http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/ The first wine blog on the net, ever, was this home winemaking blog by the grand champion of home winemaking, Jack Keller. en-us Jack Keller's WineBlog, Copyright (©) 2003-2010 by Jack B. Keller, Jr. All print and electronic publication rights reserved. Don't mess with Texas.... Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:08:10 CDT http://www.rssfeedssubmit.com/rss-generator/ http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/WineBlog.gif http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/ 140 31 http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#031310A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#031310A I cannot say how many times people have written to me complaining that they cannot see the slight change in color when titrating a red wine to measure titratable acidity (TA), but I can assure you it has been many times. The problem, of course, is that while titration causes a white wine to permanently change from white to slightly pink when the end-point is reached, the color shift in red wine is negligible at best and undetectable at worse. What then is the poor winemaker to do? Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#031010A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#031010A A friend shared a wine with me last month that he said was a "special blend." It was quite good – excellent, in fact. When I tactfully inquired as to the blending components ("Hey, Lou, what all's in this blend of yours?"), he pretended he didn't hear me. I let it go. Last night he called to apologize. Seems he couldn't remember that it was Mustang grape, more Mustang grape, another batch of Mustang grape, and a final batch of Mustang grape. But when he explained how he blended it, I said, "Oh, it's almost like a Solera system." "A what?" he asked. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#031010B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#031010B Two months ago I wrote about a 40-year old Mustang we consumed at a San Antonio Regional Wine Guild meeting. At our February meeting, another bottle of the 40-year old Mustang was opened and we declared it barely drinkable due to acetic acid. While I was still trying to get my taste buds around it, our host dumped the bottle down the drain, produced yet another bottle, and that wine was moved to a decanter after passing the sniff test. Although all three bottles reportedly came from the same batch of Mustang, each tasted completely different from each other. The first bottle was trying to become sherry, the second vinegar, and the third was sweet, quite cloudy, but very drinkable. I have a theory that explains this. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#030710A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#030710A A winemaker – sometimes meadmaker – asked why his light golden honey turned black, crystallized, and soured. Wow. Three big strikes against using that particular honey for mead and proof enough that honey is a perishable commodity with a variable shelf life. I don't know that anyone can predict the shelf life of a given honey as there are too many contributing causes of its deterioration. But we do know enough about honey to explain each of the changes that occurred in this instance. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#030510A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#030510A Blog ideas come from many places. Bob Toombs wrote about a customer who added a teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite to a 5-gallon carboy of must. He had already written to Tim Vandergrift of WineExpert and their minds met on the "dump it" solution. I have to concur. It is possible to get the free sulfur (as SO2) down to a manageable level, but the bound sulfur level will be so high as to be disagreeable. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#030510B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#030510B You're going to laugh at me, but for many, many years I've tried to concoct a blend of fruit that tastes and smells like Juicy Fruit chewing gum. This quest is for my wife, who loves Juicy Fruit but will no longer chew it because Wrigley insists on loading it up with aspartame. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#022010A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#022010A In my last "WineBlog" entry I mentioned a potential sluggishness problem when fining with Bentonite. At least two of you over-reacted. Please re-read the entry. The potential problem exists when using a yeast strain with high nitrogen needs. Most yeast strains are not affected but listed below are some that are. Perhaps more importantly, there are other things you should know about Bentonite. Used correctly, it can be among your best winemaking friends. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#022010B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#022010B Seven of us at work were discussing fresh fruit. Only two of us ate fresh fruit every single day and I was the only one that eats – sometimes three – two portions of fresh fruit each day. I eat a banana on the way to work or before I have my coffee on weekends and have a second fresh fruit midway through the morning. I sometimes have a third portion mid-afternoon or as a dessert following my evening meal. But my interest here is the fruit we most frequently chose to eat as well as that we simply ignore. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#021310A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#021310A A few days ago a reader wrote that he had followed one of my recipes to the "T" and after a month the specific gravity had only dropped from 1.110 to 1.046. After several email exchanges, he finally admitted he did two things different – he used Lalvin RC212 yeast instead of Red Star Montrachet and added Bentonite before pitching the yeast. "All the red wine kits do it," he said. And so I had to explain to him why his fermentation is slower than a snails' race and how to correct it overnight. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#021310B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#021310B Another reader asked me to comment on when to pull the plug on a wine or mead. He said he wasn't sure when to give it more time, when to dump it or do something else. It's a good question, and a tough one even for a commercial winemaker to answer. It's especially tough for the home winemaker without an in-house lab, but I will give you my thoughts. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#020510A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#020510A Last year I made a jackfruit wine and began drinking it last month. Bottled slightly sweet at a specific gravity of 1.010, the wine's unique and inviting flavor makes a nice dessert accompaniment. It was reviewed very favorably by those who tried it and I am quite proud of this wine. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#020510B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#020510B In the previous topic I mentioned that the Jackfruit Wine I made was bottled slightly sweet at a specific gravity of 1.010 and that the wine's unique and inviting flavor makes a nice dessert accompaniment. Am I saying this is a dessert wine? No. What I am saying is that it is neither a wine you would drink by itself – a social wine – nor a wine you would drink with the main course of a meal – a table wine. While it could be consumed as a dessert wine, it is neither sweet enough nor high enough in alcohol to strictly qualify as a dessert wine. So what is the difference? Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#013010A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#013010A Many times I have promoted belonging to a winemaking or wine appreciation club, guild or circle. I belong to the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild. I have been a member of other organizations, but SARWG is local and the members are real people, each and every one a treasure to know in his or her own right. At one of our meetings we had a theme wine tasting – Italian or German or some such thing – and the host placed small plates of thin apple slices on each tasting table. These, he announced, were for cleansing the palate between wines. Someone asked, why not sourdough bread or cheese? Good question, and one that led to the most important thing I learned that day. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#013010B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#013010B A reader recently asked if one could use corn sugar in wine and if so how much. The answer is yes you can and the conversion ratio for fermentation is 1:1. For sweetening a wine after fermentation, corn sugar may not be nearly as sweet as other common sugars such as cane sugar or beet sugar. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#013010C http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#013010C I have previously written here about non-white sugars and of course I have a whole section on sugars elsewhere on my site. Despite these attempts to educate my readers, there are still those who will not explore the website beyond the winemaking recipes or simply use the site's search engine. However, a recent question struck me just right and so I don't mind retracing previous steps. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0127 http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0127 I received good feedback on my last "WineBlog" entry. It pleases me to know it was helpful to some folks out there. I hope some gave to Haiti relief. But beware of scams. The sharks always move in on a disaster (see link following entry). That's why I did the research and decided I would give to and recommend Food for the Poor (see link following entry). The reason I like it is two-fold. First, it is among the top ten charities with the most consecutive 4-star ratings by Charity Navigator (and the only one on that list whose mission is feeding the starving), and secondly because only 2.3% of all funds it raises are spent in administrative and fundraising costs. Compare this to the American Red Cross, which spends 9.9% of the funds it receives on administrative and fundraising costs. This is not nearly as bad as some, which spend as much as 68% in administrative costs (see link following entry). Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0127A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0127A I was recently asked for a recipe for pomelo wine. I have always known this fruit as pummelo or red shaddock in the States or buoi da xanh in Vietnam, but pomelo is also correct. The pomelo (Citrus maxima or Citrus grandis) is a citrus fruit native to South East Asia. It is usually light green to yellowish-green to yellow when ripe, with sweet white flesh and very thick rind. Some varieties have pink or red flesh. It is the largest citrus fruit, 6-10 inches in diameter and typically 2 to 4-½ pounds in weight, although Pomelos have weighed in at a hefty 20 pounds and were as big as basketballs! The flesh is sweet, with a hint of mild grapefruit flavor but without the bitterness. In Vietnam I was taught to dip the fresh sections in a salt-sugar-chili powder mixture before eating. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0127B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0127B My wife makes killer fish tacos. We try to use kingfish or red drum caught fresh in the Gulf, but have used tilapia, catfish, pollock, and other fish from the market. My wife is in California and not here to make her tacos, but last weekend I was steered to a recipe that looked so good I went to the supermarket, bought a pound of tilapia and came home to make it. After playing with the recipe a bit to personalize it to my liking, I made some to-die-for fish tacos. Here's my recipe. Personalize it to your heart's desire. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0121A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0121A Last Sunday I drank a hearty glass of 40-year old mustang grape wine made from native Texas grapes. It had remarkably good color for its age – slightly brickish around the edges but still dark, still more purple than red. But it was showing age. It was gradually becoming sherry-like, but just barely. I could still taste the wildness of the mustang grape. But it was more like a 6- or 8-year old mustang than a 40-year old. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0115A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0115A A Missouri viewer recently asked, "I have about 6 pounds of frozen paw-paw mush, without peeling or seeds, and want to make wine if possible. Any ideas?" I do have two recipes posted on my site but suppose it is possible to have missed them, so the answer is an unqualified "yes." If it were me, I'd make one gallon of pawpaw wine and two loaves of pawpaw bread and two pawpaw-meringue pies. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0115B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0115B A viewer wrote in my guestbook, "I am a novice, I have some watermelon, peach, grape juice and tomato ranging from 3 to 5 months old and all have a sour taste." He adds that he has paid assiduous attention to sanitation and temperature steadiness. What, then, could be the cause of the sourness? Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1219A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1219A Somewhere I acquired a recipe for a blood red melomel called "Batwing Blood." I'm sure some of you are thinking this posting would have fit the calendar better around Halloween, but if you start it now it should be aged and ready to serve at your next Halloween party. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1219B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1219B Irish moss is a fining agent made from an Atlantic seaweed called "Chondrus crispus", known under the common name Irish moss, or carrageen moss (in Irish, carraigín means "little rock"). The active fining ingredient in Irish moss is k-carrageenan, a polymer of β-D-galactose-4-sulphate-3,6-anhydro-a-D-galactose. It is negatively charged and therefore attractive to proteins in suspension. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1215A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1215A Fellow Texas winemaker, veteran and friend Fred Williams informed me of something I simply missed in the news. Readers may be interested to know that the wreaths in the photograph – some 5,000 – were donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine. The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but for years covered the trucking expense as well. A wonderful guy, he's done this since 1992. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1215B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1215B 'Tis the season and recipes for mulled wine have been appearing in blogs all over the place, but most use a commercial blend of mulling spices. You can save time and possibly money by purchasing such a blend, but if you have a well-stocked kitchen you probably have the ingredients to make your own, and it's both fun to do and leaves you with a sense of accomplishment. I've gone through our recipe files (my wife has a "wonderful" collection from family members, friends and probably hundreds of printed sources) and selected three very different mulled wine and one spiced-wine peaches recipes. I'll start with the peaches first. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1212A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1212A Back in August I mentioned that I started another batch of an old classic I invented about 8 or 9 years ago that won three golds and a silver – sand burr wine. I said in August I would say more about it later. A reader named Jeff reminded me that I have not yet done so. I'll correct that now. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1212B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1212B Several months ago (August 10th, 2009) I posted an entry on why my site remains the way it is in terms of layout and design. I'm not going to repeat that entry. If you missed it and are at all interested, you can navigate to it and read the original posting. But in it I stated that my web sites and blog retain their look because I don't use templates or automatic code generators, but rather create everything, including the code to place things where they are and as they are, myself. A while after posting that entry, something changed on the "WineBlog". Some of you noticed it but most probably did not. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1205A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1205A Luc Volders notified me from The Netherlands that one of my winemaking links was dead as the link was hosted on the defunct Geocities. While correcting the entry, I went ahead and searched my internet references page and made note of 20 sites linked to Geocities before I stopped searching. I have now run Google searches on each of these sites and found only two were resurrected at a new URL. This means some really great web sites have disappeared, or some might have resurrected under different names. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1205B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1205B I have twice before posted methods for making persimmon wines here on the "WineBlog", but it is persimmon season again and I was asked for a "sure-fire, one-gallon recipe for a persimmon melomel." Well shucks, you don't have to ask me twice for this one. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1128A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1128A The subject of elderberry goo seems to crop up just about every time elderberry winemaking is discussed. If you do not know what elderberry goo is, consider yourself lucky. But if you are thinking of making elderberry wine from fresh wild berries, it is a subject you'd better at least be acquainted with. You may or may not encounter it, but if you do, being forewarned is being prepared. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1128B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1128B A generous soul sent me two bottles of Salmonberry Wine from Washington state just in time to be enjoyed with my Thanksgiving feast. I first opened a cranberry wine, which was good and paired well, but the Salmonberry was sitting on the buffet taunting me and so I opened a bottle. The bouquet hit my nose in seconds and then spread throughout the dining room. Boy, am I glad I opened that bottle. Dry but deliciously fruity. Thanks, Bob! Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1126A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1126A Continuing the list I started last weekend, here are some more Japanese-American hybrid plums. I have only indicated which cultivars make the best pollinator for the plum discussed in a few instances, but obviously pollen donors have to bloom the same time the pollen recipients are blooming. Also, pollen recipients are pollen donors to their pollinators. It's a closed cycle and very efficient if well planned. For the home, certain trees are very attractive and can be sited in the landscape to show them off. Others are less showy and might be grouped to make pollination more efficient. The usual practice is to plant at least a pair of early bloomers, mid-season bloomers and late season bloomers. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1126B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1126B The 35 plum varieties I've described are but a fraction of what are available, but all I have listed are suitable for making wine or mead. Some are better suited than others, but all can work well in field blends. Sugar content varies from 7 to 13% with 15% possible but rare, tannin is decent, and acid is generally a bit low and malic. The recipe I've selected is tried and true, but the final product's character is determined both by the plum[s] and the yeast used. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1121A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1121A Last month I was asked for a recipe for Malay Apple Wine. While I do not have an actual recipe, I do have some excerpts from some old emails regarding such a wine. I was trying to develop a recipe because someone promised to ship me some Malay Apples from the Dominican Republic but never did. I now know the fruit would probably never have made it to Texas as it spoils very quickly. Nonetheless, I think I have enough information to make a wine, although the chemistry of the actual must would be required to fine-tune an actual recipe. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1121B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1121B John Culverson has an excellent memory to recall that many years ago I posted a list of plum varieties on a use group. Now he says he cannot find the list in the archives and thinks it might have been lost. All he is interested in are the Japanese-American hybrids. Well, it so happens I am researching plums and other stone fruit for an article for "WineMaker" magazine, so I can comment on a few varieties. There are actually hundreds of plum cultivars, so I have concentrated on what I consider to be better or more interesting ones. Because there are so many, even after drastic culling I have a considerable list, so I will post them in two entries. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1114A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1114A Since writing about açai berries and juice a month ago (October 10, 2009), I was given a gallon of açai juice by a merchant who asked not to be identified. I bought some bulk honey from him and used the juice and honey to start a memomel. For this particular mead I selected Red Star Assmannshausen active dry yeast, of which I had a vial obtained from a commercial winery in the Texas Hill Country. Shortly after transferring the açai melomel to a secondary, I used the same glass primary to start a gallon of blueberry melomel, also using pure juice and Red Star Assmannshausen active dry yeast. I wrote about this in my last entry (November 11, 2009), but did not say anything about the yeast. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1114B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1114B I was planning on writing an article for "WineMaker" magazine on sugars, but my concept was to do a photo essay and they wouldn't pay for my photographer so I didn't do it. I understand budgets so I'm not villanizing them for it, but it would have been a valuable and memorable article. But while I was planning it I collected 33 different kinds of sugar or natural sweetner and four different liquid sweetners. One of the liquid sweetners I collected and have used is agave nectar. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0911A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0911A It is not easy to transition from reflections on Veterans Day to winemaking, but I will try. Last week I got to thinking that I wanted to start a wine on Veterans Day to drink the following year. I wanted something that was uniquely American but could think of none. In the end, I decided upon a blueberry mead. I purchased two 64-ounce bottles of R.W. Knudsen unsweetened "Just Blueberries" and began the yeast starter solution yesterday morning before going to work. Last night I mixed the juice and other constituents in the primary, including sulfites. I woke up at 5:34 this morning and pitched the yeast. Four hours later I could see evidence that the yeast like the must, which is how it should be. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0911B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0911B Sur lie aging is aging the wine on the fine – not the gross – lees. It is necessarity accompanied by lees stirring, an activity known as bâtonnage in French. As yeast cells die and break down, they gradually release a host of compounds into the wine that otherwise would be absent. These offer several physiological as well as sensory benefits to a wine but do so at a small risk. Risk, however, can be managed and greatly minimalized, but not eliminated altogether. Read more....