Posted by Ben in 2002, General, Other, kit, zinfandelFeb 27th, 2009 | No Comments
Review: This is one of my earliest experiments - "wine in a bag" from 2002. A 6 gallon kit wine made to just over 5 gallons. Let's see what this is like...
In the glass, deep magenta still, though bricking at the edge. Aroma has that characteristic "grapey kit" feel, along with some heavy oak dust. Hint of iron in there too.
On the palate, a friendly, round, sweet, playful middle. A "curling up with Teddy Bear" wine. Actually, a solid balance between fruit and acids with still a touch of mild tannins.
Aromas are just a tad off from what I might hope. But I'll award this three stars out of five on the
Spirit of Wine scale, with a plus for that playful edge.
Posted by Ben in 2005, General, Other, syrahFeb 17th, 2009 | 1 Comment
Make from Brehm frozen grapes. In the glass, this is rich deep, velvet burgundy in color. It pumps out rich, ripe, lightly-oaked dark fruit.
Up front, you detect leather and roast beef. The palate is fat with a lengthy middle. Finish is clean and hints of vanilla fruit. Four stars out of five.
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....
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....
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....
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....
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....
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....
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....
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....
