Lemongrass Ginger Wine

[Stressbaby]

Original inspiration here.

My 1 gallon version which turned out great:
1g water, divided
1 can Welch's white grape concentrate
30g (1 oz) fresh root ginger, finely sliced and chopped
30g (1 oz) crystallized root ginger, finely chopped
30g (1 oz) fresh lemon grass, chopped
zest and juice 1/2 lemon
2# sugar
1 Campden tablet
1t pectic enzyme
1t yeast nutrient

In 1 quart water, bring to boil gingers, lemon zest, lemon grass. Strain into primary. Add another quart back to gingers, lemon grass, boil for 1/2 hour. Boil 2 quarts water and dissolve 2# sugar, add to primary. Strain second quart of ginger/lemongrass water into primary. Put lemon grass, ginger and lemon zest into 1 gallon paint strainer bag and put it in primary.

Add 1 can Welch's, lemon juice. When cool, add Campden tabs. After 12 hours pectic, yeast nutrient. Make a yeast starter, add after 12 hours. After that, usual care.

*****

My notes reflect pH 3.6 with no acid additions. Next time some acid blend to get down 3.3-3.4 range. This wine is good dry or barely off-dry. I backsweetened with 50g sugar/gal. Since everything is boiled, next time will skip the Campden tabs up front, and just add kmeta when moving to secondary.

 

[iVivid]

I've got lemongrass growing on the deck. I think I have my next batch sorted

 

[Stressbaby]

I won a silver medal and best in the category of Vegetable/Floral wines in the 2016 KC Cellarmasters Wine Competition with this variation (3 gallon):

500g fresh lemongrass
50g crystallized ginger (strongly flavored, use more if your crystallized ginger is weak)
Zest and juice of 1 Meyer lemon
3 cans Welch's white grape concentrate
4# 14oz sugar
1/2tsp tannin
3t pectic
1t citric acid
1t tartaric acid
3/4t Fermaid-K
1t GoFerm
K1-V1116

In 1 quart water, bring to boil gingers, lemon zest, lemon grass. Strain into primary. Add another quart back to gingers, lemon grass, boil for another 1/2 hour, strain into primary. Put lemon grass, ginger and lemon zest into 1 gallon paint strainer bag and put it in primary. Add sugar, Welch's, and enough water to bring volume to just over 3 gallons. When cool, add tannin and acids and adjust acidity if needed to ~3.3. SG ~1.090. Make yeast starter and pitch yeast. Kmeta upon move to secondary. Usual care thereafter.