labeled the sweet onion wine. I kept it kind of simple since it will be mostly me using it. I used tasting corks so it will be easy to open and recap. These were 375ml bottle. The tall ones I got free from a local winery. SCORE.

It's actually a pretty nice white wine. Smells kind of like a Chardonnay with a hint of onion. Tastes a little like a chardonnay, kind of sweet up front with medium body... until it hits the back of your tongue. Then BAM! There's the onion. Cooking with it is fun. But you have to be careful, it does have a pretty strong onion flavor. I used it this weekend to deglaze a pan I seared chicken breast in, then made a sauce with a little butter, flour, oregano, parsley and thyme. It was really good! I think the onion may mellow out a little more with age, and the sweetness will take over.
I will hand out a few for Christmas to people who lie to cook. Mostly just my 3 daughters and mother in law.

 

[wineforfun]

Those tall, skinny bottles are so cool. I have been fortunate enough to have a winery about 45 minutes away that keeps their empties for me. Up to 4 cases of them so far. I usually bottle my gallon batches into 3 750's and 4 tall 375's.