Wine making - cleared and complete

So, my wine has been sitting in it's gallon jar for quite a while now, doing it's magic.  It is finally done!
But, I need to back up a second here.  This photograph was shot a couple of weeks ago.  What you are seeing here is a layer of sediment that has settled to the bottom of the jar.  The wine has to be syphoned off into a clean jar and the sediment gets left behind.
I've syphoned it a couple of times since this photo, and the wine is nice and clear now.  Potassium sorbate (also available at the brewing supply store or on-line) can be used to make sure that fermentation is stopped.  After that, you can sweeten the wine by adding sugar.  Mine is sweet enough for me -- and I usually prefer semi-sweet wines.  I'd like to have some of my wine loving friends taste it and see what they think.
I really enjoyed trying my hand at wine making.  I have about $100 invested into the whole thing and I have 4 bottles of wine and enough supplies left over to make many more batches.   Hmm... what kind of wine should I make next?

Limoncello

I finally had a chance to deliver some of my homemade Christmas gifts to my friends and now I can tell you about what I made.  I made Limoncello for the first time and gifted bottles of it to some of my friends.  You can find all sorts of recipes for limoncello on the internet, so I'm not going to post one -- just the basic idea.  

I used approximately 20 lemons and 2 - 750 ml bottles of everclear (grain alcohol).  You only use the zest of the lemons -- I used a very sharp paring knife to be sure I didn't get any of the white pith.  The pith will make your limoncello bitter.  You could also use a zester but then you have to use filters to get the particles of zest out of the alcohol.  Anyway, I let the lemon zest soak in the strong alcohol for one month to infuse the alcohol with the essence of the lemon.  

After one month, I made a simple syrup (about 4 cups of water and the same amount of sugar dissolve over heat) and blended the syrup with the alcohol.  Immediately the alcohol gets a nice cloudy quality to it.  I love the way limoncello looks!  I purchased bottles from specialtybottle.com and bottled the limoncello right away.  The limoncello mellows with age, so it is nice to let it rest for another month if you can resist drinking it right away.  The limoncello should be served ice-cold.  I'm tucking a bottle of it away for a hot weekend next summer -- I think it would be splendid in the heat of summer.

That's all you have to do to make an amazing liquor beverage that is great to give at Christmas time.  It is not cheap, but it is easy (besides the hours spent to peel all those lemons).  When I was done peeling, I wasn't sure what to do with all of the lemons.  I ended up juicing them and pouring the juice into ice cube trays to freeze.  After freezing, I put the cubes in a freezer bag and dated the bag.  I figured I could then thaw them as needed throughout the year for any recipe that calls for lemon juice (I'm suddenly hungry for tabouleh salad - yum!).  

As it turns out, a couple of weeks later I decided to start making wine.  Making limoncello is the reason I chose to make lemon wine in the first place -- to use the abundance of fruit juice that I already had on hand.  As an update on the wine -- today I syphoned the wine into a new glass jar to get rid of some of the sediment at the bottom of the bottle.  I also tested the specific gravity and it is almost done.
Today I am also starting to venture into fermented tea -- or "Kombucha".  My good friend, Jen, gave me a chunk of her "mother" (the mushroom culture that turns tea into kombucha) yesterday when I visited.  I gave my dear friends limoncello and walked away with some of her amazing apple butter and some fungus (and got to try their cranberry wine too).  Stay tuned for more info on kombucha.

Wine making - the next step

The wine finally made it out of the primary and into the secondary container.  Last weekend I used a syphon (that also comes with the kit) to get it into this gorgeous one gallon jar.  Have I ever mentioned that I adore containers?  All sorts - jars, baskets, boxes, bags.  I love things that hold other things.  Is that odd?  This even shows in the background I chose for these photos - an Audubon Society bag I got with my membership.  Whoa, sorry for that rant.  I got off subject.

Anyway, the wine stays in this secondary for about 3 weeks now to finish the fermentation process before the next step.  See that funny thing sticking out the top of the bottle?  That is a very important contraption.  

You see, the yeast is still busy at work in the wine converting that sugar into alcohol.  There is a steady stream of bubbles floating to the top of the jar right now.  You can't just put any old cap on the wine right now -- your jar would explode.  But, you can't have it exposed to the air either (all sorts of funky stuff would try to live in it).  This is called an airlock.  There is water inside it.  It allows air to get out of the bottle, but not let air get back in.

It is a pretty nifty contraption if you ask me.  I am getting anxious for my first batch to be finished.  It smells like wine, but who knows how it will taste.
Also, one of the folks that helped inspire me to make wine in the first place may be willing to sell some of his equipment to me.  I guess he hasn't been making wine as much nowadays.  Here is a link to the original post that talks about his homestead.  He had some nice larger bottles so I could make larger batches.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he quotes us a good price.

Wine making - problem solving

I am finally moving forward in the wine making adventure.  I ran into a bit of a snag on the whole process right at the beginning and wasn't sure what was going on.
I had everything mixed together and sealed in the bucket.  I was checking in on it daily like the directions stated.  The goal is to give the mixture a stir and to measure the specific gravity as the wine ferments.  After a couple of days, I got worried.  The specific gravity wasn't changing.  In fact, nothing seemed to be happening at all.  I added some yeast nutrients to see if that would help.  It didn't.  The only other thing I could think of was that the yeast that had come with the kit had gone bad.  I had no idea how long that kit sat on the shelf before I bought it (or if it was exposed to extreme temperatures).  It took me a week or so to get over to the local wine making supply store, but I finally purchased some new yeast.
The new packet of yeast did the trick!  The day after I added it, I went to check on the "must", and was surprised at the change I found.  The juice was bubbly and acted like champagne when I tried to measure the specific gravity (lots of fizz and bubbles).  It continues to progress and tonight the specific gravity is getting closer to where I need it.  Today it smells like alcohol.  It is encouraging to see the change after the frustration of a couple weeks of nothing happening.
My only concern now is that I added too much yeast nutrient to the must.  I don't know what that will do to the finished product -- if anything at all.  Only time will tell.
Soon, I should be able to move the wine to the secondary bottle.  I'll have more photos at that time.

Wine making -- the beginning

Wine making has been something that I've wanted to try for years.  For some reason I thought it would be difficult or take a lot of equipment.  A few of my friends have been fermenting various things and having some pretty decent results, so I was inspired to tackle the project myself.  

I purchased a simple one-gallon equipment kit from a beer and wine making supply shop in Grand Rapids last weekend.  I also picked up a hydrometer at the shop as it wasn't included in the kit.  After looking over the recipe book that was included, I decided to try lemon wine to start.  I had a lot of lemon juice in the freezer from another project I am working on (I'll tell you more about it after Christmas).  The recipe called for some white grape concentrate and some yeast energizer.  Luckily, I found a supply shop in Saginaw where I could get them -- so Charlie and I made the drive on Sunday to get the remaining items that I needed.  You could certainly piece together the items you need without buying a kit, and you might save a buck or two -- but I was more interested in saving time.  

So, the basics:  1. Sterilization is very important.  You don't want wild yeasts and funky stuff growing in your wine.  You add a Campden tablet (included in the kit I got) which contains sodium metabisulfite.  It acts as a sterilant and antioxidant.  I'm assuming this is the stuff that causes problems for people with sulfite sensitivities.  2.  Keep the air out.  The kit also comes with an airlock that allows carbon dioxide to escape while preventing air from entering.  3.  Patience and observation.  Obviously it takes time to make any fermented item.  Observation is the stage I am in right now with my batch.

On Wednesday night I mixed together lemon juice, white grape concentrate, sugar, water, Campden and yeast energizer.  I covered it and let it sit for 24 hours.  Thursday night it was time to add the packet of yeast and cover it again.  This morning I sanitized my hydrometer equipment and did a test.  

The hydrometer helps you test when the wine is "done" -- it tests the specific gravity of the solution it is floating it.  You don't have to be a scientist to do this, you just have to be able to read measurements.
My recipe calls for a specific gravity of 1.04 -- mine is at 1.12 right now.  After a few more days (testing on a daily basis), I should be able to syphon it into my secondary (the white bucket is the primary, a 1-gallon glass jar is the secondary) and let it do it's magic for a couple of months.  Then it gets bottled.  It is that easy.
The equipment ended up totaling about $40.  The white grape concentrate was NOT cheap.  $15 for one liter (but it will last a while).  The lemon juice was something I already had on hand that I didn't want to waste.  Considering this equipment will last a long long time, I think it was a pretty good investment.  I'm excited to try different flavors.  Now I'm going to be on the look out for orchards and u-pick places that might want to get rid of their left overs.  I also want to find some elderberry bushes next Spring and see what I can get when the fruit ripens.  Lastly, I want to plant some fruit vines/canes/trees around our property so I can grow my own.
Be warned -- I have no idea if I am doing things correctly.  I probably should have spent some time reading a book about wine making first.  I just decided to jump right in with the very basic instructions that came with the kit.    Luckily, I have friends that have been doing this for a while, and another friend that works at her family's vineyard (I would adore that kind of career!).  If I need help, I have some support from people who know what they are doing.
Stay tuned for more updates...

Coming soon -- wine making!

I am attempting wine making!  More details to come...

Much needed change of scenery

Mom and I took a vacation together this past week and I'd like to share a bit about it.  We had a marvelous time!  We went to the Traverse City, Michigan area and stayed in a quaint bed and breakfast near Torch Lake.  Most of our time was spent cruising around in Mom's convertible.  The weather was awesome staying mostly sunny and in the mid 70's.  I even got a little suntan on my face -- not bad for late September.  

The first image is of a little dirt road we took.  We love exploring -- especially in Mom's convertible.  

We spent some time wading in Torch Lake at this little beach.  It is supposed to be the third most beautiful lake in the world (I wonder where the 1st and 2nd place lakes are).  It was nice, but Lake Michigan is still my favorite.

We drove out on Old Mission Peninsula (just North of Traverse City).  It is one the most scenic drives I have ever been on.  It is covered in apple and cherry orchards and numerous vineyards all over the rolling hills.  Beyond that you have a great view of the bay.  

We stopped at a few wineries and sampled plenty of amazing wines.  In fact, besides one piece of artwork that I couldn't pass up, the only things I bought on vacation were fancy foodstuffs.  I got 2 bottles of wine and a bottle of cherry port, a local cheese, chocolate covered dried cherries, pear preserves, pumpkin butter, and hot masala (indian spice) chocolate.

We did much more than that, but I think you get the idea of how pleasant and relaxing our vacation together was.  I'm so happy that Mom and I have such a good relationship with each other.