Ok, it hasn’t got a lot to do with making wine, but I’ve been waiting a long time for tonight’s episode of Lost. I made a wine from Old Orchard Concord grape concentrate, yep the kind you buy in the grocery store, and labeled it in honor of the show. This sort of wine will [...]
Monthly Archive for January, 2008
A Chocolate Store
Posted in misc on Jan 30th, 2008
Chocolate: Always too small, but never the wrong size My latest store sells chocolate for special occasions. Chocolate is a great gift, and not just for Valentine’s Day. While other things might be returned for all sorts of reasons: doesn’t fit, wrong color, already have one, why would I ever want one, when was the [...]
Superbowl Wine?
Posted in commercial wine, competitions and events, tasting on Jan 29th, 2008
Red wine and pizza! Ok, it’s not often you go to a football game and hear one of the vendors bellowing, “Ice cold Chenin Blanc here!” Beer is the beverage of choice for tailgate parties, but wine definitely has it’s place in your Superbowl festivities. What could better with pizza than a full bodied red? [...]
Extracting Juice With Sugar
Posted in winemaking on Jan 28th, 2008
Crushing and pressing is a great way to get juice from most berries, but this isn’t a one size fits all approach. Sugar extraction is a good way to “juice” hard fruits and vegetables. To do this, cut up the fruit/vegetables into 0.5 inch (1.25 centimeter) pieces and cover with sugar. In the photo, I’ve [...]
Rhubarb Wine Recipe
Posted in Recipes, rhubarb wine on Jan 23rd, 2008
I grow the rhubarb in my garden, harvest several times (freezing each harvest), and make a gallon or two of wine every year. Here’s how I do it.
A Cheap Way To Make Expensive Wine
Posted in tasting on Jan 16th, 2008
Grow the best grapes Making good wine is expensive, but not in the way you might think. Oh sure, the things that top growers do to improve the quality of their harvest add to the cost. They analyze the soil and amend it to enhance their crop. They prune and train their vines, even to [...]
How To Remove Lables From Wine Bottles
Posted in maintenance & cleaning on Jan 14th, 2008
Method #1: Soak and scrape I know I’m not the only home winemaker who cleans and reuses commercial wine bottles, but the labels on these bottles are getting more stubborn every year. I like to use the “soak and scrape” method. The first step, immersing the bottles in water and Oxiclean, is part of my [...]
Wine, Women, and Lawsuits?
Posted in cranberry wine, wineries on Jan 7th, 2008
I was thinking about cranberry wine a few weeks ago, and mentioned that a local winery made some. It turns out that they call it “Cranberry Jubilee,” and I suspect the wording is deliberate. They’d probably get into legal trouble if they called their 20% cranberry 80% Chardonnay blend “Cranberry Wine.” Well, they might have [...]
The Other Kind Of Hangover
Posted in maintenance & cleaning on Jan 4th, 2008
A few months ago, I described an easy way to clean a large fermenter, and concluded that, “It takes very little time and effort on your part, leaving you free to make more wine!” I wasn’t wrong about that, but there is a little snag lurking in that happy and optimistic statement: you have to [...]