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 (©) 2003-2009 by Jack B. Keller, Jr. All print and electronic publication rights reserved. Don't mess with Texas.... Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:53:09 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#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.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1107 http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1107 An off-topic preface is called for. The senseless wounding and loss of life two days ago at Fort Hood, Texas, where I served back during the late '70s with a unit called "Red Thrust," sliced through the military establishment like a hot knife through soft butter. They are calling it a massacre. By definition, the word fits. It was also the scene of some very selfless comradery, heroic confrontation and exemplary improvised first aid. All in the previous sentence is expected of our well-trained and highly motivated soldiers. What they were reacting to was neither expected nor should it have been allowed to occur. Still, I am not sure it could have been prevented in a free society. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1107A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1107A The wild Fall Grape, Winter Grape, Little Mountain Grape, Spanish Grape, and Uña Cimarrona – different names for the same grape – is known by old-timers as "Vitis berlandieri" but correctly as "Vitis cinerea var. helleri." It is currently ripe and ready to be made into wine. It is acidic until it ripens and then is sweet and quite delicious but too small for convenient eating and not quite sweet enough to make a decent wine without a little sugar being added. It is small (1/5 to 1/3 inch) with 30 to 70 berries per cluster. The clusters are loose and open, the pedicels (stems) long. The skin is thin, the pulp juicy when ripe, usually with one or two seeds of a coffee color. Ripe berries retain enough acid to make a balanced wine. Their small size makes crushing difficult but not at all impossible, so freezing/thawing and pectic enzyme will help extract the juice. Destemming by hand takes a while, but is necessary due to the astringent tannins in the stems. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1107B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1107B The single word "medicinal" is often used to describe a variety of individual smells, each of which is more specific and offers clues as to what may be the cause. Knowing the cause does not mean the offensive smell can be removed or prevented, but often it does. Any number of other, more specific terms might be used synonomously with "medicinal," and include iodine, band-aids, isopropyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, ethyl phenol, cork taint, ether, nail polish remover, peroxide, mouthwash, a doctor's office, a dentist's office, menthol, and anesthesia. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1031A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1031A Yes, another mead! I normally make no more than two meads a year, but over the past three years I have made quite a few. I did so because I considered them a distinct challenge to be mastered. I think I have gotten it (except for Show Mead as redefined in my October 17th, 2009 entry). Anyway, here is a metheglin I only recently tasted. This calls for the five traditional Asian spices and a Celestial Seasonings herbal blend containing Chamomile, orange peel, natural honey and vanilla flavors with licorice, roasted chicory and West Indian lemongrass. This is so good I'd like to patent it but copyright will have to do. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1031B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1031B I have exchanged several emails over two months with a gentleman in Indonesia who asked for a conversion chart for volume measurements, both dry and liquid, so that he might better use my recipes. At first I simply pointed him to my conversions page, but he wrote back saying it did not cover all the measurements some of my recipes used and also he did not own a computer. He used one in a shop where you can rent computer time and maintain an email account, and he desired one or two charts he could print. After several exchanges, each a week or two apart, I understood his needs and circumstances and tested the waters with the following chart that he loved. Thank you, Hamzah, for your patience. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1024A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1024A The first time I encountered sugar beets I was driving near Fort Collins, Colorado when I encountered a bunch of grapefruit-sized, conical, whitish-gray things on the highway I thought were huge parsnips that obviously had fallen off a truck. I stopped and picked up one, examined it and had no idea what it was. I collected perhaps a dozen, maybe 15, and tossed them in the very small trunk well of my Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta (oh, what fond memories!). When I next stopped for gas I showed the attendant one (they still pumped your gas and cleaned your windows for you back then) and he identified it – was even a little amused I didn't know what it was. All of this came back to me when I read a recent Guest Book entry requesting a sugar beet wine recipe. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1024B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1024B A few weeks ago at a competition the steward told me he could not open a particular bottle. I looked at it and it was a 4-year old wine sealed with an agglomerated cork. These are corks that are made from granulated cork that is bound together with food-grade glue and either molded or extruded to the appropriate size. According to APCOR, the Portuguese Cork Association, "Agglomerated corks are an economical solution in assuring good sealing for a period that should not, in general, exceed 12 months." Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1017A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1017A I recently mentioned that I had bottled a ginger mead and that very night received the first of several requests for the recipe. One writer asked, "Exactly what kind of mead is ginger? Is it a type of hippocras?" No. Although many call hippocras a mead (I do simply because it "could" be a mead), it usually is a spiced wine sweetened with honey. Ginger is but one of the several spices used to make it. Another spiced mead is metheglyn, but this too generally has several spices but can have but one. Since I know of no name for a mead flavored with just ginger, I have coined one based on the botanical name for the plant, "Zingiber officinale"; I will call it zingimel. If anyone knows of an earlier designation I will concede to it, and if you object to zingimel then go ahead and call it a metheglyn. And with that out of the way, lets discuss ginger and the recipe. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1017B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1017B A mead enthusiast wrote me to object to my definition of "show mead". Well, my definition came from popular books on mead, but that doesn't mean the definition hasn't evolved – especially in the world of competitions, where it counts. He wrote, "The definition of a show mead according to current BJCP style guidelines (and many mead makers in general) is one composed of honey, yeast and water without other additives. Adding nutrients, acids, oak, or other additives produces what is generally called a 'traditional mead.' A show mead can be made with a single varietal honey or a blend of more than one type." I am grateful for the correction. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0901A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0901A A writer noted he had made apple, almond, and banana wines, all of which required pouring boiling water over the base ingredients prior to pitching the yeast. He found all three were very stubborn to clear. He added amylase to the banana wine and SuperKleer to the apple wine with relatively good results. He then questioned the practice of adding boiling water to fruit bases because he had heard that this causes the fruit to "set." Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0901B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0901B Today I listened to a financial planner talk about instilling attitudes and habits in your children that translate into sound financial values. These are not at all overtly obvious, like "put some money into savings each payday," or "always let interest work for you" or other traditional advice. No, these lessons include: Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1010A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1010A Several times in the past two months the subject of açai (pronounced ah-sah-ee) berry wine has come up, which is unusual, and that kindled a desire in me to write about it. I have in fact made two wines with açai juice, but as I sat down to write about it little nagging issues crept into my consciousness and could not be ignored. These had to do with where did this interest in açai come from? I think it arose from several quarters, but three have registered in my memory – appearance in markets, an avalanche of printed references, and Oprah reportedly said she loves it. I'm not sure if the appearance preceded the avalanche but that is how I noted it, and for the record I do not watch Oprah – I just see her mentioned in ads. The question, to me at least, then becomes, so what? Why should I buy this super-expensive juice, let alone consider making wine from it? Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1010B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1010B Açai juice has been appearing in more and more supermarkets in small, rather costly bottles, usually displayed with other refrigerated "super juices" adjacent to or near the produce department. It has become one of those juices you never heard of before but suddenly it is mentioned everywhere healthy diets or supplements are discussed. Third, everyone peddling this stuff as dietary supplements feels compelled to mention that Oprah loves it or some such meaningless attribution. Okay. She's a billionaire and can afford to fill her swimming pool with açai juice if the itch strikes her, but what about the rest of us? Does the stuff make such an outstanding wine that you should suffer the expense to try it? Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1010C http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1010C On a popular winemaking forum someone asked about flavoring extracts he saw on a winemaking supplier's website. I read the various replies and was surprised at how readily some of the respondents embraced a practice I consider to be on the line between what is and is not acceptable in winemaking. I then expressed that opinion and stirred up a controversy that is still drawing comments. There is much to discuss on this subject, and I wanted to revisit and flesh it out here. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1004A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1004A I woke up at 4:43, too early to think about breakfast, and so I bottled a varietal mead. Varietals are traditional or "show" meads, made with honey and water and prudent additives, but no additional flavorings. The difference between a common, generic "show" mead and a varietal is the latter is made with a single-source or varietal honey and assumes the source's name. My mead was made with mesquite honey originating from the Uvalde, Texas area and therefore is a mesquite mead, but there are many varieties available. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1004B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1004B Lemon wine surprises people. They expect an alcoholic lemonade and instead get a full-bodied wine with thirst-quenching, lemony taste. It is best as an off-dry wine, but I have made it semi-sweet for competitions and it just claimed Grand Champion. Easy to make, it does require bulk and bottle aging to come into its own. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1002A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1002A A wonderful couple in Tennessee who has been so generous to me by sharing their wines, recipes and secrets have sent me a number of wines and meads made from mixed berries and fruit. While drinking one of these, I became inspired and rummaged through my freezer for hidden treasures. I found a few worthy ingredients and one I questioned but used anyway. I am truly glad I did. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1002B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#1002B Long ago I made a decision to write for the beginner as well as the advanced winemaker. The beginner uses teaspoons, cups, pints, pounds, ounces, et cetera, and their fractions. The advanced winemaker uses grams, kilograms, milliliters and liters. The primary difference between the two genres of measure is precision, and when measuring non-base ingredients (chemicals, enzymes, etc.) to be added to wine, you really do want to be precise. Asked what instrument I would recommend a winemaker obtain after a hydrometer, without hesitation I say an accurate, reliable gram scale. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0930A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0930A Due to recent rains, as I drove through sage country last Sunday I was greeted with a show of millions of purple flowers. Since my arrival at the wine competition could not be delayed, I drove past the showy display and promised to stop on the trip home, which I did. It took me about 25 minutes to pick two quarts of flowers. An hour later I was at home and prepared to make a wine. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0930B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0930B The Best of Show wine at the Home Wine Competition last Sunday in Victoria, Texas was a blueberry port. I do not know what recipe, if any, the winemaker used, but I know the recipe below makes an excellent blueberry port. This recipe differs slightly from another recipe appearing elsewhere on my site. This recipe calls for 6-8 pounds of blueberries. I have made it with both weights and can honestly say that the port does not suffer using the lesser amount. As for the red grape concentrate, I used Welch's frozen concentrate (Concord) one time and a Zinfandel concentrate the other time. They were both excellent. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0926A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0926A I received phone call last night from an old acquaintance in California who asked if I could help him make a pluot wine. Pluots, a complex hybrid crossing of plum and apricot, were an oddity just 15 years ago but now are widely grown and marketed, with fruit readily available from late May through October. Pluots are typically larger than plums and sweeter than either ancestor. They make an excellent wine, but first a word about pluots themselves. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0926B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0926B You could make this wine with a mixture of pluot varieties, but I would not. Each variety posses its own unique flavor and I have always tried to capture that as purely as I can. I have made this wine using Dapple Dandy, Flavor Queen and Red Ray varieties. I had to ask the grocer to check his paperwork to get the name of the third, but he did so willingly. The first two are easily recognizable after you've studied the fruit a while. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0923A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0923A I had the pleasure of being paired with a novice judge during one event. To be honest, he isn't a certified judge at all but makes wine, enjoys wine and was recruited as a "judge in training." That was fine with me. It required that I mentor him through the process and that forced me to think harder and judge better. While certain aspects are fairly easy to explain, understand and judge (aroma, bouquet, color, clarity), balance is just a little more complex and difficult for some to grasp. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0923B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0923B A Guest Book entry asked if I had a recipe for a heather wine. Most certainly I do. However, I suffer a great misfortune in that only cultivated heathers are grown in this locale, not the common wild heather of the Rockies I enjoyed in Colorado or that the Irish, Scots, Scandinavians and even Russians enjoy in magnificent abundance. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0918A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0918A I am often asked if one can substitute something else for one or another winemaking ingredient. The answer in most instances is simply of course you can. But you should only do so with the understanding that you are changing the outcome of the process. You will still end up with wine, but it almost certainly will not be what it could have been if substitutions were not made. A dozen or so years ago a couple wrote to me from Senegal, asking what could be used as a substitute for yeast nutrient. I am going to repeat here my advice then, for I think I answered exactly as I should have. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0918B http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0918B Many years ago I was asked if there is a substitute for pectic enzyme. Technically, yes there is, but if you cannot obtain a simple, inexpensive powder (or liquid) available at any homebrew shop, you almost certainly will not have the means to hydrolyze pectin molecules. However, there "is" a substitute for "commercial" pectic enzyme. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0915A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0915A About six months ago I visited a health food supermarket in San Antonio and came across bulk honeybush ("Cyclopia intermedia") tea leaves. Later, on the tea aisle, I ran across TAZO brand Honeybush tea. Having made wine before with Tazo Passion Tea, an idea formed and I went back to the bulk tea. Not really knowing how much I might need, bought 4 ounces (which was a lot). The aroma of the leaves was slightly herbaceous, but reminiscent of spun honey. I decided to make a mead with it and picked up a 3-pound jar of honey. Read more.... http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0913A http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp#0913A Smoked Burgundy started out as a kit wine. I don't recall the brand (and that log is definitely boxed up in the garage) but it was still in a 5-gallon format, something I dearly wish they would return to. And it was, I'm quite sure, still called "Burgundy" rather than "Bourgeron," something else I wish they would return to but for treaty reasons will not. So, looking at the evidence, it might have been an older kit that was marked down for reasons I didn't really think about at the time. It had a mid-line label, a lower-line price, and I wanted to make a Burgundy. Read more....