NEARLY WILD GRAPE WINE

[NorthernWinos]

Started another batch of wine from the Valiant grapes that are hardy up here in the frozen North. They are of a breeding of Fredonia X Wild Montana [Vitis Riparia].


18 quarts of steam extracted juice [S.G. 1.060] including steam vapors.....2-500mil bottles of WinExpert Red Grape Concentrate [S.G. 1.068] and 'TheUsual Cast of Characters' added....

Last batch I added 2 vanilla beans, 10 toasted peppercorns and 2 oz of toasted oak...this time...I also added everything as well as 25 toasted Arabica Coffee Beans to the primary....I am trying to mask the jamminess of the Concord type flavor. The wine isn't in the primary for too many days, so will see how many flavors are picked up in the fermentation process.


Time will tell on this one.

 

[Wade E]

Sounds good NW, did you add more peppercorns this time as I seem to recall you saying you were going to add more as you couldnt taste any in your last batch(batches).

 

[NorthernWinos]

Yes...more peppercorns, 25 or so...They are pretty fresh and I toast them in a dry pan, like the oak chips...till they start to smell real good...The coffee beans I toasted lightly as well.


These additives are in there for so few days in the primary that they don't really do much...think this time I will fish out the Vanilla Beans and put them in the secondary for a week or so.

 

[grapeman]

I would think that you would enjoy the fresh fruity flavors of that grape and not need to mask it with other things. You could always take a jar of the juice, and some sugar and pectin and make a great jelly out of it. I bet it smells great while fermenting.

 

[Wade E]

By the way, are those granite counter tops or laminate? looks like granite to me but they have come a long way with edging laminate to really be hard to tell without taking a peak underneath at particle board.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Wade....it's that same old stuff they've been making counter tops out of for years...Just a nicer color....It looks like sawdust/oatmeal underneath. It has a bullnose/European edge.


Appleman...I am not really into Concord jelly...the Oriole birdslike it in the spring. The Valiant wine is like Welch's Concord if you don't add stuff to it...Nothing wrong with that, but like a little more complex flavor....seems the more stuff I add to it the better I like it...Hope this wasn't too much....?

 

[Waldo]

I had just roasted up a batch of coffee yesterday NW and was wondering what some of the beans would add to my Muscadine. Think it would work to add a few to a botrtle and see what happens or would they need to be present during fermentation to extract the coffee essence?

 

[Harry]

Hey Waldo i bet your idea with the coffee beans will be good
We have a Texas Pecan Coffee here and i bet it will be good too.
Thanks for the idea

Harry

 

[NorthernWinos]

It's Alive!!!!

Less than 24 hours after pitching the yeast....starting to smell good in here.

 

[Waldo]

Damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn That is awesome NW...Im a slobbering again !!!

 

[jobe05]

Looks Fantastic, love the oak!

If that comes out anything like JW's did, it's going to be great!

 

[NorthernWinos]

Racked today...S.G. 1.002....It has a layered flavors...Grapey with some unidentified undertones....Think it will be nice. I fished out one Vanilla Bean and added it to the carboy....Will rack again in one week....

 

[NorthernWinos]

Racked the Nearly Wild Grape Wine again today...It is throwing off wine diamonds....

Seems every batch I make of our own grapes throw off crystals...even in the bottle no matter how long it sits in the carboy......

 

[grapeman]

That's not a bad thing NW. It is tartaric acid and as it drops out it reduces the acidity a bit. This is the reason I am cold stabilizing. It helps drop this stuff out in a quicker timeframe so hopefully it doesn't drop much in the bottles.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Was a great day to be indoors today....being as we were playing 'Wine Maker for the Day' we bottled up the Nearly Wild Valiant Grape Wine too....

It had cleared so nicely and wasn't dropping any more sediment......It will probably throw off more wine diamonds...but...it's winter time...and that for us is the best time to mix up and play with our wines....


Will start more batches tomorrow....

 

[grapeman]

I love the way the labels turned out NW. How's the wine?

 

[NorthernWinos]

The wine is getting better as the day gets longer....

It actually tastes very nice....it doesn't have the Concord flavor that usually over powers it....I can taste other flavors....but not sure if it's the oak, vanilla, peppercorns or coffee beans...OR...all of them.


I am going to start another wine soon using another batch of grape juice....this time the King of the North juice...It is much the same...I will use the same recipe....but think I will add the oak to the secondary to try to get more oak flavor.

 

[grapeman]

That sounds absolutely delicious. The next batch sounds like it will be good too.


Please feel free to be greedy and keep the cold over there!