Alfalfa, Barberries and Holly

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in HealthFeb 16th, 2009 | Comments Off I have to admit I was somewhat surprised when asked about the suitability of alfalfa flowers for wine, as I've never really thought of them as a potential base. I was also asked about barberry and holly berries. I actually had to hit the books on two of these, but while I was at it I went ahead a looked into the third and learned something. Read more....

Setting Things Right (I Hope)

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in HealthFeb 16th, 2009 | Comments Off In about a week I am going to fall off the face of the earth for a little more than a month as far as email and this blog is concerned. I will be spending time with my wife, who has been in California restoring a house for the past 14 months, so forgive me if I choose to spend my time with her rather than the computer. I hope to get one more WineBlog entry in before then, but before I drop out, I very much want to put a controversial episode behind me. Read more....

Jalapeño Wine Barbeque Sauce

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in HealthFeb 16th, 2009 | Comments Off A reader confessed he shared a few of my passions, plus developing his own barbeque sauces. I replied that I've made a few sauces too, and in fact make several wines as bases for them. One thing led to another and I agreed to discuss barbeque every once in a while if there is a wider interest. Let's face it, wine and barbeque go well together. Read more....

Making A Concentrate

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in HealthFeb 16th, 2009 | Comments Off A reader wrote about "...reducing wild berries to increase the sugar content. A friend gave me a bottle of Aronia berry concentrate which claims to be a 11 x reduction with a BRIX of 65. The concentrate was not intended for wine making.... However, I started thinking about the idea of a reduction of similar berries like blackberry. Could I press the fruit two or three times, then reduce the juice down to a BRIX level similar to grapes?" Great question. Read more....

Non-White Sugars

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in HealthFeb 16th, 2009 | Comments Off I have written about sugars on my basic site, but I still get questions about them. A reader asked me, "Which is darker, dark brown sugar, muscavado or raw sugar?" To answer this question, I have assembled a series of images of ten non-white sugars and will let you answer the question. I have included maltose in a non-solid form. Read more....

Why the Nylon Straining Bag?

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in HealthFeb 16th, 2009 | Comments Off I was asked a simple question. Do some of my recipes call for placing the fruit or other base ingredient in a nylon straining bag before fermenting them simply to make them easier to remove from the wine later or is there another reason? Let me say that it is both the former and the latter. Read more....

Another Correction

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in HealthFeb 16th, 2009 | Comments Off Friday I received a case of homemade wines from a winemaker in Lake Placid, Florida. I was expected some wine from him, but my expectations were for something more like 2-4 half bottles. I was blown away by the generosity. Thank you, Rick.... I brought five bottles of wine yesterday to the annual Christmas party of the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild and included one of the Florida wines - a Blueberry-Elderberry Port. It was very well received and, in readily consumed. I happen to know this wine was made from my recipe, so thought I would revisit it. It contained a mistake as posted and Rick reminded me I had not yet posted the correction, so I will do so now. Read more....

Hazy Peach Wine

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in HealthFeb 16th, 2009 | Comments Off A fellow up in North Bay, Ontario wrote that he had moved there from England and continued his winemaking. His problem was with peach and nectarine wines, which cleared fine in England but refuse to clear in Canada. He says,"Everything in the process in exactly the same -- ingredients, method, etc. I have tried adding extra pectin enzymes before and after to no avail, and tried Bentonite to no avail. Do you have any other ideas to offer, please?" Read more....

Cocklebur Wine Correction

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in HealthFeb 16th, 2009 | Comments Off An entry in my Home Page Guestbook asks if it is true that I once made a cocklebur wine and if so would I share the recipe? The truth is that I made a wine from what I thought were cockleburs, only to discover that my base was really sand burrs, and that cockleburs contain a toxin and are unsuitable for winemaking. My sand burr wine was entered in four competitions and won three first places and a second.... The seeds of both the common cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium) and spiny cocklebur (X. spinosum) contain a toxic glycoside that is probably poisonous, although it reportedly can be boiled successively in clean water to rid it of the toxin. I would not chance it when there are so many other things that are safe to make wine from - like sand burrs Read more....

Reducing Acidity

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in HealthJan 28th, 2009 | Comments Off I get the occasional email about an overly acidic must -- usually involving wild grapes, pineapple, certain plums, or certain citric fruit. Rarely, someone adds an acid and overdoes it. In either case, acid reduction is usually necessary. If excessively high TA or excessively low pH is measured in a fruit juice, one can simply dilute the juice with water until corrected. That is the main reason we dilute certain musts, although economy also is high on the list of reasons. But if you have a good reason for not wanting to dilute your must, then you have to do it another way. In most situations, that means adding potassium bicarbonate to the must. Read more....