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Who is Jack Keller?
Jack Keller lives with his wife Donna in Pleasanton, Texas, just south of San Antone. Winemaking is his passion and for years he has been making wine from just about anything both fermentable and nontoxic.
Jack has developed scores of recipes and tends to gravitate to the exotic or unusual, having once won first place with jalapeno wine, second place with sandburr wine, and third with Bermuda grass clippings wine.
Jack has four times been elected the President of the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild, is a certified home wine judge, frequent contributor to WineMaker Magazine, creator and author of The Winemaking Home Page and of Jack Keller's WineBlog, the first wine blog on the internet, ever. He grows a few grapes, recently retired, and is slowly writing a book on -- what else? -- winemaking.
Some Other Wine Blogs
There are hundreds of wine blogs. According to Alder Yarrow (see below), none have been around as long as Jack Keller's WineBlog, but 99% of these newcomers are for wine consumers, not winemakers. They have anointed themselves the official "wine blogosphere." You can count on both hands those of us bloggers dedicated to actually making the stuff they write about, and yet our blogs are largely ignored by this elite. Still, they exist and are important. There are some who write for the buyer / consumer but still occasionally talk about the making of wine, even if they usually are talking about making it in 125,000-liter stainless steel tanks. Or they might talk about grape varieties, harvests in general, the cork-screwcap debate, stemware, or other subjects I think you might find interesting. They're worth reading even if you aren't interested in their tasting notes. Then again, that just might be your cup of tea. Here are a few of them I like, listed in a loose alphabetical order (by blogger):
If it is, please click on the link to the left. When the "thank you" page appears, type "WineBlog" in the smaller search box, press [Enter] and rate the site. Numerical ratings are in a drop box; 10 is high. I will be most grateful.
May 15th, 2012
It was 8:50 p.m. I went out on the front porch to sit on our bench and enjoy a rum drink I concocted. It was almost dark, the sky a deep gray-blue but not yet black. I couldn't clearly see the nearest house across the street. The sound of hundreds of cicadas chirping to each other up in the large oaks was loud and constant. It was a nice orchestra with which to enjoy a drink.
I know from experience that the chirps will almost completely die out in two hours. Those seeking mates will have found them and no longer need to chirp. Nature, in all its detail, is majestic. I know that if I go sit on the bench to enjoy a cup of coffee at 6:45 in the morning, I will hear a different orchestra -- one of birds calling and singing. It too is nice. Two mornings ago I saw a covey of perhaps three dozen quail working their way across my lawn. Haven't seen them in a couple of years. I love where I live.
Passings
While the nation mourned the passing of Dick Clark last month, the passing of Levon Helm the next day was far more significant to me. The legendary drummer and lead tenor of The Band moved my soul many, many times. Dick Clark never did. Levon was the winner of three Grammys for his own albums (2008, 2010, 2011), inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Band (1994), awarded the AMA Lifetime Achievement Award for Performing (2003), the AMA Artist of the Year (2008), and in 2008 Rolling Stone ranked Helm #91 in their list the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
His most legendary songs were with The Band: "The Weight," "Ophelia," "Up on Cripple Creek," "The Shape I'm In," and my favorite, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." But his most original work was during his last decade and included his three Grammy albums and the Midnight Rambles at his home at Woodstock.
Most people who follow rock and roll are familiar with Martin Scorsese's documentary film of The Band's 1976 farewell performance, The Last Waltz, widely considered the greatest rock and roll film ever made. Levon Helm performed in it, but no one was acting. Levon's acting career opened as Loretta Lynn's father in Coal Miner's Daughter. Three years later he played test pilot and engineer Jack Ridley in The Right Stuff. He acted in nine other films. He played many instruments besides the drums. Bruce Springsteen called Helm "one of the greatest, greatest voices in country, rockabilly and rock 'n' roll ... staggering ... while playing the drums." I'm really going to miss you, Levon. I doubt I will miss Dick Clark at all.
Those who follow auto racing already know this, but Carroll Shelby, the legendary auto racer and car designer who built the Shelby Cobra and injected muscle into Ford's Mustang and Chrysler's Viper, has died. He was 89.
Shelby. There is a name I grew up with. Shelby first made his name behind the wheel of a car, winning the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans with teammate Ray Salvadori in 1959. According to his longtime friend Dick Messer, executive director of Los Angeles' Petersen Automotive Museum, Shelby already was suffering serious heart problems and ran the race "with nitroglycerin pills under his tongue."
Soon after his win at Le Mans, he gave up racing and began designing high-powered "muscle cars" that eventually became the Shelby Cobra and the Mustang Shelby GT500. The Cobra was the fastest production model ever made when introduced at the New York Auto Show in 1962.
I had the privilege of owning one of the five 250GT short wheel-base Berlinettas Ferrari built for the 1961 Le Mans. I was frequently challenged by Corvette owners to race, but I only accepted if the run was five measured miles. The Ferrari had terrible low-end torque and the Vette wallowed in it, but after the first mile and a half the Ferrari was red-lining at 193 miles per hour and the Vettes were left in the dust. I made the mistake of racing a Cobra -- once. It cost me $100 and earned my deepest respect for Carroll Shelby.
Shelby was one of the nation's longest-living heart transplant recipients, having received a heart in 1990 from a 34-year-old man who died of an aneurism. Shelby also received a kidney transplant in 1996 from his son, Michael.
In 2007, an 800-horsepower 1966 Cobra, once Shelby's personal car, sold for $5.5 million at auction, a record for an American car. Wouldn't you just love to take that one out for a spin?
Most of the above Shelby nuggets were pulled from an Associated Press article by Jeff Wilson.
I join your many fans, Carroll Shelby, in saying we're going to miss you.
Corn Silk Wine
Many years ago I made a list of things I have not yet made wine with. The list was not inclusive and no matter how many times I updated it I could always think of another candidate for wine. One item on that list was corn silk. It was not tackled early on simply because I had no idea how to approach it. Two years ago I gave it a whirl, guessing at every step of the way. It didn't turn out bad at all.
I assumed I could make a wine because corn silk tea was a medicinal beverage in the Americas hundreds of years before Columbus, and most teas can be made into wine. Corn silk is rich in vitamin K and its tea is still used to help purify the blood, treat urinary and bladder infections and detoxify the kidneys. But how much to use? Here I merely guessed.
The number I guessed at was the corn silk from 12 ears of corn per gallon of wine. How did I arrive at this figure? It was the number of ears of corn a friend gave me. Very scientific....
The first step is to make a tea and then use that to make the wine. First, cut off any brown tassel tips protruding from the ears of corn. The carefully shuck the corn to expose the corn on the cob surrounded by the thin, shiny, greenish-yellow threads of corn silk. There will be one thread of silk for every grain of corn. Grab the silk near the top of the ear and pull it away from the ear. Place the corn silk in a stock pot and cover with two quarts of water. Bring to a high boil but immediately reduce heat to a simmer and hold it there for 15 minutes, adding water to maintain level. Remove from heat and allow to steep for a half-hour. Strain, reserving the liquid and discarding the silk. The liquid is the corn silk tea and will smell like corn.
2 qts corn silk tea
1 can Welch's 100% White Grape Juice frozen concentrate, thawed
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 large orange
1 1/2 lbs granulated sugar
1/8 tsp grape tannin
Water to one gallon
1 tsp yeast nutrient
sachet general purpose wine yeast
While tea is still warm, stir in sugar until completely dissolved. Contain lemon zest in a tea ball infuser and place in a primary. Add all remaining ingredients except yeast. When must is cooler than 90 degrees F., add activated yeast in a starter solution. Cover the primary and set aside for 3 days. Remove tea ball infuser and discard the zest. Recover the primary but monitor its progress. When specific gravity drops to 1.020, transfer to secondary and attach airlock.. Set in a dark, cool place for about 45 days. Rack, top up and return to dark place for 2 months. Wine should be clear. Rack again, stabilize, return to dark place at least 30 days. Sweeten to taste if desired and allow a final 30 days in dark place before bottling, or bottle now if not sweetening. Age in brown or amber bottles 4-6 months, but improves out to a year. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
My wine suited my taste buds at specific gravity 1.002. This is considered off-dry but certainly not sweet. You can smell the corn ever so lightly in the glass, but I was not sure I could taste it due to the citrus. Still, it is an enjoyable wine best served chilled with a salad or socially on a warm summer afternoon.
Corn Stalk Wine
I have twice been asked about corn stalk wine but never really had the interest or knowledge to pursue it. Recently, reading Patrick E. McGovern's fascinating book, Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages, I came upon his discussion of corn stalk wine. He says we know from evidence that corn was domesticated approximately 6,000 years ago, but stable isotope analysis of ancient human bones reveals that maize (what we call corn) was not consumed as a food until around 3,000 years ago. So what the heck were the ancient Americans doing with that corn for 3,000 years? The answer is making and drinking corn chicha, or corn wine.
It was not until selective breeding produced a large cob bearing large kernels that the corn itself became the crop. Prior to that, the young corn stalks themselves, containing up to 16% sugar, were the crop, harvested before the ears began development and the sugar was transported to them for conversion into starch. The sweet juice was extracted from the stalks and fermented. McGovern's evidence is compelling.
The stalks of both maize and its ancient ancestor, teosinte, were used in the production of chicha. Teosinte, a wild mountain grass with tiny ears containing only 5 to 12 kernels, contained almost no nutritional value, but we know it was domesticated and over millennia lost its many thin stalks in favor of a large central one and the ear size increased. It evolved into maize, or corn.
While McGovern tells me enough to know how to make a corn stalk wine, the development of an actual method and construction of a recipe would require me to actually do it. I have no corn stalks at my disposal and do not own a press I consider sufficient to that purpose. If you have both, perhaps you might undertake the experimental work and share it with me. It cannot be too difficult. After all, the Incas, Aztecs, Mayans, and pueblo dwellers of the U.S. southwest did it thousands of years ago without ever knowing there was an organism called yeast that made it possible. Surely you can do it too.
Check fraud. Scary thought. It could happen to you. It just happened to me. I logged into my bank to confirm receipt of my pension and decided while there to balance my checkbook. I noticed an out-of-sequence check and looked at the payee. It was a store my wife shops and her book of checks is always out-of-sequence with mine so I didn't really pay too much attention to details. Then I ran across seven more out-of-sequence checks, but one of them was at the end of the checkbook I was using and the others in the next book, which I also had possession of. The amounts were always in the $200-$500 range, but added up. I called the bank.
I won't bore you with details, but it has turned into a saga of sorts. Together with the bank's Fraud Department, we have determined the check I wrote that was intercepted, probably from my mailbox. My account is closed. Affidavits and signature cards are on their way to me. A notary and police report will be needed. Then I have to track down all automatic payments and withdrawals and notify them of the new account when issued.
George Gershwin wrote, "Summertime, and the livin' is easy." He obviously lived before the computerized printing age, but thanks to computerized bank data I was able to nip this in the bud early. I just hope it doesn't get more complicated.
My sourdough starter was producing rises like the one pictured (the shot glass was intended to show perspective, but is too close to the lens and looks almost twice as large as it is), was at just the right degree of sourness for me (which was pretty sour), and had reached the point of near perfection...when I dropped it.
I had not dried my hands well enough when I picked up the bowl containing the starter to move it to an opposing countertop and the moist fingers lost their grip. It shattered on a rug runner past it's time for cleaning, so there was no salvaging from the drop. Still, I had a small amount set aside that I am using to revive the culture.
When the culture is to my liking, I will spread a thin layer on a sheet of parchment and dry it in a cracked oven on pilot. As long as temperature doesn't exceed 105 degrees F., the yeast and the starter will survive dried out for many years.
I want to thank all of you who bring to my attention errors in my recipes and other writings. I sometimes write on auto-pilot and the result can lend itself to error. I apologize for the errors, but thank you for bringing them to my attention. You guys and gals are truly awesome.
Malbec and Rosemary Sausage
I rarely ever do this, but I'm lifting the following entry wholesale from an email I received from Nicole Schnitzler of The Thomas Collective. It just sings to me and might just sing to you, too, if you like Malbec and sausage.
"Man first learned to cook with fire. Maybe that explains our enduring fascination with barbecue-that primordial satisfaction of gathering the tribe around the fire to celebrate another day's successful quest for meat. Wine was invented for these occasions, and if anyone is more popular than whoever's tending the fire, it's whoever is supplying the wine.
"Now pair that wine with a great sausage, and suddenly you're not just making food, you're participating in a ritual that's 10,000 years old. The world comes alive.
"To test our hypothesis, Graffigna, Argentina's pioneering winery, has commissioned butcher Sara Bigelow of Brooklyn's Meat Hook to create a singularly knock out sausage. In the recipe below, she uses Graffigna Centenario Malbec 2010. The wine's ripe tannins balance the meat's unctuous qualities, and hints of pepper and sweet spices mirror and enhance those found in the dish. Just make sure to share the remainder of the contents with your guests."
The Meat Hook's Malbec and Rosemary Sausage Serves 8
2 1/2 lbs Fatty Pork
20 grams Kosher Salt
3 grams Cayenne
5 grams Paprika
3 grams Ground Black Pepper
2 grams White Sugar
8 grams Garlic
5 grams Minced Rosemary
2 ounces Graffigna Centenario Malbec 2010
"Grind pork and garlic together. Add salt, and mix well by hand. Add the rest of your spices, and continue mixing by hand for two minutes. Add red wine and continue mixing until liquid is fully incorporated. Once the sausage has begun to bind to itself, form a small patty with your hand. Turn your hand upside down, and if the sausage does not stick, continue to mix. Once the sausage will stick to your hand, form into patties or stuff intonatural hog casing. The Meat Hook recommends 4 to 5 inch links, or small pinwheels. Grill and enjoy with a glass of Graffigna Centenario Malbec 2010."
Wisteria Blossom Wine
Wisteria, especially Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis), is a very hardy and fast-growing vine. It can grow in fairly poor-quality soils, but prefers fertile, moist, well-drained soil in full sun. Wisteria can best be propagated from hardwood and softwood cuttings. They can climb 60 feet and completely cover a tree. Because of their sheer bulk, they can grow so heavy that they break lesser branches. The American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens), especially, is considered invasive. But the flowers, well, can you spell w-i-n-e?
The plant flowers in long, pendulous racemes. The Chinese Wisteria is considered the best for making wine, as they are the most fragrant, have the largest racemes, and flower before putting out leaves and new vine laterals that can impede harvesting the flowers.
All portions of the plant, except the flowers, are poisonous. Select the most fragrant flowers and clip the individual flowers from the raceme. Discard the raceme's stem. The resulting wine, after aging, will be both fragrant and flavorful.
flowers from 8 wisteria racemes
1 can Welch's 100% White Grape Juice frozen concentrate, thawed
1 1/2 pounds sugar
4 lemons, juiced
Zest of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
1/4 powdered grape tannin
7 1/4 pints water
1 sachet wine yeast
Clip the wisteria flowers from the stems and discard the stems. Put the flowers in a nylon straining bag, tie closed, place in a primary and set aside. Bring the water to a boil and pour it over the flowers. Let the mixture sit for 2 hours, covered. Raise the nylon straining bag and squeeze gently to extract as much of the infusion as possible. Keep the liquid and discard the flowers. In a large, non-reactive stock pot, bring the strained wisteria infusion to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the lemon juice and sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the lemon zest and the thawed White Grape Juice concentrate. Remove from the heat, cover the stock pot, set aside to cool to room temperature, and stir in the yeast nutrient and tannin. Pitch the activated yeast as a yeast starter solution. Cover and leave at room temperature until the vigorous fermentation subsides, stirring 2-3 times each day. Strain into a gallon jug and attach an airlock. After 1 month, rack, top up and set aside until clear. Wait another 30 days and rack again. Stabilize the wine and set aside an additional 60 days. Sweeten to taste and allow to maturate another 30 days. Carefully rack into bottles and age a year before tasting. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
I'm off tomorrow to the Small Scale Winemakers Symposium at Cat Springs, Texas, about 3 hours from here. I'll be giving a presentation on making fruit wines, something I have some experience with. It should be a nice day.
Not much has been happening except some medical stuff I won't bore you with and a two-front battle royale with both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration. I won't bore you with that either. I bottled a pretty good tangerine wine I'll share with you below.
I was going through some photos we took and came upon this one of Bolivar Lighthouse, which sits at the western tip of Bolivar Peninsula and announces the eastern edge of the narrow channel into Galveston Bay. It isn't the prettiest lighthouse I've seen, but at 117 feet it is still impressive. Erected in 1872, it is made of brick and sheathed in cast iron plates riveted together. It was once decorated in black and white horizontal bands, but today it is almost solid black with rust.
The lamp was fed by kerosene, contained in storage tanks on the lower level, which was forced through nozzles into a mantle where it became gas, burning with 52,000 candlepower. Eight rays of light were produced every 15 seconds as the lamp slowly revolved throughout the night.
It survived the two worst storms ever to hit the Texas coast, the hurricanes of 1900 and 1915. The 1900 hurricane, which took an estimated 6,000 lives on Galveston Island, caused the tower to sway, but the lighthouse stood and gave refuge to 125 people. In 1915, 61 people took refuge in it as 126 mph winds rocked it again.
It was considered one of the most attractive and efficient lighthouses on the Texas Gulf Coast, but today it is privately owned and closed to the public. Its utility was retired in 1933 when the South Jetty light went into operation. I still think it is splendid and treasure the photo, cropped for this blog.
Tangerine Wine
Tangerines are a wonderful citrus fruit, great for snacking. They peel very easily and the sections separate easily too. I've read there is a seedless variety, but I've never encountered it. The seeds are the only drawback. When eating, if my teeth happen to crack one I spit it out, usually with a few others. Otherwise, I generally swallow them because spitting was always frowned upon by my mother. They make no difference when making tangerine wine, so ignore them.
The tangerine (Citrus reticulata) is a close cousin of the orange (Citrus sinensis). More than 37 cultivated varieties are grown, but the best known are the Changsha (Mandarine), Clementine (Algerian -- acidic), Dancy (Mandarine), Fairchild (Clementine), Fortune, Honey (sweet), Murcott (sweet), Nasnaran (acidic), Nova (Clementine), Page (sweet), and Satsuma (7 varieties plus hybrids--more weakly flavored than other varieties). The Kinnow and Wilking are also highly prized for winemaking, each possessing a rich, aromatic flavor.
The recipe below makes one gallon of delicately flavored wine, but it is important that the oranges used be Valencia and the tangerines be an equal mix of acidic and sweet varieties. If you cannot find Valencia oranges, a can of frozen orange concentrate will work.
Calamondins, Citranges or Minneola Tangeloes--none of which are true tangerines--can be substituted for acidic tangerine varieties, If using Calamondins, which are very small, use 2-1/2 times as many as the number of sweet tangerines you use. Eight cans of Mandarine orange segments can be substituted for sweet tangerine varieties.
16-24 tangerines (sweet and sour varieties, equally mixed)
8-10 small Valencia oranges
can of Welch's 100% White Grape Juice frozen concentrate
1 lb finely granulated sugar (or to S.G. of 1.090)
1 tsp citric acid
3/4 tsp pectic enzyme
1/4 tsp tannin
1 tsp yeast nutrient
water to 1 gallon
1 pkt Champagne wine yeast
Bring about 5 pints of water to a boil and in it dissolve the sugar. Save zest of 5 oranges (if using concentrate, zest from 8 tangerines). Peel and section all citrus, being careful to remove all pith. Place zest and sections in nylon straining bag, tie closed and mash in primary. Pour boiling water with dissolved sugar and thawed grape concentrate over fruit, cover primary, and set aside to cool. When must has cooled to room temperature add acid, tannin, yeast nutrient, and pectic enzyme, recover primary, and set aside 12 hours. Add activated yeast in a starter solution, cover the primary again and set aside. Stir daily until specific gravity drops to 1.010. Drip drain bag (do not squeeze) and transfer liquid to secondary. Top up if required, attach airlock and ferment to dryness. Rack when fermentation ceases, top up and reattach airlock, Rack again, top up and refit airlock every 60 days for 6 months or until wine clears. Taste. If too tart, stabilize, sweeten to taste, wait additional 30 days to ensure fermentation does not restart and rack into bottles. Age another 6-12 months before tasting. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
This recipe makes a 12% alcohol wine, but at 10% it is a more enjoyable wine served cold on hot summer afternoons.
The weather is wonderful, with a few cool nights, and flowers are coming out in bloom in profusion. What a great time of the year! I hope you, wherever you might be, are enjoying similar spring days.
I missed the critical time to plant a garden and just don't want to fool with it when behind schedule. Been there, done that, and the results are not as fulfilling as with proper timing. Next year I will pay closer attention to my Farmer's Almanac -- still the best authority I know of.
I know other parts of the country suffered this past winter, but here in Pleasanton, Texas we had a mild one. I only recorded 5 nights during which it froze. I was only absent for a week and my neighbor said it got cold but did not freeze. But the severity of the winter was further confirmed, in my mind, by the fact that the house sparrows bred and occupied our birdhouses all year long. Whether a mating pair occupied the same birdhouse or nest repeatedly is something I cannot say, but I knew when the female was about to lay eggs because she cleaned the house or nest to some degree, the scatterings beneath it.
Maybe this is normal and I just haven't noticed it in the past as I did this year. I know that these omnipresent winged friends do not migrate, but I do not recall so many fledglings during January and February. March is when I usually notice them. Further, I do believe I have seen three broods already this year. I saw fledglings in early January, the latter half of February and then early April. Another wave of eggs is evident right now, as the females are cleaning the habitats. Whether the quick, successive broods have anything to do with the weather is something I cannot say. I am just reporting my coincidental observations -- mild winter, successive house sparrow broods. I have two friends who are avid birders and they should be able to put my observations into context for the species.
As I look out the window beyond my monitor I see sparrows at work in the three hanging bird houses and many nest in the patio rafters, an empty bird seed feeder, a squirrel raiding a second, several hummingbirds visiting two of my four hummingbird feeders, and a herd of 6-8 deer eating weeds in my far back. Yesterday at dusk there were at least a dozen out there. They are difficult to count because an out-building, trees, grapevines, and the tall weeds themselves constantly shield about half my view. I see them best when they move about. Yesterday I thought there were 7-8 out there until they all moved at once to another feeding area and I realized there were at least 12.
Be right back. I've got to fill the empty feeder and chase away that damned squirrel....
Both feeders are now filled to the top. The squirrel is gone for the time being. I brought out a large rawhide "bone" and gave it to the dog near the feeder the squirrel attacks (the other has a "squirrel-proof" cage around it). That will keep the dog occupied for an hour or two. Sigh. What we do for our little feathered friends....
The mild winter also resulted in more bugs (and flies) and caterpillars than usual. The sparrows come in handy there after their eggs hatch. I wish I had a couple of swallow houses....
Aging Wine With Mesquite
I've received three inquiries in two months about aging wines with mesquite, so have decided to address it here. I've done so before, but people seem unwilling to dig through the WineBlog's archives.
The lowly mesquite (or majestic in rare cases) is usually a multi-trunked small to medium tree, but in fact the multi-trunks are usually separate trees from multiple beans that have grown together. Single trunks are not rare but also not the norm. What is rare these days are the massive trees, 4-5 feet in diameter, with a 10-15-foot straight trunk section before dividing in large branches supporting a spreading canopy. I have seen solid doors 3-4 feet wide, 8 feet or taller and 3-4 inches thick cut from a single trunk, but they are rare. Many have been bought up by craftsmen who turn them into tabletops. The wood blackens with long age in the weather, but underneath is deeply reddish, sometimes streaked with fine lines of dark brown to black, rarely with yellowish streaks. The oiled and lacquered wood is beautiful and lasts for centuries, as evidenced by many such doors in early colonial structures in Old Mexico.
Mesquite is common in my area. I had seven trees on my property but removed two and a falling oak took out another. They produce hundreds of pods containing multiple beans. The pods, broken up, make a honey-tasting wine, jelly and syrup if collected just as the pods turn brown. The fully hardened beans can be ground into a flour. We have a mill and I keep thinking I will make some mesquite flour one day.
To age wine, straight branch sections 6-8 inches in diameter and no longer than 2 feet are cured outside about 9-12 months. The bark is removed, often with the aid of a chisel. The exposed wood will be blackish. You could do the following by hand but a power planer will turn an all-afternoon job into an hour one.
Use a power saw to dress the weathered ends. Cut off an inch to be safe. With the power planer set to 3/16 to 1/4 inch bite, remove all the dark wood that was next to the bark. You must then brush all residue from the machine, sweep the floor well and sterilize the planer blade and table top with alcohol. The sap that flowed once is highly resinous and any latent hint of it will ruin the wine. Go have a beer while the alcohol evaporates and the fumes dissipate. Then use the same planer at the same bite to reduce the section into small chips. Smoker chips are too big for my taste and the small planer chips have far more surface area to impart flavor. I make enough to fill a few gallon ZipLoc bags and that lasts me a couple of years.
I obtained some mesquite sawdust from a furniture maker once (who assured me all his wood was dressed) and it worked beautifully, but he is about a 90-mile drive away and I can make the chips at a local woodworker's shop.
I use 1 to 1 1/2 cups per gallon of wine because I am in a hurry. You can use less and leave it in longer. Same results. Use it like oak. Leave it 2-3 weeks and taste. It usually takes longer to get the flavor I want -- 4-5 weeks -- but you never know. And, it also depends on the wine. Taste and wait. Taste and wait. You'll know when you get there.
I use it mostly with my local mustang grape wine, or V. aestivalis var. lincecumii, or Norton. It just works better with dark reds in my opinion. It works with blackberry and blueberry with a lighter application. If I had black raspberries I would try it, but I don't. It might work with dark muscadines but I haven't gone there yet. I was not happy with elderberry but the judges were.
I once spread some oak chips on a hardware cloth (coarse screen) and put them in the meat side of my smoker and smoked them for 4 hours in mesquite smoke. I used the oak on a large batch of kit burgundy and the results were so outstanding I nearly had an orgasm. I called it "Smoked Burgundy" and it won a first place locally, Grand Champion at two county fairs and best in class nationally.
You can use it in lieu of oak, but it has a different flavor and doesn't work with...Chardonnay, for instance. It did work with persimmon but not mesquite wine (a big disappointment). You just have to experiment and see what you like. Always experiment with 1-gallon batches.
Oak
A winemaker from Travelers Rest, South Carolina asked me about oak. His wife loves the "oaky, ashy tastes -- full deep body, good flavor but on the dry side." She has good taste. He asked how best to obtain that flavor from oak. I relayed to him some of my own experiences.
I use heavily toasted oak cubes and oak beans. I have other grades, but if I'm going through the trouble of oaking I prefer to go all the way.
I also have a white oak sawdust I obtained from a cooperage in Missouri (you can buy it from many places on the web). I spread it on a rimmed cookie sheet in a thin layer and placed it in the middle of a 500-degree oven. If your oven is small, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the sawdust to prevent broiler heat from overdoing it (you might want to reduce all times and check early). I initially set the timer for 10 minutes and then check it every minute or two. When it begins to toast to my satisfaction I remove it, stir it with a spatula, and put it back in for maybe another 4-6 minutes -- unless it starts to smoke. When cool, I pour it in a quart Mason jar and then fill the jar with 100-proof Smirnoff Vodka (don't waste your time with the 80-proof). After about 3 months, the vodka is useful for adding oak to my wines. When the vodka reaches the level of the sawdust, I toast some more and put it in a new jar. I strain the vodka out of the original jar real good into the second jar, then top up with fresh vodka. I have a similar jar of mesquite sawdust and vodka I use with my mustang wines when in a hurry.
Marvin Nebgen of Fredericksburg, Texas makes a similar oak infusion for his wines by a slightly different method. He uses the toasted chips (these are the small chips produced by a power planer), boils them (see explanation further down), and puts them to within an inch or so of the top of a small Starbucks Frappuccino glass bottle and fills it with Everclear. The higher alcohol (190 proof) acts faster at extraction and he can use it within 2-3 weeks. Since he typically uses only a ounce or two at a time, he just adds more Everclear until the flavor is diluted. This is a more efficient method and I may switch to Everclear myself. His red wines are always stellar.
One other difference between my method and Marvin's is that a slight taste of vodka is immediately noticeable in my wines but dissipates during bottle aging. There is no such taste with Everclear. Just don't overdo it, as Everclear adds alcohol to your wine and can alter the balance.
There are several commercial products similar to what Marvin and I make. One is Winemakers Oak Extract from E. C. Kraus, another Oak Essence from I. D. Carlson, and there is Sinatin 17 Oak Extract from Crosby and Baker. All impart good oak flavor.
Oak cubes and beans are denser than oak chips or powder and therefore allow fewer phenolics to leech into the wine. This does produce a smoother, more rounded flavor with more subtle complexities. You can also buy strips of staves to place in your wines. Oaking with a cup of cubes or beans per gallon requires about 6-8 weeks to do the job, but longer contact will only increase the intensity. Remember, there comes a time when too long is simply too much. As you hit 6 weeks, taste. If you want a little more, taste at least weekly.
You get better results from the oak chips and powder if you boil it for 15 minutes and when it cools place it in muslin and give it a good wringing. This does not remove any of the oak flavor, but does eliminate most of the harsh phenolics you don't want in your wine. I thank Marvin Nebgen for that tip.
Oak cubes, beans and strips can be used over and over again for up to 8-10 months. At some point you know they are not doing as you hoped, so add a fresh batch and keep on truckin'.
There are many manufacturers of oak chips, cubes, beans, strips, and powder, so you won't have trouble finding them. Personally, I think that StaVin is among the best, but that's just my opinion.
Remember, oaking is only appropriate for some wines. I have tasted some very good wines that were greatly reduced in quality by oaking. A fellow in an adjacent town grew a few Symphony vines and made a great wine year after year, then he oaked it and that was a huge mistake. Experiment, but if you make a bad choice drink it yourself -- don't pass it off on friends.
This entry is about a song and the first time one makes a wine from scratch. The song first.
I love to follow the odyssey of particular songs. Recently I fell in love all over again with The First Time (Ever I Saw Your Face), what I consider to be one of the best love songs of the 20th century. However, I knew nothing of its origins until I dug a bit.
It was written in 1957 by British folk singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl for a play his wife, Peggy Seeger, was about to appear in. The play, and Peggy, were in the United States, but because he was an avowed communist, MacColl was not allowed in the States. She called him with the request for a specific kind of song. He wrote it hurriedly and taught it to her during a long distance telephone call. It was popularized in 1961 by The Kingston Trio. Here it is performed in 1965 by Peter, Paul and Mary as it was actually written.
In 1969 the song was rearranged at half tempo for Roberta Flack as an album cut. In 1971 it was notably featured in Clint Eastwood's "Play Misty for Me" and subsequently cut to four minutes and re-released as a single in 1972. It became a huge success, winning MacColl a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and Flack a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Here is the definitive performance of this song.
During the 2010 season of The X Factor, contestant Matt Cardle, who went on to win the competition, sang a much abbreviated version of the song due to the show's 2-minute limitation on performances. He has not yet released a commercial version, although there is great interest in hearing him sing the whole song. I originally embedded his performance in this page, but embedding has since been disabled by higher powers than me, so I have removed it from here but a link to the YouTube presentation is in the links below if you are interested. I apologize for this hiccup.
I love it when home winemakers finally graduate from kit wines to starting a grape or fruit wine from scratch. Kit wines are to me slightly analogous to "some assembly required" boxes of parts that can be transformed into a bicycle or swingset, although both can deliver a superior product. Still, there is little challenge in it and if that is all one does then he or she can claim they make wine but saying they are a winemaker conveys a subtle difference (to me). In the first instance they follow directions and mix measured and prepared packaged contents with water according to a scripted schedule. The results are always acceptable, often outstanding, and sometimes exceptional. The same thing can be said of the results of opening a box of "just add water" food mix. A winemaker may have a recipe and general instructions, but there are a host of variables that enter the process and must be dealt with by the craftsman to make a good product. If the results are pleasing, this person can claim to be a winemaker.
My inbox almost always contains at least one email from a person who has made their first wine from scratch. These are, to me, the most pleasing emails to read. They frequently relay having entered the wine into a local or regional competition and placed for a ribbon or medal. I sense the pride and am happy for them. I remember my first ribbon, a third place for an apple wine. I was walking on air that day.
For those of you who make kit wines, I am not ridiculing this endeavor. I too make a few kit wines. To me, it is a mindless exercise, a paint-by-numbers formula that you have to work at to screw it up, but it gives us access to grape varieties you and I might never have direct access to. But if that is all you do, then let me suggest you are missing out on what the hobby of winemaking has to offer. Expand your repertoire. You will thank me later.
How Do You "Sweeten to Taste"?
Many of my wine recipes include the phrase, "Sweeten to taste," meaning to sweeten the wine to suit your own taste. But how does one go about doing this? If one blindly adds sugar it would be real easy to over-sweeten it. If one adds just a little bit of sugar and tastes it, then adds a little bit more, one could be at it all day. Here is a practical way to go about it.
No one can anticipate what level of sweetness is right for you. You have to arrive at it yourself and then try to repeat it with successive batches of wine. Here is a method for arriving at what works for you.
First, be very sure the wine is stabilized before adding sugar to it or it will start fermenting again, a potentially explosive situation if you sweeten and then bottle it. It takes both potassium metabisulfite (or crushed Campden tablets) and potassium sorbate and a little time to stabilize a wine.
One crushed and dissolved Campden tablet and ½ teaspoon of potassium sorbate (also dissolved) per gallon of wine will do the trick, but this only prevents the existing live yeast from reproducing and keeping the colony going. Until they die out, these existing yeast are quite capable of restarting fermentation. So, stabilize, wait about 4 weeks, sweeten to taste, and then wait another couple of weeks just to be sure the airlock doesn't start bubbling again. I always rack my wine one last time before bottling, as racking removes more yeast from the wine than any other thing you can do shy of filtering. You will usually see a very fine dusting of sediment on the bottom of the secondary after you stabilize and wait. That dust is the dead yeast that weren't able to reproduce.
Second, you can sweeten with just sugar or you can make a simple syrup. You make a syrup with two parts sugar dissolved in one part of water (as in two cups of sugar in one cup of water). You may have to boil the water, remove from the heat, add the sugar, and stir like heck to make the syrup, as that much sugar doesn't easily dissolve in cold or warm water.
Here's a helpful hint. If you have a really strong blender (we have a Bosch), put the sugar in it, turn it on high for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar becomes powder, and then add the prescribed amount of warm-to-hot (not boiling) water and turn it on low until the sugar dissolves completely. Do NOT use commercial powdered sugar, as it contains corn starch to keep the sugar from re-solidifying and corn starch will permanently cloud your wine. Also, do not try this with an inexpensive blender or you may burn it up. If it hasn't got the power, the sugar could "fuse" together and stop the blades, causing the motor to burn up.
Allow the simple syrup to cool to room temperature (not in a refrigerator or it might start re-crystallizing) before continuing.
Third, measure how much liquid it takes to fill your hydrometer test jar to within two inches of the top. It take about a cup to fill mine that far. Measure out that much wine into a large water glass and stir into it one tablespoon of simple syrup and stir to integrate. Fill the hydrometer test jar with this sweetened wine and measure the specific gravity. Write that number on a piece of paper and set a wine glass on top of the number. Pour about one inch of wine from the hydrometer test jar into that wine glass and pour the remaining wine back into the large water glass. Replace the amount of wine you poured into the wine glass so you have as much as you started with last time and stir into it one more tablespoon of simple syrup and stir. Again pour it into the hydrometer test jar and measure the specific gravity. Write the number on a piece of paper and set an empty wine glass on the number. Pour an inch of wine into the glass and return the rest to the water glass. Again replace what you used and add another tablespoon of simple syrup. Stir, pour into the hydrometer test jar, and repeat the previous procedures. Do this until you have four or five wine glasses sitting on their specific gravity figures. Now taste them in the order they were filled (first glass to the last) and note the one that tasted best to you. It will be the one you tasted just before you picked up the one that was too sweet. Look at it's specific gravity. That's the specific gravity you want to sweeten your wine to.
Hitting a target specific gravity is not hard, but it does take time and patience. Unfortunately, I can't simply construct a look-up table for you saying to add this much simple syrup to achieve that specific gravity reading because not all wines will be equally dry to begin with. You just have to add some, stir, measure, and adjust until you are very close to the target s.g. Then add syrup, stir real good, wait 15-20minutes, and stir again. This time when you measure the specific gravity the syrup will be better integrated into the wine and the reading will be more accurate.
Here's another consideration. Over time, all wines mellow out somewhat and actually taste a little sweeter than they did when first bottled. If you plan on keeping the wine for a couple of years, you might want to back off the target sweetness just a hair to allow for this. For example, if the target s.g. is 1.012, you might want to sweeten it to 1.011 or even1.010 to allow for this perception.
The Problems with Melon Wines
A gentleman wrote to me about making wine from Santa Claus melons. I had to admit I have not made wine with this melon, although my records show I once tried. That was before I discovered how to successfully overcome the problems inherent in making wine from many melons, especially watermelons and related cousins.
The problem of spoilage with Santa Claus melons is the same as that for watermelon. I have addressed this at least twice on my blog in the past and elsewhere on my site, but will review it one more time. What follows applies to all melon wines.
Many melon juices spoil before they ferment to a high enough alcohol level to preserve them. To prevent spoilage, do the following:
Purchase enough melon(s) to make a gallon of 100% sweetened juice. Store the melons in a cool place, but not the refrigerator.
In the early morning, in a 1-quart mason jar (or other suitable container, like the flask on the left), make a yeast starter solution of 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup apple, pear or orange juice and a pinch of yeast nutrient. Sprinkle a sachet of very fast wine yeast (Red Star Montrachet is my recommendation) on top (don't stir) and set the lid on top of the jar (but NOT the ring). Go do something.
In 2 hours, add 1/4 cup of the fruit juice and return the lid. Go do something.
In 2 hours, stir 1/2 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of yeast nutrient into 1/4 cup fruit juice and stir until completely dissolved. Add to the starter and return the lid. Go do something.
In 2 hours, add 1/4 cup of the fruit juice and return the lid. Go do something.
In 2 hours, stir 1/2 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of yeast nutrient into 1/4 cup fruit juice and stir until completely dissolved. Add to the starter and return the lid. Go do something.
In 2 hours, add 1/4 cup of the fruit juice and return the lid. Go do something.
In 2 hours, stir 1/2 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of yeast nutrient into 1/4 cup fruit juice and stir until completely dissolved. Add to the starter and return the lid. Go do something.
In 2 hours, add 1/4 cup of the fruit juice and return the lid. Go do something.
In 2 hours, stir 1 teaspoon sugar and two pinches of yeast nutrient into 1 cup fruit juice and stir until completely dissolved. Add to the starter and return the lid. You now have 2 1/2 cups of starter solution with 256 times the number of yeast cells you started with. Let sit until next morning (after another 8 hours, you should have 4,096 times the number of yeast cells you started with, more than enough to ensure a quick fermentation).
Next morning, in a primary, juice the melon(s) to obtain 6 pints of juice. Use a hydrometer to determine the specific gravity and a hydrometer table to determine how much sugar to add to achieve a starting specific gravity of 1.088 to 1.090. Stir very well to completely dissolve the sugar. Add 3 teaspoons acid blend, 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient, 1/4 teaspoon yeast energizer (important!) and 1/4 teaspoon powdered grape tannin. This compensates for the near total absence of acid in melons and tannin. Stir again. Now stir the yeast starter solution and very gently pour the starter into the must. I hold a large spoon just at the surface and pour into it. This keeps the starter solution near the surface where the yeast have ready access to oxygen. You now have about a gallon of must. Cover the primary and go about your day.
Note: You could use slightly less melon juice and add 1 can of frozen 100% white grape juice concentrate (thawed and at room temperture). This would change the acid (reduced sugar addition by 1 teaspoon) and sugar calculations (use the hydrometer!) but would give you a more bodied wine.
In 6 hours stir the must and recover the primary. Stir it 2-3 times a day until vigorous fermentation subsides (3-4 days). Transfer to a secondary (do not top up) and attach an airlock. In about 3 weeks, rack, add one finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet, and top up. Reattach the airlock and proceed as you normally would with any wine.
Aggravation. It is a word I have seldom used during the past few years because I am seldom aggravated these days. I take medication do smooth out my moods. But for two days now I have been aggravated. Really aggravated. Three Saturdays ago I put things away, dusted shelves and furniture and things, and vacuumed the house in preparation of the San Antonio Regional Wine guild meeting here the following day.
Some things have a place and went there, but there are things we do not want out but have no regular place of storage. One such thing is my camera. It is always "out" and available. It has no storage place because I never store it. But it was on the dining room table which needed to be empty to receive food. So I put it somewhere.
I also have a toiletry bag that I use to put my Zune, headphones, connecting cable, recharging and AV cables, charging devices for my camera, Galaxy Tablet, and an extra charging device for my cell phone. There are also two cables for using the Zune in the truck and a USB-2 hub that plugs into the cigarette lighter. This is my "travel bag" and it usually sits on the sideboard next to the entrance to the utility room and exit to the garage, handy when I need it. It messed up the look of the sideboard so I put it somewhere out of sight.
The aggravation started yesterday when I wanted my camera. I began looking for it without success. During that hunt it occurred to me I may have put it in the electronics travel bag although this is unlikely because the bag is fairly full. That's when I realized I had not seen the travel bag during my hunt for the camera.
I searched the house for 3 1/2 hours yesterday without finding either the camera or the travel bag. I opened every drawer and cabinet door in the house. I looked in boxes, luggage and under beds. I even looked in the laundry basket. This is aggravating, doubly so because I did not "hide" these items; I simply put them somewhere else. Had I hidden them I could understand the difficulty. I have hidden things in the past so well that they remain hidden to this day.
This morning I awoke from a restless sleep at 4:00 a.m. I remembered something I hadn't done and...I jumped from the bed, raced to the living room, and there, sitting on the coffee table in plain sight, was the camera. I then began searching the house again for the electronics travel bag. At 6 a.m. I gave up and returned to bed. The bag remained in a resting place I had yet to discover. Aggravating....
Later this morning I found the electronics traveling bag sitting on top of some CDs in a cluttered built-in bookshelf in the living room -- again, in plain sight. The circle in the photo shows its location. Forgetfulness is worrisome.
I thank those of you who wished me good health. The flu itself left me after about a week, as my doctor predicted, but a chest congestion lingered for two additional weeks. My body heals more slowly with each passing year, but I am only 67 and that is not old!. Thank you again for your concern.
I repeatedly find myself thanking Mark Zuckerberg for coming up with Facebook. As my 50th high school reunion approaches (next year) and we search to find the 653 or so graduates of my class, I keep running into ghosts from my past on our Facebook reunion page and through Facebook messaging.. What a pleasant surprise each day brings. Rich memories from the past are revived and the long period since we last met is slowly filled in with content, both joyful and tragic.
And I am so glad to meet so many virtually. I cannot wait to meet them again, face to face, old friend and distant acquaintance. Oh, how we have changed physically, but that is just the skin and weight we wear. It is the rediscovery of personalities that counts most, for that, after all, is who we are.
I am most grateful to live in a time when such electronic networking is possible. Fifty years from now what we are doing today to communicate will seem like antiquity to the people using new technologies then.
In 1963, the year I graduated from San Bernardino High School, Bell System introduced touch-tone dialing. Two years later they introduced the trimline phone with rotary dial and a year later with the touchpad in the handset. The smaller communication devices revolution had begun. In 50 years it has taken us to the thin, trim smart phone. Where will take us in the next 50 years?
A couple of years ago I was in an antique store (I use the term "Antique" as loosely as they did, for I doubt they had anything in the store that was truly 100 years old). They had a collection of rotary dial phones. All were priced insanely high, but I wasn't there to buy anything, really, much less a phone. Still, I looked.
A thirtyish-something woman came up and looked at one. It was a rotary-dial gooseneck model with fixed mouthpiece and a removable earpiece that rested in a cradle. Her daughter, aged 10-13 (I can't tell any more), asked her mom, "How does it work?" Astonishingly, her mom replied, "I don't really know," and moved on. Good grief, hasn't she watched any movies older than herself?
The other night I watched two old westerns from the '50s starring Glenn Ford. Almost from his first appearance in each film I immediately recognized his natural fit into the role. It was not as if he were acting at all, but rather that he was living the scene.
I love to discover great actors. You know them, you know they are good, but then you see them in a film and you say, "Wow, he really was [is] a great actor." John Travolta is like that. Every time I see him in a movie I appreciate him all over again. He doesn't act. He lives the role he is dealt.
Wikipedia said it best about Glenn Ford: "...a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades. Despite his versatility, Ford was best known for playing ordinary men in unusual circumstances." His best roles were in the Western genre, standing with John Wayne, Burt Lancaster, Henry Fonda, Gary Cooper, James Stewart, and Randolph Scott as the best in the Westerns.
He made his first western in 1941, in the film Texas, with William Holden, and Go West, Young Lady, also 1941. He took a semi-break during World War II and joined the Marines, but still managed to star with Randolph Scott in his first classic western in 1943, The Desperadoes. In 1948 he made The Man from Colorado and the following year Lust for Gold.
In the '50s he starred in The Redhead and the Cowboy (1951), The Man from the Alamo (1953), The Violent Men (1955), Jubal (1956), The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), 3:10 to Yuma (1957), Cowboy (1958), and one of my favorites, The Sheepman (1958).
In the '60s, he starred in the classic western Cimarrón (1960), Advance to the Rear (1964), A Time for Killing (1967), The Last Challenge (1967), Day of the Evil Gun (1968), and Heaven with a Gun (1969). The list goes on (I counted 104 movies), but you get the picture.
He was a natural in the saddle and rode like he was born there. And they say he was one of the fastest gunmen in Hollywood, able to draw and fire a heavy period revolver in just 4/10 of a second, a feat unmatched by any other western stars.
Glenn Ford Joined the Navy Reserves after the war, was commissioned, and kept up his Navy Reserve duties. In 1967 he was sent to Vietnam on temporary duty and the following year promoted to Captain, the Navy equivalent to Colonel. It was that rank at which he retired.
Glenn Ford became a naturalized citizen in 1939. As Wikipedia says, "After Ford graduated from Santa Monica High School, he began working in small theatre groups. Ford later commented that his railroad executive father had no objection to his growing interest in acting, but told him, 'It's all right for you to try to act, if you learn something else first. Be able to take a car apart and put it together. Be able to build a house, every bit of it. Then you'll always have something.' Ford heeded the advice and during the 1950s, when he was one of Hollywood's most popular actors, he regularly worked on plumbing, wiring and air conditioning at home. At times, he worked as a roofer and installer of plate-glass windows." They don't make 'em like that any more.
The next time you check the Guide and see that a Glenn Ford movie is on, tune in and see if I am wrong. You will believe in the character he plays. I guarantee it.
Bramble Tip Wine
I have been trying to get rid of some dewberry plants that became invasive. Nothing works except digging up the soil, running it through a sieve, and discarding any and all roots discovered. But we are well beyond that, as they cover too large an area, so I do the next best thing; I cut the growing tips several times during the growing season in an attempt to deny them any new energy to store away for additional growth. They are slowly declining and no longer spreading so I am encouraged. I hate to waste things, and all the cut growing tips are a perfect example. I do two things with them. I dry most for bramble tip tea throughout the year and I make bramble tip wine. The latter is definitely worth the effort.
The tender growing tips are best for the tea. For the wine, older growth will work just as well as the tender tips. Since I need at least a gallon of the tips for wine, I usually make it when I am a couple of weeks late in cutting back the new growth. When I say a gallon of tips, I mean a gallon pail filled and compacted lightly. If uncompacted, there would be about 3 gallons of bramble tips.
1 gal compacted bramble tips
2 lbs granulated sugar
2 tsp acid blend
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 gal water
1 sachet general purpose wine yeast
Cull and discard woody growth from bramble tips and wash remaining growth. In a stock pot, bring the water to boil. Add the bramble tips and maintain a low boil for an hour, covered. Remove from heat and allow to cool 30-40 minutes. Water and bramble tips will still be hot. Pour sugar, acid blend and yeast nutrient in primary. Place a colander over top of primary and carefully pour contents of stock pot into colander. Allow to sit 10-15 minutes to drain, then discard bramble tips. Stir water to dissolve sugar. Cover primary with cloth and set aside to cool a few hours. Add activated yeast in a starter solution and recover primary. When vigorous fermentation subsides, siphon off lees into secondary and attach an airlock. In two months, rack, add 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate and a finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet, top up, and reattach the airlock. Wait two more months and rack again. Wait additional two months and check for clarity. If wine is not brilliantly clear, add 3 tablespoons Bentonite slurry or other fining agent, stir well, reattach airlock and allow 10 days for clearing. Rack carefully into bottles and seal. Wait at least six months in the bottle before tasting. Nine months is better. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
This wine is very good chilled and goes well at the table where a white wine would be served. It is also a good social wine.
I am home from my adventure and began coming down with the flu the day before I returned home. I lost my voice, have a severe chest congestion and am sapped of strength, but otherwise fine. Next year I will take the flu shot although it would have done no good this year. They guessed which strains would surface and guessed wrong.
I expected I would return home to numerous emails criticizing my comments in the last entry regarding rap music. Instead, only three emails even mentioned it and they were in agreement with me. The overwhelming criticism I received was for posting a video of Sarah Brightman singing Nella Fantasia in Italian while the words were displayed in Spanish.
I must admit it bothered me too, but it is the most beautiful video of her performing the song I could find and believe me I looked. Indeed, I searched for perhaps an hour for that same video without the captions but never found it. If you find it, please send me the link and I will replace the Spanish captioned version with it.
Four of you asked me what the lyrics mean. Have you not heard of Google by now? You enter "Lyrics, Nella Fantasia, English" or whatever language you prefer and Google does the rest. However, here are the Italian and English words for the internet challenged:
Italian
English
Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto,
Lì tutti vivono in pace e in onestà.
Io sogno l`anime che sono sempre libere,
Come le nuvole che volano,
Pien` d`umanità in fondo all`anima.
Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo chiaro,
Lì anche la notte è meno oscura.
Io sogno d`anime che sono sempre libere,
Come le nuvole che volano.
Nella fantasia esiste un vento caldo,
Che soffia sulle città, come amico.
Io sogno d`anime che sono sempre libere,
Come le nuvole che volano,
Pien` d` umanità in fondo all`anima.
In my imagination I see a fair world,
Everyone lives in peace and in honesty there.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like the clouds that fly,
Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.
In my imagination I see a bright world,
Even the night is less dark there.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like clouds that fly.
In my imagination there exists a warm wind,
That breathes on the cities, like a friend.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like clouds that fly,
Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.
Back in the 1950s and later in the '70s and '80s there was a TV show called Name that Tune. There were several formats used but the one I remember best was the bidding war to name the tune in the fewest number of notes. A clue was given and the bidding opened with the claim by one of the contestants that, "I can name that tune in 5 notes." The Opponent would counter, "I can name that tune in 4 notes." Eventually, one contestant challenged the other to make good on his claim and the number of notes claimed by the contestant were played. If a contestant thought he had it based on the clue alone, he might boast that he could name that tune without any notes. That was dicey indeed.
Some friends and I were talking about that show one day and ended up challenging ourselves to come up with the fewest number of notes that the greatest number of people would recognize if they heard them. After much debate, we finally decided that the three notes up there on the right would overwhelmingly win in the United States. Do you recognize them? They are the first three of the 24 most recognizable notes in the US, the bugler's notes for Taps.
Does anyone think they can beat that with two notes? Remember, I'm talking about the fewest number of notes that the greatest number of people would recognize as a specific song if they heard them. I think not, but would love to be proven wrong.
Bodegas de Santo Tomás
The area around Ensenada in the State of Baja California supports dozens of wineries and produces 90% of all the wines of Mexico. Three wineries have established facilities in Ensenada itself as well as in their grape growing locales north and south of the city. The valleys in this area -- Calafia, San Antonio de las Minas, Guadalupe, Palmas, Santo Tomás and San Vicente Ferrer -- are blessed with the right soil, climate, weather, altitude, and watershed favorable to "the vine," and thus have supported vineyards since 1791. Our time was limited and so we chose to visit the Bodegas de Santo Tomás, whose vineyards boast the oldest cultivated vines in Baja and whose winemaker produces some of the finest wines in Mexico.
The Santo Tomás facilities in Ensenada were established in and since1934 and are the oldest of their kind in the city. Much, much older facilities -- the oldest winery in Baja -- exist in the Valle de Santo Tomás and newer facilities have been established in the Valle de Guadalupe. The winery produces almost three dozen wines, almost all of which are excellent and a few of which are exceptional. The two I did not care for are varietals I seldom find enjoyable, but some people find them delicious.
I'm not sure this is the "top of the line" at Santo Tomás, but the Santo Tomás Cabernet-Merlot Único Gran Reserva is a mystical blend by winemaker Laura Zamora. This wine is deep, chewy, tannic, spicy, dark, and silky. It is a superb blend of these two fabled grapes, uniting to form a blend much greater than the individual contributors, yet subtle, distinguished and refined. For most palates, the exceptional 2005 is ready to drink now and may improve for several more years. The 2009 is on the market but needs to be cellared a few years.
The Cabernet Sauvignon is aged 12 months in new French oak barrels and the Merlot also enjoys 12 months in French oak. The blended wine is then aged an additional 8 months in French oak and 8 months in the bottle before release. The result is fabulous -- Santo Tomás Único.
But there were three affordable wines that caught my fancy -- the Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Barbera -- and a fourth I will mention.
I start with the Barbera for reasons that will be come clear later on. Barbera is a wine with great persona and Santo Tomás Barbera has personality to spare. It offers a multifaceted nose, with hints of raspberry, cherry and something else -- blackberry perhaps -- with a subtle spiciness in the middle (vanilla is noteworthy) and nuttiness (hazelnut!) at the end. The wine itself is deeply red, less tannic than I prefer but still well balanced between acid and fruit. It is aged in toasted oak for a year and bottle aged 6 months before it is released. This is an exceptional wine for the price, full bodied and sound. When I closed my eyes I could picture this wine with my slow-cooked brisket, barbecued ribs or a meal centered around roasted carnitas.
Tempranillo is fighting Cabernet Sauvignon to become my favorite varietal. Both wines lay heavy in the mouth, but the Tempranillo has a tad less tannin, a slightly lighter fruitiness, and a velvety smoothness that enraptures me. But Santo Tomás' Cab is deep, dark, meaty, and filled with fruit -- just the way I like it. Both deliver ambrosia to the nose perfectly in line with what the palate will experience. For this reason I cannot choose a favorite between them. Both would go well with a thick, juicy steak or cut of prime rib. I am torn for obvious reasons.
As if to mediate the battle within me, Santo Tomás offers a Cabernet-Tempranillo blend. Actually, they offer the blend and the Duetto -- same grapes but different story I will skip. The interesting thing I discovered about this blend is that some years it is a Tempranillo-Cabernet but usually a Cabernet-Tempranillo. The grapes dictate the blend.
In my opinion, this is not as good as their pure Cabernet Sauvignon or Tempranillo, but it has something -- a je ne sais quoi -- that makes it a great value for the daily table. I guess it is the lightness of the wine in comparison to the straight varietals that makes it more suitable for a wider variety of meals, and perfect for Mexican fare. At best, this is an 88-89 point wine, but priced to buy. Had my travelling arrangements been different, I would have bought a case of this wine.
Mexican wines, unfortunately, are priced much the same as American wines. They cost more at the winery's tasting room than at a discount house. Santo Tomás wines are no different. We found them cheaper elsewhere, but the variety was not there and you have no idea how they were stored before being displayed in the discount bins. At the winery, you know the product was treated with respect from bottling to sale. That peace of mind is worth a few bucks.
A Succulent Brisket
At the last meeting of the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild, at our home in Pleasanton, Texas, I prepared and served a whole brisket as I always do. I made some changes to the recipe and trimmed the cut more than I usually do, but the result was exceptional, so much so that not a scrap was leftover for later enjoyment. Even every drop of the gravy was consumed. I have decided to share the recipe that blessed us last Sunday.
First, a primer on brisket. Beef brisket is the lower chest muscle of beef beneath the first five ribs. A typical brisket can weight 11 to 15 pounds, but a really large one can exceed 18 pounds. I look for 11-13-pound briskets because they fit my roasting pan (a large turkey roaster).
Brisket is a tough cut containing a lot of connective tissue and collagen. It must be prepared correctly or it will be tough and very, very chewy. It also is a cut of meat loaded with fat, some of which can be easily trimmed but much of which cannot without changing the nature of the cut and the resulting flavor. The most meat is in the flat portion of the brisket, which is often removed intact and then trimmed. It is this portion that is most often made into corned beef and pastrami. The "point" of the brisket is the fattiest part, but also contains an extra layer of fat called the deckel that possesses a unique, highly prized taste.
In Texas, the only reason to buy a flat of brisket (a trimmed cut) is because you (1) have a small stove, barbecue or smoker, (2) have a small roasting pan, or (3) live alone and have a freezer too small to store the 8-9 pounds of leftovers. Having said that, I have to admit that I bought an 11-pound brisket and trimmed almost two pounds of fat off of it. But I did not cut the deckel!
To turn tough brisket into tender, succulent meat, it must be cooked over low heat for a very long time. The collagen throughout the meat slowly gelatinizes if water is present to create steam. I will not go into smoking or barbecuing over indirect charcoal or mesquite wood heat, but be advised that serious Texans consider this the only way to do it. My way has a large following and, if the proof of the pudding is in the eating, is an extremely credible alternative. Indeed, I would wager that more people cook their brisket in the oven than over charcoal or mesquite.
Dry Rub
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons coarse black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground chipotle
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
I am assuming an 11-pound brisket trimmed to 9-10 pounds. Cut the plastic wrapping off the brisket and drain it over the sink for about a minute, then place it on a large, rimmed baking sheet. After trimming, mix the dry rub ingredients together and work them into the fatty side first, then turn it over and really work the rub into the meaty side, coating every surface. When good and coated, turn the brisket over and place it carefully into a trash bag, sprinkle the remaining rub on top, roll the bag closed and place it in the refrigerator all day and half the night (at least 8 hours).
Braising Mix
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup strongly brewed black coffee
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup liquid smoke
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon A-1 Steak Sauce
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce
Around 11:00 p.m. remove brisket from refrigerator and set aside to achieve room temperature (about 45-55 minutes). Near end of period remove one oven rack, place the other rack at lowest level and preheat oven to 225° F.
Slice one large or two medium white onions very thinly and cover the bottom of a large roasting pan, overlapping to complete the coverage. Combine the ingredients for the braising mix and pour evenly over the onions. Remove brisket from bag and place in roasting pan, fat side up. Evenly dribble 2 tablespoons liquid smoke over brisket. Place roasting pan uncovered in oven (it should now be around midnight) and set alarm clock to wake you in 5 hours.
When the alarm goes off, race to the kitchen take a quick look before placing the lid on the roasting pan. The brisket will have acquired a dark "crust" from roasting uncovered. Shake the lid to make sure it has a solid seal. If you do not have a lid, make a tent of heavy duty aluminum foil and seal it tightly all around while wearing baking mittens. Be careful that no aluminum foil touches the meat. Return to bed and sleep well.
Awaken to wonderful smells coming from the kitchen. Resist temptations to peek. Remove brisket from oven at noon. If your brisket is larger or smaller, adjust cooking time based on 1 hour 15 minutes per pound. Remove lid and behold your masterpiece. There will be 1 to 2 inches of liquid around the brisket. Use a turkey baster to remove about 2 cups from the bottom for gravy. If you do not have a large enough serving platter to hold the entire brisket, either use a cutting board with juice trench around the edge or a baking sheet with rim. Alternatively, you can cut the brisket in half in the roasting pan and remove and slice half at a time.
Sharpen your carving knife and slice against the grain. Mine was so juicy and tender that I could not slice thinly, but the thick slices were eagerly devoured. After arranging the slices on the serving platter, I halved them in an attempt to coax the guests into taking less. It did not work. They ate every single scrap of brisket and complained there wasn't more. It isn't that there wasn't enough to eat. Every member brought a side dish or dessert.
Use the removed liquid for making a gravy. I cheated and stirred a packet of brown gravy mix into the juice. They consumed it all, on the meat, on mashed potatoes, on macaroni and cheese, on bread. I forgot to remove the onion slices with a slotted spoon to serve as a side dressing (they are delicious by themselves or spread over the meat and then drizzled with gravy). In hindsight, two onions would not have been enough for this crowd. Your mileage may vary.
This is my last WineBlog entry for a couple of weeks. I'm off to California and then on a cruise with family. This is a 90th birthday gift to my father. His birthday was back in November, but the cruise was put on hold until it warmed up a bit. The thermometer says "until" has arrived. The best way to know when I am back and a new WineBlog entry is ready is to click on the button below and turn on your RSS feed. That way you won't have to stop by daily looking for change. You'll be hearing from me as soon as I post a new entry.
With that out of the way I can turn to lighter, less officious matters. If you have read the WineBlog before, you probably know that I like to share things that amuse, entertain or inspire me. I ran across a video ad that I found to be both amusing and entertaining (the two often form a duetic relationship) and simply had to share it.
If you did not find that either (1) amusing or (2) entertaining or (3) both, then we simply occupy different parts of our respective brains and I apologize. Please allow me to try again.
Back on December 30th, 2011 (my birthday) I posted a WineBlog entry about a performance on the TV show Korea's Got Talent. In it 22-year old Sung-bong Choi recounted his life of hardship and then astonished the judges and audience with a beautiful rendition of Nella Fantasia, a musical piece composed by Ennio Morricone as Gabriel's Oboe for the soundtrack of the movie The Mission and later set to lyrics by Chiara Ferraú. I mentioned it was first sung by Sarah Brightman. If you wish to see my original entry and hear the Korean boy's performance, click on the first link following this entry.
What I have found is a beautiful video of Sarah Brightman performing Nella Fantasia. This is very much worth seeing (or just listening to). Click, and then tell me I am wrong....
Music is such an emotive stimulus that I often mention it here and elsewhere. I make no apologies if I like something you do not. Oddly, I find that today I like some music I did not care for 30 years ago and don't particularly care for some pieces I used to love. Constants: I still love doo wop, rhythm and blues, classic rock, country, most folk and bluegrass, some jazz and classical; I like some new age but not too much. I have never cared for heavy metal, punk rock and rap. I still believe that rap is a con perpetrated by those who can't sing upon those who don't know enough to care in order to make obscene amounts of money "rapping" about anything obscene. Your opinion, of course, might differ.
As an aside, after viewing my previously mentioned WineBlog entry of Korea's Got Talent, a viewer wrote to me about the default image for the piece on the video player. It shows one of the judges with a look of disbelief on her face and her fingers at her temples in reaction to the performance she was witnessing. You really have to see the picture to fully understand (try the link below). The viewer wrote, "I like to invent captions for images I see. For this one, I came up with the judge thinking to herself, 'WTF? He's singing in Italian. Koreans don't do Italian.'" Well, I thought it was funny.
I guess it's time to turn to wine and winemaking....
The meat and potatoes of my WineBlog entry today is something I wrote for the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild's March 2012 newsletter. We have a new feature called "Wine Judge's Corner" which focuses on subjects of particular interest to wine judges. I have edited it minutely for the WineBlog, but it is essentially the same piece.
Judging a Wine's Bouquet and Aroma
The San Antonio Regional Wine Guild's judging sheet begins with Aroma and Bouquet. They were consciously moved up from farther down on the form for a reason. A wine's aroma will remain constant throughout the judging, but bouquet is often very short-lived. If one waited until they got down to its former position on the judging sheet to evaluate bouquet, the chances are very good that whatever bouquet was in the glass would have dissipated into the atmosphere within a minute of the wine being poured.
A wine's aroma is what the fermented base smells like -- the grape or fruit or berry that makes up the majority of the wine. Essentially, all Cabernet Sauvignon's should have the same basic aroma. We know this is not the case because all grapes are not gown in the same soils, climates and weather, nor are they harvested at the same level of ripeness and transported the same distance and in the same time to their respective wineries. Also, the wine is often a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and another grape, usually Merlot, and so the aroma is altered slightly. Still, the blend is so routine that experienced judges recognize the wine as Cabernet Sauvignon and better judges can often identify the blending wine as well.
Bouquet is something else. It is a byproduct of the winemaking techniques employed by the winemaker and the chemical evolution of the wine during its aging lifespan. Bouquet is volatile and fleeting. A vigorous pulling of the cork can completely evacuate all the immediately available bouquet. This is why corks should be eased out and then reinserted partially to capture the bouquet for the judging.
Factors influencing bouquet are various, but most commonly involve:
Yeast selection
Oak: vanilla, toasty, smoky, etc.
Malo-Lactic Fermentation: buttery, sometimes "cheesy"
Bottle Aging: time in the bottle, storage conditions, pH, TA, etc.
The last is by far the most variable. A wine undergoes a constant chemical evolution. This evolution slows considerably once bottled and the cooler it is cellared, but the truth is that any given wine changes on a daily basis. It is during this period of bottle aging that bouquet forms.
We "smell" with our olfactory receptors, which respond to gas molecules. Our olfactory epithelium, the membrane where these receptors are located, is the roof of our nasal passage. We also smell (and taste) through chemoreceptors, which respond to molecules dissolved in mucus fluids. Experts tell us that most taste is actually "smell perceived on the tongue." We have about 40 million smell receptors as opposed to only 1 million for taste.
How to Judge a Wine's Bouquet and Aroma
As soon as the wine is poured, bury your nose into the glass and sniff quickly but not too deeply to catch those volatile compounds containing the bouquet. Pause a moment to let the first impressions register. These are the most reliable impressions of bouquet.
Then swirl the wine one or two quick revolutions to increase its surface area and allow less volatile bouquet compounds to evaporate. Some judges wrap their hands around the glass to warm it and allow better evaporation. This is allowed as long as it is not too time consuming. It is far quicker to hold the wine briefly in the mouth. This brief hold will warm the wine far more than the hands around the glass and therefore release more odor molecules. Then draw air over (or through) the wine to release still more volatiles.
There are enough post nasal olfactory receptors at the upper back of the mouth to actually experience the volatiles as smell. But a word of caution: don't hold the wine too long in the mouth or you risk fatiguing your taste receptors. Three seconds is long enough for a non-chilled wine and twice that for a chilled wine.
Now spit the wine and take a short breath through the mouth. The correct procedure is to close the lips and release a very little air from the lungs. This will push the volatiles still being released from the wine residue in the mouth up into the nasal passage. Then sniff quickly, inhaling before the air actually exits the nose. This technique requires a little practice, but it is easily mastered. Just try it right now without the wine. Practice until you can push up just a small amount of air and then suck it back in before it leaves the nose.
You have in fact tasted the wine, but this should not be the tasting from which you will judge the wine's taste. Your focus now is bouquet and aroma. By now you have done enough to evaluate the wine's bouquet -- if it has any. Now bury your nose in the glass once more and breathe deeply to grasp the wine's underlying aroma.
The only grapes whose juice smells the same as their wines are the 20 or so varieties of Muscat, All others differ slightly to substantially. Learning the aroma of the Merlot grape will not help you identify Merlot wine by smell.
The same is not true of most fruit and berry wines. Well made peach wines have an aroma reminiscent of (but not identical to) peach. On the other hand, if a strawberry wine does not possess the aroma of strawberries it should be faulted.
Knowing which wines possess an aroma suggestive of its base is part of the challenge of becoming a home wine judge. Knowing the aromas of those non-grape wines that do not smell like their base is perhaps a bigger challenge, but no more so than learning the aromas of most grape wines.
When judging a wine, judge its bouquet first and its aroma second. If you are uncertain of the aroma, you can come back to it all through the judging. Unlike bouquet, which rapidly dissipates, a wine's aroma is part of the wine itself and will be constant throughout the judging period.
Get Ready for Dandelions
Dandelion wine is one of my favorite white wines, bar none, and the flowers are already appearing here in Texas. I don't know anyone who doesn't recognize the bright yellow, many-rayed flowers of Taraxacum officinale at first glance. Most think of them as a weed but others look upon them differently. My wife actually planted dandelions in one of our flower beds, and the result was quite stunning when they bloomed en mass. Others look upon their leaves as salad or greens, and indeed they are quite edible raw or steamed until the flower appears, at which time its greenery becomes bitter. But for the winemaker, the dandelion simply makes the best flower wine there is.
I actually don't know how many dandelion wine recipes I have, but I would guess between 200-300. I have only published 30. Even so, I have my favorites. Among them is the following.
Dandelion Wine
9 cups dandelion petals
1 11-oz can Welch's 100% White Grape Juice frozen concentrate
1 lb 10 ozs granulated sugar
2 lemons (juice and zest)
2 oranges (juice and zest)
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1/4 tsp tannin
6 1/4 pts water
Côtes-du-Rhône or Hock wine yeast
Prepare flower petals beforehand. Put water on to boil. Meanwhile, prepare zest from citrus and set aside. Combine flowers and zest in nylon straining bag and tie closed. Put bag in primary and pour boiling water over it. Cover primary and squeeze bag several times a day for 3 days. Drain and squeeze bag to extract all liquid. Pour liquid into primary and stir in sugar until completely dissolved. Stir in remaining ingredients except yeast, cover and set aside 10-12 hours. Add activated yeast and cover. Stir twice daily for 5 days. Transfer to secondary and fit airlock. Rack after wine falls clear, adding crushed Campden tablet and topping up and reattaching airlock. Rack again every 2 months for 6 months, adding another crushed Campden tablet during middle racking and stabilizing at last racking. Wait another month and rack into bottles. Cellar 6 months and enjoy a bottle. Cellar another 6 months and enjoy it all. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
Part of December 30, 2011 entry, this page (note: at some point this link will not work because the previous year's entries will be archived, and then you will have to dig for it)
As Gilda Radner used to say on Saturday Night Live, "It's always something." I have a bird feeder very similar to the one shown. It's supposed to stop squirrels from stealing your bird seed. It sort of works. The squirrels jump at it from great distances (now I know how flying squirrels evolved) and when they hit it they shake so much food out of it that they then drop to the ground and eat just the seeds they like. Bas**rds!
For the past 3 weeks or so every other day, when the seed level drops below the lowest opening, I look out and notice a bird fluttering inside hysterically. These are baby sparrows, small enough to fall through the opening but not smart enough to fall back out. I have to go outside and unscrew the top, tilt it down until they slide out, and then refill it with seed. I'll be glad when the babies grow too large to fit through the holes.
I just did an educated calculation of the number of baby birds that have managed to entrap themselves inside the feeder. I figure 10-12 have done so, as a couple of times there have been birds in there two days in a row. I have to wonder if any of them are stupid enough to get in there twice. After all, their brains are smaller than a pea and we really don't know if they can deduce that like actions produce like results.
One was trapped a while ago and the feeder wasn't even empty. That's two days in a row. I prepositioned a bottle of my wife's blood red fingernail polish on a shelf next to the patio door and took it outside with me. I unscrewed the cap and set it carefully upright in the grass before capturing the bird. My plan was to place a dab of red on the top of it's head so I could recognize it if it became entrapped again. But the bird escaped when I was taking it out -- just wiggled out of my grip.
I'll have to put the feeders away when I go to California in two weeks so one doesn't get in there and die.
This is really unbelievable. Four of the eight Vitis riparia rooted cuttings I planted eight days ago (on the 20th) are in full leaf and the other four have green emerging from their buds. The temperature since planting has consistently been over 60° F. with the exception of one day and night which almost made it down to 50°. My mustangs, always the first to break bud, have not yet done so, although their buds are swollen and showing an inclination in that direction. It usually takes a 70° day or two to pull them open.
I pondered this over toasted sourdough with my black cherry, clementine and walnut marmalade (damn good stuff). I am pretty sure it is the temperature, not the date, that triggers bud-break. These plants came from a much colder climate. In their natural habitat, the ambient temperature might not get to 60° until late March. The plants could care less what date it is. They just know when it is warm enough to push leaves with a decent chance of survival.
It is quite possible I will see some inflorescence (flowers) on some of these plants this year. If so, I will determine the gender and mark the plants accordingly. Remember, my idea is to grow vine for new cuttings to return to the wild here in Texas.
Two Blood Orange and Port Marmalades
I mentioned eating toasted sourdough with my black cherry-clementine-walnut marmalade. Well, I recently saw blood oranges at the market and picked up a few. Winter is their season and they are great for upside down cake and marmalade. Some varieties are sweet (Tarocco, Sanguinello and Cara Cara) and others are tart (Moro). All varieties make good marmalade, especially when combined with port wine and hickory nut pieces or port wine and mango, but the tart varieties are better in marmalade. The tartness can be added with lemons.
The red color in blood oranges, which can vary from slightly red to crimson to deep maroon, only appears when night temperatures drop. The color is commonly from anthocyanins (some are pigmentation by lycopene) and the darker the color the richer the juice is in antioxidants. The sweeter the blood orange, the greater the amount of lemon required to acidify the marmalade. To increase the amount, use larger lemons.
The assumption is that the port will be balanced at 18-20% alcohol. This means it will probably be both acidic and sweet. The amount of alcohol is not important as it will boil off. A sweet, acidic non-port would work just as well -- any sweet, native grape wine should be perfect.
Hickory nut (or walnut) pieces means the broken bits and pieces that occur occasionally when extracting the meats from their shells. If you don't have enough pieces, you'll just have to chop up some halves. If you can get black walnut meats, they are tastier than the English or Persian walnuts.
Blood Orange-Port-Hickory Marmalade
4 blood oranges
2 small to large lemons(larger if oranges are sweet)
2 cups water
1 cup port wine
1/2 cup hickory nut pieces (or walnut pieces)
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
Peel blood oranges and thinly slice, then quarter the slices, saving all juice that escapes. Remove all seeds and place juice and slices in large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Squeeze juice from lemons, remove and discard seeds, then thinly slice lemon rind and add juice and rind slices to saucepan. Add water and port and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat as soon as boiling occurs, cover and maintain a high simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add hickory pieces, cover and simmer additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add sugar, bring to a boil and maintain rapid boil, uncovered, stirring frequently, until mixture forms a thick gel when sheeting off a cold metal spoon dipped into mixture (about 15-18 minutes, but longer at altitude). Remove from heat, ladle into sterilized jars, wipe mouths, apply rings and lids hand-tight, then process 10 minutes in boiling bath.
Blood Orange-Mango-Port Marmalade
2 blood oranges
2 small to large lemons (larger if oranges are sweet)
2 mangos
3 cups water
1 cup port wine
4 cups granulated sugar
Peel blood oranges and thinly slice, then quarter the slices, saving all juice that escapes. Remove all seeds and place juice and slices in large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Thinly slice and then halve the lemons, remove and discard seeds, then add juice and slices to saucepan. Add water and port and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat as soon as boiling occurs, cover and maintain a high simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile peel mangoes, carve flesh from seeds, then thinly slice flesh. Add mango slices and juice to saucepan. Return to boil over high heat, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add sugar, bring to a boil and maintain rapid boil, uncovered, stirring frequently, until mixture forms a thick gel when sheeting off a cold metal spoon dipped into mixture (about 15-18 minutes, but longer at altitude). Remove from heat, ladle into sterilized jars, wipe mouths, apply rings and lids hand-tight, then process 10 minutes in boiling bath.
Marmalades should gel when cool if cooked until a thick gel forms off cold spoon, but if canned too early could take several weeks to set. Just store in pantry or in box in closet or under bed and forget about it until you need a jar.
Parsnip and Ginger Wine
If you have ever eaten parsnip and ginger soup, parsnip and ginger pakoras, parsnip and ginger cake or muffins, or parsnip and ginger anything you know how well the flavors combine. The nutty sweetness of parsnips and the warming spiciness of ginger just go well together. Parsnips and ginger wine is a real treat in the cooler months of the year and adds a little je ne sais quoi to any meal. Make it once and you will be glad you did. Because this wine takes so long to make, start a batch every 3 months and you will be very thankful you did. Finally, the parsnips can be recycled to make a great side dish to any meal (recipe included).
The recipe calls for setting aside the cooked parsnips for use in a second recipe. By all means do this. You can change the complexity of the second recipe by adding 1 cup of peeled, sliced, very well cooked carrots; 1 summer or butternut squash peeled, deseeded, sliced and cooked; or 1 peeled, diced and well-cooked rutabagas or sweet potato.
The wine recipe calls for 1 pound on ripe bananas, peeled and sliced. Banana peels turn dark when ripe and the banana meat inside turns soft and translucent. Make sure the bananas are ripe before using for wine.
4 lbs parsnips
1 lb ripe bananas
10-1/2 oz can of white grape concentrate
1 inch ginger root very thinly sliced
4 lbs finely granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp acid blend
7-1/4 pts water
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/8 tsp yeast energizer
Sauternes wine yeast
Put 1 pint water on to boil and add sugar, stirring until completely dissolved. Set aside in sterilized jar for later use. Meanwhile, scrub and rinse the parsnips well (do not peel) and then slice them crosswise into thin discs no thicker than 1/4 inch. Trim the meat from the fibrous core of the larger slices and discard the cores. Smaller slices can be left as is. Place parsnips only in nylon straining bag, tie closed, and settle in large saucepan with 3 quarts water on high heat. Add thinly sliced ginger root to saucepan. Peel and slice the bananas and add them to saucepan. Bring to rolling boil, reduce heat to maintain a low boil for 30 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat to cool, but immediately drip drain parsnips 2-3 minutes, then place bag in large bowl to cool separately; set aside. After saucepan cools 2 hours, place a large funnel with straining screen insert in a 1-gallon secondary and carefully pour liquid through funnel. Seal secondary with paper towel folded and secured with rubber band. Set aside to settle for 24 hours. Meanwhile, use parsnips as per the recipe below.
After 24 hours, siphon the clear liquid off the sediment into clean secondary. Add thawed grape concentrate, acid blend, tannin, and yeast nutrient and energizer. Stir to mix and add activated wine yeast. Cover secondary with paper towel held in place with rubber band. When fermentation is vigorous, add sugar-water and fit airlock. Ferment until wine begins clearing. Rack, top up and refit airlock. When wine is completely clear, rack again and add 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate and 1 finely crushed Campden tablet dissolved in 1/2 cup water, stir, top up and refit airlock. After 3 weeks, rack again and add additional crushed Campden tablet dissolved in 1/2 cup water. Sweeten to specific gravity 1.008, top up and refit airlock. Check airlock periodically and rack every 3 months for 18 months, adding additional crushed Campden tablet dissolved in 1/2 cup water every 3rd racking. Rack into bottles and store additional 4-6 months. Yes, it's a long process but entirely worth it. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
Puréed Parsnips and ?
This recipe calls for a second ingredient -- carrots are traditional, but also good are summer or butternut squash, sweet potato or rutabagas. Peel, dice and cook until very tender, then drain and add to the cooked parsnips.
4 lbs parsnips, cooked and drained
1 cup or more of second vegetable
4 tblsp butter, melted
1 1/2 cups milk or water
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
Prepare and cook second vegetable. Meanwhile, untie nylon straining bag and pour parsnips into microwave safe bowl. Cover bowl and warm parsnips in microwave about 2 minutes on 50% power, stirring halfway though and when finished. When second vegetable is cooked and drained, add to parsnips. Place milk or water in blender or food processor, add parsnips and second vegetable and pulse until puréed. Add additional tablespoon of liquid if needed, Add nutmeg, salt and pepper and pulse a few more seconds to integrate. Pour into serving bowl and carefully stir melted butter into puréed vegetables. Serve as a side dish to meal while warm.[Jack Keller's own recipe]
I want to again thank all of you who have made donations to keep this blog and its parent website free. Without your support I would have had to lock up the site and restrict access to paid subscribers. I never want to do that, and your generosity has made free access possible for a while longer. Thank you.
And I thank you for your emails. I don't answer most of them because they ask questions already answered on my site if folks would simply read it or search it. I simply don't have the time to search my site for them. But I do read each of them and answer the ones I feel require my attention.
In my last entry I posted the ingredients to my spicy potato soup. I have received several requests to post it as a recipe, identifying the herbs and spices I use as well as the correct measures for all the ingredients. I hereby respectfully decline, not because the recipe is a secret but because it is so flexible that I wouldn't want to rigidify it with numbers.
You can leave out several ingredients and still make a tremendous soup. You can substitute and add ingredients. Last time I made it I was in a hurry, was distracted, and left out half the herbs and spices -- and it is fabulous (I still have 6 double servings divided between the refrigerator and freezer). Just dive in and add what you like and have on hand.
An ovo-vegetarian (one that eats eggs and dairy products) wrote that he substituted a half dozen eggs, lentils and chopped soy bean sprouts for the meat. I might try that myself one day.
I once used potatoes and parsnips (half and half) and loved it. Be inventive. You can add diced eggplant, hard squash (Hubbard, Acorn, Butternut, etc.), white beans, peas, chopped broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower. I'll bet it will be good any way you do it, so long as you simmer long enough and stir occasionally to prevent scalding the bottom. And if it looks too thick, don't fret. You can stand a spoon up in mine and it will still be upright 10 minutes later. Soup might be the wrong word....
This morning a received an email that proves my point. "Using most of the ingredients you listed and guessing on the spices, I made your soup yesterday. It took over an hour to chop everything and I left out the red bell pepper, jalapenos and canned green chiles and added 4 large diced yellow banana peppers and 3 heaping tablespoons of crushed red pepper. I used Tabasco instead of Sriracha, white mushrooms instead of portabella, and could not find fresh tomatillos so cut up a green tomato. I added diced red tomatoes and a small jar of pimentos for color. I also added some corn meal. My wine was Chianti. It was so thick I could have served it on a plate rather than in a soup bowl. But we loved it. My husband renamed it 'Potato Chili' because it was nice and hot, and he was delighted we had so much left over." You get the idea? Do your own thing. That's what makes cooking so much fun. Bon appétit!
Italian Sausage and Potatoes with Hearty Burgundy
Here is a recipe I will share, for I think with this one the measures are somewhat important. This began as a simple recipe from Good Housekeeping and Delish.com (see photo) and evolved significantly in my kitchen. But it is tasty, filling and especially good on a cold night. I made a similar dish when I lived in Colorado but served the sausages whole. That one took a little more work. This one is easy and delicious.
1 pound hot Italian sausage, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 pound small red potatoes, quartered
1 large white onion, chopped coarsely
20-25 black olives, pitted and halved
10-15 small button mushrooms, quartered
1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, cut lengthwise into 8 pieces and halved
1 1/2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, scattered
salt and pepper to taste, scattered
Preheat oven to 450° F. In 15 1/2" by 10 1/2" pan or glass baker, combine all ingredients, dribbling olive oil widely and toss to coat. Roast uncovered 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender and sausages are lightly browned, stirring once halfway through roasting. Makes 4-6 hardy servings.
Serve hot with steamed vegetable(s), a simple salad, garlic bread and a hearty burgundy. Then loosen the belt and have seconds.
Dried Apricot Wine
I received a request a year ago for a fruit wine you can make in the winter, other than apple, that you would be proud to serve year-round. I almost didn't reply because the answer is so obvious -- dried fruit wine. I looked in my pantry and there were two pounds of dried Turkish apricots I picked up from Whole Foods. The wine just sort of made itself. I tasted it last night and drank half a bottle before I realized what I was doing. Need I say it? Fabulous!
You don't need dried Turkish apricots for this recipe, but you do need dried apricots. Mine were sulfited to preserve the color and discourage bacterial attachment. Do not worry about the sulfites, please. Their amount is very slight, far less than you would get by adding a Campden tablet.
I used Demerara sugar, but you can use any light brown sugar you can find. Turbinado sugar would be a good substitute and is easy to find. If push comes to shove, use Light Brown Sugar, which is white sugar with molasses added.
2 lbs chopped dry apricots
1 can Welch's or Old Orchard 100% White Grape Juice Frozen Concentrate
1 3/4 lb Demerara sugar
juice of 2 lemons
water to 1 gallon
1/4 tsp powdered grape tannin
1 tsp yeast nutrient
sachet of Kitzinger's Madeira, Red Star Premier Curvee or Lalvin EC1118 wine yeast
Bring apricots to boil in 3 1/2 quarts of water, reduce to simmer for 30 minutes, then strain into primary without pressing. Discard pulp or save to make jam or preserves. Add remaining ingredients, except yeast and nutrient, and stir well to dissolve sugar. When warm, add nutrient, and stir. When cool, add activated yeast as starter solution, cover and ferment in warm place for three weeks, stirring daily. Strain into secondary, top up to one gallon, and fit airlock. Rack after one month. Rack every 30 days until clear, rack again adding 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate and one crushed and dissolved Campden tablet. Set aside two months, then rack again. Sweeten to taste and wait 30 days to see if refermentation occurs. If not, bottle. Taste after six months, but allow one year for best quality and flavor. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
This wine can be made using Flor Sherry yeast, but requires very careful measurement of sugar in the must -- from the apricots, white grape concentrate and sugar added -- so the potential alcohol falls between 14.5% and 16%% alcohol. This window is crucial to grow a flor. Ferment normally (anaerobically) to dryness, then move to a larger secondary to allow air in over the wine. Either seal mouth of secondary with cotton or cover with a double layer of muslin secured with a rubber band.
A flor does not develop under all conditions. A cooler temperature (60° is ideal) and high humidity are desired, but there is not much you can do about the latter. If floret's do not develop within one month stabilize the wine and await yeast die-off -- about 3 months. Rack and then rack again in 30 days. Sweeten to taste and wait a final 30 days to see if refermentation occurs. If not, bottle. Since the wine has been exposed to air, drink within one year.
If floret's do develop, wait and they will form a complete flor over the wine, protecting it from further air exposure until the flor collapses. When that occurs, stabilize the wine. Sweeten if desired and wait a final 30 days to see if refermentation occurs. If not, bottle.
Publishing a website and blog the old fashioned way, by hand encoding each and every page, is difficult and time consuming. A friend came by a few weeks ago when I was close to finishing up a WineBlog entry. He came in, we chatting a few minutes, then I asked if he would mind if I finished up a blog entry and posted it -- it would only take 15-20 minutes. He said sure and pulled up a chair next to the computer to watch what I was doing.
Almost immediately he interrupted me to ask what all those strange markings were. I explained they were HTML -- hypertext markup language -- tags and pointed out which ones opened and closed a paragraph, italic text, a subheading, a blank line, etc. I showed him how I told the browser to display small numbers in chemical formulas. For example, to display SO2, I have to type:
SO<font size="-1">2</font>.
He didn't understand so I took time out to explain that the SO part was just plain text, but I wanted the 2 to be smaller and had to tell the browser to make it so by making the font one size smaller than the normal text. Then I had to tell the browser to stop making text smaller or the rest of the blog entry[ies] would be in small text until the browser found the command to stop rendering the text small.
Due to my having to explain every new HTML tag I introduced, it took and hour and a half to finish my blog entry and upload it. When I was done, he said his nephew has a website and he just goes in and types stuff regularly, clicks on icons to do most of what I typed out in code, and clicked a button to publish it and it was done. I could have strangled him. (Not really, Dave, so don't get your dander up.)
Yes, I know all about the many WYSIWYG, "no coding required" virtual studio editors out there that open a template and insert your text where you want it with all the appropriate tags dropped into place. I actually own two of them. But I don't use them. For some strange reason, I prefer to have total control and understanding of what goes into my site.
My nephew has a website. He asked my opinion of it. I suggested he do such-and-such and he said okay. Later he said he simply could not get his program to do that. What I suggested required a few lines of code, but my nephew doesn't really understand the code that forms his pages and so couldn't interject it into his site's template code.
Why mention all of this, you might ask? Because earlier this morning I discovered a stray fragment of code suspended in empty space next to an unordered list of ingredients in a recipe. It took me about 15 minutes to find and correct it, but I realized that fragment would have never been there had I used one of my WYSIWYG "no coding required" editors. Am I going to change? Nope. The satisfaction I derived from correcting that mistake was priceless. Just call me an old dog with no interest in learning new tricks.
I make a very good spicy potato soup. If there were a "soup cook-off" I would enter this soup. It's that good. It started several years ago with a recipe sent to me by a long-time friend who raved about it. I looked over the recipe and decided then and there I would try it. With each batch it changed a little. It uses tomato sauce as a stock base. I made it once with a vegetable stock and diced tomatoes, thickened with rice boiled until it broke down to a thick starch. It was good, but lacked the character tomato sauce added. One should not agonize over soup ingredients, but....
The recipe called for ground beef. I have added an equal amount of bulk hot, Italian sausage. It called for diced carrot. I used shredded carrot. It used 8 small red potatoes chunked. I evolved to using 6 medium golden Yukon potatoes diced. It called for sweet corn freshly shaved off the cob. I now use canned, chipotle white corn (Green Giant). I added purple-hulled peas and tiny field peas to the recipe, both canned. I chopped a large instead of medium white onion, added a large portabella mushroom, diced, and tripled the amount of thinly sliced celery called for. I added both red and green bell pepper, 6 large green onions sliced, a can of cut green beans, and 2 cans of diced Hatch green chiles. I used the liquid in the cans of corn, peas, green beans, and chiles. I dice 6-8 cloves of garlic and 6-8 large jalapeños, depending on size. And there are spices galore but no added salt.
I start by browning the ground beef and sausage, adding the white onion, garlic and bell peppers. Just when the onion was turning translucent I drained off the fat, moved everything to a large stock pot and added 3 15-ounce cans of tomato sauce, the carrots, corn, a half cup of rice, diced jalapeños, and chopped celery. I brought this to a simmer and held it, covered, for an hour. Then I added the potatoes, canned peas, beans, Hatch green chiles, mushrooms, and everything else. I returned it to a simmer for another hour. I tasted it, held my breath, and added a tablespoon of Sriracha and a cup of Malbec. I then stirred it for 3-4 minutes and removed it from the heat. I let it sit 15 minutes and then devoured two bowls, each topped with a dollop of sour cream and diced shallots.
I made close to two gallons of thick, chewy soup. When it cooled I containerized 10 large servings (2 bowls each) and loaded the refrigerator and freezer. I have made this many times now, varying the recipe slightly each time until finally deciding my original attempt, with the addition of 4 diced tomatillos, was the best. The wine changes -- Malbec, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Elderberry -- to what I have on hand. I want body and depth and tannins, which go well in this soup. When I have fresh cilantro I chop it finely to add to the topping. I could live on this stuff and have eaten it and nothing else but sourdough or rye bread for a week at a time.
I have no idea what the nutritional values are for this soup, but they simply have to be good. Like I said, I could live on this stuff.
Photo Cropping the Alhambra: a Final Look
I want to thank all of you who contacted me regarding my February 13th entry on Photo Cropping the Alhambra. Every single response was positive, and several asked for more "before and after" examples. I do not want to overdo my presentations, but do not mind doing one more entry with three examples. These croppings result in differences that range from profound to slight. You must judge if the shots were improved.
The first is a narrow view (left) of a landscape squeezed between a building and some trees. When encountering this shot for the first time, I had to wonder what it was my wife was trying to capture. The one thing I knew was that she saw something here worth preserving. At high resolution I saw it and caught it in the cropping (right). This view is from the Generalife (foreground rooftops) looking over wall (mid-ground) surrounding the Alhambra proper and the distant buildings and rooftops of a portion of the Alhambra.
On a less hazy day you just know the landscape to the far distant horizon would convert this into a spectacular shot. As it is, it is still quite nice and I thank my wife for taking it.
I am not sure if this location is from the Generalife or the Alhambra proper, but I think it is the former. I know the intent of this shot (left) is to both capture the spectacular windows in this room as well as the view below. The doorway allow a proper appreciation of the depth of the room, but if you were not interested in that feature the doorway can be removed (right) through simple cropping to open up the room. Now the windows and view are central, without the peripheral distraction of the doorway.
This technique was applied in many shots, where my wife purposely framed a room or gallery or courtyard or landscape. The framed shots are preserved, but I cropped many of them to selectively draw one's attention to details otherwise lost in the "noise" of too much or to alter the perspective.
This is another of the finely engineered "dancing waters" gardens in the Generalife. This garden (left) is widely portrayed in books, postcards, and photo journals and the long, open, covered gallery to the right of the garden is integral to the whole setting. But I thought the two people stepping out of the gallery detracted from the picture, although I would not have thought so had they been members of out foursome.
If I had time galore I could remove the two strangers by copying and pasting small sections of image over them. In PhotoShop there are other, more sophisticated methods for doing this but they accomplish the same thing. I thought it easier to simply crop the strangers out of the photo (right). In doing so I sacrificed a significant chunk of the gallery and its openness both inward to the garden and outward to a view.
Once again I feel compelled to point out the precision of the engineering of the Moors. They built these gardens in the 15th century, using only gravity to force the water through the finely aligned jets. Yet the waters from the opposing jets impact at the same points in the long, central pond. This is, quite simply, astounding.
Vitis riparia, the Riverbank Grape
A very kind visitor of The Winemaking Home Page wrote me some time back about some wild grape vines on his property that turned out to be Vitis riparia (first described by André Michaux), a grape once prolific in Texas but now believed to be extinct here. Well, my website visitor recently contacted me through Facebook for a mailing address and today I planted 8 rooted V. riparia cuttings.
V. riparia is often incorrectly called the Frost Grape. That name belongs to V. vulpina. V. riparia's common name is Riverbank Grape and it is appropriate. While it does not like standing water, it prefers a deep, rich, moist, well-drained, moderately fertile, calcareous loamy soil. It will thrive in sun or partial shade, but a warm sunny position is required for the fruit to ripen. This grape is a strong climber with prolific growth reaching legendary status. Once established, it is an undemanding, drought tolerant and cold hardy species.
V. riparia does not usually produce large grapes or large clusters, but alpha plants can be found that produce larger grapes, larger clusters, or both. Cuttings from these vines will produce identically larger berries or clusters or both if a suitable pollinator is nearby.
V. riparia are usually described as sour grapes, improving in sweetness after a first frost. This simply means they retain high acidity until a cold spell urges the vine to push more sugar into the berries. The sweeter berries make wonderful wine. Sweeter, pre-frost specimens can occasionally be found in the wild. Cuttings from these vines will produce identical, sweeter pre-frost fruit.
We await the kindred spirit who lives in prolific V. riparia country and is willing to walk the woods or fencerows tasting the ripe fruit in early fall in search of those sweeter fruit, as well as vines producing larger berries and/or clusters. Upon finding such a specimen, we would hope a piece of white or yellow ribbon be affixed to the cane producing the berries of interest. Using waterproof ink, write the characteristic of interest on the ribbon (large berries, large clusters, sweet grapes, etc.) and make a note of where the specimen is located (GPS coordinates are the most accurate way, but do include other guidance). Then, in the winter, when leaves are gone, the correct cane can be found and cuttings taken for propagation. By crossing the sweet with the large, perhaps a better V. riparia can be developed. Read Lon Rombough's The Grape Grower for cross-pollination instructions. I want cuttings from the improved V. riparia.
T. V. Munson reported in 1909 of V. riparia occurring west along the Red River to Denison, TX and in southeastern Texas. But this and one other grape (V. rupestris) have suffered from heavy ranching and logging activities. To the best of my knowledge and after having done years of field and herbaria research, no representative of this species has been identified in Texas in modern times or found in herbarium collections as a specimen from Texas.
But they are back. Once the genders of my plants are established, I intend to take new cuttings and move them to the wild in locations suitable for their survival. Thank you, Vito, for the plants.
I've received very good feedback on my Orange-Chocolate Port and Strawberry-Chocolate Wine recipes. They have inspired several to try other chocolate infusions. Among these are Elderberry-Chocolate, Blackberry-Chocolate, Banana-Pineapple-Coconut-Chocolate, Strawberry-Kiwi-Chocolate, Black Raspberry-Chocolate, Merlot-Chocolate, Chardonnay-Chocolate, and Apricot-Chocolate. Way to go folks! Just send me a small sample bottle of each one....
Looking back through my notes on the orange-chocolate port, I see that I made two versions. Oddly, I do not recall actually doing so but must have, as I found bottles of three distinct batches. Funny how I did not recall this while writing up the previous recipe. The second recipe is a "Dark Orange-Chocolate Port," which is actually what Martin served us although the label on their bottle was the one on my last WineBlog entry. The first time I made the "dark" I must have used the previous label, which makes no mention of the grape concentrate. I can find no separate "Dark" label for 2007. The "dark" color is from red grape concentrate. I made it twice -- 2007 and 2008.
I was asked about Hershey's Cocoa Powder. The key is the word "Natural." If it appears on the label, it is not Dutched cocoa. Hershey's starting making a Dutch-process cocoa in 1989 that was in a silver can. As with all good things, they decided to "improve" it and in the process ruined it. Their new offering is in a chocolate colored can with a brickish-red lower panel announcing "Special Dark", under which is, "A Blend of Natural and Dutched Cocoas".
Can you use the Hershey's? Yes, but it will retain some of the bitterness of the natural cocoa. It should, however, work better with dark wines such as Merlot, Zinfandel and Noble Muscadine. I say this based on pairing several chocolates with wine some time back at a San Antonio Regional Wine Guild meeting. I don't know about blackberry, elderberry and black raspberry. The only way to know is to try it, and if you are going to do that and if you have enough fruit you might as well make two batches -- Hershey's Special Dark and a purely Dutched cocoa. But by all means shoot us the results.
A Second Orange-Chocolate Port
As I mentioned in the introduction, while looking back through my notes on the orange-chocolate port I discovered a second page and saw that I made two versions. As you can see on the label, it is a "Dark Orange-Chocolate Port" -- the "dark" color is from red grape concentrate. I made it twice -- 2007 and 2008 -- and the 2007 is what Martin served us. There are two ways to make the "Dark" and I will mention both.
Back in 2007 I had a can of Zinfandel concentrate which I used in several wines to add color and a vinous quality (body) to non-grape wines. After opening the can I poured the leftover concentrate into a whiskey bottle and kept it in the refrigerator. Late, after using more of it, I moved the remainder to a smaller bottle to control the ullage. By 2008 the cup or so that remained had oxidized and I used Welch's 100% Red Grape Juice Frozen Concentrate instead. The batch made with the Zinfandel was superior to the one made with the Welch's, although it too was very good. The recipe below simply states, "red grape concentrate". You can use either kind -- a varietal or a frozen concentrate.
Montrachet, Champagne or any wine yeast with a 12-15% alcohol by volume range
Napoleon (or any other) brandy (you must calculate the volume needed)
Thaw orange concentrate and pour into a primary with a 1-gallon mark. Add sugar, red grape concentrate, acid, tannin powder, yeast nutrient, and 2 quarts hot water. Stir until sugar is dissolved and top up to 1-gallon mark. At this point, use a hydrometer to measure your specific gravity and WRITE IT DOWN! Allow to cool to 95 degrees or cooler and place 2 cups of must in a blender. Turn blender on to slowest speed and add cocoa powder 1 tablespoon at a time. When all 4 ounces are well blended, stir into primary. Pitch activated dry yeast and cover the primary with a clean towel, muslin or plastic wrap. Stir 2-4 times daily until vigorous fermentation subsides (usually in 5 to 10 days).
Rack or transfer to 4-liter secondary (1-gallon secondary if you do not have a 4-liter one), top up only to the bottom of the neck of the secondary and attach an airlock. During next day or two cocoa powder will rise with air bubbles to neck of secondary. Use a small spoon, butter knife or other instrument to remove as much as you can. Repeat as required (usually only once is sufficient).
In 3 weeks, prepare a Bentonite slurry according to the manufacturer's instructions; this usually takes several hours. When slurry is completely liquefied and cool, rack wine into clean secondary, shake or stir Bentonite slurry to agitate, and add about 2 tablespoons to wine. Stir wine well, attach airlock, and stir again every 6-8 hours for 2 days. Let rest until wine clears and then wait 2 more days. Rack, top up and reattach airlock. In 60 days, rack again, measure the specific gravity and WRITE IT DOWN! Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of orange extract. Based on starting specific gravity and finished specific gravity, calculate alcohol content (see first link immediately following this recipe). Now calculate how much brandy you will need to add to bring wine up to 20% alcohol (see second link immediately following this recipe). Add brandy (you may have to move wine to a larger container to accommodate the addition of the brandy). Stir and bottle immediately. Wait at least 6 months before tasting [Jack Keller's own recipe]
Removing Red Wine Stains
If you drink red wine, sooner or later you're going to spill some on something you wish you hadn't. My wife spilled some Merlot on a yellow cotton blouse and did the wrong things. We're going to explore the right ways to do it so you'll know what to do when it happens.
First and foremost, you simply must treat the stain before it dries. My wife took off her blouse and put on a dry one and the stained one dried out before she attempted to treat it. If you cannot treat it immediately, at least isolate the stain and try to keep it wet. That doesn't mean soaking it, rolling it up and putting it in a plastic bag, for all that will do is spread the stain to other parts of the garment or tablecloth. Just treat it before it dries by spraying a little water, club soda or white wine on the stain with a spray bottle to keep it moist but not so much that it spreads the stain. Although you want the stain to be wet, you should carefully blot up any excess wine with a paper towel.
Using white wine to neutralize a red wine stain is an ineffective old wives tale, although it does work fairly good on nylon and pure polyester; however, most polyester fabrics are blends with cotton or other absorbent fibers woven in. The same is true of club soda.
Most Effective Home Remedy
I've read quite a few articles on this subject and the overwhelming number one home remedy consists of combining equal parts of hydrogen peroxide and Dawn dishwashing liquid detergent and applying it directly to the stain. One source (which has been widely copied and therefore has multiplied) says to apply the mixture to the stain in a blotting motion, continuing until the stain is removed. Another source, based on tests, suggests soaking the stained portion of the fabric in the mixture for as long as three hours. When my wife got around to trying this, the stain had dried and set pretty well. Still, she placed a plate under the stain to keep it from touching the back of the garment and mixed 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide and 1/4 cup Dawn together before pouring on the stain. It did a pretty good job even for a dried stain, leaving only a light pink spot. She is quite certain had she treated it right away she would have gotten it all out.
After treating the garment, wash it in the washer in cold water.
The only danger I can think of using this method is that the peroxide could bleach out certain colors. However, I read nothing about it in the literature except it was a possibility.
Second Most Effective Home Remedy
After blotting up excess wine, combine one tablespoon of dish soap or detergent with one tablespoon white vinegar and two cups lukewarm water. Apply the mixture by blotting with a towel or washcloth, then blotting the area with a dry towel or washcloth to remove stain-laden moisture, then repeating until the stain is gone.
Afterwards, wash the garment in cold water. If the stain is not completely gone after washing (but before drying), use the hydrogen peroxide and Dawn detergent method and wash again.
Removing Red Wine from a Carpet
For carpeting, first apply straight hydrogen peroxide, allowing a few minutes to penetrate carpet fibers . Next, using a spray bottle filled with one part water and one part carpet cleaner, mist the stain. Blot with a clean cloth until stain is removed.
If the Wine Stain Dries
I am not certain this works, but it is mentioned enough that it might. I discovered it too late to help my wife.
First, soak the red wine stain in white wine or club soda. These will not remove the stain but will dilute it. Next, cover the stain with a thick paste of baking soda and water. Leave the baking soda paste on the stain for a few hours, periodically moistening the solution with water. Once the treatment is done, wash the garment in cold water.
Commercial Products
Wine Away. Made from fruit and vegetable extracts, Wine Away is an industry specific red wine stain remover that regularly ranks among the best on the market. Wine away is free of bleach and is safe in households with pets and/or children. To use, spray heavily on affected areas immediately and let sit from one to 15 minutes, depending on severity and age of stain. Then wash off or launder as usual in cold water.
OxiClean. If you or someone else spills red wine on a non-wool carpet, OxiClean is a great option. Mix the OxiClean powder with water and apply to stained area. Wait a few minutes and blot with a clean, dry towel. Repeat until stain is removed and rinse with water. After the area dries, vacuum. If the carpet had not been cleaned in a while, a general cleaning may be required so the one clean spot is not obvious.
Resolve. Resolve is a great brand of all-purpose stain removal products that also can help in the elimination of red wine stains. In particular, Resolve is well known for its effectiveness at removing stains from carpet. For red wine, Resolve Max Trigger is recommended. Follow Resolve spot treatments with regular laundering or carpet cleaning for best results.
Gonzo Wine Out Stain Remover. I have read glowing testimonials and reports of residual yellow stains. Reportedly you spray on, leave a few minutes, blot up, and that's it. Having not tried it, I cannot say one way or the other. I'll leave it up to you.
Parker & Bailey Red Wine Stain Remover. The manufacturer says it removes the toughest stains from clothing, carpets, tablecloths, napkins and more. Simply apply Red Wine Stain Remover, blot with a dry white cloth and see the stain disappear right before your very eyes. I could not find any customer testimonials on the product yet.
A Final Word
Whether you are anticipating using a home remedy or a commercial product, you simply have to have what you need on hand when you need it. My wife discovered she only had 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide left in a 2-quart container. I have some but it is old and I don't really know if it is as chemically active as it should be. I've put it on my shopping list. Wine Away is on my list too, but I will probably have to order it. Until then, I don't want to spill any red wine. Are you prepared?
Using Your Hydrometer, go to table, find starting s.g. and potential alcohol (PA) in far right column. If finished s.g. is 1.000, the starting PA is the alcohol by volume (ABV). If finished s.g. is 0.998, add 0.3 to starting PA; if 0.996, add 0.6; if 0.994, add 0.8, if 0.992, add 1.1; if 0.990, add 1.4.
Blending Wines, use the first calculator (Blending to Adjust Alcohol). Enter % desired alcohol, the ABV of your finished wine, the ABV of the brandy and click "submit". The answer will be in parts. Suppose you want a 20% port, have a 13% finished wine, an 80-proof brandy (40% ABV), the result will be 20 parts wine to 7 parts brandy. A US gallon contains 128 ounces; divide by 20 = 6.4 ounces per "unit"; 7 X 6.4 = 44.8 ounces of brandy (3 pints = 48 ounces) to raise the wine to 20% ABV.
I have not received any negatives so far of the two videos I linked to in my last WineBlog entry. Could it be that my tastes are more mainstream than I thought?
But I have received plenty of emails and messages concerning the strawberry-chocolate wine recipe and discussion of Dutched chocolate I featured last week. All of it was appreciative or experience-sharing. There are a lot of people out there struggling in their own ways, as I once did, to make chocolate-flavored wines without really knowing how. I'm glad I could help so many.
Website Housecleaning
A very kind lady advised me of some broken or dead links in my list of winemaking and homebrew shops and recommended a couple more, which I added. These were only in Texas, and I fear the other states have suffered attrition and renewal as well. If you know of a local homebrew shop on the list that is no more, or know of one not on the list, please be so kind as to let me know about it. If you don't tell me what is and isn't anymore, chances are I'm not going to know.
It pained me to go to Paul's Elderberry Page, that friendly site in the UK for many years, only to find the link failed. If anyone can tell me what happened to it (and Paul), I would be most appreciative.
If you find a dead link on my site, please send me an email informing me of such. And it would help greatly if you tell me where the dead link is located. With almost five hundred web pages in this site, I simply cannot remember where every link is located.
Photo Cropping the Alhambra
This has nothing to do with wine but everything to do with preserving memories. The Alhambra at Granada, Spain is a unique, monumental and exquisite complex of military functionality, palatial grandeur and aesthetic splendor. Rising with the topography of the hill called La Sabica, it dominates the city below while hiding its own magnificence from the outside world. Today it is owned by the nation of Spain and anyone can visit it and the Generalife (pronounced 'he·ne·rah·lee·fay'), an adjacent series of perfumed gardens and serene galleries which, collectively, make a statement that literally overwhelms the senses. If the Alhambra is not on your list of places to visit before you die you should seriously consider putting it there. Every person would be enriched by visiting it at least once.
The problem with the Alhambra is that there is so much of it to see, to understand, to appreciate. Everywhere one looks one is reminded that the Moors who built it were mathematically precise and artistically accomplished.
We took scores, perhaps hundreds, of photographs, but lacked the time, focus or skills to concentrate on taking them. In rooms, galleries and courtyards of breathtaking grandeur, one could only point and shoot and hope some small essence of what we saw was captured and later revealed through careful photo cropping. The task is doubly daunting because in my case I only have what we shot to work with and I have the simplest of photo editing software. I can't even straighten a slightly tilted shot.
My wife paused and shot this hurried glimpse of the Patio de los Leones (left) from the flank, an unusual shot looking through one of the pavilions located at either end of this magnificent courtyard. I cropped 15 aspects of this one photo which I will not bore you with, but two of them illustrate what is possible even for the untalented and with very unsophisticated technology.
The slice of columns and arches (right) pleases me greatly. It does not show the larger complexity but does portray an almost enigmatic depth and shows some of the detailed stone carvings that were everywhere one looked. The delicate, polished columns frame a shrub which is uncharacteristically in need of a manicure. Yes, the focus could have been sharper but this is a point-and-shoot digital that still resolved details seemingly unrecorded here. For example, the vertical panels above each column contain intricately carved designs which can be resolved with sufficient zoom.
The selection below reveals some details and suggests far more of the same throughout the depth of the picture. In truth, almost all the details are recoverable at higher zoom, and a student of 14th century Arabic might be able to read the many stylized inscriptions. The single window visible on the far wall is plain, possibly to an apartment. The buildings surrounding this particular courtyard contained apartments and rooms dedicated to leisure and pleasure, for this part of the Alhambra was the harem, built in the latter half of the 14th century by Muhammed V.
The photo on the left is a more traditional view of the Lions Court (Patio de los Leones). The previous picture and croppings were taken from the left. The fountain it the center of the courtyard is surrounded by 12 lions. The pavilion in the foreground, a templette of three arches, is mirrored at the far end of the courtyard. If memory serves, there are 124 columns, many of them double, incorporated in the courtyard.
The photo below, cropped, shows an intricately decorated entranceway with three ached doorways to another palatial complex within the walled city. Almost every ceiling is different but we captured so few that this picture is a definite keeper. And just try to imagine the number of artisans employed to produce this one wall and ceiling. The totality throughout the Alhambra simply boggles the mind.
The picture at the right of the Patio de la Acequia is not cropped at all. You are seeing it at 350 X 197 pixels, but at it's natural size (4288 X 2416) details jump out at you -- hundreds of flowers and individual droplets of water in the jets of water to name a few. Had my wife been standing a foot or so to the left, it would be obvious that the waters are being shot up from both sides of the long pond and the impacts of the left and right jets are at the same points in the pond, a precision that probably escapes most visitors. These and all the other dancing waters, fountains and sprays were built in the 14th and 15th centuries and were originally powered by gravity from cisterns located on still higher ground and fed by aqueducts bringing water from the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains. The engineering of these waters by the Moors was clearly superior to that of the indigenous peoples they conquered and the Christians who later conquered them, as evidenced by many of the waterworks failing to function until the displaced Moors were invited back to get them working again.
The rose at the left was shot by my wife. The only cropping necessary was to center it. It is not the most perfect rose, but it was very fragrant and the focus was near perfect for a point-and-shoot camera. I give much credit to the state for doing its best to maintain the gardens as they were originally planted. One sees a pink rose in a partucular spot and does not question whether that is the flower that was originally planted there by the Moors when they established the many gardens in the Alhambra. But we are told yes, that what you see today is what was originally there, as best as can be determined from historical research. Knowing that makes the experience of wandering through the gardens all the more enjoyable.
There is no way to display the grandeur of the Alhambra and Generalife, the adjacent gardens and apartments within the walls, in just a few photos. Nor was that my purpose. I simply wanted to demonstrate that even seemingly poor photographs can be mined for interesting content with minimal skill and the most basic of software.
To get a better look at the Alhambra, reward yourself and do a search. Use the internet to access the wealth of information and photography out there to look at and read. I will not suggest any links, but leave it to you to find what you can. If you look, you will find. And by all means, if you have not walked through it in person, start planning a vacation to southern Spain with a stop in Granada.
Orange-Chocolate Port
Some years back I gave Lesley Lunt and Martin Benke a bottle of my Orange-Chocolate Port. At a recent meeting of the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild at their party house on Lake Corpus Christi, following a fantastic meal of battered shrimp, oysters and white bass with at least a dozen and a half side dishes and desserts, Martin broke out that 5-year old gift and we sat back, stuffed and satiated, and enjoyed it immensely. Having just received another supply of dark Dutched cocoa, I decided to make some more.
Originally, I did not use Dutched cocoa in this port. Even after 5 years, you can still taste a very slight bitterness from the Hershey's unsweetened natural cocoa. As I said last week, that is one of the detractors of the natural cocoa powders. The Dutch-processed cocoas do not have this bitterness and that is why I will be using it in my new batch. Still, I have to admit, the 5-year old port was pretty darned good. You could definitely taste the orange immediately, while the chocolate caught up with you in the finish and persisted for quite some time. In a word, it was "delicious".
I will share with you the recipe, but you will have to calculate the amount of brandy to add at the end. It is not difficult, and I will even provide you a calculator to assist, but you must keep good records so you can enter the correct numbers in the calculator.
Montrachet, Champagne or any wine yeast with a 12-15% alcohol by volume range
Napoleon (or any other) brandy (you must calculate the volume needed)
Thaw orange concentrate and pour into a primary with a 1-gallon mark. If you don't have one, before you start add a gallon of water to your primary and mark the waterline with indelible ink, paint or fingernail polish. Add sugar, acid, tannin powder, yeast nutrient, and 2 quarts warm-to-hot water. Stir until sugar is dissolved and top up to 1-gallon mark. At this point, use a hydrometer to measure your specific gravity and WRITE IT DOWN! Allow to cool to 95 degrees or cooler and place 2 cups of must in a blender. Turn blender on to slowest speed and add cocoa powder 1 tablespoon at a time. When all 4 ounces are well blended, stir into primary. Pitch activated dry yeast and cover the primary with a clean towel, muslin or plastic wrap. Stir 2-4 times daily until vigorous fermentation subsides (usually in 5 to 10 days).
Rack or transfer to 4-liter secondary (1-gallon secondary if you do not have a 4-liter one), top up only to the bottom of the neck of the secondary and attach an airlock. During next day or two cocoa powder will rise with air bubbles to neck of secondary. Use a small spoon, butter knife or other instrument to remove as much as you can. Repeat as required (usually only once is sufficient).
In 3 weeks, prepare a Bentonite slurry according to the manufacturer's instructions; this usually takes several hours. When slurry is completely liquefied and cool, rack wine into clean secondary, shake or stir Bentonite slurry to agitate, and add about 2 tablespoons to wine. Stir wine well, attach airlock, and stir again every 6-8 hours for 2 days. Let rest until wine clears and then wait 2 more days. Rack, top up and reattach airlock. In 60 days, rack again, measure the specific gravity and WRITE IT DOWN! Add one tablespoon of orange extract (not a drop more!). Based on starting specific gravity and finished specific gravity, calculate alcohol content (see first link immediately following this recipe). Now calculate how much brandy you will need to add to bring wine up to 20% alcohol (see second link immediately following this recipe). Add brandy (you may have to move wine to a larger container to accommodate the addition of the brandy). Stir and bottle immediately. Wait at least 6 months before tasting [Jack Keller's own recipe]
Using Your Hydrometer, go to table, find starting s.g. and potential alcohol (PA) in far right column. If finished s.g. is 1.000, the starting PA is the alcohol by volume (ABV). If finished s.g. is 0.998, add 0.3 to starting PA; if 0.996, add 0.6; if 0.994, add 0.8, if 0.992, add 1.1; if 0.990, add 1.4.
Blending Wines, use the first calculator (Blending to Adjust Alcohol). Enter % desired alcohol, the ABV of your finished wine, the ABV of the brandy and click "submit". The answer will be in parts. Suppose you want a 20% port, have a 13% finished wine, an 80-proof brandy (40% ABV), the result will be 20 parts wine to 7 parts brandy. A US gallon contains 128 ounces; divide by 20 = 6.4 ounces per "unit"; 7 X 6.4 = 44.8 ounces of brandy (3 pints = 48 ounces) to raise the wine to 20% ABV.
I'm probably going to get a lot of static for this intro, but I hope not. There is a TV commercial out there for AT&T Mobile to Mobile service that just tickles me. After chuckling over it when it aired again a while ago, I typed "The Silent Treatment TV Commercial" into Google and was pleasantly surprised when it was there on YouTube.
Forget the absurdity of the scenario for a minute (a girl is calling her boyfriend for the eighth time to tell him she is giving him "the silent treatment") and just look at the girl's face. Lovely, very subtle expressions....
You might not think it's cute. We all have different tastes. But I like it. A lot.
Heck, I like the Geico commercial in the country dancehall with the gecko dancing at the end. Yes, I know some guys never got past the gorgeous blonde on the right at the 15-18-second mark while others were eying the steak, but it was the dancing gecko and the song that got me. In fact, the 10 seconds of song in that commercial got stuck in my head. I finally went on a search to find out what song it was and who was playing it. Yes, we all have our strange moments, but in fact the song is called "Central Daylight Time" and the band is Wrinkle Neck Mules. You can't make that up....
Did you know (or even suspect) that there is a contest involving the gecko's dance? Oh yeah. You learn the dance by going to one site, then film yourself doing the dance and email your clip to an address (geckoassistant@geico.com). And you can download the song, "Central Daylight Time", to dance to, at the second link following this day's entry. But first, here's the commercial for those who have no idea what I'm taking about....
Emails from various friends living in the northern tier of states complain of rain (Pacific Northwest) or snow (everywhere else) and lots of it. Indeed, there has been widespread hardship and outright tragedy caused by too much precipitation in too short a period of time. I cannot imagine my home being flooded while the temperature hovers just below 40° F. That spells nothing but heartache, misery and a long chest cold or worse. Say a prayer for those evicted by nature unleashed.
I woke up the other day with a hidden memory freshly recovered. An old friend once told the story of a time back in Wisconsin in the '50s, he was a kid, and they woke up to something like 4 feet of fresh snow. They couldn't even break a path to the street. His father was getting bundled up to go shovel snow when there was a knock at the door.
Under the circumstances, they simply knew no one could get through to the door so they were flabbergasted when the doorbell rang. They opened the door and there was the mailman. He had a thick letter for them with insufficient postage and he was there to collect the 2 cents postage due! Yes, he kicked a path to the door for 2 cents! It probably took him a good half hour and a lot of effort. Those pre-union days when getting the mail through was the only thing that mattered are surely gone, but what a great reminder of what we have lost....
Strawberry-Chocolate Wine
I smelled them the moment I walked into the supermarket because the display of strawberries was just inside and to the right. I looked at them and felt the saliva flowing. I raced through Produce and collected just the items on my list and then set a speed record to the fruit section of the frozen foods. I looked and looked, but the only frozen sliced strawberries they had were in tiny, 8-oz cartons which, ounce for ounce, cost about 60% more than the fresh. Back to produce.
If you wonder why my first instinct was to look for frozen sliced strawberries, the reason is simple. Strawberries are picked and rushed to a processing station where they are culled for ripeness, size and quality. The very ripest berries will never make it to the store before turning brownish and mushy and probably growing a mold carpet. These are washed, blow dried and either flash frozen whole, sliced, packaged and frozen, or moved to a juicing line.
The ones that are not ripe are packed and ripen on the way to markets. Rather, they look like they ripen as they do change to a more uniform and darker red. But the truth is that they are as ripe as they ever will be when they are picked, as once the stem is severed no more sugar flows from the roots to the berry.
So, given the choice I would rather buy the tubs of frozen sliced strawberries. Thawed, they just reek ripeness. But in the end I bought four pounds of fresh, but only after picking them over pretty good to get the very best berries I could. Even then I found eight strawberries to be too "pink" when I got home: I ate them. Waste not, want not. They were far from ripe.
As the title of this section hints at, I decided to make strawberry-chocolate wine. Those who have followed this web site over the years know that the first time I tasted a chocolate wine I was not only unimpressed, I was practically nauseated by the experience. I firmly steered people away from attempting such a wine, but later tasted and then made an absolutely wonderful chocolate covered cherry wine, so I knew there could be other exceptions.
Then one day I received an email from a very reputable source who told of a to-die-for orange-chocolate wine being produced by a small winery in Florida. A few months later another good source told of an orange-chocolate wine being produced in Oregon. I began experimenting and published a resume of my failures.
About a year later a couple in Sharps Chapel, Tennessee sent me some wine samples to evaluate. Two of them were fruit and chocolate marriages. They shared with me their secret and I published it here. Ever since, fruit and chocolate wines have been very popular. Many, many people give me credit, but the credit goes to the couple in Tennessee who did not care that I shared their secret. The only secret is their names, as they have never said I could publish it.
The fruit wines are fermented fairly straight-forward with one exception, and that is the integration of the chocolate in the form of cocoa powder. Here's how it's done.
Strawberry-Chocolate Wine Recipe
4lbs fresh (or frozen sliced) strawberries
2 lbs 4 oz sugar
1 can Welch's 100% White Grape Juice frozen concentrate
4 oz (by weight) Dutched cocoa powder (see article following this one)
1 tsp acid blend
3/4 tsp pectic enzyme
1/8 tsp powdered grape tannin
water to 1 gallon
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Lalvin W15 or Red Star Côte des Blancs wine yeast
Wash and thinly slice the fresh strawberries, depositing them in a nylon straining bag. Tie bag and set aside in bowl. Meanwhile, bring 3 quarts water to boil. Place sugar in primary and pour approximately 1 quart boiling water over sugar. Stir until thoroughly dissolved. Stir in grape tannin, acid blend and yeast nutrient. Set nylon bag of sliced strawberries in primary and add remaining 2 quarts boiling water . Cover and allow to cool 4 hours. Place 2 cups cold water in blender. Turn on blender at its lowest setting and add cocoa powder one heaping tablespoon at a time. When all powder is in and mixed, add pectic enzyme and mix additional 10 seconds. Stir cocoa mixture into primary, around sides of nylon bag, while stirring. Cover primary and set aside 1-12 hours. Add activated yeast in a starter solution while stirring. Cover primary and set aside.
Stir and punch down bag 2-3 times daily. At end of third day of fermentation raise bag and allow to drip drain while gently squeezing bag. If any pulp escapes bag stop squeezing and drip drain only. Discard contents of bag. Add thawed grape juice concentrate, stir and transfer to secondary. Affix an airlock but do not top up. After additional 3 days of fermentation, check specific gravity. Mine was just a hair's width below 1.000.
Check daily until s.g is at or below 0.994 and add a slurry of Bentonite and water, prepared according to manufacturer's instructions. Stir well and set airlock. Stir hourly for next 4-6 hours. Bentonite will settle within 2-3 days but allow 5 just to be sure. Rack, stabilize with 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate and 1 finely crushed Campden tablet dissolved, top up and reattach airlock. Set aside 2 months. Rack again, top up and reattach airlock. Wait additional month and if there is a fine dusting on the bottom of secondary, rack, top up and reattach airlock. Wait additional month and check again for dusting of dead yeast. When no dusting is evident, you may assume all yeast are dead and can now sweeten to taste, either with sugar in a simple syrup, clarified strawberry juice or a strawberry mixer (Bacardi, Orchard Splash, Cocktail Dancers, etc.).
Whichever you use, do a trial first. Sweeten a tiny bit at a time, taking notes, and when it tastes too sweet go back two increments. For example, if you are sweetening a 100 mL sample and you are sweetening 1 mL at a time, if 6 mL is too sweet, go back two increments to 4 mL and scale that up to your overall batch. Why two increments instead of one? The wine will gain some sweetness as it ages. After sweetening, allow another month and then, if no tiny bubbles appear around the edge of the secondary, bottle. Allow at least 4 months before tasting, but 6-8 months is better. {Jack Keller's own recipe]
Dutched Cocoa Powder
If you have shopped for cocoa powder in any sizeable supermarket, you probably know there are choices. But if your choices are between Baker's, Hershey's and Nestle's, you might consider looking for a larger supermarket. Even then, your choices may be limited but could open up a couple more brands. Why is this important? Because all cocoa powder is not the same, and if you are making a base-chocolate wine, you want the right kind.
At the most basic level, there are essentially two kinds of cocoa -- natural and "Dutched." Dutch-process cocoa powder is made from cocoa (actually, cacao) beans that have been washed with a alkaline solution to neutralize their acidity. Natural cocoa powder is made from cocoa beans that are simply roasted, pressed to extract at least half the cocoa butter and then pulverized into a fine powder.
Natural cocoa powder and chocolate contain more antioxidants because the "Dutching" process removes some; "heavy Dutching" removes as much as 90%. However, experts tell us that cocoa is so rich in antioxidants that removing 90% still leaves it in the "super-antioxidant" class of foods.
Natural cocoa powder has a richer, more acrid aroma, but accordingly has a more acidic and bitter taste. Contrary to intuition, natural cocoa powder is lighter in color and more difficult to dissolve in water. Dutch-processed cocoa has less acidity, a smoother flavor and darker, redder color, and it is also more soluble, which is really important when making wine. .
So, which kind is best for integrating into wine. If you are used to making base-chocolate wines from natural cocoa powder and know how to adjust the amount to balance the acidity, then natural cocoa is probably your best choice except with more delicately flavored base ingredients like strawberry, kiwi, mint, nectarine, and peach. These bases can easily be overwhelmed by a rich, natural cocoa flavor and leave you wondering what the base actually was.
The first time I made strawberry-chocolate wine the strawberries were frozen slices and very flavorful, but I only used 2 1/2 pounds and a rich natural cocoa. Only the aroma hinted at what was under the chocolate. Still, the aroma was so intense that everyone "tasted" strawberries when in reality they didn't. This was proven when we all pinched closed our noses while drinking the wine and all but one admitted not being able to discern the strawberries.
When it comes to baking with cocoa powder, the type you use is dependent on the recipe. If it calls for natural cocoa powder, you must use it or risk having a flat or dry product. Natural cocoa, you'll remember, is more acidic. As a result it reacts with baking soda and causes a leavening (rising) action within the batter and finished baked goods. If the recipe isn't clear on which type to use but calls for baking soda, use natural unsweetened cocoa powder. If the recipe leaves out baking soda but includes baking powder, use a Dutch-processed cocoa powder. It's all in understanding what various ingredients do for a recipe. The same applies to winemaking recipes.
The following are some of the Dutch-processed cocoa powders I've identified, although most will never cross your path in a supermarket. I have only found the Hershey's, Ghiridelli, Lindt, and Penzeys. I am told the U.S. military commissaries occasionally carry Pernigotti and Van Houten but I honestly have never looked for them when I shop there. However, you can buy any of them (and a lot more) online. As I said, these are some:
Bensdorp Cocoa Powder "Royal Dutch"
Callebaut Belgian Chocolate "Belgian Cocoa Powder"
Droste Cocoa Powder
Ghiridelli Chocolate Dutch Process Cocoa Powder "Superior"
Ghiridelli Chocolate Dutch Process Cocoa Powder "Sunrise"
Guittard Cocoa Powder, Full Dutched Process "Jersey Cocoa"
Guittard Cocoa Powder, Full Dutched Process "Perfection Cocoa"
Hershey's Special Dark Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
Lindt Dutch Process Cocoa
Michel Cluizel French Chocolate Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
Penzeys Dutch Process Cocoa
Pernigotti Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
Poulain Dutch Cocoa Powder
Rademaker Dutch Processed Cocoa
Ramstadt-Breda Medium Dark Cocoa (France)
Ramstadt-Breda Rich Dark Cocoa (Holland)
Valrhona Pure Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Van Houten Premium Dutch Cocoa
There are also some non-branded, generic Dutched cocoa powders that reportedly are high quality. Most notable of these are Pier 1 Imports, Trader Joes and nuts.com. But they also sell natural cocoa powders, so read the descriptors carefully or ask before you buy.
I do think I will splurge soon and order some Valrhona Pure Unsweetened Cocoa Powder online. Absolutely every authority I've read rates it as the very best...with a price to match. But I know I am mortal and would like to taste the very best once before I check out.
One last thing, most of the online recipes for base-chocolate wines were ripped from my site or adapted from my 2007 recipes. I don't really care about that except if you copy you are supposed to attribute the source. My greater concern is that most copiers and adapters see "4 oz Hershey's Cocoa Powder" in the ingredients but fail to notice (or understand) the following: "I measured the cocoa powder in dry ounces...." Over and over again I see the cocoa in the ingredients listed as "4 oz (1/2 cup) Hershey's Cocoa Powder". There is a huge difference between a half cup and 4 ounces by weight. Four ounces -- that's 114 grams -- of cocoa powder is a lot more than a half cup, in which case you may very well want to use Dutch processed cocoa powder.
Late yesterday I received news of the passing this past Monday of someone I thought of as a friend, although we'd never met. We began exchanging emails in 2003 after the publication of his book, The Grape Grower, a masterful work detailing every aspect of grape growing I wanted to know and some I did not. Most importantly, he opened my eyes to the actual science of grape breeding, the deliberate cross-pollination of two species in an attempt to improve the pollen recipient by injecting one or more traits from the pollen donor. Of course I knew the mechanics from reading some of the 19th century American pioneers. Lon Rombough made it truly understandable to even me.
Lon started growing grapes in his early teens and went on to do graduate work in plant breeding and Viticulture at U. C. Davis, where he studied under and formed a lifetime bond with grape breeder Dr. H. P. Olmo. Lon has been growing and testing grape varieties on his own ever since, for four decades, and grew over 200 varieties in Oregon. He grew many unusual fruit, wrote articles for many publications, sold grape cuttings, lectured and gave presentations, and was a horticultural consultant.
The canned piece on Lon, from one of his websites, goes like this: "Lon Rombough's background includes: Two degrees in horticulture, plus Ph.D level work in plant breeding and genetics; 40+ years experience with several hundred varieties and species of plants; working for and with organizations such as the National Clonal Germplasm Repository at Corvallis, Oregon, North American Fruit Explorers, and the Seed Savers Exchange." It's all enough to impress you, but does not tell you who the man was.
The news of Lon's passing came from one of his sons via email. His email was also forwarded to me by three other friends, each of whom is dear to me although, like Lon, I have never met two of them. Chris Rombough wrote:
"If you are receiving this email, you are his friend, and I wanted to let you know what happened. I am sorry I could not inform each of you more personally. My dad died Monday afternoon of what was probably a heart attack. He was 62.
"My dad was a great man. He was intelligent, kind, and always ready to help anyone in need. He loved his plants. His interest was endless and his passion was infectious. He was the bravest and the best man I have ever met, and he was my hero.
"I want you all to know that he loved you, his friends and considered you all a great blessing."
Now that tells you who the man was.
At the urging of Luke Clark I joined an e-group called GrapeBreeders. Lon Rombough was the moderator if not the actual founder. Around the same time I joined MunsonManiacs, another e-group with a passion for the work and the grapes of the late, great, grape breeder T. V. Munson; Lon was there as well, full of vigor, helpfulness and knowledge. Sometimes I think he suppressed his knowledge and asked questions he knew the answer to just to provoke a discussion. He loved discussions. He did not care for conflict or junk science.
Once an e-group discussion turned to global warming. This was before the massive evidence was discovered that the global warming grant cultivators were deliberately skewing, and even manufacturing, the evidence to support their agenda. I had been critical of this topic because I remembered when the people looking for grant money were claiming we were heading for another ice age and a scientist from the newly formed NOAA warned that climate change is cyclic. I introduced all the evidence I could find to debunk the Al Gore hysteria. After a couple of days of back and forth, mainly between me and a young zealot who had evidently drank the global warming kool aid, Lon announced that henceforth the proper term in this group's emails would be climate change, and he would expel the next person who mentioned global warming. Lon had our respect, and that gave him authority.
Ron wrote me once with questions about Viburnum rufidulum, commonly Southern Black Haw. I had no hidden knowledge of this small tree (large shrub) and so I compiled a couple of pages from the internet and sent them to him. He wrote back asking where I got the berries to make my Black Haw Wine. I related a story of happening upon a tree near Beaumont, Texas. It was loaded with berries and I filled a plastic bag. Having no idea what these berries were or even if they were edible I asked an old fellow sitting on his porch just down the road. He looked at the berries and said they were Nannyberries -- make good pie and jelly. It was not until I got home and searched "Nannyberry" that I discovered they were more commonly called Southern Black Haws. Ron wrote back asking permission to use the story in a future project. He asked that of several of my stories.
Lon wrote several of us just three weeks ago, excited his new book was coming out later this year. The announced title was, The Bountiful Grape: Using Everything the Grape Vine Produces. I am looking forward to it.
I always planned to go visit him when I next visited my sister in Oregon. It never happened. I am so sorry. I will miss his insightfulness, his helpfulness and his friendliness. My profoundest sympathies go out to his family and many friends.
Bunch Grapes, Lon's commercial website; don't know what will become of it
I am two days away from paying off our mortgage. I have never done that before, so it is a new experience. But it does not mean that a great sum of money will suddenly become available each month due to the payoff. Thirty-eight percent of each payment over the years was not dedicated to principal or interest, but rather to that nebulous term "escrow."
Escrow is, to me, somewhat akin to my pancreas. It does important things that must be done but beyond that is somewhat of a mystery to me. So, if escrow is really needed, what am I to do when I am no longer paying Bank of America to "take care of it" for me. So I called Bank of America.
As anyone knows who has tried to call a Bank of America toll-free number, you are connected to a "voice menu" -- a pleasant voice controlled by instructions entered by a software programmer. The programmer was given a list of options to put into the "voice menu" system, none of which offered, "Press X to speak to a real live person." You can talk all you want to the pleasant voice delivering options you don't want to hear, but she will only hear certain words the programmer told her to expect and nothing more, and for all we know she could have passed away shortly after she recorded the options Bank of America stipulated. As our president loves to say when he is about to obfuscate something, "let me make this clear." I am not accusing Bank of America of having a hit man "rub out" the woman with the pleasant voice to forever hide the fact that they never presented her a line to read that sounded anything like "if you want to speak to a representative, press 0." All I am saying is what you hear is a recording and you should not assume the person behind the voice is a "live person." They certainly are not on the phone with you in person.
So I dialed a toll free number hidden in small print on my final mortgage payment statement and had to identify myself to assure Bank of America that the pleasant voiced woman's recording would not be wasted on a computer program dialing random numbers. I then had to enter my account number. When they want to know things like this you think you are getting somewhere. You aren't. You are merely assuring Bank of America that they have your money or they have your collateral and either way they have you by the...well, use the anatomical reference you prefer. Giving them your account number only starts the voice menu.
So I listened to the first set of options. These are very, very general, and of course none of them are close to what I wanted. So I said nothing. No problem. After a suitably long pause, the program looped and started over again. After the last non-relevant option, I very clearly said," I want to speak to a representative." After being informed my answer was not understood (you just know that is a lie), the program looped again. This time I selected an option relating to account information and fell right into their trap.
I will not relate all nine agonizing minutes of my encounters with the possibly deceased woman with the nice voice (no accusations, you understand, but...) but will, as they still say in the heartland of this great country, "cut to the chase." I finally said "representative" after yet another slate of non-helpful options and was told this was not a valid choice. I repeated it and they repeated that this was not a valid choice. After I uttered it the third time, the lady with the pleasant sounding voice (may she rest in peace) asked, "Do you want to speak to a representative?" I nearly wet myself with joy. "Yes! Yes I do," I shouted excitedly into the phone. She then made some telephone tones to make me think she was connecting me with someone and then, without warning, terminated our connection. WTF?
Fast forward two minutes. I am given a list of options and I repeatedly say, "representative" to everything the programmer throws at me. Finally, "Do you want to speak to a representative?" I tried my very best not to convey any emotion as I delivered my line: "Yes." There was a pause as some hidden instrument probably plotted my response on an "excitement index.". The program finally decided I didn't really care one way or another if I spoke to a representative and therefore there was no reason to screw around with me any longer. "One moment please while I connect you." Telephone tones. A ring. Harriet comes on the line.
I talked to her for somewhere around 40 minutes. I found out everything I wanted to know about my escrow account, that I would be responsible for making four payments over the year, every year, to my insurance company and three taxing entities. Did you know that part of your mortgage payment goes into escrow to pay a "hospital district" for people who go to emergency rooms without insurance for a bad case of the sniffles? I tried to discover who these people might be even though I had a good idea. Harriet could not -- or would not -- say. She probably knows what happened to the lady with the pleasant voice and she's not going to cross any lines. After all, Bank of America is recording this call "for training purposes." Clearly, Harriet does not want to discuss the "hidden costs" of the illegal immigration problem.
She keeps asking me if there is anything else. What an open question that is. Of course there is something else. Your stupid automated phone menu system hung up on me and I want a pound of flesh! Not literally, of course, but I'm not hanging up.
I ask if Bank of America has a service by which I continue sending in payments to cover my escrow and B of A continues making those four payments throughout the year. Harriet says no. I ask if she is sure. She says she is quite sure. I express my opinion that there is a great need for such a service. I ask Harriet if B of A has an employee suggestion program, where employees can enter a suggestion to the corporate higher ups that can improve the bottom line. She said yes. I say, "Harriet, you need to suggest that Bank of America start an escrow payment service. Collect the escrow money from mortgagees who have paid off their mortgages, add a couple of bucks a month to more than compensate B of A's expenses to run the program and send out four checks a year, and I'll bet the company would make millions. Nobody wants to face eviction because they forgot to pay their hospital district for the illegals. I would be the first to sign up!" I'm very enthusiastic about this. Harriet, not so much.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" I told her my wife got some checks last week that were misprinted and it upset her greatly. I could hear her keyboard humming away. She asked if it was for X account or Y account? Hmmm, Harriet knew more than I suspected. "The joint account," I offered. "Would you like me to order new checks for your wife?" she asked. "I think she already did. But can you check?" That was something Harriet could not do. Bank of America contracts out the printing of checks. "Does Bank of America own the company that prints the checks?" I asked. Harriet did not know. "There's another suggestion, Harriet. If the company that prints the checks for Bank of America's customers makes a profit, B of A could buy them, keep the business 'in-house' as it were, and add numbers to the bottom line. Your suggestion could become a direct instrument of the company's future success." Again, I was excited. Harriet, not so much.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" I had run out of ideas for making Bank of America more profitable. "I'm getting ready to open a bottle of wine. Do you prefer blackberry or pomegranate?" "Good afternoon, Sir, and thank you for trusting Bank of America." Wow. That's the second time today Bank of America hung up on me.
Dried Elderberry Wine
Last year when we were busy getting things settled so we could leave without anxiety for our trip to Spain, I received quite a few emails I wish I had time then to answer but simply didn't. Oh, I answered some, but I always receive more email than I can answer and during that period I was especially frugal with my time. Answering them now would be pointless as their time has past, but one has nagged me because answering it would not have taken that long but it was a topic I could easily have gotten lost in for half a day. It had to do with making elderberry wine.
I will not go into the specifics of the question, but will simply answer it. If my memory serves me well, no, I have not published such a recipe. But I will. The problem with publishing an elderberry wine recipe in January is that elderberries will not be ready for harvest for another seven months, give or take a month. So I will publish one using dried elderberries you can make right now or any time of the year. Later below I will build upon this recipe to publish the recipe I was asked about.
You can buy dried elderberries from any local homebrew shop, most health food stores and online. The are widely available and if you have a dehydrator you can make them when the elderberries are ripe in late summer.
Dried Elderberry Wine Recipe
6 1/4 oz dried elderberries
6 1/4 oz white (golden) raisins
1 lb 13 oz granulated sugar
7 pts water
2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet
1 oz acid blend
1 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
1 sachet general purpose red wine yeast
Put raisins in small bowl and cover with 2 cups boiling water. Cover and set aside 12 hours. Strain raisins, discard water, return raisins to bowl, and add another 2 cups boiling water. Cover and set aside two hours. Strain again and chop raisins in blender, food processor or electric nut or coffee grinder in several short pulses. Place chopped raisins and dried elderberries in nylon straining bag, tie closed and place in primary. Add sugar to primary and then add 7 pints boiling water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Cover primary and set aside.
After 12 hours add pectic enzyme, recover primary and set aside another 12 hours. Remove 1/2 cup liquid and dissolve finely crushed Campden tablet in it. Add liquid back to primary and then add yeast nutrient and acid blend. Stir to blend, add activated yeast in a starter solution and recover primary. Punch down bag twice daily for 3 days. Drip drain bag (squeeze if desired) and discard contents. Transfer liquid to secondary and affix an airlock.
Ferment 30 days and rack. Top up, reaffix airlock and set aside until wine clears. Rack again, adding 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate and 1 finely crushed Campden tablet, both dissolved into a cup of the wine. When completely dissolved, add to wine, top up if needed and reaffix airlock. Let stand in dark place 2 months, then rack, sweeten to taste if desired, reaffix airlock, and return to dark storage. Allow another 2 months and rack into bottles. Wait 6 months before tasting, longer for full maturity. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
In a previous dried elderberry wine recipe, I called for 4-5 1/4 ounces of dried elderberries and no raisins. This made a decent wine and I was always happy with it, until I tasted a better dried elderberry wine. The winemaker freely shared his secret but not the quantity -- increase the dried elderberries slightly and add raisins in the same amount. I had to work out the quantity.
Spiced Elderberry Wine
The original question I was asked is if I have ever published a recipe for spiced elderberry wine. I have not but have been meaning to. I have made this wine twice, using two different formulas. The second batch was so "right on" that I'm not sure I can improve upon it. Here it is, built upon the dried elderberry wine recipe just discussed.
First a word or two of caution. There are many qualities of cinnamon stick. Splurge and go first class. Ginger root comes in all sizes. For this recipe, it need not be very fat, it need not be peeled, and thinly sliced means 8-12 slices to the inch. There are small cloves and larger ones. I use larger ones, but if you are not especially fond of cloves use smaller ones or cut the quantity as you see fit, but do not leave them out altogether, please.
Spiced Elderberry Wine Recipe
6 1/4 oz dried elderberries
6 1/4 oz white (golden) raisins
2-inch cinnamon stick
1 inch ginger root thinly sliced
about 20 cloves
1 lb 13 oz light brown sugar
7 pts water
2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet
1 oz acid blend
1 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
1 sachet general purpose red wine yeast
Put raisins in small bowl and cover with 2 cups boiling water. Cover and set aside 12 hours. Strain raisins, discard water, return raisins to bowl, and add another 2 cups boiling water. Cover and set aside two hours. Strain again and chop raisins in blender, food processor or electric nut or coffee grinder in several short pulses. Slice ginger root. Place chopped raisins, dried elderberries, cinnamon stick, sliced ginger, and cloves in nylon straining bag, tie closed and place in primary. Add brown sugar to primary and then add 7 pints boiling water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Cover primary and set aside.
After 12 hours add pectic enzyme, recover primary and set aside another 12 hours. Remove 1/2 cup liquid and dissolve finely crushed Campden tablet in it. Add liquid back to primary and then add yeast nutrient and acid blend. Stir to blend, add activated yeast in a starter solution and recover primary. Punch down bag twice daily for 3 days. Drip drain bag (squeeze if desired) and discard contents. Transfer liquid to secondary and affix an airlock.
Ferment 30 days and rack. Top up, reaffix airlock and set aside until wine clears. Rack again, adding 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate and 1 finely crushed Campden tablet, both dissolved into a cup of the wine. When completely dissolved, add to wine, top up if needed and reaffix airlock. Let stand in dark place 2 months, then rack, sweeten to taste if desired, reaffix airlock, and return to dark storage. Allow another 2 months and rack into bottles. Wait 6 months before tasting, longer for full maturity. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
Obfuscate, Merriam-Webster's definitions of "obfuscate" for those who did not do their vocabulary homework for English class
I had to break one of my rather expensive bird feeders. This one had a study plastic cylinder with metal facings around the four staggered, adjustable, feeding holes with perches underneath. As the morning's darkness turned to light, I noticed something odd about one of my feeders. From here, at my computer, it looked like a bird was actually inside the feeder.
Anyone who has read this blog faithfully over the last two years knows I have been fighting a non-stop battle with squirrels raiding the bird feeders. Evidently, a squirrel's pawing at the feeder openings turned one of the adjustable discs that opens or closes the individual feeder openings. As a result, one opening was about half open -- not a large opening at all -- and yet a small finch managed to fit itself through the opening and crawl inside. I honestly don't know how it managed to get its feet through there, let alone its body and wings, but it was inside and would never get out without destructive measures.
I tried to pry the metal fitting around one hole to do the least amount of damage. I couldn't do it. I then tried to remove a pin that is mounted crosswise near the top to prevent entry when the top is removed to load the feeder. I finally accomplished that, but only after breaking the cylinder itself where the pin was attached on one side. It is an irreparable break. I contemplated attempting a repair with super glue, but too many things would have to be aligned just right all at once with glue applied that I decided only the hands of two skilled surgeons could pull this off. I dumped the bird into my hand, it looked at me, hopefully in appreciation for my sacrifice in freeing it, and flew off.
I wished I had had a paint brush ready with a dab of orange paint on it to place a spot of orange on it's head so I could recognize it again if it returned to one of my feeders.
One of the most iconic symbols of America, possibly on par with the Statue of Liberty, is the Golden Gate Bridge. Perfectly sited and perfectly proportioned, it sings in the hearts of all who have seen it rising out of the fog that visits San Francisco regularly. The bridge is constantly being painted with a color formula I was told is orange vermillion. The painters, whose work is never finished, are frequently visited by seagulls, whose wings catch the breeze blowing in from the sea and allow them to hang motionless in the air while they inspect the painters and gliding toward them if it looks like they have something edible to offer. Long ago and many times since I heard the story of the painters reaching out and placing a spot of orange vermillion on the heads of the curious seagulls. For awhile, bird lovers in the region thought there was a new variety of seagull with orange crowns.
Chickweed Wine
I was looking out at a winter lawn the other day and noticed a couple of green spots floating on a sea of mostly brown grass. I went out to investigate and discovered my old friend, chickweed. I pinched off several arms of several plants and washed them in the kitchen. There wasn't nearly enough for wine yet, but what I had would go nicely in a salad.
Chickweed (Stellaria media) is known variously as winterweed, satin flower, starwort, starweed, and tongue grass, to cite just a few American names. It is widely distributed throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia and thus has many other names. It is widely used in folk medicine to treat asthma and respiratory and bronchial problems, indigestion, stomach and bowel problems, and externally for a whole host of applications. Traditional Chinese herbalists use it internally as a tea to treat nosebleeds, rheumatism and all forms of internal inflamation.
I do not pretend to know anything about it's efficacy as a treatment for anything, but can attest to its suitability fresh in salads, cooked as a vegetable, or the stalks of a larger variety being suitable for pickling. Further, I have many times made chickweed wine. While it is not a spectacular wine, it has won awards and is refreshing served chilled on a summer afternoon. I admit I have made tea from it several times when I had a cold, but cannot swear it played any part in their demise.
Chickweed Wine Recipe
1 qt chickweed leaves, stems, flowers
1 lb 12 oz granulated sugar
1 can Welch's 100% pure white grape juice frozen concentrate, thawed
1 orange, zest and juice
1 lemon , zest and juice
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/8 tsp powdered grape tannin
water to make 1 gallon
wine yeast
The whole plant, except the roots, is used in the wine. Bring 6 1/2 pints water to boil. Meanwhile, wash the chickweed and zest the orange and lemon. Put the zest and chickweed in the primary and pour boiling water over them. When cool, strain the liquid back into the primary and discard the chickweed and zest or warm and serve as a vegetable with a meal. Add sugar, thawed grape juice concentrate and juice of the orange and lemon. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Add remaining ingredients and cover with clean cloth. Ferment 7 days, then pour into a sanitized secondary, top up and fit airlock. Rack every 30 days into a sanitized secondary until wine clears and no further sediments are dropped during a 30-day period. Add a finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet at 1st and 3rd racking. Stabilize wine with 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate and finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet, sweeten if desired and rack into bottles. This wine will not be remarkable until aged at least one year. It wins ribbons at two years. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
One can dispense with the citrus fruit and use 1 1/2 teaspoons of acid blend instead, but I like the zest mixed in with the greens when I eat them. They are very nice tasting and terribly nutritious. And who knows? They might be performing unseen medicinal duties after consumption. I am certain the wine is....
A Tale of Hickory
At some point in the past I reminisced on this WineBlog about hickory pie. A very gracious reader wrote me and said I had done so much for his winemaking that the least he could do in return is send me some hickory nuts from his grandmother's tree. The nuts had already dropped when he wrote, so I had to wait until they dropped in 2011. And sure enough, about the middle of October a 13-pound box arrived from Etna, Pennsylvania loaded with hickory nuts.
The hickory tree (Carya ovata) tree is a cousin of the walnut and ancient parent of the pecan. I am told by folks older than me that Shagbark Hickories are the sweetest and best to eat, while the nut meats of the Pignut, Mockernut and Bitternut Hickories are practically inedible.
Sometimes I am a wee bit arrogant. I think I know what I'm doing and just dive right in and create a mess. That's what I did with the hickory nuts. I've opened tens of thousands of pecans and walnuts -- even the hard to open black walnuts -- so I plowed ahead and discovered I was in over my head -- destroying more nut meat than I was recovering.
Hickory nuts laugh at pecan crackers. We have a really cool hand-crafted nut cracker that never fails, but it could not crack but one in five hickories. I then retired to the garage where the hammers are kept. Little taps won't do it. That is one tough shell. A little more force and still nothing. So then I crank up the force index and hickory goes flying everywhere. I wrap the nut in an old wash cloth and capture the pieces, but the meat is smashed.
Google "easy way to open hickory nuts" and you get 1,620,000 hits, most of which are keying off words like "easy," "way," "open," "hickory," and "nuts."
But the first dozen are exactly what I was looking for. In fact, the very first one was paydirt and told me all I needed to know. I'm not going to go into the detail, but if you are curious it is the fourth link below.
When I had a whole 4 cups of hickory nut meats, I went looking for a killer recipe for hickory nut pie. Many recipes said to just use a pecan pie recipe and substitute hickories for the pecans. No way. I wanted a recipe that was tailored to the specific attributes of the hickory nut, so I spent an hour and five minutes pouring over recipes until I found the following recipe.
Remember when I said I am sometimes a wee bit arrogant? I followed the recipe to the tee, until I got to the part about dumping 1 cup of hickory nuts in the pie shell and topping the finished pie with another cup of hickory meats. I had a 2-cup measure full and another bowl with 2 cups in it, so I dumped two cups in. I had a retrospective and doubled the bourbon in the gooey mix. Every thing else was pretty much the same as called for. Then I had to pour a cup of hickory nuts on the top. But the two cups underneath sort of took up the room the nuts on top needed, so I carefully laid a single layer of nut pieces on top and carefull placed it in the oven. My advice: don't do this.
My second pie followed the recipe exactly and was fabulous. If you are wondering why doubling the meats and bourbon are bad ideas, it is because the nuts on the bottom are too thick and there isn't enough gooey stuff on top of the nuts to slither down and bind it all together. The nuts underneath took up too much room and the gooey stuff was sort of heaped on top. I was counting on my layer of nut meats to hold everything together but when heated up the gooey stuff just ran with gravity and the slope and dripped all over the bottom of the oven where it became carbon.
I neither saw nor tasted anything detrimental about doubling the bourbon, but once humility forced me to follow the recipe the second time I followed it to the letter. And the result the second time was truly delicious. I will admit that my third pie had quite a bit more bourbon in it than called for.
Hickory Bourbon Pie
3/4 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 Tblsp of bourbon
2 cups hickory nuts
1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked
Cream together the butter and dark brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla, salt, corn syrup, and bourbon. Blend all well. Put 1 cup hickory nuts on the bottom of the pie shell. Add pie mixture over the top and then add 1 more cup of hickory nuts on the top. Bake 55 to 60 minutes at 350° F. [Recipe found on the internet]
I regret that I did not record the website that I found the pie recipe on. I like to give credit where due.
I am making sourdough French bread as I write. Most of the work is done and the loaves are proofing. I mentioned proofing in a previous post and a friend called me just to ask what proofing was. He always thought it had something to do with proving how much alcohol is in a distillate. Well, that is one type of proofing.
I explained to my friend that "proofing" in baking is waiting for the dough to rise sufficiently to "prove" the presence of viable yeast to make a leavened bread. If you want light, airy loaves, you wait however long it takes for the shaped dough to expand to about double its original size.
So my dough "proofed" overnight. When I woke up it had expanded wonderfully. I then deflated it, let it rest a while and divided it into two loaves. The loaves are now sitting, covered, undergoing a second expansion or "proofing." This could take as little as two hours or as long as four. We shall see.
I was making bread and proofing my loaves while writing a previous blog -- on my birthday. I was making two loaves of German rye bread at the time, but I had injected my sourdough starter into the recipe and so it did indeed come out as a sourdough rye. I don't know how "German" it turned out, but it was delicious and I have since made two more. This last time, however, I put the recipe aside and just made the bread from my own understanding of breadmaking. I later looked at the recipe and saw that I had added ingredients not in it (sourdough starter, baking soda, vital wheat gluten, and King Arthur Flour Rye Bread Improver), but it came out just super!
Last night I wrote to a friend of many years and explained how odd it was that I was making rye bread and loving the results. Rye is not a favorite flavor of mine and indeed I have avoided it most of my life. But somewhere in my genes there must be some north country peasantry because once every 5-6 years I'll buy a loaf of pumpernickel, a pound of thin deli-slices of Black Forest Ham, a half pound of Baby Swiss, a jar of sliced Kosher Dills, a jar of Grey Poupon and then indulge in some sort of primeval gorging. Then I don't even think about it again until the next subconscious craving surfaces many years later.
All I can say is I am enjoying my breads immensely -- regular loaves of white and whole wheat, rye, potato, and blended wheat artisan boules -- all made with sourdough. I've had sourdough starters for decades -- in Colorado, San Francisco and here in Texas. I have always limited their use to pancakes, biscuits, rolls, and rarely bread. I always thought the breads were a lot of work but they are not. It simply requires becoming comfortable with the various steps -- and kneading. I like to knead the dough by hand and find it somehow relaxing and meditative, but I can use our $800 Electrolux Magic Mill DLX does-everything Mixer if I want. I have just begun to explore the possibilities.
Bluebonnets and Wine
I was out among my vines, trying to decide if it is much too early to prune or just a little too early. I judge this not by the calendar but by the dormant buds along the canes. Small, tight, totally dormant buds tell me it is too early. But when the buds begin to "loosen up" and swell ever so slightly, I pay attention. I prune when the buds begin to swell to about twice their dormant size. So I was checking out the buds and looked down. That's when I noticed the growing carpet of bluebonnet plants among my vines.
The bluebonnet -- also spelled blue bonnet -- is the official state flower of Texas. This is not one flower, but five. Although approved by the legislature and Governor Joseph Sayers as the state flower in 1901, at that time they specified Lupinus subcarnosus as the official flower. It was soon noted that there are several species of bluebonnet native to Texas, and many people thought the L. texensis of Central Texas, with it's deep, royal blue base giving way to a richly hued azure and finally a white tip, was more attractive. The "bluebonnet debate" raged for 70 years, and at the insistence of no less than former First Lady "Lady Bird" Johnson the matter was resolved in 1971. The legislature passed and Governor Preston Smith signed a resolution designating as the state flower of Texas Lupinus texensis and "...any other variety of Bluebonnet not heretofore recorded." Thus, Texas has five official state flowers:
Lupinus subcarnosus
Lupinus texensis
Lupinus Havardii
Lupinus concinnus
Lupinus plattensis
Getting back to my inspection of my vines' buds and noting the carpet of bluebonnet plants, none with a sign of flower anywhere in the near future, I remembered something important. In my little corner of Texas, the bluebonnets always bloom before the grapes break bud, and the bluebonnet carpet is always thick but without flowers when I prune my vines. Oh, those bluebonnets...so many memories.
I remember the time back in 1995 when my wife and I went for a drive in the Hill Country north of San Antonio and came upon what looked like a broad sea of bluebonnets. We stopped and walked out among them and then another car stopped and emptied itself to the blue landscape, and then another and another and soon there were dozens of people walking among the flowers. My wife, always outgoing, volunteered to take photos of all who broke out cameras, and after a while she began picking a bouquet of lovely blue flowers.
That's when someone told us it is against the law to pick bluebonnets in Texas. My wife hurriedly hid her collection in the car and we sneaked away like two kids caught in the act of doing something forbidden. We believed what the stranger had told us but later learned it is only against the law to pick the bluebonnets on state lands, like state parks and alongside state highways and roads. The flowers my wife picked were probably too far from the highway to be in the easement, but you never know. In any case they were wilted by the time we got home and placing them in water in a vase failed to revive them.
This discussion has progressed far enough for you to wonder when I am going to get to the story of and recipe for bluebonnet wine. So here it is.
When my wife's picked flowers wilted and would not revive after a day in water, my mind turned to the possibility I could use them to make wine. I realized I would have to risk arrest by picking many more, but I was willing to do so if the flowers suggested great potential. So I picked several flowers from a stalk and chewed them, but only briefly. They tasted slightly bitter -- not strong enough to be repulsive but just enough to be unpleasant. I spit them out and that was that.
Later, I learned that all parts of the plant contains alkaloids, most notably lupinine and sparteine, but these are most concentrated in the seeds. The alkaloids make the plants unpalatable to most herbivores, but cattle and sheep will eat them if other greenery is not available. The result can be lupin poisoning, a nervous syndrome similar to neurolathyrism. Ergo, no bluebonnet wine.
I had two appointments three hours apart in San Antonio on Tuesday and passed the time between them with a trip to the Fort Sam Houston Commissary. In the coffee section I spotted this Kona Coast blend that got my mouth watering. I bought enough to enjoy freshly brewed coffee for many months of mornings and still have enough left over for some Vanilla Macadamia Nut Coffee Wine.
If you find this coffee and want to make Vanilla Macadamia Nut Coffee Wine, use the recipe for Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coffee Wine in my January 3rd WineBlog entry. It will work and you will enjoy it. Drop me a line when you do and tell me what you think.
Last night I made two loaves of sourdough rye bread. I made two last week and they were wonderful. Last night I tweaked the recipe a bit and the bread came out "really rye." Not quite pumperknickel, but strong nonetheless. My previous loaves made great ham and Swiss cheese sandwiches, great roast beef and cheddar sandwiches, great toast topped with almond butter and marmalade, and even a great grilled salmon and blanched cabbage with Baby Swiss sandwich. I expect the same from these loaves.
I make a really good spicy potato soup that I think this rye will accompany very well, toasted. I made it two weeks ago and have two pints in the freezer so will know tonight if I am right.
Praline Coffee Dessert Wine
Roger King, up in Michigan, has done me proud. He has taken my award-winning Praline Dessert Wine and overlaid it with coffee wine to come up with a completely new entity. I have not made it yet but the recipe is sound. Since I recently restocked my dwindling supply of Savannah Praline Mix, I will be making it soon. I might also try the other variation Roger came up with.
Roger wrote, "I combined your praline wine with my coffee wine and then had to come up with a recipe bringing them together. I am still tweaking it a bit but I think you'll love it. I used Ec-1118 for low foam, quick fermentation and high abv. let me know if you improve the recipe. I have also dropped the Praline mix and added zest and juice of 20 Oranges for an awesome Orange Coffee Wine. You have to add 2.5 tsp pectic enzyme and lower the acid blend by half."
Cold brew coffee in 30 pints of water for 3 days (should have a good medium to strong coffee flavor), strain coffee through double layer of muslin into the primary and discard the grounds. Add Savannah Mixes Southern Praline Mix, and sugar, stirring until dissolved and SG is at or slightly above 1.130. Add acid blend, yeast nutrient and crushed Campden tablets. Stir well, cover the primary and set aside 24 hours. Add activated yeast and recover primary. Stir daily for 14 days, then transfer into secondary and attach airlock. After 30 days, rack into clean secondary, top up and refit airlock. Wait additional month and rack, top up and again refit airlock. Repeat as needed until clear. Stabilize, sweeten to desired taste and set aside 30 days to make sure fermentation has ceased. Rack gently into bottles. [Recipe by Roger King, edited by Jack Keller]
Problem with Muscadine Wine
A fellow winemaker wrote about a problem he had with a muscadine wine after bottling it. After stabilizing, he said the wine was crystal clear so he sweetened, waited two weeks, bottled, and stored in a cold garage. "When I opened the small bottle after a month or so, the bottom of the jug contained what looked like trash...For a very young wine it tasted great...." My immediate thought was it could be one of two things, and it was.
Describing the sediment as looking like trash was not much to go on, but he also said, "...whatever it was in the bottom of the bottle clung to the sides of the bottle and some of it even floated." This led me to think it was yeast sediment. So while I asked for a better description of the "trash", I explained the truth about yeast.
I explained, "The bummer here is that yeast are so small that the wine can look very clear and still contain billions of suspended cells. After stabilizing, those billions of cells remain in suspension until they die of old age or starvation. Potassium sorbate doesn't kill them -- just destroys their ability to reproduce. Because no new cells are being produced, the population dwindles with time. But the sad truth is that certain yeast can last a year, but probably not in numbers great enough to be noticeable."
When I started making wine, what few books there were said to stabilize, sweeten and bottle. I soon realized the hard way this was not a good idea and began introducing a time period of 10, then 14 days to check for renewed fermentation. I later extended that period to 21 days because neither 10 nor 14 days were enough. Today I recommend that you wait 30 days (look for fallout from yeast and rack if you see any), sweeten, then wait another 30 days. If you see sediment at this point, give the wine another 60 days (or even 90 days if you shine a flashlight or pocket laser on the bottom and see a dusting of dead yeast at the 60-day mark) and sweeten again if needed. Yeah, I know it's a lot of waiting when the wine looks finished, but it isn't really that long if you have something else to drink.
The winemaker responded to my request for a better description with, "Your description of solid, hard crystalline [structures] better describes my problem. When I pour a glass, it looks like crystals clinging to the wine jug afterwards, yet there are floating particles visible to the eye in the wine jug."
It sounds like a little of both problems, but the crystals are the greater. "If it were me, I would put the wine in my spare refrigerator (or out in the garage during a cold spell) to encourage more crystals to form. Then, while the wine is still cold, I would uncork it and pour it through a funnel with a coffee filter in it into new bottles. The crystals will pull a lot of excess potassium and tartaric acid from the wine. It will actually make it smoother. If you leave the crystals in there, when the wine warms up they will dissolve back into the wine. It is better to remove them."
The crystals are just the high acid combining with unbound potassium and a little hydrogen and forming a potassium salt of tartaric acid called potassium bitartrate, chemically the same as cream of tartar. They are affectionately known as "wine diamonds."
He wrote back saying there was another cold snap coming through and he would leave the wine out in the garage another week and try filtering afterwards. I wanted him to know there are alternatives. "If that cold snap isn't long enough (3-5 days is fair, but when we put the carboys in the refrigerator we leave them for 2 weeks) you can extend it by placing the carboy in a washtub and then dumping a couple of bags of ice in around it. Kept in the garage, it will stay cold for many days, longer if you drape a blanket over it to encase the carboy and the washtub.
"Warning, if the cold snap includes a very hard freeze, check on the carboy every 4-6 hours. If you see the slightest hint of ice forming in the carboy, move it to a utility room for 2-4 hours and then take it back out to the garage. You want it cold, but don't let it freeze or the carboy might very well break from the expansion of the ice and you will have wine all over the garage.
"Another trick is to leave it in the garage during the prolonged freeze and run an extension cord to the carboy and plug a little 7-watt night light into it and drape a blanket over the carboy and light. Just keep the blanket away from the night light. When I did this (several years until we got the new refrigerator and the old one became my wine chiller) I just took a pair of hedging shears, opened them a few inches, stood them up points down with the handles leaning against the carboy, and that formed a frame from which I could hang the night light next to the carboy with the shears keeping the blanket away from the light. I also used a timer that plugged into the outlet and the extension cord plugged into it. I set it to have the light on for an hour and then off for 3. It did the job without letting the wine become warm while also not allowing it to freeze."
I think I got all of the important points across. Oh, and if you were wondering, we addressed the crystals because they are the biggest problem he has. He also has a lesser problem with the "floaters" he mentioned. These undoubtedly are from the yeast and will pass right through the coffee filters, but he knows about racking and can work it out after he removes the crystals. He's on the right road.
I woke up this morning with the first seven notes of Eric Clapton's "Layla" playing in my head over and over again. It was not necessarily a bad thing, but I had to concentrate to get the second half of the song playing. Some will disagree, but I think the second movement, Jim Gordon's piano coda, is the more melodic and better part of the song.
The first movement of "Layla" was written by Clapton. Shortly after he recorded it, he happened upon Jim Gordon, a member of his band, playing a piano piece he had composed. Clapton convinced Gordon to allow him to integrate it into Layla and it was soon recorded. Gordon played his piano piece without alteration, but Clapton and Duane Allman each played two guitar tracks that were mixed with the piano. The two movements were spliced and the song titled their 1970 album. A shorter single was released in 1972 and an accoustic ("unplugged") version in 1992.
The song is widely considered a masterpiece and has earned great acclaim. It is often hailed as being among the greatest rock songs of all time. In 2004 it was ranked number 27 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", ranked 16th place on VH1's "100 greatest songs of rock and roll", and was included in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's "Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll". The acoustic version won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.
I could listen to the album version for hours, and in fact have. Like "Bolero", the second movement is a great piece to play while making love. Aside from that, there are dozens of concert recordings of this song. Some are better than others but seven are special enough to be featured on Eric Clapton's own "Layla" site. In my opinion, two are really special.
One is a faster tempoed version of the song performed in 1984 by Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Andy Fairweather-Lowe, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts, Kenny Jones, Ray Cooper, and others. It is simply a fantastic piece by some of the greatest legends of Rock. Incidentally, Clapton, Page and Beck are listed numbers 2, 3 and 5 respectively in Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."
The other features Clapton and I don't know who else. He has one hell of a band backing him up but I only recognize two of them. It lacks a piercing slide guitar, but Clapton's brilliance makes up for it. If you search "Layla" on YouTube, you will see it listed as "The greatest 'Layla' by Eric Clapton...EVER". I think the album version wins that title, but this is arguably the best concert version ever and is 8:02 minutes.
If you want to listen to other versions, go to Eric Clapton's "Layla" site (second link after this entry) and click on any of the 7 offerings on the right. As soon as the video starts on site, click the video screen and you will get a larger YouTube screen. You can find ripped versions of each posted by other people, but they will not be as good as these in either audio or video. If you want to see the version with the legends I mentioned earlier, see the third link following this entry.
30-Day Wine
It has been many years since I posted this recipe in my Visitor-Submitted Recipes section and over three years since I post posted it here. I am amazed by how many requests I get for it, usually with a preface similar to, "I found a recipe on your web site once for a 30-day wine and now cannot find it." There are seven places I post recipes but when really looking for something most people miss a few or are just too lazy to really look. They go to "Requested Recipes," don't see it, and then write to me instead of going to Google. I'm reposting the recipe here, with a tweak, but first I want to tell you where the several hundred recipes on my site are located.
In the navigation menu above, which appears on almost every page on The Winemaking Home page, the third line contains six entries -- "Winemaking Recipes", "Requested Recipes", "Winemaking in Texas", "Wines From Edible Plants", "Grapes of North America", and "Visitor Recipes". On the next line down, underneath "Grapes of North America", is "Jack's Wineblog". These are the seven places you'll find recipes on my site. Unfortunately, the recipes in this WineBlog are scattered through the current presentation and the many archives, and there isn't a master index where all of the recipes in these various locations are listed alphabetically. I started to build one once but after working on it off and on over a span of several days I shelved the project for lack of time to dedicate to it. Maybe I will start it again -- the original project was lost in a hard drive crash. But the point is that my recipes are spread over seven distinct portion of the website.
So how long does it take to find a recipe on one of these seven section? Well, if you look back up at the navigation menu, the last item on the first row is "Search This Site." How fast can you click and type? A word of warning: if looking for, say, Ginger Wine, just type in the word "Ginger". If you enter "Ginger Wine", the search engine will report every page on the entire website because each contains the word "Wine."
30-Day Wine Recipe
This recipe came from a visitor to The Winemaking Home Page He wrote, "Here is a simple recipe for 30 day wine. Many old hillbillies here in Tennessee still use this one, and wouldn't have it any other way. They don't want any Cabernet, Merlot or Champagne; this is Tennessee, not France. Back during my teens I used to make this, but now grow my own grapes and pick fruits in the wild. SouthernWine"
I modified this recipe slightly by adding yeast nutrient. The yeast do the work so I want them to be healthy. Also, I have had several people write to me over the years saying the must would not ferment. After playing 20 questions with them, in EVERY case the person added 3 POUNDS of sugar instead of cups. Three cups is only 1 1/2 pounds so get it right, please.
24 oz Welch's frozen concentrated grape juice, thawed
3 cups sugar
water to make up one gallon
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 sachet wine yeast
Mix all ingredients together well with water and fill the jug to about an inch below the shoulders. Cover with a clean rag secured with rubber band. Keep in a dark place about 70 degrees. About 2 weeks later replace rag with a good thick piece of plastic wrap. After 30 days from starting date, siphon wine off from sediment in bottom and drink. For a good old "Mad Dog 20/20" type wine, add a pint of cheap blackberry brandy to the mix before drinking. [Recipe by SouthernWine]
As you can see, this is a very crude wine, but it is wine and not really all that bad if you are in a hurry and don't have a refined palate. I've made it several times, but I have always used airlocks and extended things a bit to about 120 days because my palate cares.
Mustang Grapes and Wine
I get a lot of email -- mostly questions -- about my local wild grape. This entry answers several and I hope won't bore the rest of you. The mustang grows all over Texas and into Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and curiously, in Alabama but not Mississippi. It is the most awful tasting grape I've ever eaten, but it can be coaxed, with practice, into a damned good wine. It is extremely acidic, so much so that destemming them by hand without rubber gloves is almost certain to burn the hands. If you don't eat the skins they are edible, but too many will burn the mouth. Ahhhh, but the wine. My 2003 Mustang (right) won a gold medal at the 2005 WineMaker's International Competition.
In the world of botany, there are (in descending order) genus, species, variety, etc. Over the years, mustang has been known as Vitis (Linnaeus) [genus] candicans (Engelmann) [species] and V. mustangensis (Buckley) [species]. Today, taxonomists recognize the grape as V. mustangensis after comparing the descriptions of the species by Engelmann and Buckley and deciding that Buckley more correctly described it -- Engelmann chose as his holotype specimen a vine that was probably a natural cross between mustang and another grape, probably champinii. Be that as it may be, four named varieties were offered over the years. Taxonomists have rejected them all as being "within the natural diversity of the species." What they are saying is that the grape exhibits diverse character without exhibiting unique differences in botanical speciation.
That was technical talk. Here's the down-to-earth skinny. The only major differences reported in the grape are in berry color, size, sweetness, and cluster size. Aside from these differences, the vines are botanically identical. I cannot look at a vine that forms white grapes but is currently fruitless and tell you it will fruit white. Similarly, I cannot look at a vine that forms large, black grapes in large clusters but is currently fruitless and tell you it will produce these and not white or reddish-purple or bluish-black ones in small, medium or large clusters. The vines are identical, but the fruit are diverse. It is the vine, not the fruit, that must differ in order to have a sub-species or variety.
Most mustang grapes are very acidic but a few are sweet. But you cannot tell what they will be until you eat them
Still, there are five differently colored mustang grapes. These are, from darkest to lightest, the bluish-black (the most common), the bluish-purple, the reddish-purple, the pinkish-red, and the white (actually, a translucent yellowish-green when ripe). The seeds from any one of them will produce seedlings that can become any of the others (although the white are very rare).
I have two different lines of white mustangs (meaning they came from two distinctly separate wild vines, found in the wild some 85-90 miles apart) and have tried to discover some small difference that can botanically distinguish them apart from all other mustangs, but I cannot find a single one. If I could, I could become famous by differentiating and naming the white.
Despite the fact that all Mustang vines are identical, or "within the natural diversity of the species," novices might think they see differences. For example, Mustang leaves can take on several shapes, as seen in the photograph to the left. They vary from deeply lobed adolescent leaf-shapes (upper row) that give way to the more representative heart- or shield-shaped adult leaves (lower row). The incredible fact is that all eight of the leaves in the photograph were collected from the same male vine on my property and there is nothing unusual about that fact or the leaves except that a ninth shape, which is actually quite common, was not present or visible on the vine the day I collected these specimens. The missing shape is a cross between the lower two, with the flatter sinus depression (where the petiole [stem] is) of the one on the lower right and the more angular sides like the one on the lower left. There are also two slightly different outer barks, stem shapes and, as we have already said, a variety of berry sizes, colors, clusters, and tastes. But botanically, they are the same, or at least "within the natural diversity of the species."
I have found several mustangs in the wild that are "unique." Each produced, year after year, very large, sweetish, usually bluish-black grapes in large clusters; the skins were thinner than most mustangs. I marked each vine so as to return to it in late January or early February and obtain cuttings, but in each case road crews or property owners took out the vines before I could get cuttings. These were superior vines -- I call them "alpha vines" -- and I am sure the cuttings would have preserved the uniqueness, but they are gone. I am still looking for a similar grape.
You can propagate them with air or compound layering. Some people have better luck with these techniques than I do -- I have tried every year to layer white mustangs and failed. However, I once succeeded in rooting a green shoot -- but only once. Dormant cuttings are still the best way to reliably propagate them but even that is troublesome -- mustangs are one of the more difficult species to root from dormant cuttings.
Although I have posted Mustang grape wine recipes on this blog before, I have not posted this one. It is as close as you want to get to making a pure Mustang grape wine. If you made it with 100% Mustang juice it would probably be very difficult to drink. Mustangs are not very good at making sugar (so you will have to add a lot of it), but they are 10th degree Black Belts at making acid and almost as efficient at making tannins. So, while the list of ingredients below looks very precise, read the instructions very carefully.
Mustang Grape Wine (Sweet)
10 lbs ripe mustang grapes
1 lb 10 oz granulated sugar
1 tsp pectic enzyme
4 pts 6 oz water or as required
1 finely crushed Campden tablet
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Burgundy wine yeast
This wine may have too strong a "wild" flavor for some. It can be blended with almost any thin wine without detracting from the flavor. Remove the stems and wash the grapes. Place in large pot with one cup of water and set over low to medium heat, covered, but do not allow to boil. Stir with wooden paddle every few minutes until grapes break apart and juice oozes out. Depending on how close to low or medium you set the heat, this should take 20 to 35 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, boil remaining water and pour over sugar in primary, stirring to dissolve. Pour half of the sugar-water in a quart container and refrigerate.
When grapes have cooled, pour grape juice and pulp into a nylon straining bag over the primary, tie bag and leave in primary with juice. Add yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme. Cover and set aside 10-12 hours. Add yeast and re-cover primary. Use wooden paddle to push bag under juice twice daily for 7 days.
Remove reserved sugar-water from refrigerator and allow to warm to room temperature. Drain nylon straining bag and press pulp well to extract residual juice. Pour into secondary fermentation vessel with finely crushed Campden tablet, top up with reserved sugar-water, fit airlock, and let stand three weeks. Rack and top up, then rack again in three additional weeks. Set aside two months or until clear. Rack, top up and refit airlock. Wait one month. If lees are still being deposited, allow another month. Rack, stabilize, sweeten to 1.008-1.010, allow a month minimum or age as desired and bottle. May taste in 2 months but improves remarkably with age. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
Layla, great article and source of music image in opening, from Wikipedia
Eric Clapton Layla, Clapton's own site (a lot of Wikipedia's info is from here)
I received more electronic birthday wishes this year than ever. I guess that is to be expected as more and more aspects of our lives are wired or wireless and Facebook is on both. I appreciated them all. Thank you.
The number one question I was asked regarding my birthday was, "What wine are you celebrating with?" or words to that effect. I almost didn't open a wine on my birthday, but then I grilled a beautiful ribeye steak and decided to open my last bottle of 1997 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
This is my fifth and last bottle of this wine, the lot purchased a decade ago for $100. I'm glad I drank it now, as I fear it has peaked and would disappoint me in another year. I opened the bottle and decanted a scant half-hour before pouring a glass. The second glass had more weight, attesting I had not opened it early enough. The color has darkened, from bright garnet to deep ruby. This cries age, so I took that first sip hesitantly.
I remember this wine as having buckets of red fruit -- cherries, I think -- and lavender, and something else I could never find a word for.. The fruit has largely withdrawn, grown darker, like over-ripe blackberries, and earthy. Its tannins are gone, left as a sludge in the bottle after decanting, but the wine is as ever silky in the mouth and smooth in the finish. It still goes very well with a tender, juicy ribeye grilled medium rare, served with asparagus spears and buttered new potatoes sprinkled with tarragon...and warm German Rye Sourdough Bread. It all went together very well.
I recently received two questions I have decided to answer together, below. The first begins, "I keep seeing the word 'acetaldehyde' and know nothing of it. Some people say it is good, while most say it is bad. Can you enlighten me?" The second says, "You have stated several times that sulfites are not responsible for the headaches some of us get after drinking red wine. Then what is?" Good questions, so here goes....
Acetaldehyde
Acetaldehyde is an intermediate product of yeast fermentation and is thus present at one time or another in all wines. The sensory threshold for acetaldehyde is 100-125 mg/L. In trace amounts below the threshold it adds complexity to wines and, as Martha Stewart would say, "it's a good thing." However, it is more commonly associated with ethanol oxidation or as a byproduct of acetic acid production by bacteria where it can exceed threshold amounts. In amounts greater than threshold it imparts a sherry type character to the wine which can also be described as green apple, sour and metallic. If barely detectable it is a defect, a flaw. If obvious, it is a fault. But there is more to acetaldehyde you should know about.
Acetaldehyde (pronounced a sə 'tal de hid) is an organic chemical compound with the formula CH3CHO (the molecular formula is C2H40). It is a very important aldehyde, occurring widely in nature and produced on a large scale industrially. Acetaldehyde occurs naturally in coffee, ripe fruit, and is produced by plants as part of their normal metabolism. It is produced by yeast and therefore found in breads and fermented beverages. It is also produced by oxidation of ethanol and is popularly believed to be a cause of hangovers from alcohol consumption.
The last steps of alcoholic fermentation by yeast involve the conversion of pyruvate into acetaldehyde by the enzyme pyruvate decarboxylase, followed by the conversion of acetaldehyde into ethanol. The latter reaction is again catalyzed by an alcohol dehydrogenase, now operating in the opposite direction.
So, what the heck does all of this mean? Well, simply put, all wines have some acetaldehyde in them, but in excess it is a fault to the wine. Aside from its effects on the wine, in excessive amounts it is not good for your body. Fortunately, a wine faulted by excessive acetaldehyde will not be enjoyed enough to drink to excess, but there is another, more general danger.
Acetaldehyde is more toxic than alcohol. In the liver, the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase oxidizes ethanol into acetaldehyde, which then encounters another enzyme called acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and a substance called glutathione. The result of their collusion is the formation of harmless acetic acid. The acetaldehyde is not really around long enough to do any damage, but the body's supply of glutathione is limited and rebuilds slowly, so if large amounts of alcohol are consumed the liver creates acetaldehyde it cannot then get rid of for a prolonged period. The buildup causes severe headaches and vomiting. This is all liver centered and takes time to correct. Unfortunately, we usually suffer through this period from a variety of symptoms collectively known as being drunk and having a hangover.
The average male body can process about 3/4 of an ounce of alcohol per hour -- females process less because they produce less acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and glutathione than males. From what I've read, no one knows why this is so, so don't rag on me about it. If you are smart, you realize I just told you how much you can drink without getting sickly drunk or having a hangover. Yes, body size plays a part and can stretch the quantity a bit, but science says just a bit. If you knock back two mixed drinks an hour for 3-4 hours, you're going to pay a price for it.
Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coffee Wine
When my wife and I visited the Kaua'i Coffee Plantation and tasted their flavored ground coffees, we fell in love. I loaded my carry-on with bags of Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coffee and Coconut Caramel [Macadamia] Crunch Coffee. It was not until I was down to two bags that I decided to make coffee wine from each, and what wine it is!
Some of you may remember that I had previously waned against making coffee from chocolate flavored instant mocha mixes. Neither of these wines use a mocha mix so that warning does not apply. How Kaua'i Coffee Plantation gets the chocolate flavor into the bean cannot be a great secret as I have seen Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coffee from Mau'i, Kona, and many other places. I think you could substitute any of those coffees for the Kauai'i brand. We bought the coffee as beans and ground it when needed.
Pour water in a pot and put it on to boil. Stir in sugar until dissolved. When sugar is completely dissolved, stir coffee into water and wait until it just returns to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and allow to cool to room temperature. To a sanitized secondary, combine the acid blend, tannin and yeast nutrient. Using a large funnel, strain coffee through double layer of muslin into the secondary, discarding the grounds. Add activated yeast and cover mouth of secondary with napkin held in place with rubber band. Stir every 2 hours until fermentation is evident. When fermentation is vigorous, attach an airlock. Rack three times, 60 days apart, topping up and refitting airlock each time. If desired dry, rack into bottles. If desired sweet or semi-sweet, stabilize with 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate and a finely crushed Campden tablet, sweeten to taste, wait 30 days, and if no refermentation has started rack into bottles. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
I used the same recipe to ferment the Coconut Caramel Crunch Coffee and it was very nice. The "crunch", by the way, is macadamia nut. Both wines were a gallon batch, but 3-gallon batches would have been better.
I thought of blending a bottle of each to create a Chocolate Coconut Caramel Macadamia Nut Coffee Wine, but alas, I procrastinated and gifted my last bottle of the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coffee Wine without realizing it. I have no idea how it would have tasted but suspect it would have been great.
I believe the same recipe will work for any flavored coffee beans. You may want to use light brown sugar instead of the dark for some flavors (hazelnut), or demerara sugar for really delicate flavors (banana, vanilla).
I know some of you experiment. If you come up with a better recipe or a different blend of flavors please consider sharing it with me. After all, I share all of mine with you.
I went to bed late last night, or I should say early this morning, and was awakened by a phone call wishing me a happy birthday. Well, I think I am having a happy birthday. Email, Twitter and Facebook greetings, along with cards and gifts, have teamed up to put my in a happy frame of mind. Thank you one and all for your thoughtfulness.
And what am I doing on my birthday? Besides writing this blog, I am making a couple of loaves of German Rye Bread and going to shoot targets with my Ruger .380 LCP at a range. Not in that order. Finishing the blog will undoubtedly be last as I'm leaving for the range right now and my bread dough is proofing. Will continue when I return.
Fired a box of 50 and was squeezing tight groupings at the end. Love this little concealable. Not as big a bite as a 1911 .45 caliber, for sure, but you wouldn't want to get hit with it either. My shooting buddy said, "It has no reach. At 50 yards you're shooting for the side of the barn." Hell, at 50 yards I would want a rifle, not a pistol. I replied, "I bought it for concealed carry. I never intend to use it, but if I do I will be close enough to the target not to miss." End of discussion.
The loaves are proofing and will go in the oven as soon as they rise enough. We wait and write.
There are all kind of games one can join on Twitter that require only a response. In response to "#2011in3words" I submitted, "Bin Laden dead." For "My favorite song of 2011" I submitted, "'I Will Always Love You' by Landau Eugene Murphy Jr at http://bit.ly/sFPuXF, although there is a question as to whether this is actually Landau singing it.
Written by Dolly Parton in 1972, "I Will Always Love You" was twice taken to number one on the charts by Parton and once by Whitney Houston. Houston's version twice set the one-week single's sales record in the US and was the longest running number one single from a soundtrack album. What I like most about this version (whether it is actually Landau or not) is, to my ears, it is by far the best version by a male performer.
Speaking of soundtracks, one of my all-time favorites is Ennio Morricone's soundtrack for The Mission. I have listened to it hundreds of times and it always lifts me, inspires me, and fills me with awe. Two of the tracks are titled "Gabrielle's Oboe" and one is a variation of the other. The melody of "Gabrielle's Oboe" permeates and very much sets the mood for several of the remaining tracks.
Earlier this year, like many of you, I was sent a link to an audition on "Korea's Got Talent." In it 22-year old Sung-bong Choi recounted his life of being left at an orphanage at age 3, running away at age 5 after being beaten, being sold, selling chewing gum and energy drinks on the street to eat and sleeping in stairways and public toilets for 10 years, of being inspired by the sincerity of a singer in a night club, and from that moment on starting to sing himself. He says, "I don't sing that well, but when I sing I feel like I become a different person." He tells the judges, "I'm not a good singer, but I just like it." The judge says, "Let me hear you sing." And he then delivered one of those stunning, Susan Boyle-like performances that moved the entire auditorium to tears.
And he sings "Nella Fantasia," an Italian song based on "Gabriel's Oboe," with lyrics by Chiara Ferraú and originally sung by Sarah Brightman. I have watched this clip probably 20-30 times, and I am moved to tears every single time I do. Watch it and see if you are not moved.
Luke Clark, this one was for you.
Loganberry Wine
I received another request for loganberry wine, the third in two months. Both requests cited having frozen Loganberries and desiring a recipe. Since Loganberries ripen in early summer, they would have to be frozen or canned to be available at this time of the year. But fresh, frozen or canned, they make a truly fantastic wine.
Loganberries are an 1883 natural cross between an Aughinbaugh blackberry and Red Antwerp raspberry in the Santa Cruz, California garden of American lawyer and horticulturist James Harvey Logan. There are now many cultivars of Loganberry that vary from developing large, light red berries that do not darken when ripe or dark red berries that maintain their darkness. They possess a unique, tart flavor that many people prefer over all other berries. It is naturally a spiny plant, but thornless cultivars have been developed. They make a truly exceptional wine that must age considerably if dry, a lot less if sweet. I have won many awards for Loganberry wine, including a Best of Show.
Loganberry Wine Recipe
4 lbs ripe loganberries
1 lb ripe bananas
2 lbs granulated sugar
7 pts water
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Lalvin RC212 wine yeast
Slice the pound of bananas and simmer them in 3 cups of water for 20 minutes. Skim off any surface scum, strain and discard the solids. To the retained liquid, add 5.5 pints of water and bring to boil. Meanwhile, wash and inspect fruit for ripeness. Put in nylon straining bag and tie closed. Put bag in primary and crush berries, then add sugar. Pour boiling water over fruit, stir until sugar dissolves, cover, and set aside to cool. When at room temperature, stir in pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient, recover and set aside 12 hours. Add activated yeast and ferment 4 days, stirring twice daily. Remove nylon straining bag and press to extract maximum liquid. Discard pulp, transfer liquid to secondary and attach airlock. Rack, top up and refit airlock every 30 days until wine clears and no new sediments form over 30-day period. Stabilize, sweeten if desired, wait 30 days, and rack into bottles. If bottled dry, this wine typically requires two years to mature but will then be exceptional. In rare cases, it may require up to four years to mature. If bottled sweet, this wine may be consumed after 6 months of aging. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
I spent Christmas with Martin Benke and Lesley Lunt at their party house on Lake Corpus Christi. I got up at 4:40 and made two loaves of French Bread on my new baking stone. Lesley made a beautiful prime rib roast that tasted every bit as good as it looked. Indeed, it was one of the best tasting prime ribs I've ever enjoyed. And of course, we drank lots of wine -- a tad too much, in fact, as I fought off sleep all the way home.
My wife gave me a new, high end fly rod and reel with extra spool. Some friends and I are planning a pack horse fishing trip into the high country just northeast of Yellowstone in September and the new outfit will be put to the test. Many years ago I was a pretty good dry fly fisherman, in the high country in Colorado and in northern California up to the Klamath.
As I said elsewhere, flyfishing is not about fishing and not about flies, but rather about communing with nature.
There is, to me, no feeling quite comparable to that experienced after studying a river and its environs, correctly selecting the appropriate fly, laying it gently where it will drift naturally to the chosen spot, and then, suddenly, watching it be taken by the intended prey. A quick flick of the wrist sets the hook and then the water explodes with the frenzied fight of a contending trophy King salmon, steelhead, rainbow, cutthroat, brown, golden, or brookie. To have outwitted the ever-cautious instincts of the adversary is but the beginning, for it is the play and the netting that is the main event.
To those who think of flyfishing as sport, I pray we never meet. Flyfishing may be many things, but sport should not be one of them. On the one hand, it is the natural extension of the art of fly-tying and, on the other, is an art unto itself. But, in its sublime essence resides a respect for and communion with nature and life. As a process, flyfishing is an integration of understanding, of presentation, of skill and cunning, all subconsciously interwoven and operating while the fisherman's mind drifts, reflects, contemplates, and appreciates among endlessly changing vistas. Only when the fly is taken is focus required, for all else is, or at least should be, both outwardly reflexive while inwardly relaxing, therapeutic and almost spiritual by design. These attributes belong to no sport of which I know.
To flyfish for food is acceptable where allowed and needed, but to release the catch back into its native habitat--not to be caught again another day, but to honor its struggle for survival--is to give ultimate homage to the fish and the art of catching it, and elevates the mere flyfisherman to the realm of reverent naturalist.
I trust I have not forgotten the skills I once honed and commanded, but if I have I hope the relearning now will be every bit as satisfying as the learning was so long ago.
Chocolate Covered Cherry Wine
It is the day after Christmas so I went to my local supermarket to buy 8 boxes of chocolate covered cherries on sale. It's that time of year to make chocolate covered cherry wine and they are always on sale today. Only they weren't on sale. I had a choice. Either go to the Dollar General store and buy Zachary Cordial Cherries in Milk Chocolate, which are not as good as Queen Anne Cordial Cherries in Milk Chocolate or try to talk the manager into a sale.
I won't go into the details, but the manager has been there a long time and we have had discussions previously. He informed me when they most likely would go on sale and I discovered reasons I would be away then. He then dented the corner of the box and said damaged goods could be sold for less. He wrote out a slip identifying the brand, the product, the size box, and the price. Underneath he wrote "Damaged." I thanked him, he winked, and I went about doing other shopping. A few minutes later I was back where the chocolate covered cherries were and dented seven more boxes. The checker discounted all eight.
The sad thing is that these boxes used to weigh a pound. Then they weighed less -- how much less I don't know. But I did note when they weighed 10.6 ounces, then 10, then 8.8, then 8, and now 6.6 ounces. This is the price we pay for the unlimited printing of paper money without gold or silver backing and the inflation that necessarily follows. From 16 ounces to 6.6 in less than two dozen years.
Tommy Wilson, of Tyler, Texas recited this recipe to me at Robert Cowie's big wine competition at Paris, Arkansas about eight years ago. Tommy entered this wine and won a medal for it. That he told me exactly how he made it is a tribute to his character. I first published this recipe in this WineBlog on November 11, 2006.
Tommy said he used eight 1-pound boxes of chocolate covered cherries. I believe Tommy thought they were 1-pound boxes, but when I went to the store shortly thereafter the only boxes I found were 10.6 ounces. The next year they were 10. They went down every year, but I did miss a year of checking. I don't know what they weighed last year. Anyway, Tommy used 8 boxes and even though the boxes today hold less than they did in 2006, I'm keeping the recipe the same -- 8 boxes -- but tweaking it elsewhere.
Now, a word about commercial chocolate covered cherries. When you look at the ingredients you absolutely will find things you don't want in a must unless you put them there -- things like potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate. These two items are used to control yeast, not ideal ingredients when yeast fermentation is essential to your plans. Luckily, the amounts used are not great, but because they are still there I am tweaking the recipe slightly by adding yeast energizer and a well-developed yeast starter. I have added 1/2 pound of sugar to the recipe to make up for the sugar lost to less chocolate cherries. If you want to avoid this, add two additional boxes of the cordials. Finally, at my wife's suggestion, I also added 3 drops of almond extract. Increase this amount at your peril.
8 boxes of chocolate covered cherries
7 pts water
1/2 lb finely granulated sugar
4 tsps acid blend
1 crushed Campden tablet
3 drops almond extract
1/16 tsp tannin
1-1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
1/4 tsp yeast energizer
1 pkt Champaign wine yeast
Bring the water to a rolling boil and dissolve the sugar in it. While it is getting there, dump the chocolate covered cherries into the primary. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate covered cherries. The heat will melt the chocolate and expose the creamy filling and cherries. Stir well to get everything dissolved that will dissolve. Cover the primary and let it cool to room temperature.
Immediately make a yeast starter solution to get that yeast rehydrated and multiplying. If you really don't know how to make and husband a starter solution, see the link following this entry. You really should make a starter for every wine you make but few people do.
To the primary, add the acid blend, crushed Campden tablet, tannin, yeast nutrient and yeast energizer. Stir well and recover the primary. Wait 12 hours and add the activated yeast as a starter solution and 3 drops of almond extract (no more than 3 or you'll regret it). After a vigorous fermentation builds and subsides, transfer the liquid to a 1-gallon glass jug, top up if necessary, and attach an airlock. Toss out the residue in the primary, which will contain 99% of the chocolate. Don't think twice; there's nothing you can do with it.. Ferment to completion, rack, wait a month and rack again, and stabilize. Sweeten to taste (this wine should be moderately sweet, so don't overdo it), wait another month, and bottle it. Set aside 3 months before tasting, then thank Tommy Wilson for sharing his original recipe. You can thank me for the tweaks.
Chocolate covered cherry wine is smooth, rich and delicious. After tasting this, you will wish you had made more -- much more. If you can afford the ingredients, be my guest.
On this Christmas eve, I wish to thank all the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, Coast Guardsmen, and Border Patrol agents who put their lives at risk to guarantee my security. I am going to enjoy a peaceful, relaxing Christmas with loved ones because they do their duty 24/7 for you and for me.
Several months ago I received an old fashioned letter from a friend in Israel who mentioned in passing that his children were doing very well in school, "But this is natural since they stay inside all the time and study. They cannot play outside because of the threat of another rocket attack." That sort of put things in perspective.
My wife and I wish all of you and yours a peaceful, Merry Christmas and happy new year. If you are not a Christian it is okay. You can still accept my wishes for a period of peace and merriment and extended happiness.
A friend sent me the link to Hans Klok and the Divas of Magic performing 10 illusions in 5 minutes. Any one of these would be impressive, but the rapid-fire delivery of one after the other is simply overwhelming and extremely entertaining. The second half of the lady cut in two is, well, something to behold. Click and enjoy....
Pretty amazing, wasn't it. I swear I have no idea how they do the instant appearances and disappearances, let alone the others. But the woman cut in half is still my favorite.
I owe you an apology. In my November 22nd WineBlog I gave credit to Jacqueline Pham for the recipe I base my crumpet pancakes on. I got lazy and simply cited the link at the bottom of my November 18th entry, but it was for the photograph I used. I didn't cite the recipe in my November 18th entry because I did not give the recipe in that entry.
The correct link for the crumpet recipe I use to make my crumpet pancakes follows this WineBlog entry and points to a page on the King Arthur Flour website. My apologies and thank you Kathy and Richard for catching this.
By the way, I finally bought some crumpet rings and made my first "proper" crumpets this morning. They rise inside the rings and look very much like English muffins -- until you take a bite. Ummm, so very good! I ate these with homemade red wine jelly. The photo on the left is my first batch of real crumpets, with one difference. I added two tablespoons of salted, toasted sunflower kernels to the batter and they held up really well in the baking.
The other day I poured some prickly pear cactus syrup on my crumpet pancakes and the marriage of flavors was simply marvelous. I made this from the purple fruit of the cactus. One year I extracted more juice than I needed for wine (see the link following this day's entry for the wine recipe) and made syrup with it. It was so good that I now pick the fruit to make both jelly and syrup as well as wine. For 2-3 months of the year, there are tens of thousands of the fruit along the fence lines flanking the back roads all around my house. I'm only sorry so many go to waste.
I thank all of you who wrote or called me about various web pages being down. Indeed, depending on how you accessed it, you might have found yourself locked out of my several websites altogether for a little over two days. The culprit was a combination of things both recent and distant and all attempts to explain them have been both long, mentally tedious and boring. So, I will dispense with the explanation and simply say a password could not administratively be satisfied and many of you, including myself, found yourselves looking at a page informing you that the page you were looking for could not be accessed.
I jumped through many hoops and spent quite a bit of my domain host's money on phone calls over a 47-hour period before the problem was finally identified and solved, but solved it was. My apologies to all of you out there who freaked out or were simply inconvenienced by being turned away. As far as I can tell, it was no one's fault. Files and procedures have shelf-lives, beyond which things may randomly go wrong. Thank you for informing me of the many aspects of the problem, many of which I did not know until I read your emails. Most of all, thank you for your patience and your patronage.
Frisbee Trick Shots
This has nothing whatsoever to do with wine, but it's my blog and so.... A friend sent me an email with a video link to a short clip of Brodie Smith doing a frisbee throw off a bridge in Australia and then a speedboat comes by and a guy leaps off it and catches the frisbee before it hits the water. While the whole stunt was impressive, I give the speedboat driver and the catcher more credit for pulling this one off than I do Brodie Smith. Brodie is a two-time national champion and Florida Ultimate player with legendary skills and I found some better videos to show them off.
I have a very soft spot in my heart for frisbees. My late English Springer Spaniel loved to play frisbee. When my wife or I were out doing yardwork, she would bring her frisbee over and set it on the ground next to us, then back away and wait patiently. We may have been doing something very important but one look at Coli's expectant expression would melt us in our tracks. We just had to stop and throw it. And she would then launch herself into a race with the flying disc and leap into the air to catch it. Coli is buried with her frisbee, out in the far back, under the wildflowers she loved to smell and romp among. I still grieve for her. I invite you to visit her page, linked after this entry. If you love dogs, or just one special dog, I think you will enjoy her page.
So, seeing the Brodie Smith's frisbee toss off the bridge reminded me of my departed companion, Coli, but it also reminded me of much more impressive clips of Brodie's frisbee throwing. These are extremely skillful shots, not mere tosses off a bridge someone else has to chase to catch. Here is the first of the clips I am referring to, I am most impressed by the shots he made where the target was not even visible to him, but the 85-yard toss near the end is mind-blowing. Click to see what I mean.
Now, as Emeril Lagasse says, let's kick it up a notch. The next link is one of the finest exhibitions of frisbee throwing (and basketball throwing) I have ever seen -- Brodie versus the 4-man team Dude Perfect in a frisbee vs. basketball shoot-off. I would like to see Kobe Bryant make just 1/3 of these basketball shots....
Finally, here is another clip of truly epic trick shots with frisbee, basketball and cricket ball starring Brodie Smith and an Australian team. Near the end is the piece of Brodie throwing the frisbee off the bridge and the speedboat-passenger catching it.
Forgive me if precision frisbee-throwing does not impress you. Having thrown that disc thousands of times, I know how difficult such precision is. I am lucky to hit the broad side of a barn, so such accuracy impresses me greatly.
Winter Dewberry Wine
I decided to rotate the contents of my chest freezer, knowing full well I would find things on the bottom layer I didn't know were there. Boy was I ever right. Among the buried surprises was a plastic container containing 6 1/4 pounds of dewberries picked several years ago near Leming, Texas. They were badly freezer burned but still viable for wine, so I started a gallon. It should be ready to drink next Christmas.
Dewberries are very close cousins of the blackberry. Blackberries grow on canes, either upright or trailing, while dewberries grow on thin, ground-hugging vines that rarely reach knee-high. But dewberries, and here I'm referring to the berries rather than the whole plants, can grow quite large, very juicy and extremely tasty. But, as in all fruit, some are better than others.
Many years ago my wife and I dug up four dewberry plants in Jasper, Texas and transplanted them at our home in Pleasanton, Texas. Within two years we regretted doing so. The vines are extremely invasive and have resisted all efforts to contain or eradicate them. Being a trailing vine, wherever a vine-tip touches the ground it sets roots, much as strawberries do, but dewberry vines can extend several feet. Worse, they send out rhizomes -- horizontal stems growing underground in all directions that set new root masses (and often new upward growth) at every node. You can attempt to dig these out, but every small fragment left behind will most likely reestablish a new plant. You can spray the visible growth with Round-Up or some other herbicide, but these only affect the immediate growth. The rooted growth from trailing tips and all the rhizomes survive and new plants pop up everywhere. Do not plant dewberries unless you really want them, and then do so only in absolutely contained areas. Even then, the birds will spread them.
Dewberry Wine Recipe
Because of their ground-hugging growth pattern, dewberries are a bit of work to pick and hard on the back. And, when you're bent over picking dewberries, it's very tempting to go ahead and pick a few that are not quite fully ripe -- that still have a hint of redness in them. This is a big mistake and one only you can correct. These not-quite-ripe berries are rich in malic acid will sour the wine. I once aged a dewberry wine three years waiting for the tartness of unripe berries to mellow out of it. I finally gave up and sweetened the wine with simple syrup to cover up my mistake. Pick only jet black berries.
6 lbs of ripe dewberries
2 lbs granulated sugar
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1/2 tsp tartaric or malic acid
1/4 tsp tannin
1 crushed Campden tablet
1-1/4 teaspoon yeast nutrient
water to make up one gallon
Burgundy wine yeast
Use freshly picked and washed berries if you can. Frozen berries are fine but my long-frozen berries are probably marginal. We shall see in a few months to a year. Put them in a nylon straining bag and press them in a grape or fruit press. Save the pulp. Put one quart of water on to boil and dissolve the sugar thoroughly in it. In a primary, combine the dewberry juice and sugar water and add sufficient cold water to bring the volume up to a gallon. Dissolve the crushed Campden tablet in the must and stir well. Add the bag of pommace (pressed pulp) and cover the primary. Wait 10-12 hours and add remaining ingredients except yeast. Recover primary and wait another 10-12 hours. Add activated yeast starter.
Squeeze the bag twice daily -- more often if you'd like -- but remove the bag 48 hours after a vigorous fermentation is evident (if you use a good starter, this will be 2 1/2 to 3 days after pitching the yeast). Drain the pulp and press it again. Return all juice (but not the pulp) to the primary and cover again. When vigorous fermentation subsides, transfer to secondary and attach an airlock.
Rack after 30 days, top up and refit airlock. Allow another 60 days to finish and rack again. At this point I add another crushed Campden tablet and set it aside in a dark place to age for 4 months. Rack again, stabilize, sweeten to taste and set aside another month. Check to make sure it has not started refermenting and if not bottle it. This recipe works equally well with blackberries. Enjoy it. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
On the way to the store this morning to get some flour to feed my sourdough starter, I head the 1975 number 1 country, pop, and Billboard hit, "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," by the late Baldemar Garza Huerta, known to the world as Freddy Fender. I did some mental calculating and realized it has been 5 years since we lost him, to lung cancer, in Corpus Christi. As his beautiful tenor flowed seamlessly from English verse to Spanish and then back again, it dawned on me once again how great a talent he really was.
"Before the Next Teardrop Falls" won Fender the Single of the Year award from the Country Music Association in 1975, and was instrumental in his winning that year's Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year awards. But he also took "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" to number 1 that year, so he wasn't a one-hit wonder. Over the next three decades he gave us many wonderful songs, including "Since I Met You Baby," "Secret Love," "You'll Lose a Good Thing," "Vaya con Dios," "Living It Down," "The Rains Came," "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," and many others.
As an aside, in 1984 I heard Fender on the radio in San Francisco doing "Matilda," a remake of the Cookie and the Cupcakes' 1959 hit, and spent seven years tracking down a clean recording of it. (By "clean" I mean the only version I kept running into was a live recording in which, toward the end of the song, Fender broke off singing and started introducing the band.) I finally found it in his 1978 vinyl album compiled exclusively for military personnel, "Freddy Fender: His Greatest Recordings." It was originally on his 1976 "Rock 'n' Country" vinyl album and has since appeared on several CDs.
In 1989 Fender teamed up with three other Tex-Mex legends (Flaco Jiménez, Augie Meyers and the late Doug Sahms) to form the Texas Tornados. They won a Grammy in 1990 for Best Mexican American Performance. In 1998 he shared another Grammy in the same category with another group of legends, Los Super Seven.
In 2001 Freddy Fender used his real name on his final album, "La Musica de Baldemar Huerta," which won him his third Grammy -- this time for Latin Pop Album. This final effort is considered by many to be his finest album, his voice honed to perfection. The following year he underwent a kidney transplant, the donor his daughter. Two years later he underwent a liver transplant and that's really when most of us realized we would probably never see him perform again. Indeed, two years later we lost him to lung cancer.
Life flies by so quickly. We take our great talents for granted, only to wake up one day and learn they are gone forever. I remember my utter disbelief when, at the age of 14, I heard on February 3rd, 1959 that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson had perished in a plane crash in Iowa. It was the first of many sudden losses that shook the permanence out of my life. Freddy Fender wasn't the last, but my wife and I mourned his passing greatly. His beautiful voice would never create anew, but we did still have his recordings. Therein, he lives....
Christmas Wine
Every year around this time I get a flood of emails asking for a recipe for a mulled wine for Christmas. One can buy mulling spices readily about now, so making a mulled wine satisfies the need to create more than anything else. But, here we will look at three recipes for mulled wine -- two very old ones that merely mull (spice) a finished wine and one that you start now, from scratch, to enjoy at Christmas next year.
Ypocrys
1 bottle plain red wine
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tblsp honey
2-3 cinnamon sticks
a bit of ginger
cut up a small knob of galingale (optional)
1-2 whole nutmegs
5-6 cardamom pods
several whole cloves
This first recipe dates back to the reign of Edward III (1327-1377) of England..
Put all of the spices into a small strainer, with a long handle. Heat the wine gently in a small enamel saucepan, until it begins to steam a little; do not let it boil. Add the sugar and honey, and stir until they are well-dissolved. Place the strainer into the wine; reduce heat and cook gently for several minutes. Remove strainer and set aside; immediately pour wine into mugs and enjoy. The same spices can be reused several times on successive evenings before getting worn out. This is a variant of proper period hypocras, with a few tweaks. The period recipe would usually have been made with ground spices, wrapped in a fine cloth. The period version would also have been served either warm or cool, while this version is reasonably tasty at room temperature but is best when served quite warm. If cooled, it can be reheated in a microwave oven. The recipe is quite flexible and can be tweaked in many ways. Galingale, a relative of ginger, is optional because it is relatively hard to find. But it might be found in a Thai, Lao, Viet or Indonesian market. The author recommends using an inexpensive Burgundy or Merlot as the base. [Adapted from Pleyn Delit, by Heiatt and Butler, recipe 127, which in turn is adapted from Forme of Cury, a 14th century cookbook.]
Hyppocras
This recipe calls for musk mallow seed, Abelmoschus moschatus (also known as Abelmosk, Ambrette seeds, Annual hibiscus, Bamia Moschata, Galu Gasturi, Muskdana, Musk mallow, Musk okra, Musk seeds, Ornamental okra, Rose mallow seeds, Tropical jewel hibiscus, Yorka okra; synonym Hibiscus abelmoschus) an aromatic and medicinal plant native to India. It has no substitute. Despite its tropical origin, it is quite cold hardy and seeds are available. All other ingredients in this recipe are common.
6 gallons of red wine
2 oz cinnamon
1 oz ginger
2 drams cloves
2 drams nutmeg
1/2 dram white peppercorns
2 drams cardamoms
3 oz musk mallow seed
Bruise all spices and place in spice bag (a cotton bag) with half-dozen marbles and tie closed. Sink spice bag in wine under airlock. Taste wine every other day until satisfied with the taste. Remove spice bag and sweeten wine if desired. [Recipe adapted from John French's Art of Distillation, 1651.]
Hypocras
This is a modern recipe for making the wine from scratch. The raisins should be chopped or, better still, run through a mincer. The recipe specifies Maury wine yeast, which is difficult to obtain in North America. Substitute Lalvin D-47, DV-10 or Red Star Premiere Cuvee. One could also use Lalvin EC-1118.
2 lb dark raisins
2 lbs honey
7 pts water
3 large lemons
12 cloves
1 blade of mace (2 tsp ground mace)
1 cup cold, strong, black tea
1/2 oz bruised ginger root
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 pkt Maury yeast
Bring water to a simmer while dissolving into it the honey. Add the minced raisins, zest of the lemons (retain their juice for later use), and the ginger, mace and cloves. Simmer (but do not boil) for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and skim off any surface scum resulting from the honey. When cool, strain into a secondary fermentation vessel and add tea, lemon juice and yeast nutrient. Stir well, then add activated yeast and fit airlock. Ferment 2 months, rack, top up, and refit airlock. Set aside 3 months and rack again. Stabilize, sweeten to taste and refit airlock. Wait another 3-6 months. If no signs of renewed fermentation, bottle and wait for the holidays. [Recipe adapted from The On-Line Wine Makers Guide]
Some time back my wife bought me The Dangerous Summer by Ernest Hemmingway, his last book about his last summer in Spain. It has a long introduction my James A. Michener and together they offer one very fine introduction to the art and techniques of bullfighting. Within, Hemmingway describes the historic corrida in Málaga on August 14, 1959, when matadors Luis Miguel Dominguín and Antonio Ordóñez performed one of the most famous series of mano a mano bullfights ever witnessed by man. Hemmingway's description, according to Michener, "...is one of the most evocative and exact summaries of a corrida ever penned." With this background in mind, is it any wonder that I wanted to see every bullring we passed while staying in Spain?
We happened upon the bullring in Sevilla too late, as its corrida was well underway and in fact nearly over when we approached it. Considered the most beautiful bullring in all the world, it was a disappointment to miss it. But here are my wife and me inside Ronda's famous Plaza de Torros. I dreamed of this bullring last night and upon awakening sought out my copy of The Dangerous Summer and searched until I found the chapter referenced by Michener. Some things can never be relived, but great literature need only be reread to be relived. Meld it with your own experience and you can create a memory of a moment that never was and yet is very real. I was doing that when this picture was taken. I did it again this morning.
I challenge you to create your own memories of moments that never were. If you read Struggle for the Round Tops by Gary Laine, Stars in their Courses by Shelby Foote, or Gettysburg -- the Second Day by Harry W. Pfanz and then visit the battlefields of Gettysburg and listen to the whispers of the ghosts upon the breezes, you can create a memory of a moment that never was. I've done it.
A Cloudy Wine
A reader wrote to me about a particularly stubborn cloudy wine problem. Because of the things he mentioned, I offered him a 3-step method to solve his problem. I am certain this will work. It should also serve as a regimen for many others with similar symptoms.
Roger wrote, "I love to make blended wines and have great success. A favorite is Pineapple Blackberry Rhubarb. I decided to try the same with Mango replacing the Blackberry. I have racked the wine several times to clarify, used unflavored gelatin, placed carboy outside at below freezing temps for days and still very cloudy. I am anal about sterility in all processes and have never "lost" a batch of wine due to contaminants or disease. Is there something about the Mango in combination with the other fruit that is causing this or should I consider contamination and how would I determine it? It tastes OK but has that slight metallic taste common with Mango (in my opinion). Is treatment with metabisulfate [sic] an option and how much would you use if so?"
Upon reading this my first thought was that he did not use sulfite or he probably would not have mentioned potassium metabisulfite (he said metabisulfate, which you would never use in wine, but I knew he meant metabisulfite). Not knowing his recipe, I did not know if he used pectic enzyne or not, or if he used enough.
I have friends who own and operate the Roatán Winery on Roatán Island off the mainland of Honduras. Some time back we conversed about a problem they had with mango wine. It simply didn't want to clear. No stranger to mango wine, I suggested using a two-part fining agent called Super Kleer. It worked.
So, my advice to Roger was as follows and treats for microbial contamination first, pectin haze second and mango's excessive protein third. Oh, I did not have the photo of the wine (above left) when I recommended this.
First, I would certainly add some potassium metabisulfite, enough to raise your free SO2 level to 45 ppm. If you are not sure how to calculate this, just use WineMaker magazine's Sulfite Calculator at http://winemakermag.com/guide/sulfite. You should not have to add additional sulfites prior to sweetening or bottling, although I would treat with 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate per gallon 30 days before doing either.
Twelve hours after adding the sulfite, I would add 1 teaspoon pectic enzyme (as a powder) per gallon of wine, even if you have previously added a similar amount. If, after 48 hours, the wine has not changed for the better, add another 1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme per gallon. I would add another 1/2 teaspoon every two days until you have added a total of 3 teaspoons per gallon. Add the pectic enzyme this way: draw off 1/2-3/4 cup wine and dissolve in it the pectic enzyme powder by stirring with a fork or very small whisk; add this to the wine and stir just enough to get the addition circulating. The beauty of pectic enzyme is that if it is not neutralized by pectin, it does no harm to the wine. Still, 3 teaspoons per gallon is enough to clear any natural pectin haze.
If, after a week, the wine has not started to clear, add 2-part fining agent Super Clear (a.k.a. Super Kleer) and rack according to instructions (2-3 days, if memory serves). Super Kleer works well because it is a 2-part agent. One part attracts soluble molecules with a negative charge and the other attracts soluble molecules with a positive charge, including the first fining agent. Thus, after a few days, the agents have not only grabbed anything in your wine that ought not be there, they have also grabbed each other and have precipitated to the bottom of the carboy so you can rack the wine off them. Good stuff. I keep at least four boxes of it on hand at all times and order two more when my inventory falls below four.
My friends at Roatán Winery make both pineapple and mango wines as both fruit grow naturally there. Mark Thiem, Roatán's winemaker and proprietor, recently commented on their method of clearing mango wine (seen here as their ever popular "Mango Tango"), which always seems problematic. "I use your recommended ratio of metabisulfite and after racking use the stabilizer/preservative. Then if after four months in the 5 gallon holding keg it does not clear I use the Super Kleer with excellent results. But the wine always tastes better after aging for at least 6 months. The pineapple is wonderful after aging for a year." Mark ought to know.
A longer discussion of clarification problems and solutions is found elsewhere of this site in the section entitled: "Finishing Your Wine." See the second link, below.
Pineapple-Mango-Rhubarb Wine
Roger was kind enough to share his recipe with me when I asked. He left out two ingredients (sugar and water) but after I added them in it sure looks sound to me. I will be trying this myself next year. Makes 5 gallons.
5 lbs rhubarb, cut small and frozen before use
3 large mango (3 lbs fruit after pitting and removing from skin)
3 small pineapples (4 lbs small cut pieces)
5 tsp yeast nutrient
81/2 lbs sugar
5/8 tsp liquid pectic enzyme (5 tsp powdered)
3 Tblsp acid blend
1 1/4 tsp tannin
water to 5 gallons
5 Campden tablets or 1/4 tsp potassium metabisulfite
1 sachet Red Star Montrachet yeast
Week to month in advance, clean rhubarb, cut into small slices and freeze them in ZipLoc bags. Two days before use transfer to refrigerator. Three hours before use remove from refrigerator and transfer to nylon straining bag in primary.
Cut off tops and bottoms of pineapple and remove peelings, saving juice. Cut flesh in long strips from core and then cut strips into small pieces. Best to add these to a separate nylon straining bag. Peel mangos and cut flesh from pit, saving any juice the drips. Cut flesh into small pieces and place in a third nylon straining bag. Place bags in primary along with any juice captured.
Bring 1 gallon water to boil, remove from heat and dissolve sugar in it, stirring well. When dissolved, pour over fruit in primary. Add 2 gallons cold water and crushed Campden or metabisulfite, acid blend, tannin and yeast nutrient. Cover primary and allow to sit 12 hours. Stir in pectic enzyme and remaining water. Cover primary and wait additional 12 hours. Add yeast in a mature starter solution. Cover primary and starting the next day push nylon bags under liquid 2-3 times a day. When vigorous fermentation subsides, remove bags and let drip drain. Pineapple and rhubarb may be squeezed, but not the mango.
Transfer to secondary, top up if necessary and attach an airlock.. Ferment to dryness, wait one month and rack, top up and reattach airlock. Stabilize wine with 2 1/2 teaspoons of crushed potassium sorbate and 1/4 teaspoon potassium metabisulfite, dissolved into 1 cup of the wine. Wait 2 months and rack, top up and reaffix airlock. May sweeten if desired and bottle in another 2 months. Allow to age a bit longer before tasting. [Roger Mattson's recipe adapted by Jack Keller]
I loved this photo from the first instant I saw it. There are no more appreciative observers of this holiday than those who serve us in harm's way. God bless them all, and I am thankful they are there so I can be here.
My first Thanksgiving in Vietnam was in 1968. We were in the field, at a fire base near Dak To called simply, Bridge 3. We had been told weeks earlier that every man in the brigade, regardless where he was, would be getting a hot meal with turkey on Thanksgiving. Since all three of our daily meals came out of C-ration cans, this was a big deal and something we all looked forward to.
The evening before Thanksgiving we were informed on the Admin/Logistics net that there had been a screw up and we were not going to get our "hot meal" the next day -- no turkeys arrived on the convoy from Pleiku. My company commander called our XO (Executive Officer) back at Camp Enari on the radio and told him to go to every arms room in the battalion and get every shotgun he could and send them all out on the first chopper in the morning, with birdshot loads. The XO protested he would have a difficult time finding all the arms room custodians at night and the old man cut him off with, "Would you rather pack your rucksack and join us out here for the next month?"
The next morning 21 or 22 shotguns came out on a chopper with 20 rounds per gun. The First Sergeant had somehow identified every man in the company who hunted fowl "back in the world." Four men from my platoon were among them. Around 1000 hours the men left the safety of the perimeter and went out in two groups. Some 20 minutes later we started hearing shotgun discharges in the distance. Meanwhile, a long fire pit was dug near the company Command Post, filled with wood and set on fire.
The men returned in about an hour with dozens of doves and other birds, Several ammo cans were on the fire with boiling water and the hunters simply went to work. The birds were dipped, removed, plucked of their feathers, gutted and cleaned. Feathers, entrails, heads, feet and most of the wings went into a fresh pit, later to be joined by the bones. The birds were placed on bamboo spears, 4 birds to a spear, and cooked over the coals from the fire. Around 1300 hours we each pulled a bird from a skewer and enjoyed it with our C-rations. They weren't turkeys and there wasn't all that much meat on them, but they were hot, tasty and an altogether welcome break from our C-ration routine.
By the way, the next day -- a day late -- the "hot meals" arrived by chopper, turkey and all, so we had two Thanksgiving meals at Bridge 3.
Pear Wine Dilution Problem
I'm not sure where Mishawaka, Indiana is, but a fellow there made it a lot closer through email. He is making his first ever "wine from scratch" and chose to make pear wine from Bartlett pears. He did not use a nylon straining bag to contain the fruit and ended up with excessive gross lees in the primary and then again in the secondary. He had not read my blog entry on dealing with excessive lees and ended up with about a gallon of gross lees in each instance. Instead of downsizing to a smaller carboy, which I'm sure he didn't have, he topped up each time with a gallon of spring water and the wine's flavor suffered considerably.
He had the good sense to save half the pear halves from the primary and is attempting to reinitiate fermentation and extract more flavor. He will probably have to add more sugar as a simple syrup to give the yeast something to get started on and may even have to add fresh yeast, but this seems to me to be a good solution to his problem. And he is using a nylon straining bag this time. He simply needs to control the urge to squeeze that bag. Doing so will cause even greater gross lees and will, in all likelihood, cloud the wine beyond repair.
It is possible he can find some clarified pear juice to add to his wine although I am doubtful. I have only seen it in farmers' markets and even there rarely. The juice is extracted by very slow pressing. I do not think steam extraction is used, as that usually results in a haze of both pectin and collagen. It almost defies all attempts at clearing. Most large supermarkets today carry cans of pear nectar. My experience is that these are usually cloudy from aggressive pressing and will not clear. But they do taste good.
As a last resort, he can add frozen grape concentrate to it and make a blend, so to speak. Or add a can of frozen peach, passion fruit or strawberry/kiwi concentrate -- not more than one can or all evidence of pear will be lost. These "last ditch rescues" have almost always worked for me.
Pear Wine
Pears make a wonderful wine, although some people just don't care for it. I suspect they haven't tasted a really good one, but I could be wrong. Pears also make a great mead called Perry. The problem with pear wine (or perry) recipes is that different pear varieties vary a great deal. Generally, however, there are cooking, canning and eating pears. If you know what your particular pear is most often used for, you will be ahead of the game. But to be perfectly honest, each variety requires its own recipe due to inherent variations in hardness, texture, sweetness, acidity, tannin, and susceptibility to browning. Nonetheless, I will stick my neck out and offer a generic recipe. Tweak it as you see fit.
4-6 lbs ripe pears
1 12-oz can 100% White Grape Juice frozen concentrate
1-1/2 lb finely granulated sugar
3-1/4 quarts water (more or less, depending on amount of fruit used)
1-1/2 tsp acid blend
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1/8 tsp grape tannin
1 crushed Campden tablet
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 packet Champagne yeast
Cut a pear in half and set it so both cut faces are facing upright. Set a timer for 15 minutes and go do something else. When timer goes off, come back and look at the pear halves. If they have turned slightly brown, add 1/16 teaspoon powdered ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to the ingredients. If you think they have turned really brown, add 1/8 teaspoon ascorbic acid to ingredients. Don't overdo it! If you cannot measure or estimate 1/16th of a teaspoon, use a thin pinch.
Boil the water and dissolve the sugar into it thoroughly. Wash, destem and core the pears, being sure to remove all seeds. Chop roughly and put in a fine-mesh nylon straining bag. Tie bag and put in primary. Mash pears using a potato masher, bottom of a wine bottle, or a 4X4 piece of wood (be sure to sanitize whatever is used to mash pears). Pour boiling water over crushed pears. Cover with a piece of sanitized muslin. Wait one hour for must to cool a bit and add crushed ascorbic acid (if used), finely crushed Campden tablet, acid blend, tannin and yeast nutrient. Cover with muslin, wait 10-12 hours and add pectic enzyme. Again cover with muslin, wait another 10-12 hours and strain out enough juice to float a hydrometer. Measure specific gravity and add sugar sufficient to achieve starting gravity of 1.080 to 1.085. Pear wine is best under 12% alcohol. Return juice in hydrometer jar to primary and add activated yeast (that means make a yeast starter at least two hours -- six or eight is better -- before you get to this point). Cover with muslin once again. Stir daily, squeezing bag gently to extract flavor. When vigorous fermentation subsides (about 7 days), remove bag and let drip drain one hour. Do not squeeze or wine will be very difficult to clear. Taste the drained juice. You should taste both acid and tannin. If either appears weak, add a little more (1/2 teaspoon acid blend, 1/8 teaspoon tannin) and stir very well. Return drained juice to primary and allow to settle 24 hours. Transfer to glass secondary, top up to within one inch of the bottom of the bung, attach an airlock, and set aside. Rack after three weeks, top up, and refit airlock. Rack again every two months (but at least twice) until wine clears.
Wait another 30 days and very carefully examine the bottom of the secondary with a flashlight. If you see even a very fine dusting of sediment, wait another 30 days and rack again. Repeat looking for sediment in another 30 days. The wine must go 30 days without dropping even a few dead yeast cells. When wine pasts the test for no sediment, stabilize it with 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate and one finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet. Remove one cup of the wine and dissolve into it 1/4 pound (1/2 cup) of finely granulated sugar. For a drier wine use 1/4 cup sugar. Stir this into the wine, reattach the airlock, and set aside 30 days. If there are no signs of continued fermentation, rack into bottles and age 6-12 months. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
My father achieved the age of 90 today. Happy birthday, Dad. I wish I was there sharing it with you.
I know my father does not like this picture, drawn in soft pastels on colored Mi-Teintes paper by my brother Barry in 2007, but it captures him perfectly even if at a grumpy moment.
Prior to the occasion of my parents 50th anniversary (they just celebrated their 69th) we had them talk to us about their meeting, courtship and wedding. My sister taped the sessions and I took the tapes and wrote a pamphlet from them entitled "Our Story." My mother told of starting work in a bakery in Lake Charles in 1941 and meeting Dad, one of the bakers, for the first time. "He had wavy black hair, an olive complexion and the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen." Yes, he has wonderful eyes, even in his grumpy look.
My dad was one of the 3,030,407 Americans who enlisted in the Armed Forces in 1942. The Navy sent him to San Diego for basic training and after two months my mother packed a small suitcase, boarded a train and went to be near him. As her train pulled into the station, his train pulled out for Bremerton, Washington. She got a job in an airplane factory until she earned enough to head for Seattle. There she got a similar job and they were married on Friday, September 26. To say they were ill prepared for marriage is, well, something most of us can say. When my dad left my mom on Sunday to catch the last ferry to Bremerton, he gave her all the money he had (the ferry was free to sailors) -- 35¢. That my mother made those coins last a week is a testament to what you can do if you have to and live in a friendly neighborhood.
My sister Barbara was born 13 months later and I was born 14 months after her. That's me my dad is holding in the photo from 1945.
I am quite proud of my dad for his success as a husband and father. He worked very hard to provide and we all made it. He did it without health insurance, without a retirement plan, without ever holding his hand out for a thing. He wasn't able to save anything until we kids started moving out, and in the time he had available he was able to save enough for he and Mom to be comfortable in their "golden years." My father is my role model.
Once again, happy birthday, Dad. I love you.
Malolactic Fermentation
I recently received an email from a gentleman in Illinois who has a Chambourcin that fermented very quickly and displays a tartness consistent with a measured acidity of 7 g/L. He maintained the wine in his basement at 65-67° F. for 65 days. He wondered if a malolactic fermentation was still possible at this late date.
While ideally it is desired that MLF occurs just as the alcoholic fermentation is ending, I think many MLFs among home wines occur later than this -- and occur unexpectedly...in the bottle.
First of all, MLF should not occur at all unless you, the winemaker, want it to occur. I am a very conservative winemaker despite the fact that I make wines from very unusual bases. I don't impose a procedure on my wines unless it is desired for specific reasons. MLF is only desired, in my opinion, if the acid needs reduction and enough of the acid present is malic. On the other hand, starting an MLF on a wine where malic acid is the only acid, such as in blackberry, can be ruinous for the wine. When I add potassium metabisulfite to a must at the very beginning, I am shutting the door on MLF.
So when is MLF desired? MLF is generally desired for dry red wines where malic is present but not the predominate acid and the acid is noticeable on the palate. MLF can also enhance some dry white wines, add complexity and smoothness, but is totally inappropriate for sweeter wines and wines with a lot of floral or fruity character.
The organism responsible for MLF is Leuconostoc bacteria. Like yeast, it is found in nature and can be brought into the must on the skins of the fruit you are making wine with. Or not. Almost half of the failed MLFs I am aware of occur because the winemaker relied on the natural presence of a Leuconostoc bacteria and there was none. If you want it, buy the culture and introduce it.
There is a practice going on today whereby a Leuconostoc bacteria culture is added to the must with the yeast under the assumption the two fermentations will occur concurrently. In many cases they do so, without problems, but sometimes the bacteria begin disassembling the sugars the yeast need and volatile acids develop. We cannot reliably predict when this will occur, so the best way to avoid the problem is to wait until the alcoholic fermentation is complete before adding the bacterial culture.
If you want an MLF there are several requisite conditions you should ensure your must/wine possesses. The most obvious is malic acid. If you are making a grape wine or a fruit wine and added a commercial acid blend, the must contains malic acid. If you are not sure, a simple paper chromatography test will tell you. I have always intended to post the instructions for this on my website but have not yet done so, but they are easily found through Google or in many of the better winemaking books. Paper chromatography kits are inexpensive and contain complete instructions. This kit is essential for knowing when MLF is complete. I strongly recommend you obtain a kit if you intend to do MLF.
While the presence of malic acid is desirable for conducting an MLF, too strong an acidity can be fatal to Leuconostoc bacteria. Here the controlling metric is pH. The lower the pH the stronger the acidity. A ph of 3.55 is considered by many, myself included, to be the very highest you can allow without placing your must at risk for all kinds of spoilage bacteria. For biological stability, 3.1 is far better. But even Leuconostoc bacteria dislike a pH that low. A pH of 3.3 is a tight compromise if you can achieve it. If your pH is low and you do not want to attempt adjusting it, you can try adding the bacterial culture and see what happens (you never know) or forego MLF altogether.
Leuconostoc bacteria do not like free SO2, so if you intend to do an MLF you should forego adding Campden tablets or potassium metabisulfite to your must until MLF is complete.
Leuconostoc bacteria prefer warmer over cooler. If your basement winery is 65° F. it would behoove you to bring the carboy upstairs to a warmer temperature or wrap one or two thermostatically controlled heater belts around the carboy. An advantage of adding the culture as alcoholic fermentation is ending is that yeast warm up the must during fermentation.
Last but not least, Leuconostoc bacteria are intolerant of high alcohol conditions. If you are one who always pushes for 16% alcohol because you like "the buzz," forget MLF.
My inquirer from Illinois was told the conditions the bacteria preferred. He had already moved the wine to a 72° F. environment and I encouraged him to try it. We shall see in a few weeks if it was successful.
Crumpet Pancakes
I was just waiting for someone to ask. Mary in Topeka, Kansas, Lynda in Flower Mound, Texas and Ronald in Druid Hills, Georgia all asked for the recipe for the "crumpet pancakes" I mentioned in the last WineBlog entry. If you have a friendship bread or sourdough starter, this recipe will be a Godsend.
A sourdough starter kept at room temperature must be "fed" at least once a day -- ideally twice a day -- to keep it healthy. If stored in the refrigerator, it should be taken out and fed once a week. Each time a starter is fed, it is divided in half and fed with fresh flour and water equaling the weight of the half removed. The half that is removed (I call it "the divide") must either be used or thrown away. If you are feeding a family or even just yourself and a spouse, you can use the divide every day for pancakes, biscuits, pizza dough, bread, etc. If you are single, you will end up tossing much of it out or moving the starter to the refrigerator as I did long ago where it was forgotten. Since my wife and I are geographically separated, I am cooking for one and throwing out a lot of divide.
When I read the recipe for sourdough crumpets on Jacqueline Pham's blog, the fact that they could be made into pancakes was not important to me. Then I made them -- pancake style -- and realized they are perfect for using up the daily divide. The recipe is much simpler than any sourdough pancake recipe, is extremely scalable, and the crumpet pancakes are delicious. I now use a cup of starter in the morning, make five 5-6-inch pancakes, and easily consume them because they are thin and airy and light and delicious.
My starter is kept on the wet side, about the consistency of pancake batter. If your is not this thin, then you might want to add a teaspoon or two of water to the divide to thin it out. My pancakes are more like crepes than crumpets but the recipe provides the pedigree. The following recipe is for one person with a hearty appetite. Adjust it accordingly.
1 cup sourdough starter divide
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
When you divide your starter to feed it, place a cup of the divide in a glass bowl. To it sprinkle the sugar, salt and baking powder. Using a wire whisk, stir the starter briefly and watch it double in volume in just seconds as hundreds and hundreds of bubbles fluff it up. Coat a medium-hot skillet or griddle with a non-stick spray or oil and ladle onto it enough batter to make a 5-6-inch pancake. If the skillet is fully preheated the pancake can be turned in one minute. The flip side will be done even quicker.
I remove the cooked pancake to a platter, spray the griddle and ladle a new pancake onto it, then turn and lightly butter the pancake on the platter. All the batter is used up in about 10 minutes, leaving a platter with 5 thin but very airy pancakes that soak up syrup and go down easily. Not only are they delicious, they use up my daily divide with the least amount of effort.
Dad at 86, original art at @SOURCE The Art of Barry Keller
Crumpets, in Pham Fatale, a blog by Jacqueline Pham
I found my sourdough starter in the back of the refrigerator while looking for the last of the olives I had brought back from Spain, stuffed with tiny pickles. I remembered hiding the olives so I would not eat them all the first week home. The tactic not only worked but yielded a bonus -- my long neglected sourdough starter, which I will get to in a moment. First, the olives.
If memory serves, I bought these from one of those vendors in a market day at Artola, just west of Sitio de Calahonda. This was not the largest of the community market days, but it had better food stalls than many. And one stall featured many types and styles of olives. At this booth I bought these and some of those buttery Mantequilla olives. At another I bought my wife some fresh figs and a melon slice. After having bought these stuffed olives, I later searched high and low for more like them but did not find any.
Okay, back to the sourdough starter. It had separated into a thick paste on the bottom covered by a dark liquid on top that I hesitantly sniffed. No foul odors, so I mixed it with a spoon, weighed it, and matched its weight with both flour and warm water. I did not expect it to revive, but it did. Not only that, but there was no evidence of the dark liquid. The starter returned to its former whiteness.
It took over a week of feedings to revive it to the point where I dared make bread. I had been making biscuits and crumpets served as pancakes (see photo) with the divide -- the portion you remove daily to make room for the feeding -- but finally decided to risk bread. My first loaves were Norwich Bread, a light whole wheat-white flour mixture that did not rise as fully as I would have liked. The starter was not really fully revived and I rushed it, but still the results went down well. As I write this I am baking Alaska Sourdough, which I expect to be light and airy. It sure smells good.
As for the crumpets, I did not have the tin rings to form them with so I poured the batter pancake style and each divide makes 8-10 crumpet pancakes about 5 inches in diameter. I have been eating them with a peach syrup I made for canning white-fleshed peaches. I took the leftover light syrup, put the peach skins in it I had carefully removed, and simmered it until the syrup was reduced by half. I removed and discarded the skins and bottled the heavy syrup for pancakes. It is perfect on the hot, buttered crumpets.
Before I forget it, I want to thank the Rochester Area Home Winemakers for making me an honorary member. I am most honored by this gesture and thank each of them.
Aeration and Oxidation
Rob, up in Dillon, Montana has asked some good questions regarding apparent contravening needs to both aerate the must while preventing premature oxidation. Must requires aeration initially to provide the oxygen yeast need to get a strong start. Most of the time, however, we try to minimize oxygen exposure to the must and wine as oxygen is the enemy of wine. But Rob pointed out two times when we apparently throw caution to the wind and aerate like mad. I understand this can be confusing, so I promised Rob I would discuss it here.
Except when we initially aerate the must to give the yeast a good breath of air, we spend the rest of the winemaking process attempting to avoid the mating of oxygen with our wine. While it is true that punching down the cap of grape skins, pulp and seeds on a frequent basis during the first few days of fermentation may seem like it breaches this sanctum in truth it does not. Before the yeast begin the process of fermentation they are still reproducing like mad, and during that time they need any oxygen brought into the must by punching down the cap. But once the yeast begin fermentation they produce a blanket of CO2that insulates the must from atmospheric oxygen. At least that is the theory.
While it is true that CO2 is heavier than oxygen and in the environment surrounding fermentation it does indeed form a blanket layer over the must, this layer is not impermeable. Oxygen can pass through it but tends not to, except when the blanket is disturbed, as when one is vigorously punching down the cap. The key, then, is to punch down the cap with less vigor -- do it slowly and deliberately.
Excessive aeration is called for when attempting to deal with excessive sulfites. This almost always occurs as an accident, when one is inattentive and adds more sulfites to the wine than is prudent. The villain then is SO2 and it can be driven out of the wine through aeration. Under these circumstances, the wine is well protected from oxidation by the excess of SO2, so the object is to drive out the excess but still leave an adequate aseptic dosage.
Another time we seemingly throw caution to the wind is when we degas a wine. The common method for home winemakers is to spin propeller-like blades with the aid of an electric drill, thereby creating agitation which knocks the absorbed CO2 out of suspension and out of the wine. In theory, the liberated CO2 forms that famous insulating blanket over the wine and protects it, but I have always had my doubts about this. That is why I degas my wine naturally. Given enough time, the CO2 will naturally find greater stability in the atmosphere. Or, if one is very careful, one can apply a weak vacuum to the ullage and force the CO2 out.
The only time I tried this was at the laboratory where I worked. I placed a 5-gallon carboy in a fume hood and inserted a vacuum intake into the hole in the bung. The entire 5 gallons of wine immediately went from deep red to the color of milk of magnesia and the escaping CO2 blew off the bung and expelled 1/3 of the wine as foam. Not only was I drenched in wine, but so was the fume hood and a good portion of the lab. I spent nearly 5 hours cleaning up my mess.
Every time we remove the airlock we threaten the wine. I personally accept the risk, but if you would rather not you can obtain a cylinder of inert gas -- argon being the most popular -- and flood the ullage with it whenever the airlock is removed. Similarly, you can flood an empty carboy with argon or CO2 before racking into it. I know several people who even fill their empty wine bottles with argon before filling them with wine. Many wineries use argon extensively when transferring wine, racking and bottling.
Invariably, any discussion of aeration and oxidation eventually works its way around to micro-oxygenation. Micro-ox has been around for 20 years, but is not widely understood well. In other words, while the number of people who understand it very well is growing, they are not widely dispersed throughout the wine industry.
Micro-ox is a process used in commercial winemaking to introduce oxygen into wine in a controlled manner aimed at mimicking the effects of slow barrel maturation in a shorter period and with greater control. Oak barrel aging allows for a slow and gentle aeration over a prolonged period during which tannins polymerize into larger molecules, which are perceived on the palate as softer. Micro-ox not only shortens the period but does it cheaper than the long-term costs associated with oak barrels. And that's about the extent of my knowledge on the subject.
But I have read enough about it to know that micro-ox is not for everyone. It is not even worth thinking about if one is not making wines from grapes suited to the process and making those wines on a large scale. In other words, it is not for the mom and pop winery and certainly far beyond the financial realms of home winemakers.
I once followed a thread in a home winemakers forum where someone had installed an aquarium pump in his storage area and had lines running to several carboys where air was pumped through aeration stones to "micro-oxygenate" his wines. I was so embarrassed for this guy that I could not make myself comment on his "method." In truth, he was adding more oxygen to his wines in 30 minutes than barrel aging would allow in 6 months. In other words, he was oxidizing his wines at a profoundly fast rate.
There are plenty of articles out there on micro-ox, but one of the best quick introductions to it was an industry seminar review back in 2007 by Alison Crowe (WineMaker magazine's "Wine Wizard"). The link to the review follows this entry and is listed as "The Role of Oxygen in Winemaking."
Crumpets, photo above from site Pham Fatale by Jacqueline Pham
I was taking a nap the other day when the doorbell rang. It was the mailman. He said, "Some one in Spain loves you, Mister Keller. They sent you two registered letters." I signed for the two envelopes and then noticed they were from the Ministerio de Interior, Dirección General de Tráfico, Jetfatura Provincial de Tráfico. I know very little Spanish, but I know enough to know that opening these envelopes was going to cost me some money.
Sure enough, inside were two official documents charging me with speeding on two occasions while in Spain. On the reverse of each were photos of my rented car, both front and rear shots with the license plates clearly readable, and a radar readout inserted with the time and date of the violation. The locations were numbered highways in Granada and Málaga. I understood enough to know I should pay the fines, which were each 100 €, and that there was a website where I could pay the fines electronically. But when I went to the site it was all in Spanish and I was lost.
I took the letters to the Pleasanton Police Department because I knew, with roughly half of Pleasanton being Hispanic, someone there could read the letters or the website. The woman I spoke to at the PPD was herself Hispanic and went to the website. She studied it a moment and then went to Google where she entered the URL of the Spanish website. Next to the name it displayed was the word "translate." Clicking that brought up the page in English.
Armed with this new procedural knowledge I returned home and went to the site. There were several places from there one could navigate to, one of which was a place to pay fines. I selected that one. It then told me I could pay with and electronic certificate or without one. I clicked the latter. The next page was in Spanish. I went to Google and entered the URL of that page but it did not offer to translate it. I tried several things that did not work and then copied the page (highlight the content and press Control + C) and pasted it into the input box on a translation website. The instructions seemed clear but in reality were not. However, I did manage to find the input page and entered the information required. In the end I paid the two fines.
A fine of 100 € equaled $137 and some change on that day. About 30 minutes after I logged off I received a phone call from my credit card company's fraud division. They wanted to know if I was in possession of my credit card and had just made two purchases in Madrid, Spain even though I was answering my home phone in Texas. I laughed and said yes and that I had and thanked them for their diligence. It's nice to know they are not just collecting fees.
I mentioned in my last blog entry that I had been contacted by an English blogger and had visited his two blogs. I mentioned that I found them utterly delightful, very funny, and as a result had even ordered his book. It arrived Monday and I have been reading it in captured moments as my plate is rather full at the moment. I am thoroughly enjoying it except for one nagging problem with terminology, which I have communicated to the author. He is fond of calling this craft "brewing" and I cringe at the very thought. Brewing involves the boiling of the wort (in beer making) or must (in mead making) but rarely enters into winemaking. Wine is "made," not "brewed."
Ben Hardy's book, Ben's Adventures in Wine Making, is very much a diary about the wines Ben has made and the circumstances surrounded their consumption. It is both humorous and enjoyable and quite easy to read. He also sort of hints at times as to how he made the wines, but included a final chapter in the book entitled "How to Actually Make the Stuff" in case anyone was in doubt.
Ben is a gifted writer and I encourage you to read his blog if not his book. After all, would you not want to read more after this introduction? "There is currently no law about the amount one may drink before playing the bassoon. This is a Good Thing." I have added Ben's blog to my blog list in the left column (scroll down). If interested in the book, I have posted his publisher's link below today's entries or just click the image of the book on the right to find it on Amazon.
Chinese Almond Cookies
When we were last in Morocco we were served an almond cookie with our warm mint tea at the conclusion of the meal. It was probably the very best almond cookie I have ever eaten. Since returning home, I have made three different batches of almond cookie searching for one that might compare. Each falls short, but one stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Don't let the long list of ingredients deter you. With the exception of the almonds and possibly the almond extract and Crisco, you probably have all the ingredients already. I had everything but the blanched and slivered almonds.
My wife likes simple recipes with few ingredients. I don't mind complex recipes with long list of ingredients as long as I don't have to drive to specialty stores in San Antonio to find them. I figure the ingredients are there for a reason and I try to understand the role each plays. I don't expect you to do this but it is a mental exercise I enjoy. This recipe is not at all complex. It takes 15-25 minutes preparation time and the cookies bake in 20 minutes. It yields about 2 dozen wonderful cookies.
3/4 cup Butter Flavored Crisco
1 cup fine sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup unsalted blanched almonds
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping:
almond slivers to top cookies
1 egg, lightly beaten to brush over cookies
1 teaspoon water
Mix together the shortening and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, almond extract and water.
In a food processor or blender, grind 3/4 cups almonds until powdery. In large bowl combine almonds, flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Mix well and add to butter/sugar mixture and mix well until all ingredients are integrated. Cover bowl and set aside 20 minutes while preheating oven to 350 degrees.
Roll the cookie dough into 1 inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets. Gently press almond slivers on top of each cookie ball. The cookies in the photo do not have the slivered almonds but should.
Mix together one egg and 1 teaspoon of water and brush over each cookie.
Bake for 20 minutes until a very light golden color. Do not over bake.
Buffalo Gourd Wine?
The late Dorothy Alatorre, in her Home Wines of North America, gives a recipe for Buffalo Gourd Wine. I happened upon a patch of buffalo melons years ago and was going to collect them (probably 40-50 of them) and follow Dorothy's recipe, but I broke one open to sample the pulp and was so offended by the smell that I left those I had harvested and never looked back. I am smarter now than I was then and know quite a bit about this plant.
The buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima), also called pie melon, coyote melon, coyote gourd, chilicote, calabazilla, Missouri gourd, wild gourd, stinking gourd, fetid gourd, and wild pumpkin, is actually a member of the cucumber family, grows 3-4 inches in diameter and turns yellow to orange when ripe. When the fruit are very young, no larger than 1 1/2 inches in diameter, they are quite edible and can be cooked like squash. At that stage they possess none of the offensive smell or extreme bitterness they attain as adults.
The plant sits atop a large tuberous root that can easily reach a foot in diameter at ground level and extend downward three feet. Like the pulp of the adult fruit, the fibers in the root contains saponins and bitter cucurbitacins which can be poisonous in quantity. The seeds of the mature gourds, harvested when the gourd has greatly but not completely dried, must be cleansed of any clinging pulp and are then roasted. They are rich in oils (25-42%) and proteins (22-35%) and have been used as a food by native Americans for at least 10,000 years. The seeds can be eaten whole or shelled. They can also be ground into a flour. Both the root and the outer shell of the fruit are sufficiently rich in saponins that they were used for hand and laundry soap as well as shampoo. The plant has many medicinal uses but should be used with extreme caution. The starchy root has been fermented experimentally to produce fuel-ethanol.
I have not attempted making wine with this fruit, not even the young, non-fetid fruit and have no intention of doing so. While I have Dorothy Alatorre's recipe for a buffalo gourd wine, I will not publish it as long as safety issues are unresolved.
Email has been prolific of late, although much of it requires no answer. This is good because I barely can find the time to read it, let alone answer it. There are exceptions, of course. I have tried to help all who have problems with their wines, although this is usually a time sink for me as the writer rarely gives me enough information initially to work out the problem. I hate having to write back asking for descriptions of that "bad smell" or "funny taste."
Then there are delightful treats in the email, like the English wine blogger from Yorkshire who simply said "hello" and left two links. Curiosity got the best of me and I sunk an hour I had not planned to give up into his musings on winemaking and writing and life. I love English humor and Ben's writings were a delight to read. In the end, I even ordered his book, which I suspect will be equally delightful to read. Please note the first two links at the bottom of today's entry.
A Friend sent me a link to the video below. It was filmed on May 11, 2011 at Copenhagen's Central Train Station and is something I would very much have enjoyed witnessing. I suspect this sentiment will be shared by most of you and thus I sincerely hope it gives you as much enjoyment as it did to me. I give you Ravel's "Bolero," performed in a "flash concert" by the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, with the musicians gradually assembling in place as the work progresses. Very uplifting....
Oh, and you show your age if, during the performance, you thought of Bo Derrick in the movie "10." I admit I did.
A Cranberry-Grape Wine
At a recent competition I entered three wines. All three placed but my slightly sweet Blanc du Bois, made from my own grapes, won Honorable Mention -- runner-up to Best of Show. While I am pleased with this showing, I actually thought my Cranberry-Grape Rosé was a better wine.
The wine was made from frozen whole cranberries, thawed, which were field blended with Champanel and Dog Ridge grapes from my back yard. Cranberry wine is magnificent by itself, reminding tasters of white Zinfandel, but it can be a little thin. To add body, I added two grapes I grow that do not produce enough grapes to make separate wines.
I have given three bottles of this wine to friends and all three raved about it. I have drank two bottles with meals and found it a perfect accompaniment to both seafood and chicken dishes. In the recipe below, you may substitute any pinkish to light red or light purple colored grape for the two varieties listed.
Thaw frozen cranberries and chop. Place in nylon straining bag and add destemmed grapes. Tie bag closed and crush grapes by hand inside primary container. Bring 2 pints water to boil, remove from heat and dissolve sugar into it thoroughly and pour over bag of fruit. Add 4 pints cold water, cover and allow to cool. When cooled to 100 degrees F., stir in yeast nutrient, acid blend and pectic enzyme. Cover primary and set aside 8 hours. Stir in finely crushed Campden tablet, recover primary and set aside another 10 hours. Add yeast in a starter solution and press down nylon bag twice daily during vigorous fermentation. When fermentation slows, press bag to extract additional juice and transfer all liquid to secondary. Attach airlock without topping up. At 30 days, rack, top up and reattach airlock. Repeat every 30 days until wine clears, adding additional finely crushed Campden tablet as needed (every 2nd or 3rd racking). When wine clears, store in cool dark location 3 months. Rack, stabilize and sweeten to taste if desired. Set aside additional 30 days to see if fermentation restarts. Bottle when proven biologically stable for 30 days. [Jack Keller's own recipe]
I have two comments about the latter part of this recipe. First, "Bottle when proven biologically stable for 30 days" is shorthand for a long explanation, but briefly you stabilize, sweeten and then wait 30 days. Shine a flashlight on the bottom of the secondary. If there is even a slight dusting on the bottom, the wine still has yeast that are dying off from the stabilizing agents and cannot be bottled yet. Hold it an additional 60 days, rack, and wait a final 30 days. Examine the bottom again for signs of yeast and proceed from there. It must be clean for 30 days to safely bottle.
The second comment is the departure from my usual "[Author's own recipe]" attribution. Many of my recipes have been ripped off and republished by people who have no respect to copyrights and even publish "[Author's own recipe]" and sometimes the same background pattern from my website. I decided to change "Author" to "Jack Keller" based on the theory that people too lazy to delete the first attribution will also be too lazy to delete the more explicit one. I am personally sick of chasing down these pirates.
A Perfect Appetizer for the Cranberry-Grape Rosé
If you read this blog often you know that I have become fascinated by tapas, those Spanish appetizers served with drinks throughout Spain but especially in Andalusia. This fascination has led me to seek out other appetizers and I wanted one that would specifically go with this wine -- my Cranberry-Grape Rosé.
Discovered on Ocean Spray's website, this is the perfect appetizer to showcase this wine. Indeed, it would go well with any cranberry-grape blend and most rosés. It is called "Sizzling Bacon-Wrapped Apricots with Cranberry Glaze" and is delicious. Again, this is Ocean Spray's recipe, not my own.
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoons water
3/4 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 slices maple-cured bacon, halved crosswise
24 dried apricots
1 1/2 cups Ocean Spray® 100% Juice Cranberry Juice Blend
Boil the cranberry juice in a medium saucepan over high heat until it is reduced to 1 cup. Whisk in the cornstarch, brown sugar, mustard and nutmeg. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 1 minute until thickened. Cool to room temperature. Reserve 1/2 cup of the glaze.
Meanwhile, line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack over foil and spray with cooking spray. Wrap bacon halves around apricots and secure with wooden pick. Brush with glaze and place on wire rack, not touching.
Broil 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until bacon is browned. Serve warm with reserved glaze for dipping or drizzling.
I was talking to a friend last night by phone and he mentioned how impossible it has become to get his wife anything for Christmas. "We long ago got everything big and impressive, things we really didn't need and are now packed away in the storage room off the garage. So we decided to limit ourselves to one or two small, inexpensive gifts, but even that has become a challenge." Both are avid winemakers and so I had a suggestion.
"What is Carol's favorite color?" I asked. "green," he answered. "Okay," I said, "go to FineVineGifts.com and get her a green wine bottle pendant and some green wine bottle earrings." About ten minutes after our conversation ended he called back to say he could not find the website. I very slowly said, "Fine Vine Gifts -- all one word -- dot com." He said, "That's the problem. I thought you said Fine Wine Gifts and that didn't work."
I don't know if he bought her these items or not, but they are nice, each piece is hand blown boronsilicate glass, and they are representative of a growing line my nephew and his son are making.
A gentleman from Iowa wrote and asked me many things, so many in fact that if I answered them all with diligence I would write a book. Instead, I picked one question to answer and suggested a few books he might search for at his library. The question I chose was, "Can you preserve a wine without using sulfites?" My answer, edited, follows and was largely pulled from an early draft of an article I recently wrote for WineMaker magazine.
The answer to the question is, you can. Just how long you can preserve it is another matter. This problem vexed winemakers for thousands of years until someone (evidence suggests the Romans) discovered that salts of bisulfite (sodium metabisulfite and potassium metabisulfite) did the trick. Before that, they relied on whatever the wine might possess that helped to preserve it. Well, it turns out there are four things in wine that naturally help preserve it. These four things are also the four pillars of balance.
The first is sugar. That which is not metabolized by yeast into alcohol and carbon dioxide is residual and shores the wine up against bone dryness. If you want a wine to age, it must have some residual sugar. The difference between a finished specific gravity of 0.988 or 0.990 and 0.996 is significant. Sugar is also a preservative. We add it to fruit and fruit juices to make jams, jellies, marmalades, compotes, etc.
The naturally important sugars in grapes, fruit and berries are sucrose and its reducing sugars, fructose and glucose. Sugars found in trace amounts are not important to fermentation, but they do contribute to residual sweetness and preservation and may include arabinose, galactose, maltose, mannose, melibiose, raffinose, sorbitol, stachyose, and/or xylose. This list is not inclusive, for there are many natural sugars.
The second is acid. Acids in wine both contribute to their tartness and have a preserving effect. Think of the many foods that can be preserved by pickling, either in an acetic acid (vinegar) brine or a salt brine in which Lactobacillus bacteria ferments to create lactic acid. The point here is not really about pickling with acetic or lactic acid, but rather that acid promotes preservation. Low acid wines simply do not age well.
The most important organic acids in grapes and fruit are tartaric, malic and citric. Tartaric acid is an important acid for lowering pH and therefore is universally found in acid blends for winemaking use. Other organic acids found in fruit in trace amounts include ?-ketoglutaric, acetic, ascorbic, caffeic, carboxylic, chlorogenic, cis-aconitic, fumaric, galacturonic, glucuronic, glutaric, glycolic, glyoxylic, isocitric, lactic, oxalacetic, oxalic, pyrrolidone, pyruvic, quinic, shikimic, and succinic. During fermentation, acetic, carbonic, lactic, pyruvic, and succinic acids can be created whether already present or not. As in discussing sugars, this list is not definitive.
There are several hundred phenolic compounds that might be present in wine. These largely affect its color, taste and mouthfeel and they evolve over time. These phenols can be broadly classified as flavonoids, such as anthocyanins and tannins, and non-flavonoids which include various phenolic acids and stilbenoids such as resveratrol and pterostilbene. The most important of these phenols for wine are the tannins. Indeed, tannins are the third pillar of balance.
Most phenols in fruit and berries are derived from the skins of the fruit and to a lesser extent the pulp, but some are extracted from the seeds and stems, if present, and some from contact with oak. All of these phenols play a vital role in maintaining the health of the plants from which they are extracted, but these various tannins are anti-oxidants and protect young wines from spoilage. Thus, they are preservative in nature. Strong, somewhat harsh tannins contribute directly to the aging potential of wine and will grow softer as the wine ages and matures.
Alcohol in not present in the base, but the yeast correct that omission and create the fourth pillar of balance. We all know that the primary alcohol in wines is ethanol, which has two carbons (CH3-CH2-OH). There are also a number of higher alcohols, which have more than two carbons and are produced either from sugars or from amino acids. There are also other alcohols primarily known for their aromas.
Some of the higher alcohols that may be found in trace amounts in wines include 3-methylbutanol (isoamyl alcohol), 2-methylbutanol (active amyl alcohol), 2-methylpropanol (isobutyl alcohol), 1-propanol (n-propyl alcohol), 1-pentanol (amyl alcohol), and 1-butanol (butyl alcohol). Some of the aroma alcohols include the above as well as furaneol, 1-hexanol, 1-phenethyl, menthol, tyrosol 2-ethanol, and many, many more with longer and longer names.
These various alcohols do not rise to the detection threshold for humans, but they do combine with specific acids to produce esters, many of which are detectable.
The inclusion of all these natural ingredients in wine have preservative effects, but combined they do not equal the effects of sulfites. Still, they help. What the winemaker needs to do is practice the very best winemaking practices -- especially minimizing the exposure of the wine to oxygen.
Fine Vine Gifts, for that something for the wine aficionado who has everything
The radio station I listen to most often (930 KLUP AM in San Antonio) plays a series called "This Week in Texas History" by Bartee Haile. If it's about Texas or a Texan anywhere in the world, it's considered Texas history. It is not only educational, but entertaining as well. This week's edition is about the Mexican Battle of the Alamo, the one that Texans won. The best way to tell this story is to tell it in Bartee Haile's own words:
"October 3, 1839. Mier, Mexico. After the loss of Texas, Santa Anna fights to stay in power. Along the Rio Grande, Mexican rebels rally to form their own nation and Texans cross the border to help.
"Today, flying the Lone Star Flag, 231 Texans join Mexican rebels to push government troops out of Mier. In hot pursuit, the rebels catch the Centralists outside of town at the Alcantro, or Alamo River. After a fierce battle lasting two days, the Centralists give in -- surrendering not to the Mexicans, but to the Texans.
"At the Battle of the Alamo River, Santa Anna's troops lost 150 men, the Texans only two.
"Texans won the Mexican Battle of the Alamo 172 years ago, this week in Texas history."
Every one of his Texas history factoids are worth knowing, and they usually cover some incident that most of us never heard of. Good stuff.
At the market the other day I saw this beautiful Muffuletta Roll for $.99. At once a Texas sized hamburger emerged in my imagination and I bought it, along with a pound of 85/15 ground beef. At home, I put the ground beef in a bowl, added 1/2 teaspoon of Tony Chatchere's Creole Seasoning, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, and began mixing, folding and kneading it by hand. I stopped twice because my hands got too cold, but managed to mix the ingredients incredibly well. I let them marinade about an hour.
Muffuletta loaves are generally about 10 inches in diameter. This roll was 6 inches across and about 1 3/4 inch thick. While heating a griddle I sliced the roll and bathed its interior with mayonnaise and Grey Poupon. Then I pressed the ground beef into a 7-inch patty and carefully transferred it to the griddle. While the patty was cooking, I covered both sides of the roll with lettuce and the bottom with three slices of a big tomato, tissue thin slices of white onoin and overlapping slices of an entire avocado. After the patty was turned and neared completion I laid two long slices of extra sharp cheddar on it and 10 seconds later placed it perfectly over the layer of avocado. Notice the quarter in the photograph to lend scale to the size of this monster.
I halved it for two meals (a very wise move). The burger, when compacted by two gripping hands, was still over 3 inches thick and took a very open mouth to get a bite. But the flavors were well integrated and it was delicious...!
Mint Wine
I happened to mention to some friends I ran into while shopping that I was enjoying this tea I brought back from Morocco after adding mint leaves to it. Tom said, "Oh, that's touareg tea, made with gunpowder green tea, mint and sugar." They asked what kind of mint I grew and I said I didn't, that I bought a bunch at the market. Well, they grow it in a planter where it is well established, so they offered me some. Sure, I could use some. About an hour after I got home the doorbell rang and there they were with a bag of mint. It was a lot of mint, but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. The moment they left I began cleaning it to make wine with. Of course, some of it was saved for tea.
They didn't say what kind of mint it is and when I called them later they confessed they didn't know. They had several kinds in small herb pots but after their first winter they died back and they thought that was that. They used some of the soil, root balls and all, from one pot to help fill a planter and were surprised when mint grew up in a clump. They guess that the other root balls were too deep in the planter to resurface the following spring. That's when they learned it is not an annual, as they had thought. It has since taken over the planter, crowding out whatever else they try planting with it.
Basil, catnip, oregano, rosemary and sage are all related by belonging to the same taxonomic family, . Within the family is the tribe Mentheae, containing between 60 and 70 genera, one of which is Mentha. Taxonomists differ widely in the number of species in the genus, but I think most agree it is more than a dozen but less than two dozen. Of course, there are hundreds of hybrids and cultivars. The two with the widest use in flavorings and aromatics are Peppermint (M. piperita) and Spearmint (M. spicata).
The following recipe is one I have used for years. It differs from the one I published on my site in the Requested Recipes section in that here I add white grape juice concentrate for body and other ingredients are adjusted. I prefer this recipe to that one. You can make this wine with any mint, although Horse Mint (,i>M. longifolia, M. sylvestris) is questionable and Pennyroyal (M. pulegium) contains pulegone, a powerful toxin. The North American native plant American or False Pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) could be used but is not as pleasant as real mint.
Mint Wine Recipe
1 qt loosely packed mint leaves
1 lb 12 oz finely granulated sugar
1 can (11.5 oz) 100% white grape juice frozen concentrate
6 3/4 pts water
1 1/2 tsp acid blend
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/4 tsp tannin
Champagne wine yeast
Wash mint leaves well and place in small pot with lid. In another pot or kettle, bring water to a boil and pour approximately 1/4 of it over mint leaves. Bring mint water to a simmer, remove from heat and steep one hour, covered. Meanwhile, begin a yeast starter. Stir the sugar in remaining water until thoroughly dissolved and allow to cool. Strain liquid from mint into primary and add the sugar-water and all additional ingredients except yeast. Cover primary and allow to continue cooling until room temperature. When water is at room temperature, add yeast starter solution. Ferment 7 days, rack into secondary, top up and fit airlock. Rack again after 30 days and again 3 months after that. Stabilize, sweeten to taste and set aside an additional 30 days. Rack into bottles. Age in a dark place for at LEAST a year before drinking. Serve chilled. [Author's own recipe]
You can't please everyone. I received two emails at the same time both praising and criticizing my reminisces about our trip to Spain. Life offers us countless opportunities to learn something or simply be amazed. When either of those occur to me, I am apt to mention them here. It is, after all, my venue. That some occurred the last place I visited is reasonable, whether it be Spain, Kaua'i or Minnesota.
A similar criticism occurs after I post a recipe for barbecue sauce, jelly, pies, tapas or whatever edible. I am urged to keep the focus on winemaking. But for each criticism I usually receive two or more later on that report having used the recipe, having stunning results and thanking me for posting it. I intend to continue as I have, so do as The Eagles suggested and "get over it."
Food is a huge part of life and we ate out frequently in Spain and Morocco. Here, the four of us (Mick Gough, Barbara Garner, Donna Keller, me) had just finished with morning refreshments at Ronda. I can't tell you what we ate, but we were disappointed in very few things we tried -- and we went for variety. An exception was a place in Fuengirola. Mick and Donna each ordered hamburgers and both were very dissatisfied. The meat was a homogeneous, processed patty rather than ground beef particles pressed into a patty, and they put an egg in it, which is common in Spain but unexpected by us. The meat, if it was meat (we theorized it was soy bean or some other substitute and the egg is added for added protein) was tough to bite through, tasteless and resisted chewing. I ordered something whose name and menu description bore no resemblance to what was served. I do not recall what my sister ordered, but we were all dissatisfied with the meals. The tapas, on the other hand, were served with our beers and were delicious and free, and the waitresses, while speaking no English, tried hard to make our time there enjoyable. I left a tip for her efforts, not the food.
This experience in no way deterred our culinary experimentation. We had an absolutely delightful meal with extraordinarily large servings at an Italian place in Sitio de Calahonda. This Cous Cous platter (left) in Tangiers was very enjoyable with the topping of cabbage, tomatoes, sweet chiles, potatoes, parsnips, and chickpeas. During our day walks through quaint streets and historic structures, we stopped often for warm tea or a coffee and pastry, for ice cream during the hot afternoons, or for beer and tapas whenever thirst was not in a coffee mood. The whole idea of going there is to be there, and how better to be there than to relax at a sidewalk table, enjoy a snack, and take in the people and sights.
Those who have visited Europe, but especially along the Mediterranean, know that the coffee they drink is quite different than the coffee we drink. Their pedestrian coffee is akin to what we would call espresso, and their espresso is, well, thicker than you can imagine. It will certainly wake you up in the morning or after your siesta. If you want a less substantial cup of coffee, you order Café Americano, which is their weakest coffee and still probably stronger than any coffee you've had before. It was so strong that we typically ordered it con leche (with milk), and some establishments foamed the milk as in cappuccino. I have to admit that two or three of the best cups of coffee I've ever had were Café Americano con leche in Spain.
To the right, bad picture but great meal at Castell de Ferro, a dozen or so miles east of Motril on the coast. I love the unusual, and this place had it. It included two slices of fried pork, chunks of warm, smoked ham, a chorizo sausage, a blood sausage, a fried egg, French fries (they call them chips), and a wonderful giant, roasted, green chile. The fries were covered with a yellowish-orange sauce I could not identify, but was very tasty. The roasted chile was perfect.
Meals like this were actually commonplace, as was the ever-present paella. There are many kinds of Paella, but in Andalusia they almost always contain seafood. The origins of paella are well known, having originated near Lake Albufera at Valencia. Valencian paella includes most of the following: short-grain white rice, chicken, rabbit, snails (optional), duck (optional), butter beans, great northern beans, runner beans, artichoke (a substitute for runner beans in the winter), tomatoes, fresh rosemary, sweet paprika, saffron, garlic (optional), salt, olive oil and water. Seafood paella is also Valencian in origin and replaces the meat and beans with a variety of seafood -- clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari, octopus, eel, and pieces of fish. Outside of Valencia, many other ingredients -- sausage, pork, beef tips, lamb, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, various chiles -- found their way into paella and this is called mixed paella. We had some terrible, pre-frozen, packaged paella (at Mijas), but also some fantastic fare elsewhere.
We do not recall from previous trips the ubiquitous use of the fried egg in meals. We saw this so often that we joked about it. By consensus, we believed that this is done to add protein to the diet. Whether this is an established custom, a regional accompaniment or a recent development I cannot say, but none of us who had visited Spain before remembered a fried egg in so many dishes -- on some menus it was in 90% of the main dishes. One egg dish we did recall, however, was huevos rotas or "broken eggs." This incredibly simple dish of fried potatoes and onions topped with lightly sautéed chorizo sausage and scrambled eggs, is on the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is usually served as stated but may be accompanied by a single steamed or stewed vegetable. It was always a simple, hardy and inexpensive meal.
Ice Cream Filled Oranges
While on our vacation in Spain we discovered a dreamily divine treat (the credit goes to my sister, Barbara). Available in almost every supermarket we shopped in along the Costa del Sol, we bought ice cream filled oranges as a novelty. But after we ate our purchase back at the resort, we were snapping at the bits to buy some more -- and we did. Creamy and delicious would be understatements but nonetheless accurate. My wife, ever analytical when it comes to "delicious," quickly figured out how to make this treat.
The obvious part is the orange -- almost softball sized, thick-skinned oranges -- they had their tops removed (stem scar at the top) and innards scooped out. The hollowed shells were probably then frozen and filled with a softened, orange-flavored, creamy ice cream. The ice cream did not resemble most orange ice cream any of us had experienced. It was very lightly orange colored, mildly flavored, very creamy, without crystals, and did not freeze very hard even though we had some of them in the freezer for several days.
My wife speculated that the pulp removed from the oranges could be juiced and a portion of the juice filtered and used to flavor a softened vanilla ice cream. That would then be placed inside the frozen shells. It is obvious the oranges were filled with a softened ice cream, the tops placed back from where they had been removed, and then the whole thing frozen solid and packaged in a cellophane wrapper.
I'm not questioning my wife, but I did quite a bit of research on how to make an ice cream that didn't freeze hard as granite. I came up with three approaches and one imperative. The imperative first: do not set your freezer colder than 0 degrees F. Ice and frozen water undergo a fundamental physical change at -12 degrees (which is the factory setting for most freezers) and the individual ice crystals grow together into a solid mass. The three approaches are: (1) use corn syrup instead of sugar when making the ice cream (but reduce liquid elsewhere by half the measure of the corn syrup), (2) add alcohol when making the ice cream, and (3) whip the ice cream to get air into it and "fluff it up." Well, all the reading led to reading quite a few recipes for homemade ice cream and one was for orange and had great reviews.
I applied the softer ice cream knowledge I gained to that recipe and came up with one of my own. We have a Cuisinart 2-quart ice cream maker with which you freeze the bucket and chill the ingredients and it is guaranteed to make ice cream in about 20-25 minutes. I thought some of you with the freezer style ice cream makers might enjoy making your own too. My recipe maintained the creamy consistency I was looking for after three days in the freezer, but it takes longer than three days after resetting the thermostat in a freezer for it to warm up to 0 degrees from -17 F. Indeed, after 3 days it is only up to -12. However, despite the low temperature the corn syrup, orange liqueur and vanilla extract (contains alcohol) all helped to keep the ice cream from freezing rock hard. It is still easily spoonable.
Homemade Orange Ice Cream
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 3/4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (strain to remove pulp)
1/2 cup clear corn syrup
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In a large bowl combine all the ingredients. Cover and place in the refrigerator until completely cold (several hours or overnight).
Transfer the mixture to the freezer stored container of your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mine was done in 20 minutes.
Once made, spoon-fill four frozen orange shells. If any ice cream remains unused, eat it or pack into a chilled container and store in the freezer. Preparation time is 30 minutes.
Orange Ice Cream: An Alternative
My wife thought it would be easier to buy a quart of good vanilla ice cream, let it soften a while, move it to a bowl, and mix some of the orange juice from the hollowed oranges (filtered, of course) into the ice cream. As in my recipe, the orange liqueur could be added as well to discourage the ice cream from setting up too hard. If the mixing were done with an electric mixer, it just might introduce enough air to "fluff it up."
I have not tested her idea, but suspect she will. The orange juice should thin the ice cream, but the added water could turn into ice crystals in the freezer and lead to grainy ice cream. The liqueur, however, might counter that. I can't say until it is tried, but I know my ice cream is creamy, smooth and buttery rich.
Ice Cream Filled Oranges -- Post Mortem
Well, 30 minutes total preparation time is about right for the ice cream even if spread out over two days (assembling, measuring and mixing and ingredients one day and making the ice cream the next). I think 40-45 minutes about right for making the ice cream and filling the frozen orange shells, but making the ice cream and filling the shells are just the final steps among several.
I did some serious shopping for the right oranges. I suspect the oranges used in Spain were a thick-skinned, Spanish cultivar, possibly seeded. I went to four different supermarkets, two known for their produce variety, and the only thick-skinned oranges I could find were navels. I went through the better part of a whole bin and finally came up with five navel oranges (I needed four and bought an extra for insurance) with no perceptible navel that were also the right size, color and shape I wanted. The reason the absence of a navel is important is because the navel protrudes up into the orange and the ideal is that the bottom be round and smooth, not marred by a protruding lump.
I could have shortened the process considerably had I made the decision to turn the orange upside down and cut off the bottom rather than the top. Next time I may do it that way, but this time I wanted them to look the way they did in Spain.
Scooping out the innards is much easier said than done. The first orange I did was the most difficult because I sliced off the top a bit too close to the top and that did not leave a very big hole to work with. I used a spoon and a paring knife to very carefully remove the insides. The paring knife was used to cut down into the flesh and make it easier to remove. A grapefruit knife or spoon may have worked better but we lost ours somewhere over the years. That fact remains that you need to cut the flesh with something in order to remove it as the girth of the flesh is wider than the opening it has to be extracted through. Once the majority of the flesh is out, it is easy to use the spoon to separate the pith from the skin and clean the shell.
My wife and I both thought of sharpening the edge of the spoon to make it a better tool, but I really didn't want to go through the trouble when she suggested it. She also thought of those tools used to scrape the insides of a pumpkin, but this suggestion came too late. Between now and next time I make these, I will buy or create a tool to help me do the job better. I will look at grapefruit knives (my sister used a grapefruit spoon and I thing that would be better) and pumpkin scrapers, but I like the curvature of the spoon. If I can find a thin, shallow spoon that is strong enough not to bend, I just might sharpen it for making more of these wonderful treats. Oh, and the oranges currently filled with ice cream will be cleaned and recycled for refilling in the future.
The fact that you do not see a navel at the bottom of a naval orange does not mean that there isn't one. Each of the oranges I hollowed out had the distinctive protrusion of the navel inside at its apex. The navel in a navel orange is actually the growth of another orange trying to grow inside the first. It is a natural mutation that first was noted on a sport of a Selecta Orange tree in the courtyard of a monastery near Bahia, Brazil in the second decade of the 19th century. Almost all navel orange trees are clones of the original sport that produced the first navel orange. Cuttings from that sport were grafted onto common rootstock and transplanted to Australia, Florida and eventually the University of California at Riverside, where it was propagated through grafting on a scale unheard of previously. There have been other navel sports since that first, but the first is now well established worldwide.
Dealing with the navel protrusions was difficult. I was able to gradually scrape away the bulk of the protrusion in each orange but one, and that one ripped around the base of the protrusion and ruined it (glad I bought a fifth). I think slicing the cap off from the navel end just might be the best way to do this. I wish I could find the right oranges, but I have only seen oranges similar to the ones we had in Spain once before, and that was over 47-48 years ago when I was a teenager in California. They were thick-skinned, easily peelable, and sweet and seeded like a Valencia. I never saw them again. I do wish they would reappear.
The chunks of flesh I removed from the oranges, and the juice, were saved in a bowl and mixed with Jello for another delicious treat. You may use it in a fruit salad or however you wish.
Dandelion Mead
Shaun Thompson wrote that he had read my blog entry of May 31, 2011 about dandelion mead and the absence of dandelion honey and wanted me to know where to get some. I went to the web site he provided and immediately placed an order for 15 pounds of raw, unprocessed dandelion honey. Yesterday I started a 5-gallon batch of dandelion mead.
If you go back and read my post of May 31st, you will see that I quote two sources as claiming that there is plenty of pollen but not enough nectar in dandelions to produce honey, so I have to wonder about the honey I paid so dearly for. But that is for another day. Today the must is showing signs of fermentation and that means mead, whatever else it might be.
In case you are interested in making this mead, you can order the honey from Midwest Supplies at $23.99 for 5-pound lots. You will need three of these for the following recipe.
15 pounds dandelion honey
4 gallons water
3 teaspoons acid blend
2 teaspoons yeast nutrient
1 teaspoon yeast energizer
1 sachet Unican Sauternes wine yeast
Since this is raw honey one should expect it to be quite "dirty". In previous years I would have boiled it to bring the impurities out with the foam, but I am a believer in Ken Schramm's admonition that boiling the honey destroys its aromatic qualities. I will therefore sacrifice time for aroma and not boil the honey. I did have to put each tub of honey in the microwave for 4 minutes to get it out of the tub -- it was crystallized solid in each one. A large serving spoon helped extract the honey from the tub (the microwave only liquefies the honey around the edges of the tubs). However, I am getting ahead of myself.
First, measure one gallon of water and pour it into a 3-gallon or larger stainless steel stock pot (do not use iron, copper or aluminum or you will get a metallic haze you cannot get rid of without heroic effort). Bring this water to a boil on high heat and keep it there for 10 minutes. Take it off the heat and immediately transfer the honey to the water in stages, being careful not to allow the crystallized mass to fall in and splash scalding water all over you. Yse a large spoon to bring out the crystallized honey a bit at a time. As soon as all of the honey is in the pot clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot and stir the water slowly to help dissolve the honey. You can remove a half cup to a cup of the water and use it to dissolve the honey still in the tubs. Check the temperature. You want it above 150 degrees F. Set your timer for 10 minutes. If between 140 and 150 degrees F., set your timer for 25 minutes. If below 140 degrees (possible in Denver) apply heat to the pot to achieve 140 but stir it frequently to prevent scalding (caramelizing) the honey.
Meanwhile, place 3 gallons of cold water in you primary and dissolve into it the acid blend, yeast nutrient and yeast energizer. On the side begin a yeast starter with 1/4 cup of the honey water, 1/4 cup of apple juice, orange juice or white grape juice, and a pinch of yeast nutrient. When the timer goes off, transfer the honey water to the primary. If you pour it, be very careful and have 2-3 wet towels standing by just in case. I racked it until there was less than a pint left and poured that. Cover the primary and wait 12 hours, during which you add 1/2 cup of the must to the yeast starter every 2-3 hours. After 12 hours, stir the yeast starter into the must and recover the primary.
Allow the vigorous fermentation to subside and transfer to a secondary, top up and attach an airlock. Fermentation may resume after transfer. Wait 30 days if no renewed fermentation, 60 days if renewed, and rack. Rack every 6-8 weeks until clear and no sediment drops, then stabilize and bottle. May sweeten to taste if desired. Meads need to age. Give it at least 6 months, but should improve with time. [Author's own recipe]
The news cut like a knife. He was young -- only 56 -- yet his name graced my presence since 1976, when a friend invited me over to show me his Apple computer and excitedly told me everything he knew about Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. He knew a lot. Over the years, I too learned a lot. This single line from apple.com sums it all up beautifully: "Apple has lost a visionary and the world has lost an amazing human being."
What I have learned about Wozniak and Jobs over the years, much from my brother Barry and most of the rest from readings and oral passings, could fill a book. I just don't know how much of it is true. Stories seem to attach themselves to the Steve Jobs persona. He learned wherever there was something to learn, appropriated good ideas when he heard them or saw their fruit, and peered into a future that few ever imagined. Whatever he founded did well -- Apple, NeXT and Pixar. If a product has a small "i" in front of its name, Steve Jobs probably conceived of it and ushered it into existence. As Bill Gates said, "The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come."
Go read about the man. Start with any two of the References following the Wikipedia entry (see links following this entry). Then mourn the loss all over again.
Olives
When I think of Spain with my stomach, I think of olives, tapas, paella, and wine, pretty much in that order. Olives are everywhere in Spain and the country produces 1/3 of the world's olives. The trees, with their pale green leaves, are easily spotted from great distances and on some of our drives we passed olive orchards for 10-, 20- and 30-kilometer stretches. In other parts of Spain the stretches could easily have been longer. With olives, I have a fondness for both seeing and eating.
An aside about this olive tree in Marbella. The gnarly, well pruned base was about 3 1/2 feet in diameter and the tree was absolutely loaded with olives. I have no idea of its age but it could easily be centuries old. An olive tree in Athens, Greece was said to be approximately 2,400 years old when a bus accident uprooted it in 1975. At least seven ancient olive trees in Israel, still producing fruit, have been proved to be over 3,000 years old and an even older tree is located in Sardinia, Italy.
My sister introduced us early on to buttery Mantequilla olives, those vividly green, minimally processed delights, sometimes canned with a little fennel in the jar. We snacked on them indiscriminately, but they are especially good with a little sheep's milk cheese. Mantequillas are usually processed seed-in, and the seeds slow down the eating and discourage one from eating too many.
Olives are everywhere. The picture at the left, of olives and pickled vegetables on display right next to the sidewalk, is a frequent sight. The largest display of olives I have ever seen was in the huge Mercado Central in Valencia some 16 years ago and put this one to shame. Can you imagine a huge stall with perhaps 40 feet of frontage and with nothing in it but bin after bin after bin of olives -- every size, every color, every type, every variety? It made a lasting impression on me, I can assure you, and it was one of many stalls selling olives.
Whenever we lost my sister in a supermarket, we could usually find her at the olive aisle. This one was not that impressive, but some are like the cereal aisle in an American supermarket. I, on the other hand, could be found perusing the fresh fruit, the cheeses and the wines. Since we prepared about half of our meals in our apartment, we did a lot of shopping.
We remembered from previous visits that food could be expensive, so we mixed supermarket shopping with shopping at many of the open air markets found all over the Old World. Common sense tells you that if the average Spaniard can afford to eat, the bargains are out there. You just have to find them. In the open air markets, where prices are not posted, you are expected the haggle after they supply the answer to, "How much?"
We supplemented local fare with packaged, freeze-dried entrées from Wise Foods that I lugged over in my suitcase. Designed for camping trips or emergency meals, they are simple, ample and delicious. You open the pouch, pour in 2 cups of boiling water, stir it well, close the ziplock pouch, and stand it upright while you prepare vegetables and a salad. Each pouch serves two and I brought enough for six meals for four people. Total weight was 4.5 pounds and they really did not take up much room. We had Savory Stroganoff, Cheesy Lasagna, Creamy Pasta and Vegetable Rotini, Teriyaki and Rice, Pasta Alfredo, and Chili Macaroni. These were easy to prepare (what could be simpler than boiling water?) after long days on the go when we did not eat out.
Kousa (Japanese Dogwood) Wine
A gentleman asked if I had ever made wine from the fruit of the Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa), also known as the Japanese Dogwood (with subspecies Chinese Dogwood also prominent). In truth, I have not, but I have wanted to. I have tasted the fruit from two different trees. One was almost juiceless and had little appealing flavor, but the other was very juicy and tasty. Both trees were growing side-by-side, so there is definitely a difference in fruit from tree to tree. I just have not been able to obtain fruit with which to attempt it. But if I had the fruit, I know exactly how I would go about making Kousa wine. Maybe the emailer, or even you, will try it and let me know how it turns out.
For those unfamiliar with this tree by name, you may still have seen it as it is frequently planted as a landscape tree.. It is a very showy tree, growing as high as 37 feet, that flowers in late spring about a month after the common American or Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida). The white to slightly pink flowers are actually bracts, spread open below the small cluster of inconspicuous yellow-green flowers. Unlike the American Dogwood, the Kousa Dogwood's bracts' tips are pointed rather than rounded.
Kousa fruit are actually berries, round, pinkish-orange to a more common red, and compound, growing 3/4 to 1 1/4 inch in diameter. The internal segments contain a yellowish-orange pulp, juice and a seed. In the drier fruit I sampled, there was more pulp and less juice, the pulp was firm but yielding and the taste was not memorable. The juicier ones had a soft, squishy, almost custard-like pulp and plenty of juice. I honestly cannot recall the exact taste but think it was sweet and slightly citric. I think at the time (this was 18 years ago) I said it reminded me of both strawberry and mango. I tasted them while visiting a friend in Shreveport in October and they were at the end of their fruiting season.
The skin of the berry appears tough but is not. One can easily pull it apart or simply pinch it at one end (here I'm talking about the juicer ones) to break the skin and then squeeze it to expel most of the goodness within. If I had 8 pounds of fruit to work with, I would divide it into 2 equal portions and make two batches of wine to see which was better. One batch would be made with berries torn or cut in half, encased in a nylon straining bag, and crushed. I would ferment this batch on the skins. The second batch would be made with just the insides of the berries. I would simply squeeze the insides into a bowl, pour the mess into a nylon straining bag, and ferment with some grape tannin.
Since the actual chemistry of the berry is a mystery to me, I would dissolve a teaspoon of pectic enzyme in 6 pints of water and pour this over the fruit in the primary. After 12 hours I would hand press the bag a few times to get the juice out and then measure the specific gravity, calculate how much sugar to add and the add it. After chaptalizing the must I would measure the TA and pH to determine what to do, if anything, about acid. I suspect the dominant acid is citric but this is from a very old memory. In any case, I would probably like a 5.5-6.5 g/L titratable acidity with a pH of 3.4 or below. For the batch with the skins intact, I would sulfite, wait an additional 12 hours, add yeast nutrients, and probably use a general purpose yeast like Champagne, Premier Curvee or Prisse de Mousse (Lalvin EC-1118).
I think these berries would make a good wine. However, I am aware that not all Kousa Dogwood bear the same quality fruit. My friend in Shreveport is not a winemaker, but his wife makes jelly from the fruit of the "good" tree. I have heard others say the fruit is unremarkable while still others have the same favorable opinion as I do. If you like the taste, get a bucket and harvest them. If you don't, try another tree and another until you find the one that is good. You will know it when you taste it.
I brought a handful of seeds back from Shreveport one year and got 3 to germinate in this south Texas heat, but they did not survive the summer. Either they did not like the alkaline sandy soil, the sparseness of humidity or the 100 degrees F. heat -- or a combination thereof.
If any of you try making wine with Kousa berries, please let me know how it turned out and what exactly you did. I am very curious.
After dining in Tangiers, Morocco two weeks ago, my wife and I were served a delicious, warm mint tea as a digestive. I discretely inquired where one might acquire some of the tea and was told "at a herbarium." In my lexicon a herbarium is a botanical museum, where botanical specimens are catalogued, mounted and stored for reference, so I must have put on a quizzical face. The gentleman (our guide) leaned forward and quietly said, "I will take you to one if time permits." Time permitted and I purchased three boxes of La Caravan brand gunpowder style mint tea. I bought it to make tea (I am drinking it now), but as the days pass the thought of mint tea wine whirl through my head. I will have to weigh this carefully. Oh, and in the Moroccan lexicon a herbarium is a shop where herbs and herbal remedies are sold. They did a brisk business in remedies against aging, wrinkles and baggy eyes.
In Spain we resumed our quest for the best tapas. We had abandoned this quest when we had previously left the country, but now the game was back on! Tapas are the collective name of small, delicious mouthfuls of something savory that are served with beer, white wine, sangria or sherry. The word "tapa" is Spanish for "lid," and acquired its culinary meaning when a Spanish innkeeper placed a slice of bread over a customer's glass of wine or beer to keep flies away from the drink between sips. In Andalusia someone came up with the idea of placing something tasty on top of the bread to nibble on -- a few cubes of cheese or ham, a few olives or almonds -- and a new Spanish innovation was born. When we first visited Spain 16 years ago there were free tapas almost everywhere we went, but even then "Tapa Bars" were common. Today they are a business, but free tapas are still widely customary.
Tapa bars have a display of tapas for sale. No one is required to buy these and if you don't you will still (usually) be served a small platter (this has replaced the slice of bread) of tasty little morsels. The free ones are relatively simple -- fried potato wedges sprinkled with paprika or curry powder, unpitted olives and pickle slices, or at fancier places, perhaps pitted olives stuffed with blanched almonds, anchovy pieces, twists of chile peppers or tiny pickles. It depends on the price of the drink....
We enjoyed many tapas, usually with beer while resting the feet. Most were potato based and we enjoyed the powdered wedges described above as well as fried wedges or thick chips with a small helping of garlic, pimento or cheese sauce. We also enjoyed small cubes of fresh fruit -- pear, mango, melon and quartered figs. An unusual serving was a small plate with sliced figs dribbled with olive oil and crumbled bleu cheese. You really never knew when you walked in what you might have with your beer.
We did not buy many tapas, but I am a sucker for meat balls (they might display four kinds), or fava beans mixed with seafood (clams, shrimp, calamari, crab), and for any of the tortilla wedges on display. Tortilla, in Andalusia, is a thin baked pie, similar to but less substantial than a quiche, that may contain cubed or wedged waxed potatoes, chorizo, mushrooms and spinach, ham, chiles, scallions, always cheese and egg, and any number of other ingredients. The tortilla espanola was our collective favorite, although no two were quite the same.
Runaway Fermentation
I had many emails waiting for me when we returned from Southern Spain and Morocco. Obviously, these people did not read my September 9th blog entry saying I was leaving on vacation, but time was not critical for most that were inquiries. One, however, was very time sensitive and the critical window had already closed. Already two weeks old when I read it, it said, "My brother is making elderberry wine and has a runaway fermentation. How can he stop it?" My much-edited reply is as follows, along with a list of 13 yeasts that would have served his brother well.
My answer was far too late to help, but a runaway fermentation is one that is supposed to stop at a certain point and does not. Invariably, the cause is the use of the wrong yeast. In this case, the brother wished to produce a semi-sweet elderberry wine with14% alcohol and 2.2% residual sugar. He chaptalized the must to a specific gravity of 1.120. If he used a yeast that dies off at 14% alcohol by volume he would accomplish his mission. But he selected Lalvin's RC212, with an alcohol reach of 14-16% and took a chance that he lost. He gambled the yeast would stop at 14% and it didn't so he had a runaway fermentation. I know of 13 yeast strains that will die off at 14% alcohol and dozens that will not. The baker's dozen that will are:
Red Star Côte des Blancs is considered a 13% strain but will go to 14% with good nutrients
Red Star Montrachet is also a 13% strain but will stretch to 14% occasionally
Lalvin 71B-1122 is a reliable 14% strain
Lalvin AC stops at 14%
Lalvin CSM predictably stops at 14%
Lalvin ICV-D47 will go to 14% if supplemented with a nitrogen-rich nutrient
Lalvin MO5 will achieve 14% with good nutrition and oxygen addition
Lalvin Simi-White can achieve 14% with the right nutrients
Lalvin T303 reaches 14% with the right nutrients
Lalvin W27 is a wonderful strain requiring some nitrogen whose alcohol toxicity is 14%
Lalvin W46 is a dominator strain with a 14% ceiling
White Labs Steinberg-Geisenheim stops at 14%
White Labs Chardonnay White has a 14% alcohol ceiling
In the above case the yeast died out at 16% alcohol and I recommended that the brother stabilize the wine and let it clear before adding more sugar to get that 2.2% residual sugar.
As for the question, "How do you stop a runaway fermentation?" you don't. Yeast are extremely difficult to "kill." Like all life, they prefer to continue living and are tough to kill.
For over 40 years I have heard uninformed people say you can "kill" yeast by adding potassium metabisulfite. You can, but it would take so much potassium metabisulfite that the wine would be undrinkable. Either these people misunderstand the reasons for adding sulfites to crushed grape musts (to "stun" wild yeast long enough for cultured wine yeast to get so established that they crowd out the wild strains) or misunderstand the purpose of using potassium metabisulfite with potassium sorbate in stabilizing a wine (to prevent malolactic fermentation from starting up after bottling). Because sulfites are so essential in modern winemaking, wine strains selected for culture must have very good sulfite tolerance.
Forget trying to stop an active fermentation. Select the correct yeast, give it the right nutrition, and nature will take care of the rest. One word of warning. If you use a yeast that ferments to a higher level than you chaptalize for, do not sweeten the finished wine without stabilizing and allowing enough time for the yeast to die off.
Many Uses for Rosehips
Avid readers of this blog know that I am a big fan of the rose. I make rose petal wine annually and have folded the delicate, aromatic petals into cake and muffin batter, bread dough, omelettes, and cut them into thin strips to adorn salads and ice cream. I have posted instructions for making rose water and intend to address rose leaves one day, but today I will focus on the seed pod of the rose, the rosehip. Rosehips have a taste unique unto themselves -- tangy, yet sweet. I offer three recipes for rosehip tea, jelly and wine that capture this wonderful flavor.
The rosehip is rich in vitamin C and in a form easily absorbed by the body. Dried and crushed, it will easily last until the next crop is ready for harvest. The crushed rosehips are best shaken over a sieve of 1/8-inch hardware screen to allow the seeds to be separated and discarded. The orange to cardinal to brick red shells are all you are really after, and the seeds are actually an irritant when dried and ground into an itching powder for pranksters.
Rosehip tea was once the autumn tonic for warding off colds and other winter infirmaries, while rosehip syrup carried the medicinal attributes far into the coming seasons. Rosehip jelly is a rarity today but once was quite common. But by far my favorite use of rosehips is in making wine.
Rosehip Tea
There are many ways to make rosehip tea, but they come down to choosing to use fresh or dried rosehips and whether you boil the rosehips or not. Fresh rosehips deliver more vitamin C, but boiling them destroys most of it. The following instructions should yield the highest amount of vitamin C along with a fantastic intensity of flavor.
1 cup fresh, whole rosehips
1 quart water
Put the water on to boil. Meanwhile, rub off the blossom and stem and cut the rosehips in half lengthwise. Use the time left to scoop out and discard as many seeds as time permits. When water boils, remove from heat and cover the pot or pan the water is in. Continue removing and discarding seeds. When water has cooled 15 minutes, add to it all rosehip halves. Re-cover the pot and let steep 30 minutes. Line a strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth and pour the rosehips and water through the strainer, retaining water. Gather the cheesecloth and squeeze as well as you can to express juice. Add juice to water, tie cheesecloth closed with twine and place it in the rosehip water. After 3 minutes extract the cheesecloth and squeeze again. Repeat this latter procedure at least one more time. The tea is now made. You may warm it before serving, but do not approach a boil. I place the squeezed rosehips in a ZipLoc bag and freeze them for later use in making wine. [Author's own recipe]
Rosehip Jelly
Again, there are many ways to make this. I like to use Certo Liquid Pectin and so have developed this recipe using that product. I do not believe it converts 1:1 to dry pectin, so get the liquid if you make this. Rosehip jelly has a wonderful flavor and will become a favorite.
The most boring (but certainly not difficult) part of the jelly-making process is de-seeding the rosehips. I suggest in the recipe that you simply do it while watching the news or a favorite TV program. I follow this procedure when plucking the petals from dandelions for dandelion wine and it takes the tedium out of the process.
8 cups fresh, whole rosehips
4 cups water
1 box (2 pouches) Certo liquid pectin
juice of 3 lemons
1/2 teaspoon butter or margarine
7 cups sugar
Sit down in front of your TV with a tray, cutting board and bowls and halve and deseed the rose hips while watching the news. When done, put rosehips in pan and add water. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Line a strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth and pour the rosehips and water through the strainer, retaining water. Gather the cheesecloth and squeeze as well as you can to express juice. Add juice to water, tie cheesecloth closed with twine and place it in the rosehip water. After 3 minutes extract the cheesecloth and squeeze again. Repeat this latter procedure at least one more time. If needed, adjust rosehip water to exactly 4 cups. Add both pouches of Certo and bring to a rolling boil. Add juice of 3 lemons, sugar, and butter to prevent foam from forming. Bring to a hard boil and hold for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and ladle into sterilized jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe mouth of jars with clean damp cloth, seal with lids and rings to finger tightness, and process in hot bath for 10 minutes. Will yield about 8 cups. [Author's own recipe]
Rosehip Wine
Rosehip wine is considered by some to be second in quality only to grape wines. Others may feel less strongly about it, but all agree that a good, mature rosehip wine is very good indeed. Pick 3 to 3-1/2 pounds of rosehips per gallon of wine. The bottled wine must age at LEAST two years to mature to its potential. Young rosehip wine will be almost undrinkable.
Rosehip wine requires a lot of fresh rosehips. When I lived in Colorado I could gather enough wild rosehips for a gallon of wine on a 2-hour walk through the foothills above Boulder or up any of the broader Front Range valleys. Today I have to harvest garden rose bushes or buy dried rosehips. The advantage of the latter is that they have been crushed and deseeded and it takes a lot less to make the wine. The following recipe uses strictly dried, deseeded rosehips, which can be purchased in bulk at any health food store.
12 ozs of dried, deseeded rosehips
2-1/2 lbs finely granulated sugar
7 pts water
1 tsp acid blend
1 finely crushed and dissolved Campden Tablet
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Montrachet wine yeast
Rinse and soak dried rosehips in water overnight. Strain rosehips into nylon straining bag, saving water, tie closed and put bag in primary container. Put sugar in saved water and set on stove to boil. Stir to dissolve completely and when boiling pour over bag in primary. Cover primary and set aside to cool. When at room temperature, add crushed and dissolved Campden Tablet, acid blend and yeast nutrient. Recover and set aside 12 hours. Add yeast. Stir and squeeze the bag twice daily for 8-10 days. Drain and squeeze bag to extract maximum flavor. Transfer liquid to secondary. Fit airlock and set in dark place for 2 months. Rack, top up and refit airlock. Return to dark place and rack again, top up and refit airlock after additional 2 months. When clear, stabilize wine and sweeten to taste if desired. Wait 30 days and check for renewed fermentation. If none, rack into bottles. If refermentation is evident, wait 90 days and carefully rack into bottles. Age an additional two years in a dark, cool place. It will be worth the wait. [Author's own recipe]
We are back from our two weeks in Southern Spain and trying to pick up where we left off. Not easy, but doable. Just slow.
I want to thank all of you who visited my nephew Tim and his son Mason's website, Fine Vine Gifts, in Austin, Texas. Some of you made purchases I know you will be pleased with. Some did not but that is expected. Thank you all for your support or simple curiosity. Tim and Mason were thrilled by your visitations.
By the way, having done the dollar to euro conversion many times in Spain these past two weeks, I am much more appreciative of the prices of goods here in good old America (and Canada). If the rising prices of food, gasoline and drinks cause you pain during these economically difficult times, I can assure you it could be much, much worse. Count your blessings for what you can afford and be grateful you are where you are.
Ronda and a Single Grape
We were late for the wine grapes in Andalusia. The vine to the right is one of several vines on the grounds of the Plaza de Toros (the bullring) at Ronda, admittedly not typical of vines in winery vineyards but nonetheless an example of the season. There were probably 20-25 clusters on this vine and most were empty skin shells left by the birds or were raisins. I found the last grape on this vine after a determined search and it was possibly the sweetest grape I have ever eaten. I even chewed the two seeds in an unsuccessful attempt to add some phenolics to the palate. The sweetness coated the entire mouth and tongue and stayed with me for about 20 minutes. Very, very enjoyable.
These vines were set a meter from a wall, well pruned, looked quite old, and were obviously planted for landscape purposes. They don't make wine at this historic Plaza de Toros, the oldest continuously operating bullring in Spain (built between 1779-1784). For purists, it is the bullring in Spain, Hemingway's Mecca.
This is where modern bullfighting by matadors originated, where the legendary Romero family advanced bullfighting from a display of footman courage to a matadorial art form, where the equally legendary Ordoñez family perfected the choreographed moves that define modern bullfighting. Although Seville had a Plaza de Toros as early as 1747, it was replaced by Seville's current bullring whose construction was begun in 1761 but not inaugurated until 1785. The Seville school of bullfighting featured picadors, men on horseback who killed the bull with a lance, but today matadors fight the bull and picadors play a colorful but decidedly adjunct roll. The two cities (and historians) argue about which bullring is older.
The statue to the left, just outside the Plaza de Toros at Ronda, is arguably the finest statue of a bull anywhere. Standing close, you can almost hear it breathing. I'm only showing you one photo but I have many taken from various angles. It is simply a masterpiece, with veins showing on the neck and every detail as it should be. I have searched but not found the name of the maker of this statue. Regrettably, we did not photograph the plaque with that information on it.
Ronda is located spectacularly on the edge of a high plateau. As one writer said, "Way back in 1350, Ibn Battutah noted that Ronda was one of 'the strongest and best sited fortresses' in all Andalusia and even today attacking it would be a bad idea." During the Spanish Civil War both sides held it at one time or another. The city is divided by a deep gorge spanned by an ancient (Moorish) bridge and a newer bridge (Puente Nuevo). The original walled city (La Ciudad) was protected on three sides by severe cliffs and on the fourth (south) side by considerable fortifications. It was a strategic stronghold even before the Romans conquered the Iberian Peninsula centuries before the Moors' crossed near Gibraltar in 711. The Moors built their small bridge with impossibly steep approaches to hinder any wheeled entry into La Ciudad. As a result, merchants coming to sell their wares at Ronda set up tents and later buildings on the other side of the bisecting gorge (Tajo de Ronda) and built El Mercadillo, the "little market" that became the "new city."
Because of its imposing location and natural defenses, the reconquest of Ronda by the forces of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella could have been a very bloody affair. Instead, as Jerrold's Travel Guides put it, "In 1485 the Crusaders looked up the cliffs to Ronda and decided not to attack the city but instead cut off the water supply. Once the garrison protecting the water was taken, the city fell in 7 days." The water supply was at the bottom of the gorge.
No single photograph of Ronda can give you a judicious appreciation of its imposing location. The view on the right from the Puente Nuevo does not reveal the height, for the photo only reveals about a third of the cliff on the right side and about 200 of the 300 feet drop from the mid-left. If you know where to look you can see the 13th century, single arch, Moorish bridge at the narrowest point in the gorge, and if you can indeed see it you can only imagine the steep winding climb rightward to La Ciudad.
Ronda commands the surrounding lowlands and Rio Guadalevin valley, richly suited for farming, orchards, vineyards, grazing, timber and mining in the mountains, clay for bricks and tiles, and limestone for cement. It rains here, but the Moors brought advanced irrigation methods to the region and there is no shortage of food. Ronda is the commercial, administrative, financial, and leisure center of this region, but still part of the province of Málaga.
The single grape I ate at the Plaza de Toros may or may not have been a wine grape, but if I had to guess I would guess it was Pedro Ximénez. The vineyards below Ronda, established by the Moors, still serve the region. I fell in love with Spanish wines all over again, from the rich, dark Tempranillo-Garnacha (Grenache) blends to the new offerings by Málaga Virgen, I drank nothing I would not happily drink again.
Ronda lies 62 miles west of Málaga. Many of the grapes in the Málaga appellation (which includes Ronda) are allowed to reduce almost to raisins to concentrate the sugar and produce the hallmark sweet, fortified wines for which the region is noted. We tasted several soft, plump raisined black Moscatel (Muscat of Alexandria) grapes from Vélez-Málaga and they were both sweet and flavorful but lacked the long aftertaste of the single grape I ate at Ronda. In the Málaga appellation these grapes are invariably blended with Pedro Ximénez for added character, aromatics and fullness.
Málaga's dessert wines, once the delight of Popes and Russian Czars, began to decline in popularity in the late 20th century. But as the 21st century dawned, the Regulatory Council of the Wines of Málaga loosened its restrictions on the wines that can be produced in the Appellation to allow reds, whites and rosés. The result was almost immediate. The number of wineries grew from nine in 1999 to 32 in 2010, with the largest growth in the Ronda region. Some are sited to draw tourists and winery tours can be booked from any hotel, resort or tourist information center (note the tour map of area wineries above). The majority are producing off-dry table wines, with some sweets produced because, after all, it is Málaga. Oh, and there is a large amount of very good Sangria being pushed. But, it's Spain....
This will be my last blog entry until we return from Spain near the end of the month. I will be flying on 9-11 so will miss the many memorial retrospectives made for television. If anyone feels like recording them for me on DVD, write to me when I return and I will send you my mailing address. I suspect Fox News Channel will have the best, but who knows?
I am still receiving email about memories triggered by my discussion of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" in my July 27 and August 3, 2011 WineBlog entries. Darrel wrote, "I was on the ferry from Catalina after drinking too much peppermint schnapps in Avalon. Two dudes and an absolute beauty were playing cards inside. I was drunk. The scene wandered in and out of focus, and then 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' began to play on someone's personal radio. It was surreal. It was perfect. The whole song acted out before me in my imagination. When the song ended I went outside so the mood would not be broken by the next song. Reading the words on your blog brought me back to that night. Like I said, it was perfect." Amen, brother, and may it always be....
Unusual Gifts for the Wine Connoisseur
If you happen to be looking for a gift for a wine connoisseur who already has the best wine bottle opener, decanter and personal wine glass, perhaps a little hand blown glass art with a wine theme would be just the right thing. I'm talking about unique pieces that make you or the recipient unique.
I want to disclose right up front that there is a family connection here, but I assure you I have no financial or emotional interest. I would have written this piece had I accidentally discovered these while surfing the net. They are that appealing to me.
My nephew Tim Garner of Austin, Texas is a professional glass artist. He is teaching his son, Mason, the craft. If you read my April 12th, 2011 entry on The Salt Lick Bar-B-Que you read about the day that gave birth to what follows. After I departed that evening, my sister expressed a desire to have a small wine glass pendant to wear to remember the exceptional day we shared. Tim and Mason retired to their glasswork studio and produced the first of what would become an ever-growing line of small, glass, wine-related jewels.
What followed was a slowly expanding line of hand blown pendants, charms, decorative bottle stoppers and earrings. I think they are exceptional gifts for the wine lover who has everything else. Because each is handmade, no two are alike. That is my niece Laurie on the left wearing one of the first red wine glass pendants. Tim says the earrings are the most challenging because dozens of individuals are made and then they try to pair up two that are closest to the same shape, size and hue. The borosilicate glass is very durable and much, much stronger than regular glass.
I very, very rarely push a commercial wine or enterprise, but I make an exception here -- not because my nephew is involved but because they are so unique. These are not $4.00 pressed glass cheapos from China, but rather quality pieces of handmade art worthy of being a gift with meaning or of gracing your own collection. The champagne glasses actually have tiny bubbles rising in them. Fine Vine Gifts, Austin, Texas...check it out.
Excessive Gross Lees
I received the following from a fairly new winemaker along with the photo on the left. "My wife and I went raspberry picking in our native Northern Virginia a few weeks back, and I decided to make some wine out of the 6 pounds we picked. We put all 6 pounds in a single gallon, but we froze them first, mashed them to extract their juices, and put them in a nylon sleeve. I'm afraid when I did this, I squeezed the bejesus out of the nylon, and now a ton of the fruit bits have sunken to the bottom of the gallon jug. I'm afraid it's going to be a nightmare to rack this.... Any advice on how to proceed?"
First of all, I do believe everyone who makes homemade wine has done this at least once, if not with raspberries then with blackberries, strawberries or some other soft pulped fruit. All I can say is welcome to the "Gross Lees Galore Club."
There are several ways to solve the problem, but I'll jump directly to the quickest, least troublesome procedure.
You will need a brand new pair of pantyhose, a wide-mouth gallon jar (a "sun tea" jar or very well cleaned pickle jar [still risky]), 3-4 large, thick ribber bands, 2 quart-sized mason jars with lids or suitable surrogate. You will also need a second gallon jug like the one in your photo and a large funnel.
Cut the legs off the pantyhose and put them in a quart-size mason jar or similar container. In a separate mason jar crush a Campden tablet and dissolve it in just under a quart of water. When the powder is completely dissolved, pour over the legs and secure the lid. Shake to ensure soaking coverage and leave to sit 3-5 minutes.
Remove one leg and place it in the large funnel and stretch the cut edge over the rim of the funnel to secure it. Place the small end of the funnel in the sanitized gallon jug and very carefully and slowly pour the clear liquid on top of the lees into the funnel and jug. Stop when the main body of gross lees are about to be poured. Lift the pantyhose and let it drip until dripping stops. Droop it inside the wide-mouth gallon jar. Stretch the cut edge over the rim of the mouth of the jar and pull down about 2 inches. Secure with a few large, thick rubber bands and very carefully pour the remaining raspberry liquid and gross lees into the leg/jar.
Carefully remove the rubber bands while gathering the upper end of the leg and lift it out of the liquid. You need to work out your own way of holding the bag over the jar so it drip-drains. I tie the panty-leg into a knot and secure it with a short length of nylon cord which I tie into a loop and secure the loop to a cabinet door handle. You want the foot, with the gross lees inside, to hang over the opening of the gallon jar so the liquid drains free of the lees. DO NOT SQUEEZE. Let it drain until it becomes a slow drip (about 8-10 minutes), then discard the gross lees and pour the drained liquid into the gallon jug. Top up (if vigorous fermentation is finished) and attach an airlock to the jug.
If you still have a lot of very fine gross lees (more than 3/4 inch), fine with either gelatin or bentonite following the manufacturer's instructions and allow 5-7 days to compact, then carefully rack.
Raspberry Wine
While writing the above I realized I had not published a straightforward raspberry wine recipe in any of the recipe sections of my main website. I did post my recipe for Blackcap Wine, a type of black raspberry. The closest I came with red raspberries was my Raspberry-Chipotle Wine, which is not typical of raspberry treatment. I'll correct that oversight right now.
Raspberry (Rubus idaeus and Rubus spp.) is a strongly flavored berry that makes a very good wine. Raspberries come in different colors and there are over a hundred cultivars. The vast majority are hues of red in color, but most of us are familiar with black raspberries. They also come in purple, yellow/gold, amber, and orange.
Wild raspberries are usually red or black, although birds have spread many cultivars to the wild. There are people who swear that wild raspberries have the strongest flavor, but I simply assume they have not eaten Amber, Amity, Black Hawk, Cumberland, Jewel, Latham, Meeker, Royalty, or many other superior flavored rasps. On the other hand, I have never met a ripe raspberry I did not like.
Raspberries may be very sweet to tart, mildly flavored to strong. It is okay if the berries are sweet, but in my opinion the tarter varieties actually make a better wine. However, some sweeter varieties have such exceptional flavor that you just have to try them. A blend might be the perfect answer, but unless you are growing your own or know a grower with several cultivars you will probably be confined to what is locally available. Brandywine Purple, Logan, Royalty, September, and Willamette are noted for tartness. The best wine I ever made was black raspberry from frozen berries of unknown variety.
The first raspberry wine I ever tasted was overly acidic and shaped my thinking for many years. I knew this wine was made with 6 pounds of fruit per gallon and so I arbitrarily set a limit of 4 pounds of berries per gallon of wine for all raspberry wines. It took some education in the berry from growers in the Mid-West and Northeast to change my thinking. The first raspberry wine I ever made using 6 pounds of fruit per gallon of wine was the black raspberry I mentioned previously. Now I let the berry and their availability tell me how much to use.
I have seen suggestions to puree the berries and force the juice through the finest nylon mesh to separate the juice from the seeds, thus avoiding extraction of harsh phenolics from the seeds. I have never done this because (1) I have never experienced an excess in phenols from raspberries, (2) I did not want a gross lees problem like that experienced in the previous item, and (3) different varieties present different seediness. Cumberland, for example, are never seedy and September's seeds are so small they might pass through the mesh.
Raspberry Wine Recipe
5-6 lbs raspberries
1 lb 10 oz sugar
1 tsp pectic enzyme
tartaric and citric acid as needed
1/4 tsp grape tannin powder
1 finely crushed Campden tablet
Water to make up 1 gallon
1 tsp yeast nutrient
general purpose wine yeast
Wash fruit and tie closed in a very fine-meshed nylon straining bag and place in a primary container. Wearing rubber gloves, mash the berries well. Finely crush a Campden tablet. dissolve it in a quart of water and pour over fruit. Cover the primary and set aside 12 hours. Dissolve pectic enzyme in another quart of water and add to primary. Recover and set aside an additional 12 hours. Meanwhile, bring one pint of water to boil, remove from heat and dissolve the sugar into it. Cover and set aside to cool. To the cooled syrup, slowly add tannin powder while continuously stirring to integrate. Add yeast nutrient and stir a little longer. Add to must, stir gently and recover primary. Wait 2 hours and check the pH of the must. If not below 3.4 pH, add tartaric acid, 0.5-1 g/L to drop the pH 0.1. The reason for the spread is that different fruit buffer acids differently and you have to add, measure, add, measure to meet your exact needs. A pH of 3.2 - 3.0 is great, bur 3.3 will do. Add yeast in a starter solution and cover the primary. Punch down straining bag twice daily for 7 days. Remove nylon straining bag and drip-drain approximately 20 minutes. Do not squeeze. Transfer liquid to secondary and attach airlock without topping up. Ferment 30 days, rack, top up, and reattach airlock. If wine has not cleared in 30 days rack again. When wine is very clear, rack again. Taste. If wine tastes a little flat, add 1/2 teaspoon citric acid, stir and taste again. Repeat if deemed necessary. Stabilize and sweeten to taste. Usually, an off-dry or semi-sweet style is preferred to bone dryness in raspberry. Hold wine in secondary 30 days after sweetening and examine bottom of secondary with flashlight. If even a slight dusting of dead yeast appears, set aside an additional 60 days. Sweeten again or carefully rack into bottles, as appropriate. [Author's own recipe]
Raspberry wine tends to be a little thin in body. This can be improved by adding to the unfermented must 1 small can of a frozen grape concentrate per gallon. Alternatively, bring to a boil 1 1/4 cups water, add 1 pound golden raisins, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool (still covered). Chop in food processor or blender and add to raspberries in nylon straining bag. For black or purple raspberries, use dark raisins. As a third alternative, one can take the advice of Jon Iverson in Home Winemaking Step by Step and use the raisins and 2 pounds of sliced, ripe bananas. Bananas are ripe when the skins begin turning black and the fruit inside turns soft and translucent -- about the time most people throw them out. Just slice the bananas and add them to the nylon straining bag before mashing the raspberries. NOTE: If you use grape concentrate, reduce sugar to 1 pound even. If you use raisins, reduce sugar to 1 pound 2 ounces.
The bouquet that escapes a freshly opened bottle of raspberry wine is worth the effort to make it. Many years ago at the Cowie International Wine Competition in Paris, Arkansas I was treated to a homemade raspberry whose bouquet lingers in my nostrils still. Many, many raspberry cultivars can deliver that bouquet -- perhaps not as intensely -- and you owe it to yourself to try to capture it.
I'm busy making preparations for our two weeks on Costa del Sol, Spain. We leave a week from today on, yes, 9-11. It is not the day I would prefer to be flying, but it's the way it turned out.
The last time we were in this area we visited North Africa. I don't know if we will do that this time. We have an open agenda, but I have a few wineries mapped out as "maybes." I am not one of those people who pepper my vacation with winery visits just so I can write it off as a business expense. Like Kaua'i earlier this year, this is a vacation. If we visit any wineries at all, it will be as tourists.
I have featured photos by my nephew Patrick Keller before. He captured this view of the Jacob Ebey homestead as the fog was lifting last weekend on a hike through Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve, which surrounds the town of Coupeville on Whidbey Island, Washington. I would love to see this same location shot when the old log blockhouse is fully illuminated. Such a picture, but from another vantage point, accompanies the Wikipedia article on Ebey's Landing (see links following this entry).
This photograph reveals more and more hidden detail as it is enlarged. I have examined it at length at full screen size and larger and am fascinated by what was actually captured. I am afraid I have destroyed much of that detail by reducing it in size but can point you to the original if interested.
I personally would like to have this photograph made into a jigsaw puzzle -- 1200 to 1500 pieces. I'm not sure it would be as challenging as many, but I do think it would be very pleasing to see the image emerge.
The second photograph (left) is a pier at sunrise somewhere at Ebey's Landing. When I first saw it, my memory pulled out, "Red sky at morning, sailor take warning." I don't know what it would evoke to a seafarer, but it is a soothing image to me. If I had a place to hang it I would have it enlarged and framed. I like it that much.
These photos of Ebey's Landing remind me of days past when I lived in Tacoma and took the ferries island hopping through the Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca on weekends. There wasn't a National Historic Reserve on Whidbey then but there were a number of parks and the Naval Air Station. I ate lunch in Coupeville, but the trip to Whidbey was hurried as I went on to Port Townsend from there and got stuck overnight. They were good weekends.
Worcesterberry Wine
I love original requests, something I've never seen before or even anticipated. So, I was delighted when I received a request for a worcesterberry wine recipe. Worcesterberry is cousin to the gooseberry and a distinct species native to North America but grown more in gardens in the United Kingdom than gardens in America. About 6 years ago I bought four cans of worcesterberries in light syrup and concocted a recipe for this fruit.
The worcesterberry (ribes divericatum) is related to the gooseberry and currants. The fruit are about the size of jostaberries, a hybrid between other Ribes species (probably gooseberry and blackcurrant). Worcesterberries grow on a bush that reaches up to 8 feet in height, sport leaves similar to both gooseberries and currants and bear vicious thorns. .
The flavor of worcesterberries is similar to that of jostaberries and red currants, but without the subtle aftertaste of the former. Worcesterberries are highly prized for jams, jellies, pies and torts, but are neither exceptional nor unappealing when eaten raw. The berries are well endowed with acidity and pectin and this must be kept in mind when making wine.
The woecesterberries I used were canned in light syrup. I used the syrup because I assumed it was rich in the berries' flavor. I don't know how rich it was, but it was flavorful. The recipe that follows assumes the fruit are not canned, but fresh or frozen and then thawed.
Worcesterberry Wine Recipe
2 1/2 - 3 lbs worcesterberries
1 can Welch's Red Grape Frozen Concentrate
1 lb 4 oz sugar
1 3/4 tsp pectic enzyme
1 Campden tablet, finely crushed
Water to 1 gallon
1 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
General purpose wine yeast
Make a simple syrup by dissolving sugar in 1 1/2 cups boiling water, cover and set aside to cool. Wash berries, secure in nylon straining bag and crush in primary container. Add pectic enzyme and 4 pints cold water. Cover primary and let macerate 4 hours. Add simple syrup, thawed grape concentrate and yeast nutrient, recover primary and let macerate an additional 6 hours. Add yeast in starter solution. Ferment 5 days, punching bag down twice daily. Press pulp lightly and transfer liquid to a gallon jug. Do not top up. Attach airlock and ferment until still, about 3 weeks. Rack into sanitized jug containing finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet. Top up and reattach airlock. Repeat racking every 30 days until wine is clear, Stabilize, wait additional 30 days and bottle.
My previous WineBlog entry ended prematurely due to the interrupting nature of life. I had intended to continue it the next day when life once again intervened to thwart my plans. Now so much has happened that any attempt to continue where I had planned would take too much effort trying to revisit where I was when I stopped last. But much of it has been very nice.
I came into possession of some wonderful freestone peaches and thought about making peach wine, but in the end decided to can them in syrup and brandy. This took four hours and a quick trip to Wal-Mart to buy additional canning jars, but it was most satisfying. When all was said and done, I was out of brandy but rich in brandied peaches. I also had about 870 mL of peach-flavored simple syrup left over and am using it up on pancakes each morning. Life is good.
Several people wrote to tell me they have made the strawberry-raspberry-blackberry jam I featured two week ago. God bless you all for the delight you will experience when you spoon some onto a warm, toasted and buttered English muffin. You will pity those who haven't the wisdom or motivation to make it themselves. Yes, pity....
Another reader wrote to tell me his blueberry wine took a double gold in the Indy International Wine Competition. Two more wrote to tell me of less prestigious but equally satisfying wins. And my heart glowed for each of them. I remember my first ever winning wine and how wonderfully satisfied I felt.
On a very serious note, one reader was asking me about a strange smell and before he could describe it he suddenly stopped, switched to all caps, and typed, "MUST RUN. JUST ORDERED TO EVACUATE. IRENE COMING." That was last night and this image is this morning. Just looking at the size of this thing makes me shudder. It is wider than the combined states of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia measured east to west. Put another way, it is almost as big as the state of Texas, and if you've ever driven from El Paso to Beaumont you know how big that really is. We can be thankful it is losing steam but know full well this thing is going to bring more rainfall and wind damage than anyone needs. Randy, I wish you and your family Godspeed, as well as all in the path of this monster.
Vitis x champinii (Planch.). It is a native rootstock discovered by T. V. Munson near its namesake, Dog Ridge, just west of Belton, Texas in Bell County. Vitis x champinii is often cited as Vitis champini but is actually a proto species (natural hybrid), thought to be V. mustangensis × V. rupestris. It may possibly also have some Vitis cinerea var. helleri (formerly known as Vitis berlandieri) genes.
Dog Ridge is drought and salt tolerant and resistant to nematodes, root rot and Pierce's Disease (PD), although it can be a host to the bacterium that expresses PD without being affected. It is a very vigorous vine and passes its vigor to any graft. It is susceptible to rust and to freeze damage occurring before onset of dormancy.
I obtained Dog Ridge by mistake. I had ordered cuttings of Brilliant from the Plant Genetic Resources Unit in Geneva, NY, a complex V. labrusca / vinifera / bourquiniana cultivar developed by T. V. Munson in 1883 from a Lindley x Delaware cross. Only two of the seven cuttings rooted and I planted them along a chain-link fence with the intention of rooting additional cuttings from them for planting in rows under trellis. They turned out to be Dog Ridge, a good rootstock but with grapes universally hailed as having no value for anything.
The photo on the right shows the vines only 20 days after budbreak of their second year and demonstrates their vigor. Almost every growth sports an emerging inflorescence. However, there were few grapes that year because there wasn't a healthy pollinator that year. The following year I noted that my Champanel and Cynthiana flowered at the same time as the Dog Ridge and the latter set many, many grapes and have ever since. Also, the photo shows the juvenile leaves of Dog Ridge, which look very much like Mustang and atest to the V. mustangensis lineage. Compare them with the mature leaves in the next photo on the left.
During their second year the vines' roots found groundwater and I stopped watering them. They grew vigorously and before I realized it they had reached upwards and climbed into a large live oak that partially shaded them. I pulled the vines out of the tree during their winter dormancy two consecutive years, but the following winter I neglected them and after that they were impossible to pull down by hand. They are now well established and produce a great number of small clusters of 8-18 grapes. After tasting the first grapes to ripen, I judged the idea that they are useless as absurd.
Verasion begins at my location in mid-June. The grapes turn dark unevenly and verasion can span a full month. This, undoubtedly, is the reason the grape is considered useless. It cannot be reliably harvested except on a grape by grape basis. Few people have the patience to pick 2 or 3 berries from a cluster and leave the rest for another day. I am one who does.
Working from the ground, a step-ladder and an extension ladder leaned against the mass of vines, the first picking yields only a pint of berries, These are packed in a ZipLoc freezer bag and arranged carefully in the freezer. About three days later another pint is picked and added to the first harvest (you have my permission to chuckle at the use of that word). After about 2 weeks the harvest is about a quart every 2-3 days. When it starts dropping off again I begin to tire of the exercise, for after reaching a quart twice the pickings dwindle. I usually stick it out 3 weeks, at which time every cluster has 1-3 berries that are still green or pink or reddish-purple, but none that are the purple of maturity. I leave these for the birds to discover over time. If my total harvest reaches 3 gallons I am happy.
These are medium-sized berries with small seeds and good yields of juice. I am sure I would get 2 gallons of juice from them but I have never fermented them as a varietal. I always add them to other grapes to flesh out a weak batch. I have added them to field blends of Champanel, Cynthiana, Ives Noir, V. monticola, some V. cinerea var. helleri, V. vulpina (formerly called V. cordifolia), and even some V. aestivalis once. These blends are usually very, very good and bring high praise. Half of this year's harvest was blended with Champanel and frozen cranberries to create a nice blush. The other half is still in the freezer with a small harvest of Cynthiana and a lot of Mustang. I haven't decided what to do with it yet.
Vision problems have returned to my left eye with Drusen under the macula causing a substantial central scotoma (blind spot). My father has it and it is hereditary, so check your own family records and get occasional ophthalmological exams after turning 40. Mine (and my father's) is being treated with an injection of Avastin into the vitreous of the eye. Mine will be monthly, but as the effects of the Drusen are negated the injections can be spaced out over longer periods like my father's.
I was very pleased with the latest edition of the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild (SARWG) newsletter, which arrived Saturday. It was shorter than I like to see but very well packed with items of wide interest. It contained an item I'd like to share.
Quote of the Month
The famous German poet, Johan Wilhelm Von Goethe, once was asked which three things he would take if he were to be isolated to an island. He stated: "Poetry, a beautiful woman and enough bottles of the world's finest wines to survive this dry period!" Then he was asked what he would leave back first, if it was allowed to take only two things to the island. And he briefly replied: "The poetry!" Slightly surprised, the man asked the next question: "And Sir, what would you leave back if only one was allowed?" And Goethe thought for a couple of minutes and answered: "It depends on the vintage!"
Another Outstanding Quote
This was passed to me as a quote by a Texas legislator, but being cautious when something sounds too pat, I did some research and found the original attributed to Noah S. "Soggy" Sweat, Jr., a young lawmaker from the U.S. state of Mississippi, on the subject of whether Mississippi should continue to prohibit (which it did until 1966) or finally legalize alcoholic beverages. His reply, in 1952, is worth preserving with the correct attribution:
"My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey:
"If when you say whiskey you mean the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.
"But, if when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman's step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life's great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm; to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.
"This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise."
Yesterday morning I dashed to the market to buy a couple of staples and noticed a beautiful arrangement of berries greeting me when I walked in. There were strawberries in the center flanked on one side by red raspberries and blackberries and on the other by side by golden raspberries and blueberries. Having not yet eaten breakfast, I was putty in the hands of the produce manager. Yes, I bought, but I bought with a plan in mind.
At home I discarded the greenery from the strawberries and stems from the blackberries and washed all the berries. I dug out my recipe for strawberry jam and thought about it for a minute. I finally decided what to do and measured out enough of three berries to accomplish it. Then I made breakfast and ate the remaining raspberries with it.
Strawberry-Raspberry-Blackberry Jam Recipe
2 cups crushed strawberries
1 cup crushed red raspberries
1 cup crushed blackberries
7 cups sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon butter
1 pouch liquid pectin
You will need more than a cup of berries to get a cup of crushed berries, but not all that much more. Sorry, but I didn't measure the raw input, But I crushed the berries in a bowl and then measured them until I had enough. I ate any crushed overage. Measure crushed fruit and combine in deep pot on high heat. Stir with wooden spatula to prevent burning and sticking. As fruit comes to a boil, stir in almond extract, butter (to reduce foaming) and, a cup at a time, the sugar. Stir continuously until it comes to a full rolling boil. Stir in pectin and continue stirring until mixture has returned to a full rolling boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, skim off any foam, and ladle quickly into sterilized canning jars to within 1/4 inch. Using padded kitchen mitten to hold filled jar, wipe the jar rim and threads and cap with lid disks and ring bands, screwing the bands tightly. Process in boiling bath for 10 minutes and set aside to cool completely. [Author's own recipe]
Postscript
I had another item to post, but have been interrupted and detoured so many times that this entry, which was begun at 9:35 a.m., has only gotten this far at 10:25 p.m. I am determined to post an entry today, so let this briefer one suffice and we will see what tomorrow brings.
I have tried for one week to write this blog entry. Believe it or not, every single time I have opened it and started typing, the phone has rang with a major detour. It is 2:20 in the morning and I am fairly certain the phone will not ring at this hour. We will see if I can finish and tie together all the disjointed false starts I have invested in this entry thus far.
My stream-of-consciousness introduction last time I wrote here drew a few emails and an odd phone call that began, "Red Mountain Vin Rosé, it's perfect for breakfast!" The gist of what followed this opener is that the morning after a night of Red Mountain consumption, there is almost always some of the hair of the dog left in the jug -- for breakfast. I laughed when he explained and I wondered, do other people have such weird yet priceless friends? Treasure is where you find it.
I got an email trying to explain the lyrics of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," but the explanation tries too hard to make the words express things they don't actually say. It is too "tired" to be serious. Sorry Steve. Besides, I've read Keith Reid's account of writing the lyrics and know they have nothing to do with cocaine or any other drug, but booze is mentioned and cannabis may have been consumed when the initial kernel of the song (its title) was conceived. However, he insists that none was consumed during the actual writing of the lyrics.
Knowing what the song is actually about, straight from the guy who wrote the lyrics, and then reading the words does not mean the two share synchronicity. I love "A Whiter Shade of Pale," I know what the song is about, but that does not mean I know what the words mean. I recently drank a bottle of my Pineapple-Coconut Mead and it almost came together, but then I fell asleep. And that, I think, is part of the mystique that permeates the song.
Aside from the lyrics, Gary Brooker, who wrote the music, brought something to the piece that gave it an air of almost-familiarity when you heard it for the first time. He admits he borrowed a couple of bars of Bach's Air on a G String before he veered off to find his own composition. Matthew Fisher, who played the organ in the recording, composed the organ solo that is arguably the heart and unifying soul of the whole thing. Is it any wonder it remains the most played song on the radio in England?
Regarding my comments on "A Whiter Shade of Pale," another reader wrote simply, "...it brought back a lot of memories." Amen, Rick. Nothing more needs to be said.
And a woman wrote, "You can turn a phrase yourself, Mr. Keller. Every now and then you come out with some reality so wrapped in prose that I think I'm reading Jack London instead of Jack Keller. I think I would greatly enjoy a book of your reminiscences." Wow. Thank you, Sheila. You made my day.
There were other emails, but also another phone call. A dear old friend called and said, "You know that little bitty paragraph you wrote that started with, 'Youth, where did it go?'" I said yeah. He started crying, "It brought it all back."
Dear Lord, help us make peace with our pasts. All too many of us were, as Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway so eloquently noted, soldiers once, and young. We left our youth on the battlefield suddenly, without transition. The shock stays with us. Now, decades later, the circumstances that stole our youth so suddenly haunt us. War is a terrible thing. May God's hand grace and guide each and every one of our men and women in harm's way and bring them home with able bodies, healthy minds and intact spirits. For those who carry the emotional scars of war, and I would venture to say that encompasses everyone who was ever shot at, may the Lord help them find their way free from the horrors of battles past.
I'm still going through this cookbook of Spanish appetizers and having a culinary blast. I look at the title this way; 100 essential recipes means 100 core recipes which you can take and run with. Now, to be fair, I try to make each dish the way it is prescribed and tweak it thereafter if I so desire. Occasionally I do not have the exact ingredients specified and have to substitute, but I do try to see what the literal recipe produces. The results have been delightful to the extreme. Some introduce dishes I never would have conceived of, but others border on the familiar.
My wife makes a very simple item which can be served as a side with the main meal or as an appetizer while the meal is being prepared. It consists simply of fresh green beans, ends trimmed and de-stringed if necessary, wrapped in 1/2 strip of bacon held with toothpicks and oven-roasted at 375 degrees F. for 10 minutes, turned and then roasted another 10 minutes. These are so good we make them just for us as well as for guests.
Everyday Tapas has a different yet similar recipe, using shaved slices of Serrano ham wrapped around fresh asparagus spears. I probably could have found Serrano ham in San Antonio if I too the time to look hard enough, but here in Pleasanton the best I could do is have a deli attendant shave some very delicious smoked ham. No toothpick is required if the end of the ham is tucked underneath the asparagus. After trimming off the woody end and wrapping 24 perfect asparagus, I placed them in a long, glass baking dish lightly coated with olive oil. I then lightly brushed them with additional oil and seasoned them with freshly ground pepper. They were roasted 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 400 degrees. They are served as finger food, dipped into an aioli sauce. They could be served formally on a plate with the aioli sauce drizzled over them.
Aioli sauce is very simply made. The recipe calls for using a food processor to blend a large egg yoke at room temperature, 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar or lemon juice, 2 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and then slowly adding 5 tablespoons of olive oil and 5 tablespoons of corn oil in that order. The key is slow and the result is yummy. Instead of getting out the food processor, I uses crushed minced garlic and whipped it all together by hand. This sauce is not only superb, but versatile as well. It is perfect for dipping strips of carrot, celery, green onion and bell pepper, pieces of cauliflower, broccoli and mushroom, slices of zucchini, summer squash and cucumber, and many other vegetables raw, parboiled or fried.
Aioli sauce can also be used to marinate new potatoes. Cut them in half or quarters, cover with water and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 7 minutes. Drain, place in a bowl and pour on the aioli sauce. Turn the potatoes to coat them, cover the bowl and marinate about 20 minutes. Alternatively, very small new potatoes can be steamed for 30 minutes, wrapped in shaved Serrano ham, brushed with olive oil, and roasted in a roasting dish for 20 minutes in a 400-degree oven. The slightly cooled potatoes can be eaten as is or dipped with toothpicks in aioli sauce.
Having made all of the above, I combined several ideas to come up with this. Lightly spread softened cream cheese over shaved ham slices. Wrap each slice around a fresh, trimmed green bean and arrange in a lightly oiled baking dish. Brush lightly with olive oil and season with freshly ground pepper. Roast in 400-degree oven 18-20 minutes (until beans are just cooked but still firm). Eat as is or with aioli sauce. Alternatively, wrap the cream cheesed ham around asparagus spears and reduce roasting time to 10 minutes. Second alternative, wrap the cream cheesed ham around baby zucchini spears (quartered length-ways) and roast 8 minutes.
Each of the above can be served with a chilled white wine. Traditionalists might try a Sauvignon Blanc or even a Viognier. Country winemakers will love the ham-wrapped dishes with dandelion, key lime or elderflower wines. For a fruitier experience, try a White Zinfandel or a cranberry wine. Above all, experience the flavors.
I had 2-3 open jelly jars in the refrigerator just a couple of months ago, but the other day I emptied the last jar without realizing it. When my toast popped up that morning I looked for a jelly and realized there was none open. Besides wine, we have plenty of jelly stashed in this house. I grabbed a jar out of the dark pantry and in the kitchen saw that it was dandelion jelly. Just seeing the label brought back a flood of memories and got the saliva flowing. This stuff is like a gift from heaven and very much reminds one of honey. After eating the jellied toast, I decided to post the recipe here. After wine, jelly is the next best thing you can make from dandelion petals.
I do believe I published a dandelion jelly recipe before, but a search simply shows it being in my WineBlog, not which archive page it is on. Rather than open and search each archive looking for it (I really do have to index them one day), I went to our 3-ring binders of personalized, hand typed recipes. Dilemma. I found two recipes. One is simply the other recipe expanded and that is the one I am publishing here.
Another dilemma. Dandelion season is past, at least in south-central Texas. Should I wait until next year's dandelions appear to publish it, when it will be seasonally relevant, or publish it now while on my mind. The problem with waiting is that I will probably forget. I have stacks of notes to myself in various places of seasonally relevant topics I never revisited. Better do it now and leave it to you to remember. As a colonel once confided, a task delegated is a task completed.
Remove the petals from the greenery at the base of each dandelion. This takes longer to do than making the jelly, but has to be done. Place in a stainless steel pot, add the lemon zest and water and bring to a boil. Hold boil for at least 10 minutes and strain, saving the liquid. I use a cheesecloth-lined colander to strain, allow the petals to cool 10-15 minutes and then collect the sides of the cheesecloth to form a bag and squeeze to get extra-rich flavor from the petals. You can then run the liquid through a double layer of paper coffee filters for extra clarity.
Into a deep, 6-quart pot place 6 cups of this liquid and add to it the lemon juice, vanilla and pectin. Bring to a rolling boil and add the sugar, one cup at a time, stirring well in between each addition. When all sugar is in, stir some more to ensure it dissolves. When it returns to a hard boil, cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until the liquid sheets from a wooden spoon. Turn off heat, skim as needed and ladle into sanitized, hot jelly jars to within 1/4 inch of rim and seal. Process in hot bath for 10 minutes, remove and let cool.
It's 6:55 a.m. and there are several big does feeding on the green grass just beyond the chain link fence dividing my backyard from my far back. Looks like five, maybe six. It's hard to tell because trees, grapevines and other growth obstruct the view in several places. Closer in, humming birds steadily visit the three liquid feeders under the patio cover and sparrows, cardinals, doves and occasional green jays compete for feeding stations on the three seed feeders. In a short while the squirrels will raid two of the feeders and my dog will sleep through it all, exhausted from a long night of barking at sounds in the dark. Things are as they are, and I have given up on fighting the squirrels for the moment.
I'm listening to internet radio 977, The Oldies Channel. Procol Harum is wailing "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and for the sixth or eighth thousandth time I wonder what the hell the words mean.
We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
But the crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
As the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
And the waiter brought a tray
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale
She said, "There is no reason
And the truth is plain to see."
But I wandered through my playing cards
And they would not let her be
One of sixteen vestal virgins
Who were leaving for the coast
And although my eyes were open wide
They might have just as well been closed
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale
There are two more verses performed at concerts (one of them is on a live album), but the single release is as above. I caught the allusion to Chaucer and Shakespear, but my brother pointed out the one to Milton long ago when profundity grew with the lateness of the hour. Back then we pooled our change and bought jugs of Red Mountain vin rosé for a buck and a half a gallon. It was not a wine to develop one's palate, but back then we thought wine was to get buzzed on. I'm talking about the old label -- the one Janis Joplin sang about in "Red Mountain Burgundy" -- not the recently declared Washington state AVA and winery. The point is, if you drank enough Red Mountain, you actually understood "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and a lot of other mysteries too.
Youth, where did it go? I think mine hid somewhere on a hill called 990 northwest of Dak To and just east of the Tri-Border. I left it there when the Hueys came to take us out. Never wanted to go back to find it. It's probably a ghost now, but I still remember when it lived.
Well, you didn't come here to read this so I'll move on. Ah, the squirrels are back, raiding the birdseed.
My website disappeared for a while earlier this week. I couldn't log on Sunday evening or Monday morning. I had an appointment with my ophthalmologist Monday, so simply sent a technical support inquiry to my website host. They replied that they had no trouble accessing it and suggested I clean my cache and cookies and try again. Well, I didn't do any of that. My website does not send cookies and my cache is emptied whenever I shut down my computer. I simply tried again and the site came up.
Later I looked in my gmail inbox and saw eight messages informing me the site was down or asking if I had discontinued it. I wrote back to my host and told them six people wrote me on Sunday about the site being down and two more wrote on Monday. That led to a strange reply that said everything except that they accepted responsibility.
I'm not totally happy with the technical support response to my inquiry, but at least they should know better than to blame the inquirer next time and look for a problem on their end. All I can surmise is that when they looked at the site Monday, they reset whatever was hung up or not properly operating. Sometimes simply doing something is all that's required to correct a malfunction.
As an example, in 2007 I had my second heart attack. Two of my 1997 bypasses had clogged and my cardiologist was going to implant two stents to open the main arteries that had been bypassed (stents were not available in 1997). They placed one stent and were pushing the second one toward my heart when suddenly there was a commotion and people started running around. I was awake but sedated, and I was trying unsuccessfully to make sense of what was going on. My cardiologist was standing down by my right thigh with his arms bent at the elbows and his hands held up. I was surprised how much blood was on his gloved hands. He was watching a big monitor I could not see and a woman injected something cold in my IV and milked it into my arm. It was very cold and I thought, "Oh, I wish she hadn't done that." Then it was quiet and I heard crash doors opening and something came rattling in. Right then I asked, "Are you about done? I really have to pee." My cardiologist slapped my leg and said, "You started your heart. When you talked you started your heart." There is a long version of this story, but the short one is that my action caused my heart to reset after a 41 second hiatus. Oh, the noise I heard was an attendant wheeling in a defibrillator so they could shock my heart. Thank goodness I really had to pee because I would have freaked out if a guy leaned over me with two paddles and someone said "clear"....
An old friend in Oklahoma asked me for a crabapple wine recipe. This guy makes excellent grape wines, so I was honored he asked me for assistance. I have two recipes on my main website but one is better than the other. That's the one I will publish here with a few tips.
Crabapples come in various sizes, colors and tastes. Some are golf ball sized and others are the size of cherries (like the ones in the photo). Some ripen red, others ripen yellow and still others ripen green, just like apples. Some are incredibly sweet but most are rather tart. Whatever kind you have, they will make good wine. A mixture of 1/3 sweet and 2/3 tart makes a very nice wine.
Crabapple Wine Recipe
5-6 lbs ripe crabapples
2 lbs granulated sugar
1/8 tsp tannin
1/2 tsp acid blend
3/4 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
6 pts water
3 crushed Campden tablet
Champagne wine yeast
Wash the fruit carefully and put them (whole) in a bucket containing a gallon of water and two crushed Campden tablets. Push them under the water often over a 4-6 hour period, then drain the water off and crush them in the bucket. Boil 6 pints water and dissolve the sugar in it. Pour over crushed crabapples in primary. Cover with cloth and allow to cool to lukewarm. Add all ingredients except last Campden tablet and yeast and set aside for 12 hours. Add yeast and recover. Stir and knock down cap 2-3 times daily for about one week. Strain through nylon straining bag and let drip drain (do not squeeze) about 20 minutes (no more). Stir in third crushed Campden tablet and let stand additional 24 hours and rack off sediments into secondary. Top up and attach airlock. Rack every 2 months until clear. When clear, check specific gravity and taste. If dry, stabilize, sweeten to taste and wait 30 days to see if it referments. When positive all fermentation has ceased and no dead yeast fall out, rack into bottles. If you see a dusting of dead yeast, wait another 30 days and rack into bottles. Allow to age until a year from starting date. [Author's own recipe]
A reader asked me for a Bartlett pear wine recipe. Different pear varieties vary a great deal in hardness, texture, sweetness, acidity, tannin, and susceptibility to browning. Bartletts, however, are a great pear for winemaking. The pear itself turns from green to yellow when ripe, has a sweet, slightly musky flesh which is a bit grainy in texture. This graininess, however, does not affect the wine. This is one of my favorite pear wines and the recipe, although it appears long, is actually very simple.
Bartlett Pear Wine Recipe
6 lbs ripe pears
1 12-oz can 100% White Grape frozen concentrate
1-3/4 lb finely granulated sugar
3 qts water
1/8 tsp ascorbic acid
1-1/2 tsp acid blend
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1/8 tsp grape tannin
1 crushed Campden tablet
1-1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
1 packet Champagne yeast
Boil the water and dissolve the sugar into it thoroughly. Wash, destem and core the pears, being sure to remove all seeds. I quarter them length-ways and cut out the small seedy core. It is not that time consuming. Chop roughly and put in nylon straining. Tie bag and put in primary. Mash pears using a potato masher, bottom of a wine bottle, or a 4X4 piece of wood (be sure to sanitize whatever is used to mash pears). Pour boiling water over crushed pears. Cover with sanitized cloth. Wait one hour for must to cool a bit and add crushed ascorbic acid, Campden tablet, acid blend, tannin and yeast nutrient. Cover with cloth, wait 12 hours and add pectic enzyme. Again cover with cloth, wait another 12 hours and strain out enough juice to float a hydrometer. Measure specific gravity and add sugar sufficient to achieve starting gravity of 1.080 to 1.085. Pear wine is best under 12% alcohol. Return juice in hydrometer jar to primary and add activated yeast in a yeast starter. Cover with cloth once again. Stir daily, turning bag over each time. When vigorous fermentation subsides (about 5-7 days), remove bag and let drip drain 15-20 minutes. Do not squeeze or wine will be very difficult to clear. Taste the drained juice. You should taste both acid and tannin. If either appears weak, add a little more (1/2 teaspoon acid blend, 1/8 teaspoon tannin) and stir very well. Return drained juice to primary and allow to settle 24 hours. Rack into glass secondary, top up to within one inch of the bottom of the bung, attach an airlock, and set aside. Rack after three weeks, top up, and refit airlock. Rack again every two months until wine clears. Wait another 30 days and very carefully examine the bottom of the secondary with a flashlight. If you see even a very fine dusting of sediment, wait another 30 days and rack again. Repeat looking for sediment in another 30 days. The wine must go 30 days without dropping even a few dead yeast cells. When wine pasts the test for no sediment, stabilize it with 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate and one finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet. Remove one cup of the wine and dissolve into it 1/4 pound (1/2 cup) of finely granulated sugar or honey. When completely dissolved, stir this into the wine, reattach the airlock, and set aside 30 days. If there are no signs of renewed fermentation, rack into bottles and age 6-12 months. [Author's own recipe]
Several feedbacks were received about my last blog entry. Three of them commented favorably on my nephew's photographs but none ventured to guess the identity of the tree. Another commented, in a way, on my piece on my açai berry mead. But family first.
For those who missed my previous WineBlog entry and are too lazy to scroll down to it, my nephew Patrick of Mukilteo, Washington recently took several dozen photographs at the 2011 Tulip Festival at RoozenGaarde, Skagit Valley, Washington. He took several with this old, weather-beaten, wooden fence in the background or side-ground. Several had my brother Larry (Patrick's father) and Larry's wife Bonnie in them, but I liked the fence with the tulips making the counterpoint. No offense intended, but Larry and Bonnie, when in the photo, took away from the charm of the setting by stealing the attention.
Here is another with the fence in it. There was an unidentified couple to the left of this composition but I cropped the photo to edit them out. I wanted your attention captured by the fence and the tulips. I have no idea how old the fence is, but this is the 28th year of the festival, where millions (literally) of tulips take center stage across 300 acres. I believe a million people visited the festival this year, which straddles the entire month of April. And from these few photos you can infer why they just might want to see this in person.
Of the scores of photos Patrick took of tulips alone, I selected the one on the right to publish. I have no idea what variety of tulip this is, but it is striking all by itself. With the blue flowers and greenery in the background, the tulips truly do capture your attention. They also illustrate the one problem with a festival celebrating the culmination of a natural cycle -- in this case the blooming of the tulips. As you can see, the central one has opened but others are a little behind it. Imagine if you came on the first day of the festival and, due to a lingering winter, none of the tulips had bloomed yet. I doubt that has ever happened, but they say there are no guarantees with Mother Nature.
Thank you, Patrick, once again.
I received an email that asked what I thought of "that commercial acai [sic] wine Russ wrote about." The only Russ I know is Dr. Russell Kane, the wine ambassador of Texas and Vintage Texas blogger. No, I really don't know Russ, but I read him occasionally and we chat and message and email one another from time to time. So I went to Russ' blog, Vintage Texas, and searched for Açai.
I don't know how I missed Russ Kane's blog piece where he tasted and reviewed Mike Sipowicz and Steve Talcott's Açai Wine, but I did. But I found it now and am very excited about what I read. Two Texans, making great wine from the thawed pulp of Brazil's infamous Açai (Euterpe oleracea) berry, the super fruit from a palm tree.
[I stole the picture on the left from Russ' blog, but I won't steal his content. His blog stands alone for its quality and depth, but that picture is priceless.]
The açai berry grows on a slender palm tree that inhabits the Amazon River basin and is now aggressively cultivated. Although it is a great "super food," the grape-sized berry spoils within 24 hours of being harvested. Couple this with the fact that less than 20% of the berry is actually edible (10% is a more commonly cited figure) and you realize why açai juice is relatively expensive and the fruit is totally unavailable outside the areas where it grows naturally.
The fruit is typically harvested between 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning in order to get it to processing plants before it spoils. There, the 1-2-millimeter layer of edible pulp is removed and flash frozen for use in many products. Açai Wines purchases the frozen pulp and the two founders spent years overcoming countless technical problems perfecting their winemaking method. In Russ's blog article Steve and Mike confess that açai pulp is extremely difficult to process into wine, but they have solved all the show-stopper problems. Mike reported to Russ, " Açai fruit brought to the table a brand new set of nuances that were foreign to me along with "varietal" idiosyncrasies that I had to learn. Açai reacts counter-intuitively in the winery."
Well, with that to look forward to, I think I will continue making my açai wines from the pure juice. My own experiences during the past two years at making the wines and the mead revealed no heartaches following that path.
By the way, if you are curious what Açai Wines's wines taste like, Russ does a very good job of sensory description in his blog piece. As for obtaining a bottle to try, visit the Açai Wines website (linked below) and buy one. Besides Texas (both wet and dry counties), they can ship to Arkansas, California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, District of Colombia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
On our last trip to Spain we discovered "tapas", those Spanish appetizers that populate every bar and lounge in Spain, even if only salted almonds or olives. Well, my sister recently gave me Everyday Tapas: A Collection of Over 100 Essential Recipes and I have been making selections that catch my fancy. Today I made "Baked Tomato Nests" and they are simply too good not to share. If you have an adventurous bone in your body, try these. Preparation is a chore (took me 45 minutes) but everything else is easy, and they are oh, so delicious!
9 2-1/2-inch tomatoes
9 large eggs (not extra large or jumbo)
9 tblsp heavy cream
9 tblsp grated mature Mahon, Manchego or Parmesan cheese
1 tblsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Cut the tops off the tomatoes and, using a teaspoon, carefully remove the pulp and seeds without piercing the shells. Turn the tomato shells upside down on paper towels and let drain 15 minutes, preheating oven to 350 degrees F. while tomatoes are draining. Season the insides of the shells with salt and pepper.
Take an 8 x 8 inch casserole and coat inner bottom with olive oil. Arrange tomatoes 3-across in 3 rows, filling the casserole. Use an egg separator to separate the yoke of each egg and carefully drop the egg white into each tomato shell. Top egg white with 1 tablespoon heavy cream and then the grated cheese. Bake in preheated oven 18-20 minutes, until eggs set and cheese starts to brown. Allow 8-10 minutes cool down before serving.
Eat any way you want, but I cut each tomato nest I'm served into quarters. They hold together very well. Enjoy. Goes good with any wine . . . .
In my last entry, three days ago, I reported on a gentleman whose must had a strong hydrogen sulfide infestation. (I know "infestation" is not the correct word, but I honestly cannot decide on the correct one.) He reported that a combination of yeast nutrients and aeration, as I recommended, solved the problem. The rotten egg smell is gone, the must tastes fine and fermentation is well under way. I am pleased that everything came out well.
My nephew Patrick of Mukilteo, Washington is quite a photographer. The photo to the right is one he took at the 2011 Tulip Festival at RoozenGaarde, Skagit Valley, Washington. I have no idea what kind of tree this is, but I simply like the look of the whole photo. It probably would not work for me if it were any other tree. If anyone out there can say with high probability of correctness what kind of tree it is, please drop me a line. My contact page is linked just to the left of the oval photo of me at the top of the WineBlog. I know leaf details and other clues are indistinct and I cannot tell you what they look like, but perhaps a Valley resident or former resident knows the tree. It's a long shot, I know, but anything is possible.
Another of Patrick's photos (on the left) from the festival was selected by The Seattle Times as the "Reader's Pix From My Weekend" selection of the week back on May 11th of this year. This, too, is one I really like. Patrick has no idea who the little girl is. He was simply preparing to shoot the tulip field when this little girl came running into the shot. It would still be a nice photo without her, but with her it is a really good one. Following this entry I have linked to The Seattle Times page where you can see the photo, the write-up and comments on the photo by Kevin Fujii, picture editor of The Seattle Times. I just do not know how long the link will be viable so if interested please visit it soon. I'm very proud of Patrick.
The last of Patrick's photographs I would like to share with you is this one of an abandoned cabin backdropped against a field of tulips. The weathered wood, the framed dark windows, the moss-covered roof, the pink flower-covered bush to the immediate left of the cabin, and the sea of tulps all combine to counterpoint both old and new. It is a composition that sings to me, a setting that invites exploration, a pleasing tapestry of man's footprints both decaying and springing forth in nature. Thank you, Patrick, for sharing your outing with me and now with many others.
A very dear friend and exceptional winemaker in Victoria, Texas recently did something most of us who have made a lot of wine have done before -- she added too much potassium metabisulfite to a batch. I am honored that she asked me for a remedy, for she teaches me something almost every time we discuss winemaking. I offered her two remedies.
The first is to aggressively aerate the wine by pouring in from one primary to another for about three minutes. This will drive the excess sulfur dioxide from the wine. However, if doing this makes her nervous, I offered her a longer but less physical alternative, one I have used myself after doing the same thing she did.
Add 1/4 cup of the must to 1/2 cup of water and rehydrate your yeast in it. After you are sure the yeast is active and budding (about 3-4 hours), add another 1/4 cup of must. Wait as long as it takes to see good activity -- usually about 2 hours but possibly as long as 4-5 hours -- and add another 1/4 cup of must. When this is working strong, add 1/2 cup of must. Every time you add must to the starter, stir the must to drive a little SO2 from it but don't overdo it.
If you can, keep the must under a blanket of CO2 or argon. This has always worked for me (yes, I screwed up at least twice). When the starter recovers from that last addition, add half of it to the must and reserve the other half for a few hours "just in case." When you are sure you don't need to hold the reserve any longer, add it to the must. This way takes longer, but works every time.
Back in 2009 I expressed some thoughts on açai berries and the antioxidant fad and discussed making two batches of açai berry wines. Shortly after I posted these entries, I made a third batch with açai berries, but this time I made a mead. I drank half a bottle of the mead last night and today realized I have never published the recipe. I'm correcting that oversight right now.
First, a word of caution. When buying açai berry juice, check the label carefully. I passed on four brands because they contained sodium benzoate (or its resultant benzoic acid) or sorbic acid (from potassium sorbate). Sulfites oe ascorbic acid are not necessarily a show stopper, but I found one with no preservatives because the juice was pasteurized. Take time and look. If you buy the wrong stuff, drink it as juice.
3 qts 100% pure açai berry juice (check label for non-fermentable preservatives
3 lbs honey
3/4 tsp acid blend
2 finely crushed Campden tablets, divided
1 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
Lalvin DV10 wine yeast
Pour the juice in a primary and immediately stir in one (1) finely crushed Campden tablet, acid blend and yeast nutrient. (I bought very high grade honey and so did not boil it. Thus, my mead was not "brewed" but was "made.") Stir the juice while slowly adding the honey and continue stirring until it is completely dissolved and the consistency of the juice uniform. Cover the primaty for 10-12 hours and then add the activated yeast in a starter solution. Cover primary and ferment until vigor subsides (about 10 days), then transfer to secondary (do not top up), affix airlock and set in dark place. for 6 weeks. Rack, top up and reattach airlock. Return to dark place for additional 6 weeks. Dissolve second finely crushed Campden tablet in 1/2 cup of mead and add to empty, sanitized secondary into which you rack the mead. Top up, affix airlock and return to dark place. Mead should be clear after another 6-8 weeks. Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate in 1 cup of mead and pour into empty sanitized secondary. Rack into secondary, top up, reattach airlock and return to dark place for 30 days. Use flashlight or laser pointer to see if sediment has formed. If it has, rack again one last time. If no sediment, rack into dark bottles. Allow to age at least six months, but improves considerably at one year. [Author's own recipe]
The internet is a strange animal. Search for something and you just might find it, even if it isn't what you think it is. I recently received an email from a representative of the Jiangsu Union Logistics System Engineering CO., Ltd., located you-know-where, who was delighted to know I was in the market for a warehouse racking system. If you are selling shelving, but also refer to it as racking, a search might turn up someone who always talks about racking wine. I found it a hilarious email, but not worth my time to answer.
Another strange occurrence was a sign in a local supermarket posted on all four sides of a large bin that said "Locally Grown -- Support Your Local Farmers". The bin was full of watermelons and every one of them had a sticker that said, among other things, "Product of Mexico." I complained to the store manager and he laughed. I glared at him and said that was false advertising. He straightened up and walked over to the bin and removed the signs.
I received the following email from a reader who also donated to support my site. I simply had to reply a once. Here is his problem: "I started a batch of fresh fig wine based on your recipe (increased by 4x volume). I just inoculated it with a yeast starter solution last night and by this morning the airlock was actively bubbling. I sloshed it around before leaving for work and when I got home there was the heartbreaking rotten egg smell I've read so much about. The ventilation was poor, so I got some fans going and that helped a little. I'm worried about the wine getting ruined less than 24 hours into fermentation. One thing I suspect is low nutrient. I only added a pinch of nutrient to the starter (based on Jon Iverson's book) but none to the must. Also, I just read now that distilled water is a bad choice because the minerals are removed. Should I add more yeast nutrient and how much? Should I dilute it in a solution and add it gradually?"
Two points. First, he didn't follow my recipe, as it calls for 1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient per gallon. Second, I have never heard of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) developing this quickly, as it usually forms at the end of fermentation. However, many things are possible.
There are several causes of H2S formation.
Too much elemental sulfur, usually from grapes or other fruit that were dusted with too much sulfur during the growing season.
Lack of appropriate and sufficient nutrients (nitrogen, yeast hulls) before and during fermentation
Bacterial contamination due to inadequate sanitation
Books, bloggers and discussion forum participants have written for years that Montrachet yeast promotes the formation of H2S, but in all my many years of using this yeast, one of my favorites I might add, I have never developed H2S while using it. I think everyone is perpetuating an urban legend of winemaking. I have certainly used it hundreds of times without even a sniff of H2S.
Okay, if you know the causes of H2S formation, then you can deduce how to prevent it. Simple logic. But that does not help our friend who already has it. So, what to do?
I asked him if he has tasted the must since he detected the smell? I am curious as to what he reports, as I once (and only once) tasted an H2S infestation and have an idea what he should report if he had done so. I'm really just curious. More importantly, I asked what yeast strain did he use? If he followed my recipe, he used Montrachet, but if he used another then I can advise him on nitrogen requirements, if any.
First, do add nutrients. One teaspoon per gallon should be adequate foe most yeasts, but not all. The nutrients can be dissolved in a little must and stirred in. All fruit musts need nutrients and, depending on the yeast strain, that might apply to grapes, too.
Second, if he has an SO2 test kit, measure the amount of free (unbound) sulfur in the must. If under 50 ppm, add just enough potassium metabisulfite to bring the free SO2 level up to 50 ppm.
Third, rack the must into a sanitized carboy and let it splash a lot in the process. You want to introduce O2 into the must.
Fourth, attach the airlock and wait a few hours. Then remove the airlock and smell it again. If the smell is still prevalent as more than a trace, rack it again as before, affix the airlock, and head for a hardware store, Home Depot or similar store and buy a 1-foot piece of 3/8 to 1/2 inch copper pipe (tubing). Have them cut it into three 4-inch pieces. At home, run a 4-foot piece of sturdy string through one piece of tubing and loop it around and tie it to the string going into the tubing. Adjust the string so the tubing hangs straight up and down and is snug. Run the string through the other two pieces of tubing so all 3 hang straight. Place the tubing and string in a glass bowl and cover with 10% sulfite solution for 2-3 minutes. Remove, rinse with distilled water, drop the tubing into the carboy and swing it around for about 2 minutes. Remove the tubing and rack the must again. Affix the airlock and wait one hour. Smell the must. The smell should be reduced.
Fifth, if the smell is still strong, place a large funnel in a sanitized carboy, hang the copper tubing pieces through the funnel and suspend them a few inches below the funnel. Slowly pour the must through the funnel and into the carboy. It will cascade over the copper on the way in. Remove tubing and funnel, affix the airlock and wait it out. When the must finishes fermenting, fine it with gelatin fining agent per the manufacturer's instructions and rack. Let it clear and rack again.
Another method of copper treatment is go to the supermarket and look in the housewares section for a copper scrubby. (These are less common than they used to be and I once visited four supermarket chains before I found one. I bought three and stored them in baggies just in case.) At home, sanitize it with 10% sulfite solution for 2-3 minutes, rinse with distilled water, and squash it down into a large funnel placed in the mouth of a sanitized carboy. Slowly pour the must through the funnel into the carboy. Repeat in an hour if needed. When the must finishes fermenting, fine it with a gelatin fining agent per the manufacturer's instructions and continue as above.
Of all the things that can happen to a wine, H2S is the most frustrating but certainly not the worse. All those that are worse have no cure, so you just dump the wine. H2S is frustrating because it can be cured, but takes some effort. Worse still, about one in four times it is too far gone when discovered to correct.
I know many of you out there will say, "Why not just treat with copper sulfate and be done with it?" Here is my rule. I do not publish recipes for wine from plants I know to be very poisonous or toxic, and I do not publish cures to wine problems that require adding a poisonous substance. Copper sulfate is very poisonous. If you cannot measure a substance to hundredths of a gram and liquids to a fraction of a milliliter, don't go there. I don't play Russian Roulette and would never ask you to. Use one of the more labor intensive but safer methods above.
Most people who get H2S will get it post-fermentation. Adjust the instructions above to suit the timing.
Common figs grow throughout zones 5-10 and hardier varieties grow north of zone 5. Ripe figs make great snacks right off the tree or have many other uses, one of which is wine. Fig wine has a unique flavor and will keep about three years before it starts oxidizing. When that happens, I let it go about its business, because in another two years it will be a weak sherry. You can add some brandy to "stiffen" it. Below is my tried and true recipe for fig wine, slightly different than what is on my website. Popular fig varieties in Texas are Celeste, Brown Turkey, Black Genoa or Black Spanish, Mission, Texas Everbearing, Strawberry (Adriatic), and Texas Blue Giant. All make good wine.
4 lbs figs
7 pts water
1-3/4 lbs granulated sugar
1 tsp pectic enzyme
3-1/2 tsp acid blend
1 finely crushed Campden tablet
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 pkg Montrachet wine yeast
Chop or feed the figs through a mincer. Place in a large, finely woven nylon straining bag, tie the top and put in a primary fermentation vessel. Stir in all other ingredients except Campden and yeast. Check the specific gravity (should be 1.085 to 1.100; if not, add up to 1/2 cup more sugar, stirring very well before re-checking S.G.). Cover the primary with a cloth. Add Campden after 12 hours and yeast after an additional 12 hours. Stir daily, pressing or squeezing pulp lightly to aid extraction of juices. When liquor reaches 1.040 (3 to 5 days), hang bag over bowl to drain, lightly pressing to aid extraction (do NOT force or you will cloud the liquor). While pulp drains, siphon liquor off sediments into secondary. Add drained liquid and discard pulp. Fit airlock to secondary. Ferment to dryness (S.G. 1.000 or lower -- in about 3 weeks). Rack into clean secondary, top up to 1 gallon and reattach airlock. Rack again in 2 months. Rack again and bottle when clear. This is a good dry wine. If you want it sweeter, stabilize, sweeten and let sit 30 days to be sure refermentation does not occur. Bottle. This wine can be drank young (after 3 months in bottle), but will improve immensely at one year. [Author's own recipe]
As America's Independence Day approaches and we who celebrate it go about filling a three-day weekend, we ought to find a moment to reflect upon those who staked their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honors to break from their king and embark upon that perilous journey into the unknown. We have enjoyed 235 years of unbroken political freedom because of their courage.
Many of us fear we are about to lose that political freedom to the chains of austerity caused by unchecked and wreckless spending by our legislators and state and federal governments. Have we squandered what our forefathers left us or will we change course and secure a sound future for our grandchildren? I believe we are at a crossroads in history and pray that we collectively make the right choice.
On this Fourth of July I shall enjoy my grill and attend a local winery for dessert, metaphorically speaking. I shall see old friends and celebrate another national birthday with festivities and libation. But I have no doubt that we will talk wine. You tend to do that at a winery. I have no doubt we will reflect upon how far winemaking has come in our own lifetimes.
I was recently reading a winemaking book written in 1954. It amazes me how much we have learned, how many tools we have created, how greatly the art and science of winemaking have progressed for you and me in the last 57 years. Specifically, how easily, thoroughly and inexpensively we can prepare a balanced must for fermentation, arrest fermentation without compromising taste and attack problems affecting a wine. We have so many products available to us today that the problem is feast rather than famine.
A fellow wrote to me about a year ago with a haze problem. He had added products to enhance color extraction, tannin extraction, cellular breakdown, suppress volatile acidity formation and several nutrition additives. I did not know enough about the chemistry of the various products to know if their interaction might have caused his problem, but my suspicions were aroused. I remember thinking at the time that when I started making wine only two of those products were available. And really, I'm not that old....
On the last day we were in Hawai'i I told my wife that when we returned I was going to prune my vines from some of their Spring growth and make wine from the prunings. I have done this before with mixed results but had a new plan this time. I used only the leaves, tendrils and growing tips this time, eliminating as much vine as I could. I also used only the prunings from my Champanel grapes, as I have used these in baking and likes the flavor. The wine has just undergone its first racking and shows great promise.
When I say great promise, I do of course mean great promise for a grapevine prunings wine. It would not do to compare it with grape or fruit wines, but it is still worth making if the prunings themselves are pruned to eliminate most of the dark green and woody vine.
The recipe requires a compressed gallon of leaves, tendrils and supple growing tips. I trimmed my prunings into a 5-gallon bucket and compressed it twice from the rim downward to end up with a gallon of compressed material.
1 gallon compressed grape leaves, tendrils and supple growing tips
2 lbs granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons acid blend
1 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
1 finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet
1 gal boiling water
1 can (12 oz) Old Orchard White Grape Frozen Concentrate (optional)
Wine yeast
Bring water to boil and pour over compressed grapevine prunings. Place a heavy weight over leaves to keep them submerged (I used bowl filled with water). Cover the container with heavy cloth and set aside in a warm place for 4 days. Strain and retain the liquid. Press or squeeze the leaves to extract more liquid. Discard leaves. In primary, combine liquid, sugar, Campden, acid blend, and yeast nutrient, stirring well until sugar is completely dissolved. Cover primary for 10 hours, then add yeast in a starter solution. Recover primary and set aside. If using the grape concentrate, thaw and stir into fermenting liquid on the fourth day. When fermentation greatly subsides, transfer to secondary and attach airlock. At 1 month rack, top up and reattach airlock. Rack 2 more times, 30 days apart and the stabilize wine. Sweeten to taste and retain in secondary 30 more days, checking carefully for signs of refermentation. If any signs surface, retain an additional 90 days and then bottle. If none, bottle and age 3 months before tasting. Improves out to 1 year, but then should be consumed. [Author's own recipe]
I lost all but three of this year's planted grape cuttings while in Hawaii. I suppose I forgot to remind my neighbor to water them along with the patio plants. It's okay. I'm not a serious grower anyway. I planted my vines for the experience, so I could identify with the growers when I wrote about them. Of course, having a source of grapes was a consideration, but I have access to enough if I never harvest another of my own. I have wonderful friends.
Growing your own is more work than you can imagine unless you've done it. but it is hugely satisfying to drink a wine that you both grew and made. I recommend it if you have time and don't mind a little sweat. If that isn't you, don't bother. Both you and your vines will suffer.
I have a friend with four Cabernet Sauvignon vines in large terra cotta pots, each with a redwood trellis. It amazes me how much wine he makes from these four vines, but he works hard at it. I don't and it shows.
Down here in Texas we badly need some of that rain the midwest and heartland have received. Those folks are in my prayers and should be in yours. If you have never been in a flood you have no idea how devastating it is. Imagine everything in your house, from your mattress on down, being under water. Even the clothes in your closet wick up the water and grow mildew. You end up replacing most of what you own. I know times are bad, but if you can afford to help those folks in some way, please do. If not, then pray for their deliverance and count your many blessings.
My last WineBlog entry focused on sweetening dry wines and mentioned several strategies using various means. It elicited a phone call and two emails asking for more information about stevia in general and one email asking about "other natural sweeteners." Since there are several categories of sweeteners that might be considered "natural" by some but not by others, a discussion is justified. This entry is my response to that interest.
First, we must define our terms. What you consider "natural" and what I consider "natural" may very well be two entirely different things. If one contends that the absence of human intervention is required to produce a "natural" sweetener, I will contend that there are no natural sweeteners suitable for wine or mead sweetening. Even honey is "gathered" by man from the hives and then clarified to remove animal, plant and other particulates before it is brought to market. Human intervention is required to some degree. The amount of intervention is where we should be quibbling.
In actuality, the first natural sweetener I mentioned in my last entry was a "sweet reserve" of grape juice. This is filtered juice from very ripe grapes of the variety the wine is made from, or juice from a similar or complimentary variety. The natural sweetener is the natural sugars in the juice, present in sufficient amounts for pulling a wine off bone dryness and even raising it to technical sweetness (2% sugar), but not for converting it into a dessert wine. Still, it should be the winemaker's first choice for low level sweetening.
A second choice might be a grape concentrate of the same or a similar, complimentary variety. Some people balk at this, claiming that concentrates are "processed" and therefore not natural. While it is true that grape juice is processed in order to become concentrated, the only thing removed is water and nothing is added if the concentrate is frozen or pasteurized. Further, both concentrates and sweet reserves are typically "processed" by filtering. The sweetener in the concentrate, as in the sweet reserve, is the natural sugars present in the grapes.
Other juices besides grape are concentrated for use as sweeteners in baking and fruit products. These are apple, pear and pineapple, but other fruit juices can be so used. These are typically deacidified and deionized, but there is no doubt the sweetness they provide is from natural sugars. Even concentrated juice from sweet potatoes is used for sweetening in the baking industry.
When you say "natural sweetener" the first product most people think of is honey. Honey is an excellent sweetener, not only of meads but of wines too. A honey-sweetened wine will taste different than one sweetened with grape juice, concentrate or sugar, but the taste of honey may or may not be evident. It depends primarily on the quality of the honey and the amount used, but in certain circumstances it will depend on the grape or fruit variety used.
I mentioned in passing agave nectar (pronounced ah-GAH-vay), which is 1.4 to 1.6 times sweeter than sucrose and also sweeter than honey but less dense. It dissolves far easier and faster than honey. Agave nectar can be produced from several of the 100 or so species of agave but is usually produced from the Blue Agave (Agave tequilana), Green Agave (Agave salmiana), Gray Agave (Agave applanata), and a couple of others. There are several ways to extract the nectar, but all of them destroy the plant. The nectar is essentially the sap of the plant stored in its enormous core, which is a sort of spherical trunk weighing up to 150 pounds once the leaves are cut away. The extraction involves cutting or crushing the core, then gently steaming or roasting it at low temperature for some time to convert the carbohydrates into sugars (mostly fructose and some glucose), pressing to extract the sweetened sap, filtering it, then using enzymes to convert the milky juice into the light, amber or dark syrup we call agave nectar. This hardly seems "natural," but it is considered as such. It is also known as agave syrup, azul, honey water, aguamiel, and several variations of these.
Natural syrups can be concentrated by slow cooking from the sap of maple and birch trees. Maple sap contains sucrose. It takes 40 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of maple syrup through evaporation. Birch sap contains fructose, a sweeter sugar, but requires 100 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of birch syrup through evaporation. I will not go into the production of these syrups as I think that is well known. If you intend to use these syrups for sweetening wine, you may be disappointed. Their flavors are unique and will permeate the wine. While I have never used birch syrup to sweeten a wine, I have used maple -- once.
Two natural sweeteners I know quite a bit about are stevia and mogrosides. Stevia as a sugar substitute gets its name from the plant Stevia rebaudiana, the leaves of which have 30-45 times the sweetness of sucrose. The glycosides that give stevia its sweet taste are stevioside and rebaudioside and are 250-300 times as sweet as sucrose and are heat stable, pH stable and non-fermentable, which makes them perfect for sweetening wine. Stevia sugar substitutes are widely available under many names.
Mogrosides are any of 10 specific glycoside compounds found in certain plants. The only mogroside-containing plant I know anything about is luo han guo (Siraitia grosvenorii), also known as monk fruit or Buddha fruit. An extract from the plant, which is a small, round gourd, is 300 times as sweet as sucrose, while purified mogroside-5 can be 400 times as sweet. Unfortunately, the Chinese have a near-monopoly on the vine which produces the fruit, but some products are appearing in the West in beverages, teas, cereals and other products. A Japanese company manufactures a sugar substitute called Lakanto which contains mogrosides in a luo han guo extract along with erythriol. I haven't seen it yet in the States but it's only a matter of time. I have only encountered mogroside-5 in a laboratory setting and was not able to obtain any myself but it was very sweet.
I strongly believe we will be introduced to other natural sweeteners in the near future, both to serve the healthy foods crowd and the medically mandated sugar-free crowd. There are also those who simply like to try the unusual and exotic. Strangely, I find myself being among the latter.
Back in January I was digging through a chest freezer, looking for some venison shoulder we cooked, shredded and froze some time back. I had a casserole in mind. I found the venison, but I also found some Montmorency cherries a friend in Michigan sent me, some elderberries from Louisiana that were badly freezer burned (sorry Luke), and some pomegranate juice in a ZipLoc bag that came from my parents' trees. I made the casserole, which was delicious, and started a wine. Five months later I can report that the wine is going to be fantastic after additional aging. It's already in the bronze to silver medal window, and I expect it to age into gold medal contention.
Mixed Fruit Wine Recipe
2 3/4 lbs Montmorency (or any sour) cherries
1/4 pound elderberies
14 fl oz pure pomegranate juice
1 cup Welch's frozen Red Grape Concentrate
1 lb 2 oz finely granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp acid blend
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet
2 qts water
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 sachet Red Star Montrachet wine yeast
The fruit, juice and concentrate were defrosted. The cherries had not been pitted and did not require pitting after defrosting as no crushing was necessary. In the primary fermentation vessel pour cherries and elderberries into nylon straining bag and tie closed. Add sugar, acid blend, yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme to primary. Add pomegranate juice, grape concentrate and water. Stir to dissolve sugar completely. Cover primary and set aside for 12 hours. Stir in finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet and stir to integrate. Recover primary and set aside another 12 hours. Add activated yeast in a yeast starter solution. Cover primary and set aside in warm place. Stir daily, punching down the nylon bag. When fermentation loses its vigor, put on clean rubber gloves and remove the nylon straining bag, squeezing to expel juice into primary. Cover and allow one more day. Transfer liquid to secondary, attach airlock and set aside one week. Top up, reattach airlock and set aside for 30 days. Rack, top up and reattach airlock. Wine should fall clear. Let sit additional 30 days and carefully rack into clean secondary. Stabilize, attach airlock and set aside 30 days. Bottle and age. Allow at least 6 months before tasting. This is a dry wine. Sweeten after stabilizing if that is your taste. [Author's own recipe]
This wine is aging and should be ready to enjoy around Christmas. I may open a bottle or two in November and add some mulling spices for holiday evening cheer. The sour cherry and pomegranate meld together well. I purposely added only a small amount of elderberry and grape concentrate. The resulting wine is dry with medium body. You can tweak the recipe to increase the body (grape concentrate) and sweeten after stabilizing. If you sweeten, hold the wine 45 instead of 30 days before bottling -- longer if you see fine bubbles or renewed cloudiness.
Changes can occur gradually or abruptly. I have always preferred gradual change.
A week and a half ago I awoke at six, fixed a fresh pot of coffee, poured a cup, and went out on the front porch to watch the light change through the trees in our front yard. We live in a neighborhood of Pleasanton called Oak Forest and we have many giant live oaks (live oak is the species) on our property. As I sat and enjoyed the first sip of Kaua'i coffee, something looked wrong off to my right. There was sky where there should have been the canopy of a large double oak -- two trees that had grown up so close that they merged long ago into a single base with two trunks. One trunk leaned south toward the street while the other leaned north-by-northeast toward my garage. There was too much sky where there should have been the latter.
Stepping out onto the sidewalk, I saw the reason even in the dim light of dawn. The photo to the right was taken about a half-hour later. The trunk of the tree to the right measured 3 feet 8 inches in diameter.
Walking around to the driveway, with great sadness I saw the full extent of the loss. Indeed, the damage looked far worse than it was. Just right of center in the picture to the left is the upright trunk of a mesquite tree, snapped off about 8 feet from the ground. An ornamental light, with 5 globes, stands to the right of the mesquite trunk. But the massive canopy had engulfed my truck, which would be clearly visible where the dark mass in the photo is if the canopy not hidden it. The canopy looks like it is laying on my garage, but in fact the upper reaches of the tree fell 2 feet short of my garage structure on two sides. Miraculously, when the canopy was removed, my truck was unscathed, the cement drive uncracked, the ornamental light undamaged, and the garage untouched. Visible in the next photo is about one-quarter of the fallen tree, which fell to the left of this frame.
This single branch measured 22 inches in diameter at the base and about 82 feet in length. To save the tree that remained upright, which now leans toward the south without any root support to the north, I had three large branches similar to this one removed to reduce the weight pulling it to the south. At best, this is a temporary measure. Sooner or later it will fall.
You would think a tree fall such as this would be quite loud and easily heard in the house. It was not. I had no idea it had happened until I went outside the next morning. But I do know when it happened. I had a case of cream soda sitting sideways in my utility room with one end opened but the cardboard tucked in to keep the soda inside. At 11:10 p.m. four cans rolled out of the case onto the tiled floor and sounded like a small caliber handgun discharging four times. I was on the computer at the time and it startled me enough that I armed myself before investigating. I assumed at the time that the weight of the cans pushed the tucked in closure loose, but now I realize the cans fell from the vibration caused by the falling tree. I might have felt the vibrations had the cans not startled me so much.
It is a fairly common practice to ferment a batch of wine, red or white, to bone dryness and then sweeten it to taste, whether to off-dryness, semi-sweetness or downright sweet. The reasons for doing this are several, but bone dryness is often too dry for even seasoned connoisseurs. Prior to sweetening the wine is given a dose of sulfur dioxide of approzimately 30-50 ppm strength and stabilized with potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite to ensure biological stability keeps the wine still by helping the yeast cease fermentation if it had not already done so. I am often asked about sweetening dry wines, so I thought I would discuss the aspects I am most often asked about.
It all boils down to adding sweetness to the wine. Sweetness is usually some form of sugar in liquid form, but need not be sugar or liquid.
Purists will sweeten a Riesling, for example, with a "sweet reserve" of preserved juice from very ripe Riesling grapes. The juice is preserved with about 200 ppm of sulfur dioxide, stored in a filled container with minimal ullage and refrigerated until needed. One can also use grape (Riesling in this example) concentrate or a very sweet finished (Riesling) wine. Whatever one uses, the blending or sweetening is done after the wine is both clear and stable. The sweetened wine should then be observed for 30 days to allow for discovery of any potential problems before bottling, like refermentation.
By stable, I mean biologically stable -- without a viable yeast population. Such wines can be refrigerated, fined and racked, then either sterile filtered or stabilized with potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite. The method is up to the winemaker, but true sterile filtration is usually beyond the means of the home winemaker.
If not sweetening with a sweet reserve, concentrate or finished sweet wine, a simple syrup is commonly used. Simple syrup is 2 parts sugar dissolved in 1 part water. Common sucrose (table sugar) is usually used and is cane sugar, but corn sugar or beet sugar can also be used. Beet sugar, however, has been known to cause a slight haze that is difficult to get rid of. A simple syrup with invert sugar is preferable to one with sucrose, but it is essential to make one that is exact and with which you can reliably calculate exact results.
Such an invert simple syrup is easily made. Dissolve 47.5 grams (1.67 ounces) sucrose and 1 gram of citric acid in enough water to total 100 mL. Heat the mixture until just about to boil and reduce heat to maintain a "just about boiling" state. Maintain this for 30 minutes and set aside to cool. When cooled, measure again and top up to 100 mL. This syrup will contain 0.5 grams of invert sugar (glucose/fructose) per mL.
One can, of course, sweeten with honey, with agave nectar, or with maple syrup. There are many other sweeteners, but one must know what one is dealing with. Corn syrup, for example, is not a good substitute for corn sugar unless you know exactly how much corn sugar is in the syrup. I find it best to deal with the invert simple syrup, and I prefer cane sugar.
There are many artificial sweeteners. There is only one I have used that does not leave an artificial taste, and that is powdered stevia (Stevia rebaudiana). I have used it occasionally over the past 16-18 years. While I am told that high concentrations of stevia do impart an aftertaste, I use such small amounts I have never noticed anything unpleasant.
The question I can never answer is how much sweetener should one add. The correct answer is, "just enough to suit your taste." People want numbers, and the numbers are unknown until the person sweetens the wine to his or her own particular taste. A small but exact sample -- say, 50 mL -- of the wine should be drawn off and used as a test bed. This sample is sweetened with a small, measured amount of sweetener, stirred well to thoroughly mix in the addition, and then allowed to sit a few minutes to allow the added sweetness to integrate into the flavor profile of the wine. Notes are taken of the sample size and the amount of sweetener added. After 10-15 minutes, the sample is then tasted. If not to your satisfaction, another sample the same size is drawn and a slightly larger but measured amount of sweetener is added, stirred and set aside before tasting.
When the sample tastes right, you have a decision to make. It is the nature of wine with any residual sugar to taste sweeter after aging 9-12 months. The sample that tastes just right now may taste too sweet in a year. If the wine is going to be consumed quickly, go with the sample that tasted best. But if the wine is destined to be aged and cellared, you may want to go with the last measures that didn't taste quite sweet enough and allow aging to complete the blend.
Finally, a word about "table adjustments." These are adjustments made to the wine at the time it is consumed. Permit me a short vignette to illustrate. When Thomas Jefferson was the U.S. Ambassador to France, he toured France's wine districts and purchased wines for himself, George Washington and one or two other friends. Jefferson had a skilled palate and selected only the finest wines, which then had to be bottled, corked, labeled, packed in crates, and shipped from the winery to America, with customs houses on both sides of the Atlantic negotiated. Buying fine wine for his President was no simple affair. When Jefferson returned to America and dined with Washington, he was horrified to discover that the President spooned a small quantity of sugar in the glass before pouring the wine, and then stirred it for several minutes before tasting it. Washington was making a "table adjustment," and if was good enough for the first President of the United States it should be allowed to anyone. But courtesy requires that you taste the wine first and then make the adjustment.
For more information on sugars (there are dozens), see the third link below. For other aspects of dealing with a finished wine, see the fourth link below. To read more on blending in general, see the fifth link below.
I hope you all enjoyed the Memorial Day weekend. This is not a universal holiday but is shared by many countries on various dates. May 30th is Memorial Day in the United States. Unlike Veterans Day, which honors all who served or are serving, Memorial Day honors those who gave their lives in the uniformed services of their nation. In that regard it is a much more solemn occasion. But for many it was just a day to get out the barbecue grill and cook up some hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, chops, chicken quarters, sausages or other gustatory delights. I have no objection to this (I grilled some chops), but I do hope those who forgot to honor the fallen who made their barbecue possible pay them tribute another time. It is the very least a citizen should do.
Back in early 2003 Paul Bruin, of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, wrote that he wanted to make a dandelion mead using dandelion honey and the flower petals. I replied in my Requested Recipes section, "I have seen enough bees pollinating dandelions to know they will do their best. I just don't know if one will ever get a true 'dandelion honey.'" To this day I have not seen a honey labeled "Dandelion" and really had no idea why.
I received an email yesterday that answered the long lingering question, why not dandelion honey? The email stated, in part, "I am writing (as a beekeeper) to answer your question about dandelion honey. Better than the wine you can make from their flowers, the best thing about dandelions is that they contribute pollen for bees as they are emerging from winter -- desperately hungry. However, bees get almost no nectar from dandelions. Thus, there is no dandelion honey."
Well, in an existential sense he is probably right about, "...the best thing about dandelions is that they contribute pollen for bees as they are emerging from winter -- desperately hungry." Whether that is "better than the wine you can make from their flowers" is quite debatable in my mind and would depend upon the quality of the wine (or mead), but I will just concede the point to Ralph Knapp and thank him for the enlightenment.
What is so interesting is that last year I actually found a mead recipe that called for Dandelion Honey. I never wrote to the author to seek the source of this honey simply because I thought it would weigh too much to be shipped economically, but now I have a genuine curiosity and may do so.
To be absolutely sure of Ralph's claim, I found the following posted on the website Chowhound which makes me doubt the recipe calling for dandelion honey. "To clarify, bees forage on flowers, collecting nectar and pollen; they don't actually eat flowers. The likelihood of finding honey from just dandelions is pretty slim, as bees gather dandelion pollen, which is a source of protein for the bees, and the dandelion nectar, which is not very abundant and will not produce honey above and beyond what the bees use for themselves, but is a boost for the health of the hive." I'm sold.
Dandelion Mead Recipe
This is the recipe I developed in 1999 and published in 2003. It is a proven recipe and therefore I have no hesitation in publishing it again. But, for the record, I have another recipe awaiting evaluation -- by that I mean it is aging and will be tasted next spring.
2 qts loosely packed dandelion petals
3/4 lb chopped white raisins (or sultanas)
2-1/2 lbs honey
juice and zest of 1 lemon
juice and zest of 1 orange
1 tsp powdered pectic enzyme
1 tsp acid blend
1/4 tsp grape tannin
1 crushed Campden tablet
water to one gallon
1 tsp yeast nutrient
mead or white wine yeast
Boil two quarts water and stir honey into it. Continue boiling 20 minutes, skimming off any foam that may appear. Set aside covered to cool. Meanwhile, chop raisins and prepare zest of lemon and orange. Combine dandelion petals, chopped raisins and zests in fine mesh nylon straining bag. When honey-water cools, bring volume up to 1 gallon. Combine all ingredients except yeast in primary, stir, cover, and set aside 12 hours. Add activated yeast and cover primary. Stir daily until vigorous fermentation subsides (about 7-10 days). Drip-drain straining bag (do not squeeze). Pour liquid into secondary and attach airlock. Rack after 30 days, topping up with water, mead or dandelion wine. Refit airlock and set aside. Rack every 45-60 days until mead clears and no longer deposits sediment. Rack, stabilize and bulk age 6 months. Sweeten to taste and rack into bottles. Bottle age another 3-6 months before tasting. Improves with age. [Author's own recipe]
Dandelion wine is, I believe, the best thing you can do with dandelions, but dandelion mead is among the top three. What else shares the triple crown? Only the unknowing will laugh, but it is dandelion jelly. It tastes so much like honey that upon tasting you will pause for a reality check.
The jelly is easier to make than the wine or the mead, but like them, you will have to pick a lot of dandelions to secure the richness of flavor. I have made this jelly with 2 cups of petals and with 3 cups of petals. The latter is infinitely superior and is used here.
3 cups of dandelion petals (you will need to start with 5-6 cups of whole flowers)
2 lemons, juiced and rinds grated for zest (filter juice thru coffee filter)
5 1/2 cups sugar
3 oz liquid pectin (1 pack of Certa)
Water
Pluck or cut or pinch petals from flower heads, saving only the yellow petals. You get the most usable material by grasping the green base of the flower head with one hand and pulling the petals upward into a compact bunch, then wiggling both the base and the petals until they separate. You only have to do it a few times to get the hang of it. Another way is to carefully grasp the sepals (the green casing at the base of the flower) on opposing sides of the flower and pull outward and down. The petals will spread out into a sort of sphere and are easily removed. This method is easier if you have three hands. You can place the plucked petals in a colander and spray wash them if you like. They undoubtedly will have some dust an other matter on them.
Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in a large stainless steel pot and add the flower petals. Boil for 10 minutes and then remove from heat, cover and simply let the petals steep in the water overnight. Pour carefully through a strainer, reserving liquid. Press petals gently if needed; you will need 3 cups of the liquid.
Pour the measured liquid in a tall stock pot. To the liquid, add the lemon juice, zest and pectin. Bring to a rolling boil and add the sugar, stirring with a wooden spoon or paddle. Stir quickly to dissolve sugar thoroughly as it returns to a boil. Boil hard for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until liquid sheets off of wooden spoon. Turn off heat and skim any scum off liquid. Carefully ladle into sterilized jelly jars to within 1/4 inch of the rim. Wipe rim if necessary and, using insulated kitchen mittens, screw sterilized lids and rings snugly onto jars.
Process in boiling bath for 10 minutes, more if at altitude (15 minutes if higher than Denver's 1-mile elevation).
This, like mesquite bean jelly, is incredibly honey-like in taste and simply luxurious to enjoy. It needs no dressing up, but if you make successive batches and want variations you can stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or almond extract just before ladling into the jars (but not both into one batch). Using an eyedropper, I added 4 drops of orange extract into a batch and it was more than the hint I was after. If I ever do that again, I will use 3 drops.
Dandelion Mead, here is the recipe that calls for "dandelion honey"
What follows is part two of my republication of an interview with me ten months ago by Ken Payton for his blog, Reign of Terroir. Part 1 was republished here on May 23rd, 2011. The original article was published on July 18th, 2010. See link following this entry.
Ken PaytonWhat are the indigenous varieties which show the greatest promise for commercial success?
Jack Keller Down here in Texas we have a native grape called mustang that is probably the worst tasting grape you'd never want to try, but good winemakers have been making some terrific wines from that sucker for generations. Mustang is a real challenge, but if you can make good wines from that grape you can probably make exceptional wines out of anything else. I'm not saying mustang has great commercial promise, but at least two wineries in Texas sell an awful lot of it.
The reason I mentioned mustang first off is to make clear that a good winemaker can make good wine out of any grape. The problem with many indigenous grapes is that they bear too little fruit to be commercially viable or are too vigorous to be controlled in a vineyard setting. Those that bear well and can be managed on the trellis have largely been exploited in breeding programs or in niche markets.
There are a lot of old grapes - heirloom varieties, if you will - that were once popular but would now be extinct if not for a few breeders, memorial vineyards, enthusiasts, and the clonal germplasm repositories at Geneva, NY and Davis, CA. The ones I am referring to are mostly hybrids of the native species, but some do indeed have at least some V. vinifera genes. From this vast storehouse are some exceptional grapes that make exceptional wines, but would you plant a few acres of Herbemont, Lenoir, Hidalgo, Ives, Brilliant, Lindley, Elvira, Blondin, Clinton, Elvicand, Valhallah, Hopkins, Bailey, Husmann, Munson, or XLNTA when customers are still asking for Merlot? It would take a gutsy person to do so, but there are some such folks out there. I have tasted commercial wines of most of these grapes (still looking for Elvicand and Hopkins). Most of these grapes will grow fine down here in the Pierces Disease belt (PD), where V. vinifera bears two crops before dying.
The oldest continuously operated winery in Texas is Val Verde Winery in Del Rio. Their flagship grape is Lenoir, a.k.a. Black Spanish, and they make a darned good table wine and a highly respected (and a bit pricey) port from this grape. They also make a half-dozen V. vinifera wines, but I would bet my soul that they buy that juice from some place where those grapes will grow. And that's okay. They have to compete, and even though Robert Parker is never going to mention Val Verde Winery (they grow that Lenoir grape!), he does seem to mention all the other wines they sell and that works in their favor.
The truth is that I don't really know which indigenous species or varieties show the greatest promise for commercialization, but there is some good potential out there. I prefer the blends to the varietals in both vinifera and indigenous wines, so I am only limited by what I can find out there.
Ken PaytonI believe the time is ripe for the expansion of fruit wines into the market, still and sparkling. As with crafted beers, there is a commercial niche high quality fruit wines can create. Your thoughts?
Jack Keller Ken, I think the expansion is well under way. In certain portions of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, every other winery offers a stable of fruit and berry wines, both still and sparkling. I was amazed how good sparkling cherry and raspberry can be. It had simply never occurred to me to make these wines.
Throughout the South you will find many, many commercial wineries offering wines from every fruit grown regionally, including pawpaw, mayhaw, huckleberry, blueberry, elderberry, all varieties of blackberry, currants, star fruit, Clementines, and so on.
Just recently a friend of mine living in the Sierras above Oroville commented on a winery in Chico that makes blackberry, cherry, cranberry, and elderberry wines, as well as a dry mead he likes.
When I lived in San Francisco, on my jaunts down home to San Bernardino I always stopped at a place in Pacheco Valley called Casa de Fruta and picked up a few bottles of pomegranate, raspberry and apricot wines. When down your way, I always tried to stop at Chaucer's Winery in Soquel, CA, and pick up a bottle of Olallieberry wine, arguably the best blackberry that ever grew, and a bottle of raspberry mead.
I think the wines have been here for a long time. What has happened, though, is that the commercial wine world, especially in California, is 99.9% invested in V. vinifera and that is what rules the roost. Wine writers perpetuate the "If it isn't vinifera, it isn't wine" mantra by completely ignoring non-vinifera and non-grape wines. In the PD belt of the South, where V. vinifera vines only survive for 3-5 years, non-vinifera grapes are widely grown and their wines widely consumed. Indeed, muscadine is the grape of the South, and people who drink muscadine have no problem with fruit wines.
Ken PaytonWhat are the cultural, practical and gustatory obstacles to the commercial success of fruit and non-vinifera wines?
Jack Keller I think there are few gustatory obstacles. Yes, cherry wines will never taste like any wine that rude woman in Kalamazoo has ever drank, but every good cherry wines tastes, well, good. And if truth be told, I have never met a person that didn't like blackberry wine. But, if you don't like fruit, well, then you might want to stick to beer.
On a practical level, the shelf life of fruit wines is comparatively short. If they don't sell quickly, they probably won't sell. But fruit wines are almost always shoved into the corner with the lowest traffic in the store because the big money controls the high traffic areas. You have to go looking for fruit wines to even find them, and you won't go looking if you don't know they are there. When is the last time you saw an ad or commercial - or just a mention in a movie or TV series - for a fruit or berry wine?
So that brings us to the cultural obstacles. I think most of the above is relevant here, from Robert Parker and all the Parker-wannabes, to the farmer who isn't going to take a chance on a vine that will grow but which almost no one still living has ever heard of. The truth is that it is a V. vinifera wine world and in America it is all influenced by two or three small valleys in northern California.
I talked to a grower 12-14 years ago who was losing all his vines to Pierces Disease. He asked the agricultural extension agent, who was there at that moment, when was someone going to put some real money into solving the PD problem. The agent said, "When PD reaches California the money will flow." He was right. PD has reached California and there are big bucks flowing into PD research. But that too is part of the cultural obstacle. PD wasn't a problem as long as it was just wiping out mom and pop vineyards in the South. But when it threatens Big Wine's vineyards, then it becomes worthy of notice.
Now, it may just turn out that there isn't a solution to PD. If that comes to past (and I sincerely hope that it doesn't), then all those native hybrids I mentioned earlier will start looking really good because many of them are PD tolerant and some are outright resistant. Andy Walker and many others at UC-Davis and elsewhere are looking into that resistance and the genes that may be responsible for it. Until the actual genes responsible are identified and spliced, the next best approach is to cross-breed resistance from the natives into V. vinifera. Once you do that, you then cross back to vinifera repeatedly until you have just enough residual resistance to protect the vinifera without messing up the flavor too much with that pesky American muck. It's a perfectly understandable approach. Another approach would be to simply plant Lenoir, or Herbemont, or Bailey, or….
Having spent megatons of money convincing Americans that they are mere commoners if they don't drink toasted oaked Chardonnay, it would be, well, insincere - would it not? - to retrain the palate to like something less noble. God forbid we should stoop to anything so low as Carlos muscadine, persimmon wine or - dare I say it? - Key Lime-A-Rita.
Ken PaytonSo, bottom line, my interest is in the clear-headed promotion of commercial alternatives to Vitis vinifera. I have enjoyed a number of pear and apple-based wines recently, and was blown away by the quality. It seems to me that the success of off-dry Rieslings, for example, the dumbing down, the homogenization of vinifera wines, especially at lower price points (the Two Buck Chuck Effect!), combined with new marketing niches now possible because of the revolution of crafted beers, all dovetail into new opportunities for non-vinifera expressions.
Jack Keller Ken, I couldn't agree more with your last opinion. Despite the best efforts of Big Wine to dictate what we should like, the truth is that not all people are sheep. You can burn out on any taste after a while. The success of all those soft drinks on the cola aisle is based on the fact that people get tired of Coke or Pepsi or 7-Up all the time. The same is true of wines. But I fear Big Wine is trying to control that desire for diversity.
Take, for example, Arbor Mist's fruit flavored vinifera wines. I counted 11 different flavors the other day at the market, and their success validates your instincts. There is a niche out there for fruit wines and Arbor Mist is jumping in to fill it. But why not sell the real fruit wine? Why flavor Merlot with blackberry when you could sell blackberry wine? The truth probably has something to do with a glut of grapes on the market. Merlot is cheap. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be a Two-Buck Chuck Merlot.
Now, I do understand why there is at least some grape in most fruit wines. Having made the real McCoy of every wine Arbor Mist offers, I will be the first to point out that most fruit wines are light in body. I myself usually add about 12-20% grape juice by volume to my fruit musts to thicken that lightness. But the difference between adding fruit flavors to vinifera wines or vinifera to fruit wines actually is significant. Arbor Mist Peach Chardonnay tastes too peachy, like that banana wine adulterated with banana extract. The consumer who tastes it and then tastes an excellent, real peach wine may well be disappointed in the real thing. Arbor Mist is tricking the consumer into tasting what he or she expects peach wine to taste like rather than presenting the real flavor of peach wine. This, in the long run, may well work against the real fruit wine producers.
You mentioned the Two-Buck Chuck Effect on pricing; let's call this the Arbor Mist Effect on flavor expectations. The former has been positive for the consumer. The latter is just deception. Deception may be profitable and it may taste good, but it's still deception. It is important to remember that whenever deception is practiced, someone gets hurt. In this case, it is probably the real fruit winemakers who suffer. The niche they belong in is being largely filled by Big Wine (Arbor Mist is owned by Constellation Brands, the largest wine company in the world) and manipulated so that many consumers will reject real fruit wines as "lacking flavor."
I'd love to be wrong. I don't think Arbor Mist will steal established customers away from fruit wine producers unless it is on the pricing level, but it probably will absorb the bulk of new customers turning to - what did you call it? - "non-vinifera expressions"? But of course they satisfy the change with more vinifera. The fruit wine producers may not lose customers, but they certainly won't gain the many new customers they might have.
I really don't know where all of this is going, but it worries me. If there were suddenly a demand for Norton, would Big Wine plant Norton, buy established wineries producing Norton, or follow the Arbor Mist model and sell Merlot with Norton flavoring added? It's anyone's guess.
Ken PaytonGreat thanks for your reflections on what promises to be a lively cultural conversation in the coming years.
A few weeks ago I was talking to a group of home winemakers and one of them asked about an interview I did 10 months ago on indigenous grape and non-grape wines. The winemaker thought it was a very fine interview and my memory agreed. Later, I wrote to Ken Payton, administrator of the blog Reign of Terrior, and asked if I might republish his interview with me as a serial after I returned from Hawai'i. He graciously gave his blessings to the project. Since I have returned from Hawai'i, this then is the first installment of a two-part series.
Those who do not want to wait three days to read the second part might just bounce on over to Ken's blog and read the whole thing at one sitting. The link to do so immediately follows this entry.
Ken PaytonWould you say a bit about the historical eclipse of America's indigenous grape varieties by Vitis vinifera?
Jack Keller Ken, from the earliest days, I think every generation of Europeans who came to America brought with them a memory of wine that was formed almost exclusively around their homeland's varieties of V. vinifera. It was and still is, after all, the overwhelmingly dominant grape on the western half of the Eurasian landmass and by import throughout North and South Africa, Australia, South America, and the Golden State. Sure, the more common among the immigrants possibly also had experience with elderberry, greengage, apple, blackberry and other homemade country wines, but there wasn't really anything in Europe equivalent to the vast numbers of American native grapes.
With a V. vinifera memory, immigrants were of course disappointed in the very different flavors obtained from wild American grapes. However, the old expression "any port is welcome in a storm" also applies to wine. Oddly flavored wine was vastly preferred to no wine at all. Besides, for those who were born in American or came here very young, they had no memory of V. vinifera, American grapes made perfectly acceptable wine. Until, that is, the second half of the twentieth century, when Madison Avenue began to tell us what was and what wasn't acceptable.
The wild grape of Europe, V. sylvestris, is somewhat analogous to American grapes in that both are dioecious, bearing male and female flowers on separate plants. If you walk through the forests of America where grapes grow, you see many vines that are male and devoid of fruit. V. vinifera, with hermaphroditic flowers, clearly would be favored in the garden or on the farm for that reason alone. But that is but a bonus. The real draw to V. vinifera is the generally superior flavors of the juice and it's fermented byproduct over any other grape species on the planet. Even an inferior V. vinifera variety is unquestionably superior to the best V. monticola, V. mustangensis, V. acerifolia, V. arizonica, V. girdiana, V. vulpina, V. cinerea, etc. While one can get used to wines from these grapes, they are certainly not the best of the American native species.
The better American indigenous species, V. labrusca, V. aestivalis, V. riparia, and even V. rotundifolia have all produced some outstanding varieties. But, with the exception of V. rotundifolia (muscadine), the vast majority of the commercially successful "American" grapes all seem to have a little V. vinifera in their genes. Concord, Catawba, Alexander, Niagara, Delaware, Norton (or Cynthiana, if you prefer), and Ives are but a few that have had long lasting commercial success, and all but one of those had a European pollinator in its distant past. And then there are the muscadines - Scuppernong, Noble, Scarlett, Nesbitt, Summit, Carlos, Ison, Magnolia, Tara, and so on.
Certainly you can say these wines have been eclipsed by V. vinifera wines, but they were never in the same league at all. Even so, they have their place. Personally, I would prefer a good Ives Noir to an average V. vinifera, and there are a lot of average V. vinifera wines out there.
Ken PaytonTell us something of the quality of wines the home winemaker can achieve with both vinifera and native grapes, but also of various fruits.
Jack Keller I have been judging home wine competitions for a long time. I distinctly remember the first homemade wine I ever scored a perfect 20 (out of 20 possible). It was a black raspberry with a little elderberry in it, and it was superb. The beauty of that wine was that had I not known I was drinking a black rasp with elder, I'd have thought I was drinking a very well made Zinfandel.
The best wines I have personally ever made were almost all non-grape wines - dandelion, Marion blackberry, key lime, Loganberry, black currant, pomegranate, mangosteen, black raspberry, Boysenberry, cherry, and (you're not going to believe this…) beet. Oh, I've made more than a few unforgettable grape wines too, but I like to field blend indigenous grapes and produce something no one has ever tasted before. Probably my very best was a blend of V. mustangensis, V. cinerea var. helleri, V. monticola, and V. vulpina, and it was smooth but crisp and utterly delicious. I could never make it again because I just filled the press with what I had, but of course I'll try.
Having said all of that, I am not the best home winemaker I know. I think I am pretty good, but I know people who make wines that put mine to shame. I consider it an achievement when I can steal a Best of Show or Grand Champion from them.
I think some of the best wines and worse wines I have ever tasted were made from the same fruit or berries. You can make an absolutely delightful wine from peaches, for example, but if your method is inappropriate or you use under-ripe fruit or simply not enough fruit it can be worse than bad. The best eating plums you can find might make pitiful wine, but a bucket full of small, tart, wild sand plums can be transformed into the most delicious wine you have tasted. The same can be said of grapes. The best table grapes generally make poor wine. Have you ever eaten a bunch of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes? Not very appealing, but oh, what wine!
Native grapes present similar challenges. Many have unusual aromas or flavors associated with their species. These are not necessarily disagreeable, although they might be, but they certainly are unusual. Every winemaker knows that the wine almost certainly will not taste like the fruit from which it was made, but it will carry certain characteristics of the fruit into the wine. Learning what will and what will not be carried into the wine is one of the skills that separate really good winemakers from the rest. Put another way, knowing what the ingredients will taste like when combined and then baked or cooked is what separates chefs from mere cooks.
V. vinifera varieties present the same problem, but we have tens of thousands of examples of finished product from which to learn. With most native grapes and a lot of different fruit, you have to make the wines to learn what is possible and what is not. Learning how to manipulate what nature offers so as to bring out desirables while shedding, masking or neutralizing undesirables is what turns the average chef into the master craftsman.
I guess what I am trying to say is that the potential quality of native grape wines is really dependent on the winemaker's skills. The same can be said of V. vinifera wines, but most viniferas are much more forgiving than are the natives. You have to be a pretty bad winemaker to screw up a batch of Merlot, but you have to be a pretty good winemaker to coax a good wine out of V. mustangensis or V. rupestris.
Country wines present different challenges, but these are basically challenges of ingredient selection and chemistry, solved by a combination of knowledge and good winemaking techniques. Just as tart plums make better wine than most table plum cultivars, tart cider apples make far superior wine than do sweet eating apples. You have to select the right ingredients and then work with the chemistry that comes with them. The results can be both surprising and delightful.
If you've ever eaten raw cranberries, the idea of making wine from them might seem like a waste of time and effort. But the truth is that cranberry wine served in a blind tasting will be mistaken for grape wine - usually White Zinfandel - almost every time. Few other fruit or berry wines will do this, but the beauty is what each actually tastes like once fermented. Banana wine will not taste like banana unless the winemaker adds banana extract, in which case it will taste like adulterated banana wine.
The things to remember with country wines is that they are not grape wines, should never be compared to grape wines, and should be judged by what they present - not what you expect. My wife and I were in a little winery outside of Kalamazoo and we were luxuriating in the enjoyment of one of the best cherry wines we'd ever tasted when a woman complained in a very loud, shrill voice, "This doesn't taste like any wine I'VE ever tasted!" You can go through life complaining and being unhappy or you can just relax and enjoy the moment.
What I love about home winemakers is that they experiment. It doesn't always work out for the better, and folks with good manners will never let their failures cross the lips of a guest. But those successes, those are where the next greatest thing might be found. My wife's favorite wine is a wine I learned how to make from Martin Benke called Key Lime-A-Rita, which is basically fermented Key Limeade and Triple Sec, and yes, it tastes more like a Margarita than a wine. Some winemaker down in Florida is going to read my blog one day, give Key Lime-A-Rita a try, and sell a thousand cases.
The conclusion will be published here on Wednesday, May 25, 2011.
I returned home yesterday afternoon from Kaua'i and have been looking through hundreds of pictures taken on the trip. Most are straightforward and obvious, but the landscape photos can be challenging. Take, for example, the photo on the right. This is a shot taken of the Kalalau Valley on the Na Pali Coast from the Kalalau Lookout at the very top of the Waimea Canyon Road. The photo has been reduced to 7% of its original size to fit the blog space, but in it's original resolution one can zoom in all over this sucker and see what we really saw that day, which is at least 37 waterfalls on the facing valley wall.
It had rained the day before and the runoff had created countless falls which had already disappeared from the upper heights -- at least from this distance. Those that remained on this day were slowly diminishing themselves, but some would remain as permanent features. On our first visit to Kaua'i I had asked a Ranger how many waterfalls were on the island and he said it depends on when it rained and where. During a widespread rain there are tens of thousands, but 2-3 days later only 20% might remain. While even that is only a rough estimate, it is good to remember that it rains somewhere on Kaua'i every day. The highest elevation on the island receives an average of 460 inches of precipitation per year and is the wettest place on land on Earth.
The photo on the left is a blowup of a small portion of the previous photo. In it one can clearly see one waterfall -- two or even three if you know where they are.
The scale of these vistas is so grand that that tiny waterfall in the center of the photo is probably around 100-110 feet on the vertical, but I am just guessing. There is nothing over there to use as a measure of scale except trees, and not knowing their type or age makes it all guesswork. Using the trees around my vantage point is the best I can do. I could probably work it out fairly accurately with a good topographic map of the area but I do not have one. Still, it is a long falls and that is a very tall vertical face, so I think 100-110 is close but possibly short.
The photo on the right is a blowup of the previous blowup. The single falls that appeared so clearly previously is now very clearly accompanied by other falls. There are five in this photo.
Look straight up from the largest, lower falls and you can see a very small falls, perhaps 10-12 feet in height, at the bottom of the dark shadow. Above the shadow is a large, light-leafed tree with a clearly defined falls above it and slightly to the right. To the far right of the large, light-leafed tree just mentioned is the third largest falls in this portion of the photo. The fifth falls is obvious at higher resolution but difficult to see here. If you look up from the falls above the large, light-leafed tree previously mentioned, you will see another light-leafed tree with an even smaller one immediately above it. The fifth falls is just to the right of the smaller light-leafed tree.
At a higher resolution three more falls are clearly visible in the last photo, but they are very wispy and so barely visible at this resolution as to almost not be there. However, if you are curious two are in the dark shadows in the upper left portion of the photo and one is below them about halfway down.
Okole maluna (Oh-ko-lay ma-lu-na) is Hawaiian for "bottom's up," or cheers! It just would not be a good week on Kaua'i without at least four stops at Koloa Rum Company at Kilohana Plantation in Puhi. The white rum is good but not special, but the gold is a step up and worth tasting. The Koloa Dark Hawaiian Rum is still one of the best dark rums I've ever tasted, with vanilla, caramel and toasted orange zest evident in the nose and taste. It finishes long and begs for another taste. It makes the best Mai Tai I have ever tasted (see link at the end of this entry). I have also concocted a drink with Koloa rums I call Kaua'i Sunrise. The recipe is further down in this entry.
Koloa Rum has added a Spice Rum to its line-up, and this is a real winner. I do not consider it in the same league as the Dark, but it is a delicious treat nonetheless and well worth trying. You can taste it for free at the Koloa Rum Company's tasting room at Kilohana. Unlike the White, Gold and Dark, which can be purchased at a discount at the island's nearby Costco, their Spice Rum was only available directly from Koloa Rum Company during our visit.
I have no idea what spices are in their Spice Rum, but the blend is near perfect. I think I could waste a lot of Koloa Gold Rum trying to approach what they have already perfected, and I'm sure I would fall short in the end. I wanted very much to try a real Mai Tai using Koloa Spice and Dark rums, but the best I could do is make the one-ounce swallow in their tasting room. That does not result in the best proportions for a good Mai Tai, but it at least gave me an idea of what to expect if and when I get a chance to do it right.
I have to postscript the above by saying that my wife loved the Koloa Spice Rum, but still prefers Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum. Since I cannot obtain the Koloa Rum anywhere in Texas but can get Sailor Jerry's almost everywhere, her preference will not hurt Koloa sales in Texas. However, I do keep asking my favorite liquor stores to order the Koloa Dark Hawaiian in hopes that their distributors will get the message. If they do, the Spice Rum will be next so I can try that spiced Mai Tai....
We spent our last evening at Trees Lounge on Aleka in Kapa'a, a wonderful place to enjoy nightly live music, great pupus and whatever wets your whiskers. I drank Mai Tais with three drops of grenadine. I asked for Koloa Dark Rum but they carried that other Hawaiian rum, Whaler's, instead. Whalers claims to be the original dark rum, originally from Mau'i but now made on the mainland. They make several flavored rums, including a Spiced, but they may well be best known for their Vanillé Rum and their Rare Reserve Dark Rum. Trees Lounge carried the Dark, but not the Rare Reserve Dark. If they had, I'd have ordered a Whaler's Reserve Mai Tai, sinfully delicious but not a true Mai Tai ingredient-wise. Still, the recipe is worth recording in case you happen upon Whaler's Rare Reserve Dark Rum. If you can get Whaler's Vanillé Rum, you might try the second recipe.
The Whaler's Reserve Mai Tai
You can try making this with any other rum but it will not be the same, so don't waste good fruit juices on anything but the real deal.
1 oz Whaler's Rare Reserve Dark Rum
1 oz Whaler's Great White Rum
1 oz passion fruit juice
3 oz orange juice
1/2 oz lime juice
The Whaler's Reserve Mai Tai is not made sunrise style like today's Mai Tais, but is made in the shaker style Trader Vic first used in 1944. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add all ingredients and shake well. Pour into chilled hurricane glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry and an orange slice. My tweak is to add three drops of grenadine to the shaker.
Whaler's Vanillé Sunrise
You cannot make this with any other rum that I know of, but if you think you have found a very good vanilla rum then go ahead and try making it.
1 oz Whaler's Vanillé Rum
4 oz orange juice
1 oz grenadine
Fill a Collins glass with ice. Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker and mix. Pour over ice.
Jack Keller's Kaua'i Sunrise
1 oz Koloa Dark Hawaiian Rum
1 oz Koloa Gold Hawaiian Rum
1 oz orange juice
1 oz passion fruit juice
juice from 1 lime wedge
1 maraschino cherry without stem
3 drops grenadine
Into a cocktail glass center the maraschino cherry with grenadine and cover with 1 inch shaved ice. Into a cocktail shaker add lime juice, Gold Rum, orange juice and passion fruit juice and shake to mix. Pour gently over shaved ice. Tilt the glass to add the Dark Rum as a layer. Garnish with a slit slice of lime.
Tucked away in Yasuda Center in the heart of Kapa'a is the Nani Moon Meadery and Tasting Room, Hawaii's only meadery. It offers distinctly unique meads I guarantee you will find nowhere else, and they pair perfectly with Hawaiian and Asian foods or as drinks on their own merit. Mountain apple, pineapple-guava, star fruit-passion fruit, ginger-spice, and cacao-vanilla (made with macadamia nut blossom honey) are the five flavorings Nani Moon Meadery offers.
These are 10, 11 and 12% alcohol by volume meads, made dry (Cacao Moon is semi-sweet) and best served chilled. With names like Laka's Nectar (mountain apple), Pineapple Guava Sunset, Winter Sun (star fruit and passion fruit), Ginger Spice (with star fruit), and Cacao Moon (cacao-vanilla bean), these are unforgettable meads made from 100% Hawaiian honey and flavorings (fruit, roots, beans) without use of sulfites or preservatives.
Their tasting room is open Tuesday thru Saturday from noon 'til 5 p.m. where they will tell you all about their "honey wines." But you'll have to visit their website to find out which one the locals call "the panty dropper."
The first inkling I had that the new issue of WineMaker magazine was out was a phone call at 10:40 yesterday morning congratulating me on another good article. My own copy did not arrive until sometime between 2:30 and 3:00 yesterday afternoon.
I suppose one would expect me to turn right to my article to check it's layout and perhaps the editing, but I did what I always do when I receive a new copy. I turned to page 15 to see what the Wine Wizard, Alison Crowe had to say this issue. I graetly admire her knowledge and advice and never fail to learn a great deal reading her column. After that, I then sought out my own article, "Non-Grape Bends."
I had no doubt they would edit one small thing, which they did, but my real curiosity was how they would render the rather long table I prepared for the article. I was very pleased with their treatment. Very pleased indeed.
This will be my last entry for at least 9 days, perhaps 10. Tomorrow my wife and I are returning to Kaua'i, to see and experience what we missed last time, although I doubt a mere 8 days will be time enough. I fear future visitations may be required.
A long time resident of the Islands called me this morning about another matter and our talk turned to my coming journey. Having made 8 trips to Hawai'i, I felt I had a fair appreciation of the several isles in the chain, but nothing like this gentleman. However, we both arrived at the same conclusions, that Maui was the most touristy of the islands, worthy of a day or perhaps two if you arrive late.
Before the great influx of population, Oahu was possibly unrivaled in beauty and natural splendor, but those days are past. There are just too many people for such a small piece of paradise. Molokai, beautiful and varied, as are all the islands, is magnificent but limited, as is Lanai.
The big island of Hawai'i is the most diverse, dominated by the world's most massive mountain and the fiery womb of Kilauea, but Kaua'i is the last jewel. It is more wild than settled, about 90% uninhabited, housing the wettest spot on earth and hosting dozens of waterfalls and sea caves. It is a place where you can truly get away from it all. We intend to do just that.
The Hawaiian lei is a necklace of flowers, usually made from various orchids, tuberose or plumeria blossoms. The latter are world renown for their fragrance and sometimes are referred to as frangipani. They are also edible. Being both edible and fragrant, they are perfectly suitable for making a unique wine.
A word of caution. The flowers are perfectly safe for consumption, but the stems are toxic and must be avoided. A simple way to play it safe is to turn the flower over and cut it off where the flower meets the stem. Safer yet is to simply remove the petals and toss any doubt into the trash. As long as we are being cautious, these should be fresh-cut flowers, not ones obtained from a florist. The latter are very probably sprayed with one thing or another that is not good for the wine or for you.
8 fl oz 100% pure white grape juice frozen concentrate
water to 1 gallon
2 lbs granulated sugar
2 tsp acid blend
1/4 tsp grape tannin
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 finely crushed Campden tablet
1 tsp yeast nutrient
general purpose wine yeast in starter solution
Pick the flowers just before starting, so they're fresh. Do not pick any that haven't fully opened yet. Boil 7 pints water and stir in sugar, acid blend, grape tannin, finely crushed Campden tablet, and yeast nutrient until dissolved, then pour over flowers in a primary, stirring gently to submerge flowers. Concurrently, activate yeast in starter solution and tend to it until needed. Cover the primary with clean cloth or plastic wrap and set in a warm place for about 24 hours. Add thawed grape concentrate, pectic enzyme and yeast starter solution and re-cover the primary. Set aside until vigorous fermentation subsides, stirring daily, but do not exceed 10 days. Strain liquid into secondary fermentation vessel and attach an airlock without topping up. When fermentation stops, top up. Rack after 30 days, then again after additional 30 days. Wait additional 30 days and stabilize wine with potassium sorbate and finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet. Wait 2-4 weeks to prove stability but do not sweeten. Bottle when clear and store in dark, cool place. It will be fit to drink in about 4 months, but will improve enormously if allowed to mature a year. [Author's own recipe]
This past week was filled with goodness. Sunday night I had to run to Wal-Mart for an over-the-counter allergy medication. The radio was on in the truck and within seconds I knew that Osama bin Laden had been killed. They were waiting for the President to officially announce it. The President started his address as I was arriving, so I waited in the parking lot until his speech was over. Because it was late, there were few shoppers and almost all the employees were stocking shelves. I stopped and told everyone I encountered that we had just killed Osama bin Laden. It was a good feeling to know that he was finally on his way to Hell and everyone I told seemed elated.
Celebrating someone's death runs counter to my upbringing and the teachings of my religion. But celebrate I did. Arriving back at home, I took two of the pills I had bought and then poured myself two drams of my prized 27-year old Laphroaig single malt Islay Scotch, the finest expression of whisky I have ever enjoyed. It seemed a fitting occasion.
Tuesday I picked up my new glasses. They work well and the fit is okay. The new frame looks good and I am pleased. I have noticed one thing that is different from other glasses I have worn. When I put them on there is an immediate feeling of spatial discord that passes within a minute. After wearing them for several hours, when I take them off there is the same feeling of spatial discord. It too passes quickly. It is just a strange thing, but it is great to see sharply once again after seven months of vision problems.
There are a good two dozen hummingbirds constantly visiting the three feeders I have out under the patio cover. My office, such as it is, looks directly out onto the patio and so I enjoy their antics whenever I look up. I have seen as many as 19 hovering around one feeder simultaneously, awaiting their turn to drink the sweet water. At this moment (6:48 a.m.) it is barely light outside, but I can clearly see (new glasses!) 4-6 visiting one feeder and 3-4 visiting another. I cannot see the third feeder from here as the patio is long.
You might wonder how I am doing in my long battle against the squirrels that raid my bird seed feeders. I think I am entering the 8th (perhaps 9th) campaign and have made some headway. The newest weapon in my arsenal is only semi-effective. It is a pump-action BB gun resting next to the back door. Three pumps will reach the two closest feeders with stinging accuracy, and that is all it does -- sting them. Four pumps reaches out with the same accuracy to the third feeder. Twelve pumps kills them, something I did once but have since avoided.
There are fewer and fewer of them visiting the feeders, so the punishment for doing so is working. But it requires a greater vigilance on my part and I do not enjoy being held hostage by my bird feeders. Still, the birds are getting the greater share of the seed for the first time in years.
I think I have reported previously that a local winemaker makes kit wines. He only has 5-gallon carboys and most kits make 6 gallons, so he carefully calculates the amount of concentrate and specialty packet contents required for 5 gallons and calls me to go pick up the rest. These 1-gallon batches I make are wonderful changes for me, for they usually include grape varieties I would have to drive great distances to harvest (and they are free!). Late last year he called to say he had a Burgundy. I trotted over and picked it up.
Somewhat sheepishly, he admitted that he might have taken a wee bit more concentrate than he should have -- to improve the color and fruitiness. I didn't care. I was pleased to obtain the Pinot Noir and Gamay blend. Back home, I pulled a pint of Zinfandel concentrate from the freezer and set it out to thaw, but then noticed a small ZipLoc bag of Cynthiana grapes from my own vines. It isn't enough to do anything with alone so I put the Zin back in the freezer and thawed the Cyn. It was a good move.
I crushed the Cynthiana and added the restored Pinot Noir/Gamay concentrate. With such a few grapes, getting out the press would have been more trouble than it was worth, so I simply strained everything through a nylon straining bag and hand pressed the Cynthiana. I only remembered latex gloves when my hands were already purple, so I soldiered on.
I had no idea how this wine would turn out. I figure the Cynthiana is around 10% at most by volume, the Gamay 5%. How an 85% Pinot Noir would stand up as a Burgundy was the question. I had an opportunity to open a 375 mL half when I treated myself to a thick rib eye steak two nights ago.
I wish I had 25 gallons of this stuff. It is deeply colored for a Burgundy with sound tannin, firm acidity, fresh fruit (most notably cherry) and various herbs I dare not attempt to identify. It is smooth, pleasing and very open. I do not taste the Cynthiana but I know something indefinable is there. This is not a typical Burgundy, and yet it most certainly is a Burgundy. I intend to win some medals with it this fall. I will only have 3 bottles to enter, so must select the competitions carefully. But I might break down and just drink it. It is very good.
I encourage you to experiment. This wine demonstrates what can be achieved. But most importantly, it demonstrates that blending a little American grape in with vinifera can create something extraordinary.
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I received this "error message" from good friends in Victoria, Texas. Oh, if we only had one of Star Trek's famous Replicators, that magnificent machine that delivered any meal you wanted in seconds on voice command, and we received this message on the monitor. Which wine would you order? I mean, which would you order first? That is an interesting question to ponder, and I don't intend to post my own answer here and now. Maybe at a later date....
Selecting one when you know you can select more later is one thing. But what if you could only chose one, two or three of a thing, for all time. I am specifically thinking of the original (1960) movie, "The Time Machine," staring Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux and Alan Young. At the end of the movie Rod Taylor disappears, presumably forever, in his time machine. His closest friend notices that three books are missing from the otherwise full and impeccably neat home library shelves and asks, "Which three books would you have taken?" For some reason, I have been intrigued by that question ever since. Which three, indeed?" It's just something to ponder.
A gentleman from Kansas City wrote of an interest in making rose petal wine, but he does not have ready access to rose petals. He did, however, find a bottle of pure, distilled rosewater at a local Middle Eastern market. He asked, "For your one gallon batch, how much rose water would be a good equivalent to the six cups of petals? I tasted the rosewater, it has an interesting taste to it, but the bouquet is amazing. I am assuming that I should use about 1.0 fl oz in place of each cup of rose petals or maybe even less than that."
This is the kind of question that rings my bell. It is different, the answer is not already posted on my blog or website, and it shows a genuine spirit of inventiveness and adventure. Furthermore, it suggests a wine I have never made before and that always peaks my interest.
I replied that I have never even considered using rosewater, but don't see why not. If you attempt this, please read the label very carefully to be sure your product is pure, natural and not synthetic or made from rose oil. Beyond that, I really cannot say how to adapt it to a wine recipe. At issue is how many rose petals are required to make a given quantity of rosewater and whether that compares with rose petals used for making wine.
I knew two elderly women who made rosewater frequently in their kitchen. They used it in their baths and dabbed it on their faces. It has an astringent quality that supposedly tightened the skin and reduced wrinkles. Whether or not it actually worked is not for me to say, but the women always smelled of roses and there was something comforting about that.
The women used a fair amount of rose petals -- about 3 quarts -- to make a quart of rosewater. That is twice as many petals as required for a gallon of rose petal wine using my recipe, so half the rosewater produced (1 pint) would equal the petals required for the gallon of wine. That is 16 ounces, not 6 as the writer guessed. But there is no guarantee that his rosewater and the homemade stuff are the same strength. The ladies made it by boiling the rose petals in 1-1/2 quarts of water in a homemade still. If they allowed too much water to boil off, the rising steam carried oils from the petals and ruined the water. The commercial stuff was also made using a still, albeit a more efficient one.
My recipe for rose petal wine does not involve boiling the petals, but rather just pouring boiling water over them and letting them macerate. The resulting extraction is probably not nearly as strong as the two ladies' or the commercial rosewater, but judging the difference is all but impossible from where I sit right now.
So where does that leave us? The writer's guess of substituting 1 ounce of rosewater for each cup of petals may be correct or may be too much or too little. I am sure 16 ounces is too much, but exactly how much too much is anyone's guess.
I told the writer that if he had enough rosewater to make a gallon of wine using 6 ounces and another gallon using 12 ounces, I would do it. If one is too weak and the other too strong you can work out a blend, but if the 6 ounces is too much he will have to make a neutral wine to dilute it and the other batch with. If 6 ounces is correct he only needs to dilute the second batch, but in any case to me it's worth the effort.
I have used several recipes over the years to make rose petal wine. Rosewater wine will simply adapt one of these recipes. The recipe I recommend adapting is this one for Rose Petal Wine.
Rose Petal Wine
6 cups fragrant rose petals
2 fl oz (no more!) of pure white grape juice concentrate
water to 1 gallon
2-1/4 lbs granulated sugar
2 tsp acid blend
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 crushed Campden tablet
Rhine wine yeast and nutrient
Pick the rose petals just before starting, so they're fresh. Boil 7-1/2 pints water and pour over all ingredients (except yeast and pectic enzyme) in a primary, stirring gently until sugar is dissolved. Concurrently, activate yeast in starter solution and husband it until needed. Cover the primary with cloth or plastic wrap and set in a warm place for about 24 hours. Add pectic enzyme and yeast and re-cover the primary. Set aside until vigorous fermentation subsides, stirring daily. Do not exceed 10 days. Strain liquid into secondary fermentation vessel, top up with water if required and attach an airlock. Rack after 30 days, then again after additional 30 days. Do not sweeten. Bottle when clear and store in dark, cool place. It will be fit to drink after 6 months, but will improve enormously after a year. [Author's own recipe]
Adapting to Rosewater Wine
Adapting this to rosewater is simple. Substitute the rosewater for the rose petals and eliminate the pectic enzyme. In a primary fermentation vessel, mix all ingredients except yeast and stir to dissolve sugar. Cover and wait 12 hours. Stir in yeast as a starter solution and re-cover the primary. When vigorous fermentation subsides, transfer to secondary and attach an airlock. Rack as needed but at least twice, 30 days apart. When you are certain it is clear and still, rack, stabilize and set aside an additional 45 days. Carefully rack into bottles and store in a dark, cool place. Let it age a while.
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Bad night sleeping. The mind was too active and would not rest. At 3:10 I got up and consumed two drams of 12-year old Bowmore Islay single malt Scotch with a plate of tremendously good, warmed up barbecue pork ribs. I hate to waste this Scotch as a sleeping tonic but it washed the ribs down nicely and then worked well enough to give me four hours of sleep.
Speaking of barbecue pork ribs, I would be remiss if I did not pay homage to the best barbecue pork ribs I have ever eaten. Sunday I drove to Austin to spend the day with my sister Barbara, who was in town from Eugene, Oregon to spend some time with her son Tim and grandson Mason, now a fully grown young man. When hunger seized us around mid-day, we piled into Tim's car and made the pilgrimage to the legendary Mecca of barbecue, The Salt Lick.
I thought I knew a few things about barbecue, but these folks have probably forgotten more than I ever knew on that subject. They have it down to a fine art, and I do mean fine. Those who have eaten there know what I mean. Those who have not cannot imagine. Their standard fare is beef brisket, pork and beef ribs, sausage, chicken and turkey. I can only speak for the first four. I cannot imagine wasting a trip to The Salt Lick on fowl, but I suppose if they were out of everything else and I had to eat the barbecued chicken or turkey or leave hungry, I would find that it too is the very best that can be had. Having tasted their other meats, I cannot imagine it being otherwise.
Personally, I have always preferred dry rubbed barbecue to sauces. Nowadays it is because sauces get in my mustache and beard, but I preferred the dry rub long before I grew a beard. McBee's Barbecue in Pleasanton, Texas, which shared Texas Monthly's title of best barbecue in Texas some years back with The Salt Lick and four other legendary establishments, has perfected the dry rub style. In my humble opinion, The Salt Lick rules the roost for basted barbecue (they spell it Bar-B-Que, but this is Texas and you can do that).
What I absolutely love about their basting is that the sauce is basted frequently and almost (but not quite) dries to a thick, yummy glaze on the meat before being reapplied. One of the secrets, I learned, is no tomato in the sauce -- it turns bitter when glazed and ruins the whole experience.
No photographs I can take can display the beauty of their ribs, and I mean both the pork and the beef. The beef ribs are covered with an almost black glaze you can look right into -- it has depth, both spatially and in flavor -- and they have to support a good half-pound of meat apiece. They are simply enormous and sinfully delicious. And how they remain so tender is a mystery I still ponder.
The brisket is the softest, most tender and succulent brisket I have ever enjoyed -- and loaded with flavor. Mason ordered an all you can eat deal and damned if he can't put it away! But he ordered a side dish of brisket burnt ends, and then another. These are the very epitome of sinfully delicious. They are both soft and creamy and crisp at the same time, chewy and melting, salty and sweet. They actually defy description, but they are heavenly and you just know they would make the best jerky in the whole wide world.
The sausage is indescribable. The flavors are intense and stay with you for quite some time, even if you chase them with pork ribs. And by all means try the pork ribs. These are incredibly tender, hardly require chewing, and are moist, delicious and exquisite -- the only word I can think of that comes fittingly close.
Two final thoughts. Forget their standard mashed (which are damned good!) and get the au gratin potatoes. These are to die for. They are thick, creamy, buttery, and cheesy beyond belief. If they were all that I knew about The Salt Lick, I would recommend the place for them alone. And then there is something as unassuming as a pickle. Tucked away on the table, hidden among the loaves of warm bread, bowls of really good (but not borracho) beans and steaming au gratin potatoes, saucers of cole slaw and mashed potatoes, and platters of different meats, was a small, unassuming dish of white onion pieces and bright green pickles. These were the crispest dill pickles I think I have ever eaten. They crunched with every bite and were tasty to boot -- not overly salty, not overly dill, but a perfect little accompaniment to a perfect meal.
The Salt Lick has three Austin area locations. Tim lives on the south side off Slaughter and is only 10 miles or so from the original Hill Country location in Driftwood, Texas. But it is a cash only, BYOB establishment and we were heavy with plastic and short on folding stuff, so we drove north to their Round Rock location next to Dell Diamond AAA Baseball Stadium. Not only could we use our eat-now-pay-later cards, but Round Rock is not in a dry county so we could flush our food down with tasty wet treats. Barbara loved their jalapeno bloody Mary (I had one sip and it was tremendous) and Tim and I had mugs of Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen from the tap, which was perfect with the meal. Mason had the real deal, root beer neat, which got me craving root beer and so we stopped later at Texadelphia near UT and got a round to go. The third Austin area Salt Lick is at the airport, very close to Tim's but...hey, it's at the airport.
Did I mention wine? This blog is about wine and winemaking.
When we got back to Tim's we drank a bottle of the Key Lime-A-Rita I made for my wife and snuck up to Austin. Tim and Mason, both of whom are glass blowers, then went out to their workshop and made me a unique wineglass, which took over an hour. I last saw it standing in their kiln, being tempered at 1,000 degrees F. They assured me I will receive it soon, in good shape. That is good because I am most anxious to christen it. More on wine next time, I promise.
I'm fine folks. It's amazing how much email a rattlesnake bite can generate. Thank you, but I'm fine. The puncture marks are still visible, quite dark now. Thin scabs peeled off when I was scrubbing with a lufah in the shower, but grew back. That's it. End of story.
The snakebite did ruin my appetite for about 12-16 hours, but then it returned with a vengeance. When it returned I craved fruit. I wrote last time about using mixed dried fruit for wine, jam and pie. There are many other snacks you can make with dried fruit. I had to go into San Antonio anyway, so I went back to Sun Harvest and bought dried apricots, peaches, mangos, apples and pears. I also bought pinion nuts, shelled pistachios, macadamia nuts, and walnuts. Last but not least, I bought brown rice flour. I had Medjool dates, dried cranberries, Calimyrna figs, cherries and golden raisins at home, so all together I had the fixings for many a treat and I had some specifics in mind, which I will only touch upon here.
Apricots make wonderful wines, and recently I had tasted a dessert style apricot wine that got my imagination working. I didn't want to duplicate it, but I did want to harness that captivating apricot essence and tame it just a bit. Several years ago I had done just that with peaches and bananas. Here is what I did.
1 1/2 lb chopped dried apricots
2 lb chopped dried peaches
2 ripe bananas
1 lb 12 oz light brown sugar
2 oranges
1 large lemon
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1/8 tsp grape tannin
6 pints to 1 gallon water
Sauterne wine yeast and nutrient
Slice bananas into thin discs, leaving skins on fruit. Put into a nylon straining bag, tie top, and place in 6 pints water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove grain-bag to bowl to catch drippings while adding chopped dried fruit to simmering water. When water returns to simmer add zest of oranges and lemon. Simmer 10 minutes, then pour through large strainer lined with cheese cloth. Press fruit to extract additional water and combine it, drippings from bananas and strained water in primary. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add juice from oranges and lemon. Add additional water to bring volume to 1 gallon. Cover and allow to cool. Stir in tannin, pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient, recover primary and set aside 10-12 hours. Add activated yeast in starter solution, recover primary and set aside until vigorous fermentation subsides. Pour into secondary fermentation vessel and fit airlock. When wine is still top up if needed. Wait until wine falls clear and rack, stir in finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet, top up and reattach airlock. Set aside 60 days and rack carefully. Check clarity of wine with flashlight in dark room. If not perfectly clear top up, reattach airlock and set aside an additional month. Rack again and bottle. Allow one 6 month to a year for maturity. [Author's own recipe]
When I made it again recently, I eliminated the bananas and used a can of Welch's 100% White Grape Juice Frozen Concentrate for body the bananas supplied previously. The only reason I did this was because my bananas weren't ripe enough (skin will be covered with black spots) and I didn't want to wait another 5-7 days. You can make it either way. Since I still making this batch, I cannot say with certainty it will be better.
I have a very basic recipe that adapts well with any fruit and nut combination. It uses brown rice flour, which is both gluten-free and makes a perfect chewy bar. It binds with oatmeal, honey, maple syrup, a little nut oil, the fruit, nuts, and coconut flakes to make a delicious, moist and chewy bar.
There is no substitute for the brown rice flour. I once substituted soy flour and it was okay, but I learned a lesson I will not forget. There is no substitute for brown rice flour! I use coconut oil simply because I have it on hand, but you can use sunflower seed oil, macadamia nut oil, walnut oil, or even that plain old extra virgin olive oil. The extract you use is purely up to you. There are no bad choices among those I have listed.
2 cups dried fruit
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup quick oatmeal
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts
1 tablespoon coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon almond, hazelnut, coconut, or vanilla extract
white grape juice as needed
With the exception of dates and dried figs, all dried fruit should be placed in a bowl and just covered with boiling water for about 8-10 minutes. They are then drained in a colander, sprayed the with cold water and then pressed lightly by hand or a large serving spoon to expel water from the fruit. They are then chopped them and placed in a large bowl. To them add the flour, oats, coconut, chopped nuts and sea salt and mix them well with a large, sturdy spoon. In a separate, smaller bowl mix the oil, honey, maple syrup and extract with a whisk and pour this around the dry ingredients while turning them to mix. Very slowly, pour in the grape juice a little at a time (probably a cup to a cup and a half altogether) while mixing until the dryness disappears and it is uniformly just moist enough to bind together as a tacky mass. Butter a 6 X 9 glass cake pan and press the whole mess in it until it is evenly distributed. Precut the mass into squares or bars and then pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing (they come right out).
I sprinkled half with very fine (bakers) sugar mixed with ground cinnamon. You don't have to do this, but it adds something to it. You could also dust some barely browned sesame seeds with powdered sugar and sprinkle lightly over the top. Without the toppings they are just great. Would make a nice snack on a hike or anywhere else.
I made three batches using Medjool dates, cherries and cranberries with walnuts, apricots, peaches and mangos with pinion nuts, and apricots, golden raisins and Calimyrna figs with pistachio nuts. I have many other combinations to try and intend to add slivered almonds, sunflower kernels and dried blueberries to the mix. The options are almost endless.
The amount of fruit or nuts could be increased by 1/2 cup. Increasing the volume might necessitate increasing the flour by 2 tablespoons and the honey and maple syrup by a teaspoon each.
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I go in today to have the inner edges of a small retinal hole seared with a laser. This is a walk-in/walk-out procedure and the hole is not near the macula, so there are no worries on my part.
I was bit last Friday by a small rattlesnake. I had come home and traded my boots for flip-flops in the name of comfort. I went out on the front porch to hand-water some potted plants. A small rattler was hidden among the overhanging growth of two healthy spider plants. It struck me on the inside of the left foot just above the arch. I though I had been stung by a bee, yellow jacket or wasp and instinctively raised my foot to slap the assaulter. I felt the weight as I looked down. It released its fangs and fell at my feet. With the left foot raised and the watering can in my right hand, I performed a one-legged leap backwards and only spilt half the water all over me.
I tried to squeeze the venom out but could not, so I changed and drove to the local hospital. I walked into the ER, slapped my insurance and ID cards down on the counter, and said as calmly as I could, "I am a congestive heart failure patient and was bitten by a rattlesnake about 20 minutes ago. I received an anti-venom shot and a steroid in the buttock. My blood pressure was very high so they had me lay on a gurney until it read normal about 45 minutes later.
The foot looked like a lemon was inside it, but by Saturday morning it was just swollen. All is well now. Only two reddish-black marks remain. I hunted for the snake later, but it made a clean get-away.
Some time back I stopped by a health food supermarket and bought several pounds of mixed dry fruit. This is sold in bulk along with dozens of other goodies and I put a dent in my pocketbook at the check-out counter. The particular mix I bought had dried apples, peaches, plums, rhubarb, mangoes (2 varieties), strawberries, and blueberries. I bought some dried cherries, bananas, dates and apricots separately and added some to the mix. I later lamented that I had not also purchased some dried papaya, cranberries and pineapple. When it comes to mixed dried fruit, the more the merrier.
The key consideration when purchasing each of these was that the only preservatives used on the fruit were sulfur dioxide and ascorbic acid, neither of which will impede fermentation.
I weighed out 2 pounds of fruit and diced them on a chopping block to increase the surface area. This took longer than I anticipated and quite a bit of elbow grease. Had I thought it out beforehand, I would have used a large shredding blade and run them through my food processor.
Mixed Dry Fruit Wine Recipe
2 pounds mixed dry fruit, diced or minced
1 lb 12 ounces sugar
1 tsp powdered pectic enzyme
1/8 tsp powdered grape tannin
6 pints water
1/8 tsp yeast energizer
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Champaign yeast in starter solution
Put water on to boil. Dice or mince the dried fruit and place in primary. Add sugar, grape tannin, yeast energizer and yeast nutrient.. When water boils, pour over contents of primary and stir with wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Cover primary and set aside to cool. When approximately 100 degrees F., add pectic enzyme. Recover primary and set aside 12 hours. Add activated yeast in starter solution but do not stir. Wait 6-8 hours and stir must. Make a note of when active fermentation begins and set aside, covered, for 5 days. Strain fruit but do not discard. Transfer liquid to secondary and affix airlock without topping up. After additional 5 days, crush and dissolve 1 Campden tablet in 1/2 cup water and use this to top up secondary. Set aside for 3 weeks. Rack, top up and reaffix airlock. Repeat after 30 days and top up with 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate dissolved in 1/4 cup water. Wait 45 days, rack and add 1 crushed and dissolved Campden tablet in 1/4 cup water. Let sit overnight and rack into bottles. Drinkable after 3 months but improves to 1 year. Do not allow it to age too long beyond it's bottling anniversary. {Author's own recipe]
Oh, as a progress report I will say that this wine is very, very good at one year.
The strained fruit from the winemaking can be used in various ways. You can make a second wine, but it will not be as robust as the first. You can make small tarts using prepared crescent roll dough, or you can make jam. If you use the jam recipe below you will have some fruit left over. Try the tarts. Just lay out the individual pieces of crescent roll dough . Place a tablespoon of fruit in the center of each, sprinkle the fruit with 1 teaspoon of sugar and fold the crescent roll dough over the fruit. Crimp the edges sealed and bake at 350 degrees F. on a non-stick cookie sheet until lightly browned on top. Remove, carefully turn them over and return to oven for 4 more minutes.
4 cups mixed fruit from wine must
2 tblsp lemon juice
3 cups sugar
1 tblsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup water
Combine fruit, zest, lemon juice and water in stainless steel saucepan. Heat rapidly to a boil and reduce heat to just maintain the boil. Slowly stir in sugar and continue stirring until completely dissolved. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until mixture forms a gel -- about 25-30 minutes. Stir in cinnamon and ginger. Ladle onto hot jars, seal with new rings and lids and process in boiling bath for 10 minutes. [Author's own recipe]
I had a lot more mixed dry fruit than I needed for wine, but this was by design. Okay, I could have made a larger batch, but I had other things on my mind. I wanted to try my hand at making a mixed dry fruit pie. The desire had been building since I first saw the bulk dried fruit at the market and after I had the wine fermenting the thought of the pie consumed me This time I used the food processor to coarsely grate 3 packed cups of dried fruit.
3 cups mixed dry fruit diced, minced or coarsely shredded
1 cup sugar
4 cups water
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tblsp butter
1 cup chopped walnuts
package of 2 rolled pie crusts at room temperature
In large stainless steel saucepan, bring water and fruit to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until thick. Begin preheating oven to 350 degrees F. Stir sugar into fruit until dissolved. Stir in the butter and flour. Remove from heat and stir in chopped walnuts. Arrange one rolled-out pie crust as the bottom shell in a lightly buttered deep pie dish. Pour fruit mixture into pie shell. Arrange remaining pie crust over pie and crimp the edges to seal. Cut 3 radial slits in top crust and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. It is fabulous and sets up solid when cooled. Serve warm with the best vanilla ice cream you can afford. Rest 20 minutes and then go walk 2 miles. [Author's own recipe]
The San Antonio Regional Wine Guild met today at our home in Pleasanton, Texas. As I do every year, I slow cooked a brisket overnight on a bed of onion halves, which keeps the meat above the considerable oils rendered and other liquids extracted from the 8-pound slab. I made 3 cups of gravy with the drippings to smother the meat and top mashed potatoes one member brought. Other dishes served to complete the feast we all enjoyed with 18-20 wines offered up for our enjoyment.
Of interest to some was the fact that my Blanc du Bois grapes were in full leaf and already pushing flowers, as was one of Cliff Ambers' V. bicolor X Traminette crosses.. Other varieties were not so aggressive but we did see swollen buds on Champanel, Cynthiana, Jaeger 70, and Miss Blue. Lenoir, Favorite and my Mount Shasta V. californica were still asleep.
We did something today we will surely make a monthly feature. We asked members to vote on which wine on the tasting table was considered the best of the day. While most were homemade wines, some were commercial. Our only rule is that you cannot vote for the wine you brought, although you can abstain from voting. Today's clear winner was a Wimberley Valley Winery Plum Wine.
The night after John Lennon was murdered my brother Barry and I sat on the steps of a beach cottage at Venice, California and drank two bottles of plum wine our sister Barbara had made. My sister was never proud of that wine but we liked it very much. Further, it served an unintended purpose that night and did so very well.
This will sound like bragging, but the best plum wine I have ever tasted just happens to be one I made. This was made from Texas wild plums (Prunus texana), a small, tart, early plum similar to other wild plums in North America. Most notable of these are the Alleghany Plum of the northeast, the wide-ranging American Wild Plum, the Chickasaw Plum of Arkansas and surrounding states, the Beach Plum, Mexican Plum, Creek Plum, Pacific Plum, Sand Plum, and several others. These all are small -- 3/8 to 1 inch in diameter is the norm, but the Pacific Plum can reach 1-1/2 inches -- often with more stone than fruit pulp, but their flavors are priceless when fermented.
This may not be the way Wimberley Valley Winery does it, but this is the way I made Texas Wild Plum Wine that won two Grand Champions, two first places and one second place.
Texas Wild Plum Wine
6 lbs wild Texas Plums
2/3 lb chopped or minced golden raisins
2 lbs over-ripe bananas
1-1/2 lbs finely granulated sugar
7-1/2 pints water
1 crushed Campden tablet
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Red Star Pasteur Champagne wine yeast
Wash the plums and remove any that show signs of insect infestation. Place them on paper towels to dry and leave them at least two hours. Put the plums in a bowl and place in refrigerator. In 1-2 weeks they will turn dark. Meanwhile, buy 2 lbs bananas and let them get ripe. If they turn slightly mushy, so much the better. The only parts to discard are sections of flesh that actually turn brown. When plums are ready, put water on to boil and chop or mince the raisins. Put the plums in a sterilized plastic pail and mash them with the end of a sterilized piece of hardwood (the thick end of a baseball bat works great), but do not crack the seeds. Just mash the plums up as best you can. Now peel the bananas and slice them thinly (1/2 inch maximum), adding them to the plums. Add the chopped or minced raisins and the sugar. Pour the boiling water over this, stir well with a wooden paddle to dissolve sugar, and cover with a clean dish towel. When cooled to 70-75 degrees F., stir in the crushed Campden tablet. Recover the pail and let sit 12 hours. Stir in the pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient. Recover and set aside another 12 hours. Add the yeast (if dry, sprinkle over the top and DO NOT STIR for 24 hours) and recover. When fermentation is strong (for dry yeast, about three days; for an already started yeast, the next day), begin punching down the cap of pulp twice daily. After 7 days of strong fermentation, drain off some liquid and measure specific gravity. When S.G. is 1.020 (may take up to 10 days), strain pulp through a nylon straining bag and squeeze to extract as much juice as possible. Discard pulp and return all juice to pail and ferment another two days. Siphon off stones and sediments into secondary and fit airlock. When ferment dies down to a steady bubbling, top up to within one inch of airlock. Rack into clean secondary after 60 days, top up and refit airlock. Repeat 60 days later. In another 60 days the wine should be clear, but if it isn't, rack again and allow another 60 days. If clear and all fermentation has stopped, rack into bottles. [Author's own recipe]
This wine must age for at least two years to reach its potential. Personally, I allow three years before touching it.
Where did the last month go? It began promisingly after I healed from cataract surgery, as I reported on February 13th. Then something changed and my vision underwent a warping, as if the retina were slightly tilted and rolling at the same time. Very difficult to describe. But my retinal specialist imaged me retina beautifully through optical coherence tomography and walked me through it. I was put on a fast track to surgery but will spare you the details of the condition and the fix. I will simply say that I see better today than I have in nearly five months.
I have pretty much ignored email throughout this long ordeal. When I could read it I tried to -- even answered a few -- but usually other priorities intruded, like bills, a legal issue and a problem with my military retirement pension disappearing. The latter two of these distractions remain unresolved, but I have managed to pay my bills on time. But, as for email, let me say the following. According to Outlook, I have 1173 unread and unfiltered emails sitting in my inbox and I simply haven't the time or desire to sort through them. If you wrote me in the past five months and have not received an answer, consider your email lost. I invite you to resend the email, but volume will dictate what I can manage. My vision is not fully restored and I am still at least six weeks away from obtaining a new prescription for glasses.
My wife now lives in California. She somehow came across the February issue of the Los Angeles Times Magazine and sent me an extracted article by Camper English entitled "Sherry Reconsidered". It is a good read for those not put off by Portuguese words whose pronunciation is, at best, a guess.
The article not only presents a layman's description of the production of sherry, which I found to be quite adequate to the article's purpose, but then goes into the use of sherry as a signature ingredient in a number of recently developed cocktails. Here is where the article grabbed my interest.
While the flavors imparted by some ingredients alluded me (Lillet Blanc, for example), others could well be imagined (St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, or Bittermens Xocolati Mole Bitters) and assembled in the mind into the cocktails described. But four of the cocktails each relied upon a homemade rather than commercial ingredient and I was struck by this.
How exactly does a cocktail developer determine that a specific, required ingredient has not yet been produced commercially and it is up to him or her to make some of whatever-it-is. One such unavailable product is required for Sherry Shrub, developed by Neyah White at Nopa in San Francisco. The cocktail's recipe is simple enough but unerringly precise.
Sherry Shrub
3/4 ounce shrub syrup
2 ounces Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana Manzailla Sherry
Lemon twist for garnish
Combine the syrup and sherry, stir with cracked ice and strain into a small sherry glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.
Yes, you guessed it. The recipe is meaningless unless you know how to make the shrub syrup. Fortunately, Neyah White shared the secret.
Shrub Syrup
1 quart fresh destemmed elderberries
1 cup fresh huckleberries
5 cups evaporated cane sugar
1 quart cider vinegar
1 ounce kosher salt
5 brown cardamom pods
1 ounce white peppercorns
In a large bowl gently press elderberries and huckleberries until every berry is at least bruised. In a mixing glass, muddle the spices until all pods are cracked and add to the berry mixture. Add the sugar, cover the bowl, and let stand 5 hours in a cool place (can you spell refrigerator?), by which time a syrup will have formed. Add the salt and vinegar and stir until the salt is dissolved. Cover and return to the refrigerator for at least a week. Strain through a chinois (finely meshed conical strainer) and then cheesecloth. Bottle, leaving 2-3 inches of air, and age at least another week before using. I have a feeling this will be enough shrub syrup to keep you in Sherry Shrub for a long, long time.
Okay, you may well be wondering what this has to do with wine. Aside from the fact that sherry is a fortified wine, nothing obvious. But as I thought about this and other recipes that cocktail developers have concocted I began to see a similarity in making wine and making an ingredient such as shrub syrup. Yes, the kosher salt and vinegar are foreign to winemaking, but without their preservative effects the syrup would quite possibly ferment.
If you have ever made elderberry syrup, eaten wild huckleberries, or made both elderberry and huckleberry wines and then just happened to blend them, which I have done, then you can possibly imagine what shrub syrup might taste like. Further, if you think about it long enough you might conclude that Neyah White is a closet winemaker. If not, he should be. The maceration process he used to make the shrub was syrup could well be adapted to winemaking. Many of us have used a similar process to make the foundation for homemade liqueurs.
Most of all, I was struck by the selection of ingredients. I lived in San Francisco for 12 years. While it is possible to find wild elderberries within an hour's drive of The City, wild huckleberries are not out there for the taking. Neyah White probably purchased the ingredients at San Francisco Produce Terminal Market at Hunter's Point, the most amazing produced market I have ever wandered into. On any given day the Bay Area's most celebrated chefs can be found there, selecting the ingredients for that day's fabulous meals. I once watched Wolfgang Puck look over some 80 varieties of mushrooms before selecting specimens of five or six.
Cocktails made with wine.... I like the idea and thank my wife for sending me the article.
I woke up this morning and could see quite clearly compare to days past -- no cloudiness in the right eye -- so thought it was time to get back to writing.
To all of you who wrote, called or posted get well sentiments on various forums, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. To those just tuning in and unaware, my vision declined acutely in November-December as a result of a rapidly clouding cataract in the right eye compounded by a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) that failed to separate. This in turn pulled the retina out of its normal curvature and caused a warping of remaining vision and a large, very dark, central floater. At the same time, a PVD was beginning in my left eye but not interfering with my vision. After two delays in December due to health complications, last month I finally underwent cataract surgery.
Cataract surgery is performed under a condition of intense sedation but the patient is not completely unconscious. This is so that if the eyes begin to migrate during the procedure the surgeon can nudge the patient and ask him or her to look straight ahead. Of course there is no pain or physical sensation during the surgery and most of the time the patient is in a state of near sleep. This was the case with me.
For reasons unimportant to this narrative, my surgery took longer than normal. Suddenly (and I do mean suddenly), I was wide awake, looking up into a blur of light and moving dark forms, completely aware that the surgery was still going on. I said, "I think I am fully awake now." My ophthalmologist said my anesthesiologist's name and the latter replied, "I'm on it." Since I was awake, I addressed my ophthalmologist by name and asked him what he was doing at the moment. If he answered me at all it did not register, for the anesthesiologist was indeed "on it" and the next thing I was aware of was waking up in a recovery area and being very thirsty.
My stepson Scott came by shortly thereafter and retrieved me, and we went to lunch. I then slept most of the day and night in his apartment in San Antonio. I saw my ophthalmologist the next morning and was then allowed to reclaim my truck and drive myself home.
Most patients recover from cataract surgery very smoothly. They always do just one eye at a time and the unaffected eye then does double duty to compensate for any blurriness in the eye that was operated on. In my case recovery did not go smoothly. This is partly my fault and partly bad luck. I misunderstood my post-operative instructions and stopped applying the steroidal eye drops after three days. I was only supposed to cut back on their application but instead stopped. I therefore went four days without their benefit before I saw my ophthalmologist again and was soundly scolded. This simply slowed down the healing process. But a few days following the surgery, the PVD in my left eye underwent a slow separation and pulled on the retina I was most dependent on for clear vision. As a result, I suffered very warped vision in my good eye while vision through the right eye remained quite cloudy as the front of my natural lens grew over the inserted artificial lens.
It has take three weeks for the PVD in the left eye to separate, but it did so two days ago while I was making fudge. Suddenly, with the blink of an eye, the warped vision disappeared. I looked at the recipe and could read it from a normal distance. There was still a very slight cloudiness in my right eye but the left eye compensated beautifully. I knew I would recover quickly now.
Writing this much has been a strain. The right eye is tearing and I must take a break to rest it. But I just wrote more at one sitting than I have in months, so I feel very good about it.
I just took a 22-minute nap and feel much better. It amazes my wife that I can do that -- lay down and go instantly to sleep for short periods -- but it is something I learned to do in the Army and these past few weeks I have been doing it 10-12 times a day. When the eye feels strained I take a short nap.
I feel it is necessary to explain to some of you what a PVD is. The posterior segment of the eye is the cavity behind the lens. It is filled with a substance called vitreous humor. When we are young this substance is almost liquid, but as we age it turns progressively into a gelatinous substance. At my age (65) it is quite thick and possibly more solid than liquid. It naturally adheres to the retina of the eye, but every so often it begins to separate as a thin liquid film develops between it and the retina. The separation begins around the periphery of the eye and continues toward the macula, that small spot where all of our rods and cones are located and where light is focused by the lens to allow us to perceive images. The final detachment occurs there. This whole process is very, very natural and normal and occurs many time during a full-term life. But occasionally -- rarely, actually -- the complete detachment does not occur and the gelatinous mass of vitreous humor remains attached to the retina at or near the macula. When that occurs, the uniform curvature of the retinal surface gets pulled by the otherwise free-floating vitreous mass and that tugging distorts your vision. That happened to me, first in one eye and then the other.
In extreme situations the clinging vitreous can actually tear the outer layer of the retina away, resulting in a retinal hole. The PVD in my right eye has persisted and I will be evaluated in nine days to determine whether or not a retinal surgeon will go in and snip the thread by which the vitreous remains attached to my retina. The PVD in my left eye has finally detached and is no longer of any concern, so it is the right eye that remains a problem. But the PVD could separate at any time, just as the one in the left eye did two days ago.
I wear glasses. My pre-operation prescription for my right eye is useless to me now for two reasons. The first is because an artificial lens was implanted in the eye when the cataract was removed and it is not at all accommodated by this prescription. The second is that the incision the surgeon made in my cornea to remove the cataract has sort of flattened out the surface curvature, rendering the prescription worthless over the temporal hemisphere. As the incision heals the curvature will return, but it takes time. So, I cannot get a new prescription for a while and will continue to suffer blurry vision through the right lens of my glasses for perhaps two more months.
By now I am sure you are bored beyond belief, but I have but one more item to add. When this ordeal began and my vision deteriorated rapidly I purchased and installed a voice-to-text program so I could talk into a microphone and type would appear in a dialog box on the computer monitor. I could then move the text into Word documents or email messages. The program worked okay when I talked plainly, but when I tried talking computereeze it could not follow me. Trying to teach it hypertext markup language (HTML) so I could post something on my website or blog was impossible. I eventually gave up on trying to accommodate formatting with it.
But it is fine for dictating straight talk. It knows when you say, "I see what you mean," that the word is "see" and not "sea," but sometimes it doesn't know and just inserts a string of words that you later have to sort out. The sound "tu" in English can be the words to, too or two. If the program does not understand which one you mean, it will display "to/too/two" and let you select the correct one. If you reply to a question with a simple "No," the program will display "No/Know." It's not perfect, but you CAN teach it some things. I just couldn't see well enough to navigate the controls without help, and Scott now lives 48 miles away and my wife is in California. It will have to wait.
Enough about my eye problems. I promise to return to winemaking in my next posting, but I want to end this one with the recipe for the fudge I was making when the distortion in my left eye suddenly disappeared. It is my rendition of what originally was called Million Dollar Fudge.
Jack Keller's Million Dollar Fudge
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 large can evaporated milk
1/4 pound butter
1/2 pound bar Dark Chocolate, broken
1/2-pound bar Milk Chocolate, broken
8-ounce package Bittersweet Chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
14-ounce jar marshmallow cream
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Combine sugar, butter and milk. Bring to boil and then maintain for 7 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and immediately add broken chocolate bars and chips. Stir until chocolate melts completely and fold in marshmallow cream. Add vanilla and nuts and stir until completely integrated. Pour into 9 X 13 buttered glass cake pan. When firm, cut into bars.
This fudge is very light and creamy but very rich. Without the nuts, nibbles of it will simply melt in the mouth. As for nuts, I have used pecan pieces, cashew halves, pinion nuts, walnut pieces, and chopped macadamia nuts. Each conveys its own flavor but the chocolate does dominate. I have long wanted to make this fudge using hickory nut pieces, but it has been years since I have seen them in the market.
You can make this fudge tonight, for your valentine, or any time.
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