What's going on in your winery today..

[goldseal]

Managed to rack, degas and stabilise 6 DJs yesterday. Added finings to a DJ of Beaverdale Barolo today - making it with non-tap water to see if there is a noticeable difference.

Only one DJ left indoors now - I'm port-ifying an Elderberry/Blackberry, so I'm sugar-feeding until the SG stabilises. Everything else is in the garage, cold stabilising (whether it needs it or not )

[NorthernWiner]

Just finished racking/sulphiting 60 gallons. 10 gallons of Gewurztraminer left to go.

[ms67]

Started 5 gallons of green tea & ginger wine.
upped the ginger concentration from last years recipe a touch (+40% ish)
used some lime zest as well as lemon (overall reduced the zest concentration a little)
will aim for an OG of 1080 -1085, rather than last years 1099
otherwise its the same as last year.

[wisp]

Hopefully I'm going to bottle the black cherry

[Rich]

I've bottled a Kenridge Amarone that has been loafing round a while. Tastes very good too.

[ms67]

Hopefully I'm going to bottle the black cherry

is that a youngs kit? if so i'm doing the same one, its the first time i've tried a country wine kit.

[hedgerow]

tonight we scrub, every thing all the equipment all the buckets and all the barrels ready for the srat in a few weeks of some very nice grocers near by that will sell me the out of date fruit for next to nothing, down side is i have to have every thing so things like bananas and melons which I dont want come with the pears and apples and soft fruits to

[wisp]

is that a youngs kit? if so i'm doing the same one, its the first time i've tried a country wine kit.

Yes, but I've tinkered with it. I have found some youngs kits tend border around 10%, given that wine needs to be at 10%, at least, to preserve itself [or have the rules changed now?], I like to add a bit of this and a bit of that. Effectively, the Youngs kit is a #1 wine. Flavour [the juice], the winey bit, [concentrated grape juice] and yeast. I tend to dump the provided yeast and move toward the tried and tested ingredients proffered by WAH. The results are brilliant if left to mature.

I usually make country wines from fresh produce rather than kits. I tend to go for 6.5 gallon bulk fermentations too. They work out cheaper and seem more rewarding than kits. I actually prefer country wines to commercial recipes too; believe it or not.

It will be interesting to compare notes.

[ms67]

I actually prefer country wines to commercial recipes too; believe it or not.

It will be interesting to compare notes.

ok, i'm up for that, especially as i followed the instructions almost to the letter (i racked before stabilising and fining) and used all their ingredients. i may need a memory jog tho

as for country wines vs commercial ... i'm getting there, a little fine tuning, mostly balance, and slight improvements to suit our tastes, and then i think i will prefer country wines every time. Not surprising i suppose as you can tailor them so much. But i think i'll still buy in a Shiraz from time to time.

[wisp]

the one grape I like least is shiraz. I just can't take to the wines that use it.

I think I love country wines more because of everything that has gone into them; especially being a kitchen activity. Maybe it's because the achievement is so rewarding. I rarely buy kits. If I do, they'll be the country kits and then I'll tinker with them. Even then, I'll only buy the kits if it's cheaper than purchasing ingredients separately. Elderberry, for instance. Being stuck in a wheelchair makes it almost impossible for me to collect my own, buying dried elderberries can be very expensive. If I buy the kit, especially from Wilkinsons, at the moment, I get the juice and the concentrate for roughly the same price.

[NorthernWiner]

the one grape I like least is shiraz. I just can't take to the wines that use it.

There are some I don't like either. One of my friends is hooked on this atrocious Aussie Shiraz called Yellow Tail. I can't abide the stuff. It smells too much like a breakfast drink.

But a French Cotes du Rhone or GDP with a good dose of Syrah in the blend can be pure heaven.

[wisp]

It was Oz stuff that I tasted, and seems to be Oz wine presented in restaurants and theatres. I love Cotes du Rhone, especially a village Cotes du Rhone, and maybe I just need to be re-educated. It's like everything else, I suppose, one [or a couple of] bad experience[s] tend to put one off completely.

[hedgerow]

sorry , but i dont like this grape wine stuff, it will never catch on anyway

[Rich]

Some degassing and stabilising today. Followed by some fining. Then moved the demijons out to the garage. Kitchen must be tidy I've been told! Inlaws may arrive tomorrow depending upon airports being open. Luckily it's snowing right now

[goldseal]

After 5 weeks without starting any fermentation, I got 5 gals of Wine No.1 going today

In true Wine No.1 tradition, I'm not mucking about with rackings or anything - it will start and finish in the same 5 gal Better Bottle.