Archive for the ‘Wine Making’ Category

I managed to obtain one Imperial gallon of maple syrup at a cost of $45.00. That’s a pretty fair price these days. What I have is dark syrup, which should have more nutrients – and flavour – over light syrup.

I am trying to decide what to do with it as far as some homemade wine. I’ve come across a few different recipes – all using American measurements. The one that seems the most popular – and easiest is John Gorman’s maple wine which calls for 8 to 9 pints of maple syrup, then water added to bring it to 5 gallons. An Imperial Gallon contains about 4.8 US quarts. So going by Gorman’s recipe, that should do 2 1/2 US gallons, or about 9.5 litres. But then, what yeast should I use? I suppose the best thing to do would be to make about 9 litres of maple wine and water solution and test the SG, and make some decisions about what potential alcohol I want while considering whether I’ll want dry or sweeter.

Or maybe I should just try Gorman’s recipe and see what I end up with. Not sure if I will start this homemade maple wine this evening – taking a break from some other things, or wait until tomorrow. Probably a good time to take stock of my yeast strains in the freezer.

Although some consider a maple wine to be a mead, or “mead-like,” some refer to it as an “acerglyn,” but I think this would be more correct if honey is also used in the recipe in addition to the maple syrup.

Decisions, decisions!

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!

For me, learning about how to make wine just never stops. I can remember years ago, making my first wine from a kit and being amazed at the simplicity of home winemaking. Since those first days, I’ve gone on to make many different fruit wines, meads, and yes – the odd time I have made beer as well. My preference remains wine although a cold home brew is nice on a hot sunny summer day.

Today, I was browsing through Daniel Pambianchi’s book, Techniques in Home Winemaking, (my review of the book is here) when I came across a note I had made in it about bentonite. Daniel writes in his book:

“Bentonite inactivates enzymes, and specifically, it should not be used concurrently with lysozyme.”
~ Page 261

Up to this point in time, I’ve never used bentonite in any of the fruit wines I’ve made, but there could be a time when I will. This information was good to know because when you make wines from fruit that are high in pectin, you need to add pectic enzyme to the juice. As those who make jams and jellies will know, pectin is a gelling agent. It’s also present in fruit and when making wine, can cause a haze. Pectic enzyme therefore is used to breakdown pectin. It works quickly but often, a winemaker will add bentonite to the juice before beginning the fermentation process at about the same time pectic enzyme is added. So now we know that we should add the pectic enzyme first and wait a couple of days before the bentonite addition.

P.S. If you want to learn how to make wine other than simply from store bought wine kits, I highly recommend you get Daniel Pambianchi’s book.

Today was Opening Day of the trout season where I am. Some readers will know that as well as making wine, I also am an avid fly fisher. I had plans to go out this afternoon. The weather forecast originally said it was going to be warm and sunny all day – I figured an afternoon and then into the evening might offer some nice results. However, the forecast changed. Instead of the sunshine, we had wild thunderstorms with winds gusting to 100 KM/H (60 MPH). I am not too bad at casting in windy conditions – but that is just nuts. And I certainly don’t want to be out on the water with a long piece of graphite while lightning is striking!

So instead of heading out, I thought I would give my wines some attention. I had meant to do this a couple of weeks ago, but decided on a spur of the moment trip to see Colleen for five days. When I returned, I had a lot of catching up to do on work related activities – home winemaking activities needed to be put on hold.

One thing I’m frustrated about – the GSM is still holding carbon dioxide gas. There were two things today I’ve never seen before – the second one I’ll get to in a moment. But the first one – this GSM that I started March 8/09 still has tons of tiny bubbles coming up when it’s agitated. It’s been in a warm spot for a month, and I’ve never seen a wine hold gas like this.

I also racked the Granache I started about a month ago – it’s tasting very good although of course, young. As readers may recall, my plan is to blend the Granache with the GSM. This evening, I added Kieselsol and then Chitosan which came with the kit. The Granache has very little CO2 in it, thankfully. Maybe sitting in the primary for 9 days does help with degassing.

Do you remember the “Mystery Wine?” There was a LOT of sediment on the bottom of the 5 gallon carboy it was in and I decided to rack it off of that. I ended up racking to a 4 gallon carboy and then there was enough left over to two thirds fill a gallon jug. Now, this was the wine that I had fermentation problems with, and was a bit concerned about it. I had a taste of it this evening – all I can say is that it is wonderful! It’s not much like the blackcurrant wine although it does have some notes in the flavor that were similar – I’m wondering if the berries in the freezer were indeed a mixture of black currant and purple gooseberries. I don’t know. But it sure is a “yummy” wine.

Now, the interesting thing – the second thing today I’ve never seen before: I took a specific gravity reading, and this was below the 0.900 mark. So I don’t really know exactly what the SG is. I’ve never seen a wine go below 0.900 when I’ve made it, previously. The beginning SG of this wine before fermenting was 1.104. I thought it might end up a little sweet – but it’s not. And it does not need sweetening – it’s quite good the way it is.

Too finish things off, I racked the Liebfraumilch as well. It has a nice fruity taste to it – I just had a very tiny sample – and it needs some degassing before adding clarifying ingredients. I was hoping to get to the Potato Wine, but time ran out. If I had more room, I could be doing a couple or more things at once, but right now space is limited. Hopefully that will be resolved soon, and I can get some of these winemaking activities done faster and in less time.

Tomorrow, I should give the potato wine some attention, and then if the weather co-operates, I’ll be wetting some flies and catching a few rainbow trout!

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.

I’ve been seeing advertisements and statements to the effect that some “expert” winemaker will teach you how to make wine for free. Can you make wine for free? Absolutely! But it’s unlikely it will turn out all that great. Nothing is really “free” – so I’ve written a two part series about this.

Part One

Part Two.

Comments and questions are welcome!

I’m sometimes asked when I tell others that I make my own wine, “Ian, how can I make wine?” As someone else once wrote (I think it was Jack Keller, but I’m not certain right now) my response is “You don’t make wine. Yeast make wine.” Sometimes I find it amazing that these single celled organisms are responsible for the turning juice into a beverage that many of us enjoy for it’s flavors, aromas, and of course, gently intoxicating effects.

So, how to make wine? Well, considering it’s the yeast that consume sugar, turning it into alcohol and carbon dioxide, we get to control so much of the process however, including the type of yeast we are going to use. There are many varieties of yeast available to make wine today, and are selected for a variety of characteristics they have. Some have higher tolerance to alcohol and temperature changes, while others are more suitable for wines that are meant to finish sweet or semi-sweet.

Of course, in wine making, there is also the choice of the main ingredient. Will it be juice from grapes or other fruits? How about mead made from honey? Even vegetables can be used to make wine. Until someone has tried it, they may think that making a parsnip wine would be rather awful tasting, but in fact parsnip wine after some aging is quite nice.

When wine is being made, what we try to do is control the conditions as much as possible that the wine is being made in by the yeast we’ve selected. During and after the fermentation (and sometimes before fermentation starts), adjustments will be made to try to get the right acidity, sweetness or dryness, clarity, and the all important flavours and aromas.

If you are using a wine kit, you won’t have to worry about those adjustments – the concentrated juice you will receive has already been balanced and had the necessary ingredients added to complete a fermentation that will turn out similar to a wine purchased retail made of the same grape variety(s). And for the beginner, this is probably the easiest way to begin learning about how to make wine.

I’ve never concerned myself with Malolactic Fermentation (MLF) because all the red wines I’ve made are from kits. I did try a red wine once – where I picked up the must from a vineyard – however, they had neglected to call me ahead of time to let me know when it would be ready. By the time I had picked it up which was about four days after the grapes were harvested and crushed, a wild yeast had already fermented it. And it did not turn out well.

So I’m no expert on MLF. This evening, I was browsing the site of a self proclaimed “winemaking expert” and came across a post about adding potassium sorbate (K sorbate) to wine after it has completed fermentation. Someone commented on the post to the effect that when making dry wines, he never added potassium sorbate. The wine expert then replied that the winemaker should still be adding potassium sorbate to the wine to prevent malolactic fermentation occurring in the bottle.

Well, this is simply not true. Malolactic fermentation can most certainly occur in the presence of potassium sorbate! In fact, according to what I’ve read, not only can MLF occur after potassium sorbate has been added, when it does occur at such times, it could cause a dreadful smell in the wine.

I never add potassium sorbate to wines that I have fermented to dryness. Some suggest that sorbate can cause a “kit taste” to such wines, especially those that I am bulk aging.

On the other hand, the presence of sulfite will inhibit malolactic fermentation. All potassium sorbate does is inhibit mold and prevent yeast from renewing a fermentation.

I very much enjoy reading “Luc’s Wjnlog.” Luc provides some really interesting information and I enjoy some of his experiments, tests and ideas for winemaking tools and accessories. If you don’t read Luc, you should. Visitors to his site the first time might not realize at first that although his posts appear to be in Dutch (I think that is the language but I’m not sure. Maybe it’s Fresian. Or German.), he always posts an English translation below.

The other day, he posted some information about making a Dandelion and Strawberry Wine. For strawberries, he has chosen strawberry jam which is an interesting idea. Jam is already loaded with lots of sugar, and he provides his calculations for any additional sugar required to make the wine based on the amount of sugar in the jam.

In my part of the world, it will be another month before the dandelions come out and one has to be careful about picking them. Have they been sprayed with weed killer?

If I can find a field filled with dandelions that I can be assured have had no poison sprayed on them, I might give Luc’s wine a try. It sounds very good!

It’s April Fool’s Day. Did you have any pranks pulled on you? I didn’t! I’m sure if my older sons were around, I’d have been the subject of some foolish prank or three. I can remember the first time I ever heard about April Fool’s Day. I was about four or five years old, and my mother told me something or other – I can’t remember what, but it was outlandish. She then smiled and shouted, “April Fool’s Day!” Then she explained the best she could to a four year old what it meant. I’ve been known to have pulled a few pranks myself on this day in history. And admittedly, I’ve been the victim of quite a few too. When you’ve spent a lot of your life working shiftwork, it can be easy to not remember what day exactly it is.

Anyhow, I’ve been degassing my Zinfandel. It continues to release lots of carbon dioxide when I vigorously stir it for five minutes, a few times a day. This evening, there was not quite as much foaming so I know I’m getting there. I would use the Fizz-X tool, but the carboy is filled to within an inch and a half of the mouth, and I’d have to siphon out some of the wine each time and then pour it back in. It’s been my experience that the Fizz-X tool does not help to release CO2 as fast as some claim. I should try it more often, perhaps.

Primary Fermentation

I’ve got a RJ Spagnols Cru Select Australian Bush Vine Grenache that I started on March 23. Seven days later, the SG is at 0.096. The wine is still in the primary fermenter. The instructions say to rack from the primary to the secondary on Day 14. That’s the longest I’ve seen a kit say to leave wine in a primary. I am thinking the extra time is to get as much extraction from the grape skins. I read somewhere that this also greatly aids with degassing the wine by leaving it in the primary for 14 days. I’m not sure about that. Part of me does not like the idea of leaving the wine in a primary for so long especially when I’ve been taking the lid off and stirring to get the grape skins below the surface every day. We’ll see how it goes, I guess!

Leonard Cohen

What’s Leonard Cohen got to do with winemaking? Not much exactly – but I have always enjoyed Mr. Cohen, and many a bottle of wine has been enjoyed while his songs have played in the background. This evening, CBC Television broadcast a one hour portion of Leonard Cohen Live In London. If we could have, Colleen and I would have watched it together but circumstances did not permit that (I’m in jail as I write this. Kidding). So, I sent Colleen a bottle of the Zinfandel I had made three years ago, we both opened one, and watched Mr. Cohen together at the same time. I guess you could call it almost a “virtual date.” Sometimes, you just do what you have to do, although I would have preferred to sing to her in person along with Mr. Cohen, “I’m Your Man.” I couldn’t really sing it over the telephone because our televisions sets seemed to have a gap of about 2 seconds. I’m quite uncomfortable as it is with my singing voice – I think in my entire adult and teenage life, the only people who have ever heard me sing before are my sons – and that’s mostly to fun Irish Rovers music. Thankfully, Colleen graciously does not laugh at me when I sing “I’m Your Man” to her.

If I get out of jail in time, we’re hoping we can take in Leonard Cohen live, together. In London. Ontario. I don’t think I’ll be able to sneak in a bottle of Zinfandel though.