What are you making and what have you made ???

[Rocky]

Rocky's wines from Jan 2011 to present

Here is what I have made so far this year. I have to note that a number of the "bottled" have gone "the way of all flesh."

Bottled:
WineExpert WV Sangiovese 6 gal
Cherry (from Michigan Cherry Juice) 3 gal
Mosti OAJ Sauvignon Blanc 6 gal
Mosti OAJ Riesling 6 gal
Skeeter Pee 5.5 gal
Ricetta di Stefano (see below) 1 gal

Bulk Aging:
Mosti OAJ Zinfandel 6 gal
Mosti OAJ Amarone 6 gal
Mosti VN Pinot Grigio 6 gal
Concord (from Welch's juice) 6 gal
RJS CC WS Super Tuscan 6 gal
RJS CC WS Cabernet Sauvignon 6 gal
Ricetta di Stefano (75% Zin, 25% Muscat) 9 gal
RJS CC WS Amarone 6 gal
RJS CC WS Super Tuscan 6 gal (2nd batch)

Barrel Aging:
CC Showcase Rosso Fortissimo 6 gal
Ricetta di Stefano (see above) 6 gal

 

[Tom]

Looks like you have some good wine aging

 

[Runningwolf]

Rocky, we love to see pictures!! I'm thinking you have a nice cellar!

 

[Rocky]

We are heading out on a short vacation and will be back in about a week and a half. I will get some pictures up then.

 

[danc]

this what i have after my first year of winemaking:

In Bottle: WE Australian Chardonnay, Strawberry Riesling, WE Valpolicella, WE Stags Leap Merlot

Bulk Aging: WE Spanish Rioja, WE CRP, WE Barolo, CC Amarone, WE Lodi Old Vine Zin

Fermenting:

On deck: WE Shiraz/Viogner, Green Apple Riesling, WE California Trinity Red

 

[Tom]

Congrats.

You have some tasty wines there.

 

[Repsolal]

all 2011 kits aging
Cru select Italian Amerone
Italian Barolo
Italian Brunello
Australian Shiraz

Grand cru int California Syrah
Australian Cab sauv

Mosti M Renaisance Italian Barolo

Cellarcraft showcase Cabernet shiraz

RJS Winery series Super Tuscan

Grand Cru Merlot

Orchard breezin Blackberry Merlot

Skeeter pee
apfelwein
minute maid peach

on deck
Cru select Chilean Malbec

 

[non-grapenut]

Dried Black cherry wine...will be bottling this next weekend.

Tastes like a chocolate cherry brandy. A friend had some commodity dried cherries to donate and I used Welches Cherry juice (apple-based cherry)...had to rack 8 times due to the pectin and then filter. Color is a chocolate berry port....nice with just OTC stuff.

 

[pwrose]

My 2011 list

I am now blogging all my wines, well most of them anyways.
Heres the link to the 2011 list
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/blog.php?b=24

Heres the link to the old completed 2010 list just for giggles.
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/blog.php?b=10

 

[jweston10]

Currently in the fermentin' closet

5 gal rhubarb wine
3 gal Welch's Concord grape
1 gal Welch's White Grape Raspberry
1 gal jalapeno wine

also:
5 gal Belgian Tripel beer

 

[SpoiledRotten]

Blueberry Wine

I just started my Blueberry batch last night. I got my new Steam Juicer delivered by the man in the brown truck so since I had been saving 30# of fresh blueberries, I figured this would be the best time to try it out. I steamed the 30#, saving about a 1/2 gal of the concentrate for the f-pak. I put about 3 gals in the primary fermenter, filled to the 5.5 gal mark with water, added the nutrient, tannin, campden tabs, 8.5# sugar, etc.
My SG before sugar was 1.020 and with the 8.5#, my SG came up to 1.080 so that's where I am. When I got up this morning, I added the PE and when I get home this afternoon, I'll pitch the yeast and let er rip. The first batch of blueberry I made back in June, turned out ok (my wife loved it) but I went into it totally blind, going strictly by a recipe, and without a hydrometer. This time, with a very little more experience behind me, and more tools of the trade, I'm excited about how this will turn out.

BTW.... I love that juicer. I took someone's advice from here and kept putting more blueberries on top of the ones that had already been steaming, adding weight so as to push more juice out of the ones on bottom.
When I felt like I had gotten everything out of the berries, I put a kettle of water on to boil then poured that hot water over the pulp to wash out more juice that might be suspended in it. I figured I'll have to add water to the fermenter anyway so it may as well be saturated with blueberry flavor.

 

[Tom]

Give a good 12-24 hours after adding PE before adding yeast

 

[SpoiledRotten]

Will do, Tom! I really want this to be something I'm proud of. I hope I'm using everything I've learned on this site to make it that way.

 

[dangerdave]

Weeping Willow Wines

Weeping Willow Wines:

Next
Lemon Wine (Original Skeeter Pee)

Primary

Secondary

Clearing
Triple Berry Skeeter Pee

Bulk Aging
Tropical Fruit Wine
Concord Elderberry ("Way Out West")
Vinifera Shiraz with Raisins ("Frog Prince")

Bottled
07/29/11: OB Blackberry Merlot---gone!
08/07/11: Triple Berry Skeeter Pee ("3Pee Oh!")---gone!
08/07/11: Apple/Cherry Skeeter Pee ("Apple Cherry Bomb")---gone!
08/25/11: Strawberry Skeeter Pee ("Sweet Strawberry Tart")---gone!
09/18/11: Gewurztraminer---a few left
09/11/11: Cabernet Sauvignon---a few left
09/24/11: OB Blackberry Merlot---gone!
09/24/11: Blue Raspberry Skeeter Pee ("Jet Blue Raspberry")---gone!
08/13/11: White Cranberry Pinot Gris---gone!
10/12/11: Triple Berry Skeeter Pee (#2)---gone!
10/12/11: Strawberry Skeeter Pee (#2)---gone!
12/12/11: Raspberry White Zinfandel---gone!
01/08/12: Blueberry Sketter Pee---gone!
01/13/12: Blackberry Merlot (x2)---all gone!
02/12/12: Triple Berry Skeeter Pee---gone!
02/22/12: Raspberry White Zinfandel
02/29/12: Peach Mango (Heidi's Uberraschung)
03/11/12: Fraise du Vin (Strawberry Wine)
03/18/12: Green Apple Riesling
03/28/12: OB Blackberry Merlot (Hamann's Delight)

 

[SpoiledRotten]

I racked my blueberry this afternoon. That BB fermented really fast. It was down to 1.000 in no time. After racking, I was left with about 1/2 gal of space at the top of the carboy so I took the small flavor pak from the freezer, thawed and added it to the must. Now, I have it nestled in the closet, waiting for the fermenting to complete and the next racking in a few weeks to a month.

 

[dangerdave]

Hey, Randy!

Keep up the good work! I haven't tried adding more fruit after the first racking. Let us know how that turns out.

Oh, and one thing. It's must until you add the yeast. Then it's wine.

Dave

 

[SpoiledRotten]

Hey, Randy!

Keep up the good work! I haven't tried adding more fruit after the first racking. Let us know how that turns out.

Oh, and one thing. It's must until you add the yeast. Then it's wine.

Dave

Thanks for that quick lesson, Dave. I didn't know that. Wine after yeast! Got it!

I added the juice and it started a rigorous fermenting again, supposedly from the natural sugar in the blueberries. The "wine" is a very rich color and aroma at the moment and my wife can't wait to get some in a glass. Blueberries are her favorite fruit so I told her that this batch was going to be made exactly as she likes it. She'll be the taste tester and I'll finesse it to her liking.

The rigorous fermenting didn't last too long as this morning when I checked it, it was settled back down to a few light bubbles easing up the side of the carboy.

 

[dangerdave]

I think you're right. It was the extra sugar from the fruit that set it off again. Glad it's settled down. Let's see what happens...

 

[SpoiledRotten]

Questions about the wine calculator...

To get the amount of sugar needed, you put in the Target SG, the current SG, and the volume of the batch.
I noticed that you can't put in an SG under 1.000. I tried to put a target of .998 or .992 and it wouldn't calculate.
I wonder why since those are a target SG of many here. Have you had this problem?

 

[Boyd]

Could it be that the amount of sugar under 1.000 is supposed to be 0.00 or pretty close?