Posts Tagged ‘home winemaking’

Funny story in The Derrick News Herald:

“Authorities in central Pennsylvania who were called to investigate a suspicious odor at an abandoned house thought they had found a meth lab.

It turned out to be an old winemaking operation.

Police in North Cornwall Township searched the home’s basement and discovered fivegallon pails and hundreds of glass beakers, jars and other containers filled with unknown liquids on Saturday.

Police say the items are consistent with equipment used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. But further tests and research led police to conclude the home’s former tenant, who died about five years ago, had been making wine in the basement.

Police re-secured the residence, which is owned by a man who police believe lives in nearby Lancaster.”

Might not have been so funny if there were real live people in the house, just making wine for Christmas though.

I recently wrote about the homemade maple syrup wine that I started on May 5, 2009. On May 14th, I racked it to a carboy with the specific gravity at 1.016.

Since then, it has begun to clear nicely and the colour is very interesting. It’s a very autumn or fall looking colour – the colour of some maple leaves after they have turned their colours at that time of the year. It’s hard to describe exactly, but perhaps vermillion .. or light cinnamon might be descriptive enough.

Although the SG was 0.997 last week, it is still showing signs of fermentation with lots of CO2 rising through the wine and the airlock continues to bounce every so often.

I’m going to let it continue doing what it is doing for another couple of weeks, then measure the SG, rack and likely add sulfite.

I am awaiting a very important phone call at this late hour (3:30AM) from the most special woman – to let me know she arrived at her house safely. Due to some circumstances beyond our control at this time, she lives a four hour plane ride and then about a two hour drive away. Tonight, I dropped her off at the airport in Toronto after we spent a wonderful five days together. Some of that time was enjoying some of the homemade wine and mead I’ve made. But one of the highlights of our weekend was being able to take in Leonard Cohen together in London, Ontario on Sunday night.

Mr. Cohen is such a fine old gentleman that we decided to dress for the occasion, and it was very nice to get compliments from the staff at the John Labatt Centre as we walked through the turnstyles and had ushers and usherettes direct us to our floor level seats. And I was able to “whisper sing” in my beautiful lady’s ear, along with Leonard Cohen, “If you want a doctor….. I’m your man.” Of course, in his older age, and his Marlboro cigarette “enhanced” voice, Leonard does it much better than I do, but the sentiment is the same.. if not deeper.. when I sing it.

Anyhow, as I wait for that phone call to know Colleen has arrived home safely, I thought I might as well add a post here. If you enjoy it, very good. If not, perhaps some of the other content here will be of more interest to you. I don’t mind.

I haven’t started another batch of kiwi melomel yet, but am thinking I might do that on the weekend. My beekeeper friend/client might be dropping off quite a load of honey to me on Friday. Thus far, the kiwi melomel has been met with compliments and this time, I’m going to make sure I make ten gallons of it. It will make for a very good gift to friends and clients.

I was also going through some photos and came across one of my six year old son helping me cork some bottles. He’s a great wee man, and perhaps this photo says it all about his constant happiness and love for doing things.

Ok… here’s the photo… and hopefully, the phone will be ringing in minutes!

Ring…! There’s the phone!

Home winemaking can be a lot of fun, coming up with wines made with different fruits and vegetables. Some years ago, I made a batch of garlic wine using this recipe here. When I’ve told people about it, the usual first reaction is to hold up their nose and have a quizzical look on their face. “Who’d want to drink garlic wine? What home winemaker would want to even make it?”

Well, I don’t drink it out of a glass. But I did have it with my dinner this evening. I took out a chuck roast out of the freezer – not the most tender of cuts and best cooked with liquid. After it had thawed, I decided to put it in a small roasting pan with a cup of garlic wine and a half cup of water. Into the oven it went at 250F for three hours. The roast turned out very good – and the gravy was wonderful!

After the roast had cooked, I added some oregano to the juice, a bit of salt and some corn starch to thicken it, brought it to a boil and then simmered for several minutes while constantly stirring.

If you’ve ever thought of a “different” kind of homemade wine to make, consider a gallon of garlic wine for cooking with. It does have a wonderful flavor and makes for a good marinade too. Again, here’s the garlic wine recipe.

Won’t get into the details – but an interesting, challenging, and tough week. Thanks to my family who where there for me. It meant a lot. More than I can say.

Hey, did I ever mention that I have an awesome 20 year old son named Alex who is a drummer in a Rock ‘n Roll band? Wise, Young & King is their name, and these guys are “GOOD!” That is, if you like the sounds of classic rock – and WY&K write all their own material. I’m listening to one of my favorite songs right now that has a LOT of meaning to me. I think this song was written especially for me sometimes. Or.. especially for “US.” It’s called “Angels Cry.” You can have a listen to it, along with a few other of their songs, here. Tell me what you think. They are all awesome, but of course, I’m especially proud of that drumming sound….

I was going to provide an update on my earlier Maple Wine that I started. My math must have been wrong, when I was checking the SG and adding water – I’ll write more on that when I go over my notes.

This evening, I discovered I had forgotten to add the Isokleer to the Liebfraumilch. I was wondering why it was still cloudy. This was an inexpensive kit wine that I wanted to make and bottle fairly quickly – six weeks to bottle – so I’d have some available for a special event that is/was to occur next weekend. Things are up in the air – we’ll see. Maybe. I don’t know.

I am still undecided as to how I will proceed with the “Special Wine” I’ve been carefully making and taking care of. Trying to decide when I will blend them together to age – or let them age as they are now, and blend later.

I always wished things could be perfect – even though I’m a realist and don’t expect it – but striving for it is good, no? Trying? Hoping? Mediocrity is something I’ve never settled for.

Ok.. back to Wise, Young & King!

Yesterday, I spent a fantastic 8 or 9 hours in the company of Home Winemaking expert Daniel Pambianchi at his Niagara-On-The-Lake vineyard. For readers still not familiar, Daniel wrote the book, “Techniques in Home Winemaking,” a book that I recommend to any home winemaker that wants to improve their skills and learn more about the art and science of winemaking. My review of the book is here.

Daniel operates a 14 acre vineyard just off the QEW in a very pretty part of Ontario. When I arrived (about a two hour drive), I was met by Daniel and his friendly staff. We had fun discussing wine while sampling some of the delicious bottled wines that Maleta has produced. And then on to some Grappa! I’d never had Grappa before, but Daniel had several styles ready for me to try including one that had been aged in Oak, one that had been aged with a hot pepper in the bottle, and a delicious espresso version.

After the introductions were all made, it was time to learn more about Maleta Winery and the services they can offer those who make their own wine. I had brought down a small sample of my “Mystery Wine.” I was curious about the specific gravity being below 0.900 and wondered what the alcohol content was. Daniel “fired” up the DuJardin-Salleron ebulliometer, calibrated it, and we discovered that my fruit wine was 16% alcohol by volume. Yes, it does taste a bit hot, and I’ll experiment with it. I was then shown some of the other interesting tools and testing equipment in the lab and felt like a kid in a candy store.

It was soon dinner time, and we watched the sun setting while enjoying a barbecued dinner on the deck while discussing a variety of home winemaking subjects. Daniel was very helpful and gracious in sharing some of his knowledge with me and I’ve come away with some ideas on improving my own wines. Shortly after dinner, we explored some of the wines he has aging in French and American oak barrels – and all I can say is that you’ll definitely be wanting to keep Maleta Winery’s wines in mind! We sampled several different varieties (unfortunately, I was unable to fully enjoy it all as I was driving home later) it various stages.

All in all, it was a super day! I learned much, enjoyed very good company and was introduced to some very good wine! Thank you Daniel!

Well, I hope she’s right! When I posted the Potato Wine recipe, I quoted Judith Irwin: “The maturation period is important, as this wine improves greatly with keeping.” And yes, this wine is only about six weeks. When I racked it off sediment today, I had a very small taste – and it was mostly a flavor of demerara sugar. The specific gravity today was 1.002 – I was expecting that as when I started it was high at 1.128 based on Irwin’s recipe.

It has cleared quite nicely on it’s own but there remains much trapped gas. I’ll spend some time tomorrow degassing it and then I’ll probably rack in another month, have a taste, probably add potassium sorbate because of the remaining sugar and then let it bulk age for awhile before bottling.

And that’s about all there is to report on the potato wine for now.

I did manage to get out fly fishing today. The afternoon looked as if it was going to turn out fairly decent – partly cloudy. When my “wee man” and I arrived at the small lake we were going to fish, we sat down and had a bite to eat first and then got into fishing. About half an hour, it began to rain. A few minutes later, I had a nice rainbow trout on the end of my line. As soon as that rainbow hit, the rain started to come down in a torrent. Bravely, the wee man stood by with the net while we got soaked. After the fish was netted, David decided he was heading to the car to get out of the rain. I was not long after him but left my gear in the hopes the rain would break and we’d return. It did stop after about half an hour – and I was able to give Colleen a call to let her know I’d caught a fish, knowing she’d be pleased!

We walked back to the water, had a few more casts when the rain started up again. And this time, thunder and lightning not far off. I decided to call it a day, but at least after a long winter, I did hook and land a fish the first time out. The fish will be breakfast.

Are you one of the many people who enjoy drinking red wine but find that you get headaches after drinking it? You don’t get them after drinking white wine but those reds really seem to bring the ache on. Have you like others blamed it on sulfite? If you have, consider that the majority of wines, both red and white, contain sulfite. Sulfites (usually the potassium metabisulfite form) are found in many grocery foods as it is a common preservative that inhibits bacteria growth.

So, it’s probably not this common food preservative that is causing those headaches. What else could it be?

Many red wines are subject to a “malolactic fermentation” (MLF). Lactic acid bacteria are introduced either along side the first yeast fermentation or after the yeast have completed their job of turning the sugars into alcohol. These bacteria break down the harsher tasting malic acid that can be found in higher quantities in some wines and turn it into lactic acid. The process helps to soften the taste of those wines that have high levels of malic acid. Malolactic fermentation is generally not carried out with most white wines.

MLF introduces other chemicals into the wine as a side effect of this fermentation, including histamine. Histamine of course can have severe effects on those individuals who are susceptible and can cause mild to severe headaches and other unpleasant symptoms. So if you enjoy the flavors and aromas of red wine and it’s intoxicating effects, what can you do to avoid the unpleasant effects?

Why not make your own red wine? The easiest way to do this is to purchase one of the many kits that are available. These kits can result in superb wines that will rival many of the store bought bottles. Kit wines should never undergo a malolactic fermentation as the producers of those kits have already balanced the juices and juice concentrates that go into them. No malolactic fermentation means no chemical bi-products that include histamine.

Learning how to make wine is not that difficult, and the kits that are available make it very easy and simple to bottle wines you will be proud to serve your guests.

First, I’ve had suspicions for some time that winemaking kit instructions are a bit off when it comes to degassing wine. Most kit instructions advise, after adding Potassium Metabisulfite (and please please make sure you add the sulfite BEFORE you attempt to degas!!), to stir vigorously a few times for at least a day or two before adding the fining agents. The most recent set of instructions advise that it is vital that the wine be degassed or it will not clear adequately.

Here’s my problem with these instructions: I have yet to be able to stir a wine vigorously for five minutes, three times a day for a couple of days, and have it anywhere near to being fully degassed within those two days. I’ve had a Zinfandel sitting in a carboy for the past week, and today, it continues to give off lots of CO2 when it is vigorously stirred, with lots of tiny CO2 bubbles rising. I am not introducing that much air to it while I’m stirring because most of the action is way down below the surface of the wine.

Here’s another reason why in my opinion, even a kit wine will profit from bulk aging before it is bottled. Much of the CO2 will have time to dissipate on its own. Whenever I let a batch of wine, kit or not, bulk age, (which is most of the time), I have little CO2 problems. However, I have seen others who follow the instructions of a kit wine to the day, and their wine can have excess foam when poured. I once had a bottle with a man who was very proud of his wine he had just made and wanted to share a bottle with me. He poured his into his glass, gave it a swirl, and the foam on top was nothing like I’d ever seen before. To say that he had made the wine is a bit misleading – he sprinkled the yeast on it in a “ferment on the premises” shop. Obviously the shop staff did not do much degassing, if any.

One does have to be careful not to overdo it when degassing too. That’s one of the reasons I’m not so keen right now on the Fizz-X tool. That thing can create a whirlpool with a deep vortex at the centre. That’s a lot of surface area that’s coming into contact with air. And I’ve found that even using that tool does not seem to really degas wines all that great. Unless I’m mistaking all those tiny bubbles rising from various depths of the wine and all that foam on top for something else – but beats me what it could be.

No, I think time is the best degasser. Not that some degasing isn’t a good thing to help the process along. But that’s just my opinion and I’m certainly open and welcome other thoughts on this as well.

Another observation after racking the Grenache that I started about two weeks ago to the secondary carboy: I really dislike the original 5 Gallon (6 US Gallon) carboys I purchased. They seem to have more capacity than 5 Imperial gallons, which leaves too much ullage for my liking. Quite a bit too much. I much prefer the “Mexican” 5 gallon carboys.

Yesterday, I wrote about sharing a couple of bottles of Zinfandel that I had made three years ago over a Leonard Cohen concert broadcast on television. A few weeks ago, I was at the local LCBO (for those readers who do not live in Ontario, that would be the Liquor Control Board of Ontario store) where I found a “staff pick” – bottles of Cline Zinfandel. I knew that I would be opening up one of my bottles of Zinfandel (that cost me about $4.00) and wondered how it would stack up against this one that cost $14.00.

Well, the $14.00 bottle definitely was better than mine. The most noticeable difference was that the Cline had more “mouth feel” whereas mine in comparison was flatter. The aromas from the Cline were also stronger, and there were very nice vanilla notes that my Zinfandel did not have, probably due to no oaking. On the other hand, the colour of mine was exactly the same as the Cline Zinfandel, and the anise and blackcherry were a bit stronger.

All in all, I wasn’t disappointed in mine at all. I knew it hadn’t been fermented with the skins, had little exposure to any oaking, and when I was younger, I had drunk far worse stuff that cost me $4.00. I can’t afford to regularly buy $14.00+ bottles of wine, and my Zinfandel had the same gentle intoxicating effect I’m sure, as the $14.00 Cline.

But I think I am going to experiment more with oak in some of my wines that I plan to age awhile.