More, Please: Home Winemaking and Melomel
May 20th, 2009 | 
Author: There are a few things about making my own wine I don’t like: Cleaning and sanitizing bottles, trying to figure out where I’m going to store carboys not in use along with wines I’ve just bottled, and being disappointed about something.
Today, I’m disappointed. Very very disappointed. Hey, when you’re a home winemaker, it can happen. You put a lot of time and effort into trying something – wait two or three years, and with much anticipation – you sniff the aromas and put the liquid to your mouth. Will it be as good as you hoped? Was the patience of waiting worth it?
How about this one? “I didn’t make enough!”
Back in 2006, I went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of Kiwi fruit. About nine pounds. Then I followed this recipe. Except, I stopped racking after a year and just let it age in the carboy for another 2 years and 4 months. I bottled it the other day into 375 ml bottles. Last evening, I put a few of those bottles into the fridge to chill. Then I opened one. I smelled. I tasted. I drank. Then another bottle was opened. I tasted. I drank. Then another…
You get the picture.
Heck, even the hangover tastes good. Now, where’s my Milk Thistle?
Oh, I am so disappointed that I only made three gallons. And a few of these bottles are marked already as gifts which leaves me with even less to enjoy over the summer. Kiwi Melomel is something you can enjoy with anything you’d eat that would call for a white wine – but I can also see myself sipping this on a hot day while sitting out in the sun.
I’m off to buy about 40 pounds of kiwi fruit (thankfully, there are three grocery stores in my town. Not sure what they would think of me at Zehr’s buying up ever last Kiwi they have in stock). I’ve got enough honey to do make two five gallon batches. If you enjoy home winemaking, and are thinking about trying some meads – seriously give Kiwi melomel lots of consideration. Tell your friends when you offer it to them that I told you to try it. Your friends will thank me.
Related Posts
Posted in Fruit, Mead | 
Tags: good hangovers, kiwi melomel, Mead, mead recipes, milk thistle, white wine, Wine Making
I like that. “Even the hangover tastes good.”
Ok, you’ve got me sold. I think there might be a run on kiwi fruit over the next little while.
What a lovely complaint! “I didn’t make enough”.
What would have happened if you had made a ton of kiwifruit into melomel and it turned out bad. Much better to err on the side of caution as you have done.
I live in New Zealand the land of the kiwi and the kiwifruit so I know how versatile kiwifruit is. Did you know kiwifruit is also processed into a personal lubricant? Try mixing the two products together and watch the sparks fly!