Dandelion Wine Recipe

Many people would be embarrassed to say they have a great crop of spring dandelions. I was thrilled. Having missed out on the harvest last year, I was anxious to get to picking. I waited til afternoon so the flowers were in full bloom and picked quite a bit more than needed with more to spare. My front and back yard had more flowers than anticipated. I thought I would have to go about the neighborhood to pick my quota, but the backyard was plenty sufficient.

The dandelions are picked and ready to brew.

Dandelion Wine Recipe

Makes 2 Gallons

April 24, 2016

8-quarts dandelions

2-lemons

3-cups fresh squeezed orange juice

12-ounces Black Raisins

4-pounds sugar

1-can frozen apple juice concentrate

2-gallons water

2-teaspoons yeast nutrient

1/4 teaspoon tannin

2-campden tablets

1-packet yeast

I placed the flowers in a large stock pot and picked through them making sure all the stems and bugs were removed. I set another pot on the stove with three quarts of water to boil. When the water was boiling, I poured it over my flowers and let it simmer briefly, covered and let them steep with the burner off. Next, I added two more quarts of water to the stock pot and four pounds of sugar and let it come to a simmer for about ten minutes. Let cool. When cool add the flower water and sugar water to primary fermentation bucket. Add 12 ounces of black raisins that have been soaked and chopped to a fermentation bag in the primary as well. Also add the juice of two lemons, one can frozen Apple juice concentrate and 16 ounces fresh squeezed Orange Juice. Add grape tannin, yeast nutrient and two campden tablets. 24 hours later take a specific gravity reading and add the yeast.

Rack after 4-5 days to a glass carboy fitted with a airlock. Rack again after a month. Bottle when clear.

Nanking Cherry Wine Recipe

Nanking Cherry Wine Recipe

The frozen cherries patiently waiting in the main fermenter

Brewing date: August 24th, 2015, 12:41 pm

Makes 2-gallons

RECIPE

7.5 lbs ripe Nanking cherries ( both white and red cherries)

4 lbs granulated sugar

2 11-oz cans Old Orchard frozen grape (Concord) concentrate

Enough water for two gallons must

1 crushed Campden tablet

1/4 tsp grape tannin

1 tsp pectic enzyme

1 tsp acid blend

1 tsp yeast nutrient

LALVIN EC-118 wine yeast

Add half the water and sugar to a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Simmer the water and sugar for ten minutes. To a large fermentation bucket, add the frozen cherries. Pour the boiling water over the cherries and mash with a potato masher to release the color. Add the cans of frozen grape concentrate and top up with cool water to make 2-gallons of must. When completely cool, add the tannin, yeast nutrient, acid blend and 2-crushed campden tablets and mix well. Wait 24 hours and add the pectic enzyme. Add the yeast 12 hours after the pectic enzyme. 

NOTES:

I added the pectic enzyme at approximately 10 am on Tuesday morning. Will need to add yeast wednesday morning a the same time. 

August 26th, 9a.m. Pitched yeast

Starting Gravity: 1.098, Approx. 13% Alcohol

September 1, 8 p.m. First racking

September 13, 2nd racking. Topped with spare must from fridge.

November 18, 2015: wine is clarifying.

December 16, 2015: Racked wine and added American Oak chips. The flavor is very tart, with a rich amber color. This should sit about a month at least on the oak chips. 

March 20, 2016: My 3-gallon carboy has been sitting in the basement for three solid months with the oak chips added. I usually rack off the oak chips earlier, but sometimes it's good to see how the flavor changes over time. Today I finally stabilized the wine and bottled it. I added Potassium Sorbate, 1 ounce glycerine and 1 ounce of sugar syrup to the racked wine, mixed well and bottled. 

Sugared Plum Wine: First Impressions

April 6, 2016

It seemed like every time I went shopping last spring, the plums were ripe and could be had for a bargain. I purchased these at a local Aldi, where I almost never buy fruit for winemaking. They were so fresh, that I decided to give them a try. Finding good quality fruit is the hardest and most important thing when making wine. I've made enough plum wine to know. 

This Sugared Plum wine was brewed in June and bottled it in November.

Plum Wine is one of my favorite wines to make at home. When done right it can be a special treat. The key is to use enough fruit to add body and flavor only adding enough sugar to get the brix level to about 22 or 23. That gives me just the right amount of alcohol to volume so the wine doesn't taste thin or too hot.

First Tasting

The color is a nice ruby red. The wine is fruity and sweet, but not overly so with a tart, well rounded smooth finish. Sometimes Plum wine can taste thin like Cool Aid. However, this Sugared Plum Wine has a nice balance and a richness that makes it special. The alcohol level is probably around 12% even though the specific gravity was a bit high on brewing day. I did have to water the brew down a bit while racking off the sediment which accounts for the lower Alcohol percentage. 

I'll be looking for Sugared Plums to come out again this spring with the hope of making another successful batch.

Link to the Sugared Plum Recipe can be found here.

Mango-Pineapple Jaggery

Jaggery is made from unrefined palm sugar. It comes from the sap of the sugar palm tree that is found in South East Asia and Africa. The sap is usually collected in jars that have been coated with a bit of lime to inhibit fermentation. The jars are covered with a cloth to keep out insects and bats. The jars are collected daily to remove the sap which is then cooked down and concentrated and formed into balls for sale in the market. 

The sap is in some cases allowed to ferment right away and made into a alcoholic drink. One such drink is called Arrack. It a drink only locals would be familiar with because it is cheap, rough, and must be consumed quickly. 

When I heard about Jaggery, I was very excited to find it and make it into wine. I know of a grocery store nearby called Valli Produce that has a large east asian population and after careful exploration found the elusive Jaggery next to a huge selection of Indian spices.

I planned to use only Jaggery and Mango to make this wine. However, my fruit although ripe, was less than desirable and I added a banana and pineapple to make the beverage suitable for my tastes. I found the Mango on sale at a local fruit market and decided right then to make this wine. Had I known the quality of the fruit was poor, I would have used only pineapple and banana. 

Ingredients:

1-large pineapple

4-mango

1.8 lbs white sugar

13.5 oz. Jaggery

Enough water to make one U.S. gallon

Acid

Tannin

Yeast Nutrient

Pectic Enzyme

LALVIN EC-118 Wine Yeast

01-03-2016: made a yeast starter. 

Specific Gravity= 1.10 

Approx 13% ABV

Bring water to a boil and dissolve sugars. Meanwhile, wash, peel and cut the mangos and pineapple. Add the fruit to a mesh bag in the primary fermenter and crush with a potato masher. Pour the dissolved sugars over the fruit. Let cool and add the pectic enzyme and crushed campden tablet.