NANKING CHERRY WINE

[NorthernWinos]

A good day to mix up another batch of wine....

The Naking Cherry Wine was so good that the case of 12 bottles that were suppose to be aging for a year...didn't make it but a few months...I am so weak!!!

Remembering their very early spring flowers and beautiful fruits I gathered up the remaining jars of juice. I was so fortunate last fall to meet an elderly man in our little village who has a hedge of Nanking Cherries growing in front of his house....He was happy to have someone pick them as they were falling off the bushes....I was more than happy to share some wine with him as well as veggies during the fall season....A new friend is always a good thing.

~~~~NANKING CHERRY WINE~~~~

~ 13 QUARTS OF STEAM EXTRACTED NANKING CHERRY JUICE
~ 2 BOTTLES WINEXPERT RED GRAPE CONCENTRATE
~ 6 1/2 CAMPDEN TABLETS
~ 9# SUGAR
~ 8 tsp ACID BLEND
~ 4 tsp LIQUID TANNIN

S.G. 1.085 water to 6 1/2 gallons

TOMORROW...
ADD:
~ 6 tsp YEAST NUTRIENT
~ 3 tsp YEAST ENERGIZER
~ 3 tsp PECTIC ENZYME
~ TOASTED OAK CHIPS
~ RED STAR PASTURE RED YEAST

</font>If all goes well it should be another really nice wine.

We have ordered more Nanking Cherry bushes from the County and plan on planting a hedge of them. We have an area by the septic drain field where the snow blows off in the winter...Hope a hedge will retain the snow...so...why not use and edible/wine hedge.
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[K&GB]

And if you wind up with more Nanking Cherries than you know what to do with from the edible wine hedge, ...

you can send 'em down south and be sure they'll be put to good use.

Sounds like a great recipe.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Well...this wine has just been sitting there for 3 days without a trace of any fermentation...the temperature is good.

Upon reading the notes on the last batch of Nanking Cherry wine I see that it took a month to ferment...Now there is nothing wrong with long slow fermentations, but hate seeing it sit for 3 days with absolutely no signs of life in there.

I noted last time that maybe thought that I had 'juice-overload'...too much juice and not enough water diluting it....or just a slow yeast. Since have used Red Star Pasteur Red without any problems starting fermentations.

So, have just stirred it up real good, rehydrated some 'old faithful' Lalvin EC-1118, let it get a nice bloom and poured it onto the wine surface...Time will tell.

Now, if this is also a slow starter I will come to the conclusion that maybe this fruit has a natural yeast inhibitor like Blueberries have.

Will be watching this batch closely...and taking notes for future batches...think there will be many future batches of this delicious wine.
Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[farmer]

I also have 25 NankingCherries ordered from the county . We are going to plant them as a break along the gravel road to slow down the dust . I had the same thought about the wine hedge. Maybe by the time my vines start producing so will the cherries.

 

[NorthernWinos]

The wine is so good, it worth every moment from planting, caring to harvest and fermentation...even if this one gives me a thought about it's slow fermentation, the last batch was slow too.

They grow really quickly and produce young...Once established they can really give you lots of fruit. They tend to not all produce fruit, have read that this is a trait of the fruit...some say some plants are male.

All our old bushes bloom, set fruit and then they fall off some of the plants. I have read that maybe because of not getting pollinated properly. Last spring they bloomed so early and I think that sometimes there aren't many bees around...like last year when it was cold and gloomy. As well I think sometimes the flowers get frosted, tho they claim to be pretty tough.

They are really pretty in bloom...May 3rd and 6th of last year.

So even if you don't get fruit there is quite a spring flower show.

The fellow in town with a hedge of them had fruit on every bush, so tend to think he is more protected from frost.

You will also find seedling growing around your farm...that is a good thing. Last spring I bought a few new plants from a bare root nursery and transplanted some seedlings into the Wine Garden...so with a hedge of 10-15 there should never be any shortage of fruit.

Life is Good...We all can learn something new everyday.

Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[NorthernWinos]

Could smell something good when I came in from outside yesterday PM...the wine was beginning to get some action going....this morning there is fire in the hole....going strong....

This wine may have worked out if I would have left it alone, but extra yeast shouldn't harm it any...will be interesting to see if the flavor is different than the last batch that fermented so slowly.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Rollin'...Rollin'...Rollin'.....

Keep that baby rollin'....

YeeHaw!!!!!

 

[NorthernWinos]

It not only took off like gangbusters, but it finished in record time.

I suppose it won't taste as good as the batch that took a month to finish....Took a little sip but hard to tell at this stage...