2005 Wines

[jvs]

This year I made 2 gallons of Sour Cherry, 5 gallons of Raspberry, 5 gallons of Blackberry and and 5 gallons of Elderberry.  Plus a few batches of Cherry, Blackberry and Elderberry jelly.  

I will be trying to make a gallon of wine from Granny Smith Apples this fall.  If it works this time I will make more.  If it doesn't work I will keep trying to find the right combination until it does work.

This years jelly came out pretty good but I won't know how the wine is until I bottle it, which is when it is completely cleared of sediment.   I tend to let wine settle on its own without clearing agents, filtering or multiple syphonings.

If things are like they have been in the past, I have some high quality dessert wines in stock.  Since I don't drink very much wine I end up giving most of it away.  If I get more than 3 or 4 oz taste out of a batch, thats about all I drink.  I do it as a hobby of making it, not for the 'drinkin' part.  

Most well known home made winemakers in these parts never have problems of being overstocked from one year to the next.  Which suits them just fine.

[D.C.]

It is fall how did the apple project go.

[jvs]

It is seldom that I ask anyone before hand about making a type of wine I never tried before.  The latest exception to that is Apple.   Within the last few years I have come to know an older gent (92yrs old) who seems to be the premier wine maker in my local area.  He is well know for his wines and the wine parties that he throws once a week.

I happend to bump into him about two weeks ago at a Black Powder Shoot and we started talking about Apple wines.  He said he would be totally against using Granny Smith Apples for wines.  It seems like Granny Smith and Wine may not be compatable.  He recommended MacIntosh or even Red Delicious Apples for wine.  Or a mix of both.

His advice is sound because of his experience.  There isn't much he hasnt done since he started making wines back in the 1930's.

I even tried to kid him a little, telling him I was his competition.  He looked me square in the eyes and said....'You ain't no competition for me, you need to get another 40 years under your belt before you can be anything to me'.

So I guess I will stay away from those Granny Smith Apples and try a mix of Macs and Reds.  I have alot of catching up to do, since I only started making wine in the 1970's.

[Star1pup]

A few years back I made some great wine from blueberries and blackberries.  Since then the only wine that didn't have a vinegar taste has been my rhubarb wine.  Sure wish I could figure out what I'm doing wrong as I like a small glass of wine before turning in each night.