Table grapes are the canvas for oak's artwork

[jswordy]

Thanks to PAwinedude and Wade in another thread at this topic for the guidance with oak spiroll use. I left the spiroll in for 2 weeks, tasted, transferred it to the next carboy. Both jugs hold table grape rose, and I hope to post that recipe soon. With luck, one carboy will be bottled this weekend.

I wanted to do table grapes because everyone everywhere says they make lousy wine. I took it from the angle of table grapes -- bolstered with Welch's Niagara concentrate -- as the blank canvas for other flavors, and so a medium French toast spiroll was chosen for the first experiment.

Oh yes, that is the secret to it. Don't expect the table grape wine to be flavorful in and of itself, but treat it as a Zen master would: When the student is willing the teacher will appear.

These darned table grapes get down really low in price sometimes, so why not fill a carboy or two and play with adding various flavors to the wine? My mind is already at work on other possibilities. Like backsweetening with caramel ... hmmmm ....

Anyhow, my recipe is at home and I'll post it soon. A simple Welch's Niagara recipe could also suffice as the blank canvas, I am sure. Thanks again!

 

[jswordy]

Just a quick followup. I wound up with a blush or rose wine I christened as Rowdy Rose. This was bottled Saturday and labeled Sunday. Pix at General Forum.

I am pleased with this lowly table grape wine. The 50th bottle did not fill quite to the top, so I drank that one. The oak is rather astringent right now, but that will mellow. It is a sipping wine this young, and benefits from liberal oxygenation before consumption. Take too much of a sip, and you will know it! But it does get the job done at 14.5% ABV, and the table grapes and Welch's indeed were the canvas for the oak. I did add 1 cup invert sugar to each carboy before bottling. It still tastes dry because of the oak, but the sugar adds mouthfeel.

The single French medium dark spiroll I used for 14 days in each carboy (transferring it to the second once the first was done) did a great job of livening up the table grapes. After a bit of aging to round off the oak, this should be a light, fun wine for those dog days of summer that will be coming just about the time it should be presentable. I can't wait to try a refrigerated bottle on the porch in September's 90-degree heat.

I did post the recipe at Recipes, but it didn't make the hit parade...lol..here's a link: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f2/rowdy-rose-redneck-table-grape-wine-31301/